Sisters Shukri and Nurto Abdi outside their Fort Morgan, Colo. apartment. Nurto was fired from the Fort Morgan Cargill beef plant in December 2015.
Luke Runyon/KUNC and Harvest Public Media
In Fort Morgan, Colo., 150 Muslim workers were fired in late 2015 after a dispute over prayer breaks at a Cargill beef processing plant.
In early 2016, the company changed its rehire policy to allow the fired employees to reapply for their jobs. But some community leaders say damage has already been done. The city’s residents of East African descent, some of whom still have their jobs, are now at odds with those who do not. And the relationships among Cargill and the refugee populations it relies on for labor are frayed.
In early January, Nurto and Sadiyo Abdi enjoyed a midday cup of spiced tea with milk at their apartment in Fort Morgan. Normally, the 20-something sisters would be spending this time preparin…