Friends of Refugees

A U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program Watchdog Group

Archive for December, 2011

« Previous Entries

Van Rollover Kills Three Refugees From Amarillo On Way to Cargill Jobs

Posted by Christopher Coen on December 31, 2011

A Chevrolet passenger van carrying 15 Somali refugees from Amarillo in the Texas panhandle to their jobs at Cargill in Plainview rolled over today, killing three people. There are seven others in critical condition. The van, supposedly owned by one of the workers, struck debris on the road, swerved, overcorrected and rolled as many as five times. According to authorities neither those killed nor those critically hurt were wearing seat belts. An article in the Plainview Daily Herald reports on this tragic incident, the fourth van rollover this year in which refugees died or endured serious injuries:

Twelve of the 15 people in a van headed from Amarillo to Plainview to work at Cargill on Friday afternoon were ejected in a one-vehicle rollover two miles south of Canyon on Interstate 27.

Three of them died.

Department of Public Safety officials said Amar Ashur, Omar Abdi Qadir and Abdirizak Addulle Mohamed, 24, all of Amarillo, were killed in the accident that occurred when the Chevrolet van in which they were riding hit debris on the road, swerved, overcorrected and rolled as many as five times. The van, driven by 28-year-old Ibrahim M. Iden of Amarillo, came to rest on its roof…

…Neither those killed nor those critically hurt were wearing seat belts, authorities said…

…The van was carrying 15 Somali workers from their homes in and around Amarillo to work the second shift at Cargill…

…Catholic Family Service estimated about 1,000 Somalis lived in Amarillo in 2008 and expected about 400 refugees to come to the city this year, many of them fleeing military conflict.

The van apparently belonged to one of the occupants… Read more here

There was another van rollover on November 19 near Rushmore, Minnesota. Earlier this year there were van rollover accidents involving refugees in central Georgia (and here) and northern Georgia. A passenger van rollover in 2009 in Arizona killed six.

These vans are not safe when used for the intended purpose of carrying 15 passengers, due to instability caused by the raised center of gravity. Even 12-passenger vans are suspect.

***UPDATE*** January 3, 2012 — 3 still in critical condition, passanger van was a 2003 Chevrolet Express.

Posted in Amarillo, Catholic Family Service, Amarillo, meatpacking industry, passenger van roll-over, Somali | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Changes to Maine law prevent lawful permanent residents access to Medicaid

Posted by Christopher Coen on December 30, 2011

**Clarification** – Refugees (they may apply to become Lawful Permanent Residents after one year in the US) are exempt from this new rule, although other Lawful Permanent Residents are not exempted (e.g. refugees’ family members who immigrate via family member status), except for pregnant women and children (those under age 21) . See January 5, 2012 Sun Journal article.

Changes to Maine law governing its Medicaid program (MaineCare), sold to voters by Gov. Paul LePage as a way to save money, are now preventing lawful permanent residents from access to Medicaid during their first 5 years (this does not affect refugees access to Medicaid during their first 8 months in the US). The changes also scapegoats, and singles out for exclusion, people waiting on decisions to their asylum applications. All of these people are poor, and many are elderly, disabled or frail, and have serious health care needs. An Op-ed in the Portland Press Herald details the case:

In October, about 500 legal immigrants, mostly living in Portland and Lewiston, lost their health insurance coverage, which had been provided through MaineCare.

The change in law affects lawful permanent residents who haven’t had that status for at least five years, as well as asylum seekers who have a pending application with the federal government.

Just like refugees, many of these folks have escaped atrocities in their own country or faced persecution based on their race, religion or political beliefs.

Now they are being singled out again…

…While the decision to eliminate health insurance coverage was sold as a way to save money by Gov. Paul LePage, that will not be the end result. 

This insensitive change in the law merely shifts and hides costs, while leaving 500 people in our communities at risk of reduced access to health care.

All of these individuals are poor, and many are elderly, disabled or frail. 

Many have serious health care needs, and in many cases, the community supports that do exist are unable to meet their serious health care needs when they become uninsured. 

The cost will fall back on the state either way…

But perhaps, even more distressing, the policy doesn’t really accomplish its stated goal, which is to reduce costs.

While the money to pay for MaineCare for 500 people is removed from the state budget, the need for medical care doesn’t disappear.

It is shifted onto communities and health care providers such as clinics and hospitals.

Instead of receiving assistance through MaineCare, which has cost controls and a focus on preventative care, they are forced to rely upon emergency rooms, where the cost of care is the highest… Read more here

and

…Many of the new immigrants in Maine fall into a category described as asylum seekers because they are individuals waiting for an asylum decision from the federal government. As a result of new state laws, many of these individuals can no longer get help from the safety net programs administered by the state.

Being a person seeking asylum in a new country is already an uncertain time. It’s a time of limbo and people in this position may need some assistance from others until the immigration process grants the permits necessary to be able to get a paid job. It’s a time that calls for compassion… Read more here

Also see Maine Equal Justice Partners handout, here.

Posted in asylees, health, legislation, Maine | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Domestic Missionaries Set Their Sights On “The Younger Set” Refugees

Posted by Christopher Coen on December 29, 2011

According to the Global Frontiers Missions website, they are a Christian missionary group targeting those whom they call “THUMB people” – so-called “Tribal” people, Hindus, nonreligious people (the so-called ”Unreligious”), Muslims, and Buddhists (apparently they see little value in other people’s cultures, although I suspect they enjoy foreign foods). The organization seeks to “multiply”, that is, to evangelize and “discipline” refugees and immigrants to the point that they can “go back” and “spread” — among their own people – the group’s brand of faith. The organization recently branched out to target refugees, immigrants and international students in Houston and Clarkston, GA, but also operates in Jacksonville, Los Angeles, New York City, and the Twin Cities. They find that young people’s minds are apparently more pliable for religious conversion, and that they can use children to get at the parents. OneNewsNow has the story:

A missionary organization is focusing on spreading the gospel in two communities in the United States that are very diverse.

Houston, Texas has drawn immigrants from many countries, and according to Grant Haynes of Global Frontiers Missions(GFM), Clarkston, Georgia has done likewise…

…“We help teach English. We help run an Internet café where people can learn typing skills and take the job skills that they have in their countries to come up with a resume that helps make sense in this country and [helps] them with job placement,” Haynes details. “We help their kids with after-school programs.”

He adds that GFM has found that the younger set especially is becoming bilingual, and many are open to the gospel… Read more here

and

Nathan Harper has moved to the Atlanta area to join Global Frontier Missions in ministering to a large concentration of immigrants and refugees…

…The ministry will also be reaching out to children, which Harper says is a good avenue to reach the parents. Global Frontier Missions has a similar project in Houston and is hoping to utilize the same approach to present the gospel to immigrants elsewhere in the United States… Read more here

Posted in Atlanta, Buddhist, children, Christian, churches, converting refugees, faith-based, Hindu, Houston, Islamic | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

State Department Spokeswoman Says Resettlement Guidelines Don’t Consider Crime Rates

Posted by Christopher Coen on December 28, 2011

An article in the San Francisco Chronicle identifies the many Iraqi refugees who have been attacked in East Oakland. In response, the State Department’s PRM spokeswoman, Beth Schlachter, reminds us about its lax, partner-friendly regulations by saying that the department’s guidelines for relocating refugees don’t even consider crime rates (funny how that works). A reader commenting on the article reminds us that Bosnian refugees had similar problems in the 90s, so the private resettlement agencies and their friends at government oversight agencies have obviously long-known about this problem. Refugees from Burma/Myanmar in the area have also experienced muggings and robberies, as have refugees from Bhutan/Nepal. The article details the situation in Oakland for Iraqi refugees:

…In June 2008, [Ghazwan Al-Sharif] moved in with two other Iraqi refugees, sharing a two-bedroom apartment in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood – a situation arranged by the nonprofit International Rescue Committee…

…One night, he decided to walk home alone. Two men attacked him, bashing him in the face with a metal object and robbing him of some money, his cell phone and his ID. He was left screaming on the ground, his face gushing blood.

He said the police never identified his attackers.

Al-Sharif, 40, is one of more than 50 Iraqi refugees who have been moved to East Oakland by the International Rescue Committee. The nonprofit’s officials say they won’t settle refugees in unsafe neighborhoods, but Al-Sharif and dozens of other Iraqis blame the organization for exposing them to an unfamiliar type of violence – one perpetrated by gangs rather than political militants…

…Like many of his fellow Bay Area refugees, Al-Sharif does not believe the International Rescue Committee has done enough. “Why are you putting them in Oakland and letting them suffer?” he said, referring to his fellow refugees. “I want to be safe. … I can find work and manage to survive, but I need to be safe.”

Oakland as refuge

Oakland has a long history of hosting immigrants from around the world. Affordable housing, easy access to city services, efficient transportation such as BART, and an accepting, multicultural society make the city a great place for refugees, said rescue committee spokeswoman Melissa Winkler.

But the nonprofit receives only $1,800 in federal funding to provide each refugee with housing, employment and other basic needs. That doesn’t go far in the Bay Area, and refugees are expected to be financially self-sufficient within four months.

That’s why the IRC chose to resettle many of them in Oakland, where housing is often inexpensive…

…Unfortunately, the city also has one of the country’s highest crime rates, according to federal statistics and other studies.

Beth Schlachter, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration at the State Department, said government guidelines for relocating refugees don’t consider crime rates. The requirements for “decent, safe and sanitary housing,” she said, extend only “from the apartment itself to the building or apartment complex they’re living in.”…

…[Harith Al-Kaiate, 47] hasn’t forgotten the time a nighttime gunfight near his home left his car, which was parked outside, riddled with bullets…

…Ragheed Abdulameer, 32, another recent arrival, [was] robbed at gunpoint earlier this year just a few blocks from his home at East 24th Street and 14th Avenue…One of Abdulameer’s friends has yet to bring his wife and children from Iraq, believing they’re safer in Basra. The friend declined to be interviewed or identified for this article, saying he fears retaliation from federal authorities and the rescue committee.

More than a dozen Iraqi refugees who have been resettled in Oakland say they live in varying degrees of fear.

“Had I known about this place, I’d never have agreed to come,” said Oday Fatah, 33…

…the only solution for you is to get beaten or mugged and then you can get out,” quipped Al-Sharif, who says he became depressed and attempted suicide after he was mugged. His condition persuaded the International Rescue Committee to help relocate him to San Francisco.

The rescue committee agreed to move another refugee and his family after he was shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting outside a Fruitvale mini-mart earlier this year, Climent said.

[Iraqi refugees who make it to the US] almost certainly suffered horrendous trauma in their home country.

“They’ve survived, and they’ve come to the U.S. to start a new life, and if you settle them in an environment like that, you bring back all these things,” Abdulkhaleq said… Read more here

Posted in dangerous neighborhoods, Iraqi, IRC, Oakland, PRM, public/private partnership, safety, San Francisco, State Department, suicide | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Refugee and Immigrant Poverty Surges in Suburban Seattle

Posted by Christopher Coen on December 27, 2011

The continuing weak economic times seem to have hit refugees particularly hard in Seattle. Homelessness among refugees began to skyrocket in mid 2010. An article in The Fiscal Times refers to the situation:

…In King County, which takes in both Seattle and neighboring suburbs like Kent, half of the population growth over the last two decades has come from immigrants and refugees, said Chandler Felt, King County’s demographer. The vast majority of those new foreign-born residents have settled into South King County suburbs, including Kent, instead of in Seattle to take advantage of more affordable housing, Felt said.

The surge in refugees and immigrants from East Africa, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia settling in Kent has made the community more culturally diverse, but it’s also helped push the poverty rate to 25 percent, compared to 9 percent ten years ago, said Katherine Johnson, the city’s housing and human services manager.

“All of a sudden, the resettlement agency’s finished with you six or eight months after you arrive, you’re not able to find a job, and you’re just starting to learn the language and assimilate,” Johnson said. “The next thing that happens is you have eviction notices, your utilities are turned off, and you have no finances to speak of.” The city has seen thousands of cases like that , she said… Read more here

Posted in economic self-sufficiency, Seattle | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Documentary Film about The International Community School in Clarkston GA

Posted by Christopher Coen on December 22, 2011

There is a new documentary film from Clarkston, Georgia called A Place In The World about The International Community School — a small charter school that brings together refugee children and teaches them alongside local American children so that they can learn from one another.

SYNOPSIS:

A Place In The World is a feature-length documentary about a small charter school called “The International Community School” (ICS). The school takes on an issue that plagues many communities: what to do for the refugee and immigrant populations whose children are falling behind in traditional public schools. ICS’ conclusion: placing these kids together with local American children will allow for a trade-off that, if nurtured and encouraged, will benefit both parties greatly. The school is comprised of about half refugee students, half local American kids. 

ICS is located in a small suburb outside of Atlanta, Georgia – a place with its own divisive history of acceptance, integration, and social change. In a way, ICS acts as a microcosmic laboratory for how we can all get along. The community ICS serves was reported by the New York Times to be “the most diverse square mile in America” where over 60,000 refugees have been resettled. ICS’ refugee student body accurately reflects the global sociopolitical climate at any given time. If there is strife and violence somewhere in the world, there are most likely children from that place at ICS. Such a concentration of peoples, naturally, brings friction. The parents, coming from worlds apart, hold various ideologies, religions and values that come into conflict with one another. The children, whose identities are still being formed, see something very different. They are stretched between two worlds: one of cultural meshing, and one of traditional belief. Despite their many differences, all the families have something very much in common – they want a better life for their children… Read more here

ABOUT THE SCHOOL:

The International Community School is a K-6 Charter and IB World School, advancing the promise of America by cultivating voice, courage and hope in refugee, immigrant and local children in DeKalb County, Georgia… Read more here

Posted in Atlanta, children, cultural adjustment, education, left-wing, school for refugee children | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Congress Renews Morrison-Lautenberg Amendment

Posted by Christopher Coen on December 21, 2011

Both houses of Congress approved the renewal of The Morrison-Lautenberg Amendment last week. An article in the New Jersey Jewish News made the announcement:

Jewish organizations praised Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) for reauthorization of legislation that grants refugee status to religious minorities in Iran and to Jews in the former Soviet Union.

The “Lautenberg Amendment” — a small portion of the Omnibus Spending Bill — was approved by both houses of Congress last week.

President Barack Obama is expected to sign it into law before the holiday weekend… Read more here

Posted in Morrison-Lautenberg Amendment, religion | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Possible hate crime being investigated in Fort Morgan

Posted by Christopher Coen on December 19, 2011

Vandals did damage to a row of cars and to several of the windows of an apartment building in Fort Morgan, Colo. where Somali immigrants reside. Fort Morgan is a site of secondary migration with refugees arriving in search of meatpacking jobs. A blurb at KUSA-TV 9News explains the story:

FORT MORGAN – Leaders in a local Somali immigrant community say they’re fearing for their safety after the windows of about eight of their cars were shot out Saturday night.

Police in Fort Morgan say vandals used a BB gun to attack the cars at an apartment complex which is primarily home to Somali refugees…

…The vandals caused about $3,000 in damage to an entire row of cars and to several of the windows of the apartment building where most of the immigrants live…

…Police are still trying to identify any suspects. At this point, they say they need to gather more information about the incident before they can call it a hate crime…

…Fort Morgan police say another car was vandalized in a similar manner Saturday night in a different part of town. They are trying to determine if the two incidents are related… Read more here

Posted in Fort Morgan, meatpacking industry, safety, secondary migration, refugee, Somali | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Lewiston Mayor-elect Demagogued Somali Refugees, Claims He Was “Tired and Overly Emotional”

Posted by Christopher Coen on December 16, 2011

Lewiston, Maine Mayor-elect Bob Macdonald ended the election campaign with comments on election night that included a claim that he wanted to make changes so that the city is less attractive to layabouts and deadbeats, many of whom didn’t speak English. Lewiston has been a secondary migration site for Somali refugees for ten years. After demagoguing the immigrants MacDonald said that people need to “work together, instead of sniping”. He said that he had been “tired and overly emotional”, but not to worry because now, “This is Bob Macdonald, happy face.” An article in the Bangor Daily News has the story:

LEWISTON, Maine — Mayor-elect Bob Macdonald apologized to the city Thursday for his election-night comments — but his apology wasn’t enough for some members of the city’s immigrant community.

Abdifatah Ahmed, a local landlord and pharmacist, said Macdonald ought to apologize for his tone throughout the mayoral campaign, not just his election-night comments.

During his campaign, Macdonald said he wanted to make the city less attractive to layabouts and deadbeats, many of whom didn’t speak English…

…Somali immigrants, refugees from the civil war in Somalia, began arriving in Lewiston 10 years ago.

Macdonald called Thursday’s news conference to announce a surprise for his opponents after he was elected mayor on Tuesday…

…[He made] a full apology for his election-night comments. Macdonald said he had spent the entire day Tuesday at the polls and was tired and overly emotional.

“This is Bob Macdonald, happy face,” he said Thursday. “And from now on, until I end my time in office, it will be Bob Macdonald, happy face, the face of Lewiston.”…

…“Let’s work together, instead of sniping,” he said. “That doesn’t do any good. We can go back and forth, but that doesn’t help the people of Lewiston.”… Read more here

Posted in Lewiston, secondary migration, refugee, Somali | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Smoke Detectors and Apartment House Fires

Posted by Christopher Coen on December 16, 2011

Last month I visited a recent refugee family arriving from Africa. I noticed that the smoke detector in their apartment had a red light – a dead battery. Although the US State Department supposedly requires resettlement agencies to make sure that each refugee case has a working smoke detector, that doesn’t always happen. The problem with this is that the low-income housing units that we resettle refugees into are also prone to apartment house fires, and the dead battery in the smoke alarm presents a danger. The most recent fire I’m aware of was a fire on Tuesday night that displaced a Bhutanese refugee family resettled to Lansing, Mich. A Lansing State Journal article details the case:

LANSING - Damber Magar and his family were at home Tuesday night, watching television, when they heard a knock on the door.

They were told their neighbor’s apartment was on fire, said Damber, 16, who went outside with his parents and older sister and saw smoke coming from the roof.

Fire broke out at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Woodside Meadows town houses…said Eric Weber, Lansing fire spokesman.

Firefighters have been unable to determine a cause, Weber said. They ruled out intentional and mechanical causes, but were not able to rule out electrical items that plug into outlets.

It appears the fire started in a common room, Weber said. Of six units in the building, four are unable to be occupied due to fire, smoke or water damage…

…Damber said he and his family are Bhutanese refugees from Nepal and have lived in Lansing for one year… Read more here

Posted in apartment house fires, housing, Lansing, Nepali Bhutanese | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

« Previous Entries
 
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 84 other followers