Holyoke Council Rejects Somali Immigrants

Bostonchannel.com ^ | October 2, 2002 | AP

[Tancred]

Refugees Subject Of Discrimination In Their Country

HOLYOKE, Mass. -- Holyoke city councilors have voted to oppose a plan to relocate 300 Somali refugees to the city.

The resolution adopted in a 12-to-2 vote asks the federal government to rescind a $320,000 grant to church groups to help resettle the refugees in the western Massachusetts city.

The councilors said the state's poorest city doesn't have the resources to house and educate the refugees.

Councilor Kevin Jourdain said the refugees will be looking for jobs that just don't exist in the city.

The black, Muslim refugees are members of Somalia's Bantu minority, which has suffered discrimination, persecution and torture in its native country.

[Tancred]

This must be similar to the way it works here: Catholic Charities of Maine does a lot of work resettling Third World refugees. Unfortunately, no one in Maine has spoken out against the inadvisability of such a matter.

[freebilly]

Relocate them to the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport....

[The G Man]

Good. I live in the next town over and my kids go to school in Holyoke.

Holyoke is beginning to make the long journey back. They've got a good no nonsense mayor and they brought in a tough as nails, ULTRA CONSERVATIVE, REAGANITE, police chief named Anthony Scott who has taken no prisoners. Oh yeah ... he's black too. LOL! He drives the local socialist media nuts!!

[1234]

"...The resolution adopted in a 12-to-2 vote asks the federal government to rescind a $320,000 grant to church groups to help resettle the refugees in the western Massachusetts city...."

can the council 'win'?

[doodad]

Down here in GA they are finally wising up to these freeloaders and shipping them quietly to Maine.

[MHT]

I went to college near Holyoke and this is very good news. At last, they are waking up. At one time, I think that Springfield at the highest number of Puerto Ricans in any one city outside of Puerto Rico (even beating out NYC in the early 70's). The problem was that these people were heavily dependent on welfare and the economy created by a welfare-dependent population was a drain on local services offering few opportunities for economic development.

Maybe this is the first indication that the pendulum might swing back in liberal Taxachusetts!

[Tancred]

I know--I live in Portland, ME! They're all coming up from Atlanta to Lewiston! We don't want them either.

[The G Man]

I went to college near Holyoke and this is very good news

WNEC?

[MissAmericanPie]

Liberal churchs have little business foisting third world muslims on local populations, where is their Christianity, or at the very least their love for their fellow countrymen and taxpayers?

[MHT]

Mt. Holyoke--which has since become a fortress of liberalism and lesbianism (and consequently will NEVER receive a dollar from me until a conservative has the same right to safe free speech that is guaranteed left-wing wacko women!).

[kilohertz]

Why, oh why, oh why? Somali refugees into Massachusetts and Maine? This helps America how?

[3AngelaD]

They should be moved into the community in which the State Department bureaucrat who decided they can immigrate here lives. Housing should be provided for them right next door to his or her house. Their children should attend the same schools that the bureaucrat's children attend.

[nfldgirl]

The black, Muslim refugees are members of Somalia's Bantu minority, which has suffered discrimination, persecution and torture in its native country.

The front-page (above-the-fold) story of The Washington Post, Sunday, August 18, was about the relocation of thousands of Somilian refugees to the U.S. According to the article, some 2 million refugees have been relocated to the U.S. over the past 25 years (countries of origin unknown) and that the U.S. had agreed to take another 70,000 by Sept. 30th (just past). However, this relocation had slowed considerably due to Sept. 11, 2001. It also stated that the U.S. had agreed to take 22,000 African refugees by Sept. 30, but at the beginning of August, approx. 1,600 had made it.

The article's main focus was on some nearly 12,000 Somali Bantu refugees that are currently waiting to be relocated to the U.S. The more I read, the more I could not understand why these people are being relocated to the U.S. The article points out the tremendous cultural differences that these people will face upon entering the U.S., and not just in language, communication (one immigration worker interviewing a Bantu was told "in the year of the big rains" when asking a birth date). These refugees have had no exposure to "crossing the street, running water/toilets, supermarkets, and will not be able to recognize any food." A representative of the International Organization for Migration says: "They'll be taught how to tell time, how to use calendars and alarm clocks, how important it is in America to be prompt. They will be given lessons in finances. They will be told about driver's licenses, seat belts, mass transit, tap water, flush toilets, hygiene, etc." She also states that they will be given a place to live FREE for 30 days and shepherded through job searches and school enrollment.

The article goes on to point out that at most, there are only a few thousand Bantus in the U.S., and there is no "establised" community to absorb them. I just don't understand why our country allows this type of immigration when it does NOTHING but put the entire burden for these people's care on the backs of the taxpayers. I don't blame this MA community, nor any other, for not wanting to take in some 300+ refugees. The responsibility is overwhelming. I just keep asking myself "why is our government doing this?" I wish I knew the real answer.

[Semaphore Heathcliffe]

My church has been involved in relocating Bosnian and Sudanese Christians into the area for a few years now. I no longer contribute any money to these relocation efforts, because I believe we're just importing disharmony and welfare dependence. Catholic Charities is the official donation center for the church. I went by last year to drop some stuff off, and the place was crawling with immigrants just hanging out in the middle of a week day. The women running the place were wearing their righteousness all over their sleeves, so busily saving the world at tax-payer expense.

[Tancred]

Howie Carr mentioned this briefly on his show today; he said Holyoke was about 35 years too late in starting to shut the door on immigrants.

[gulfwarvet]

The Mayor of Lewiston, Maine just wrote a letter to local Somali leaders saying the city just can't handle any more Somali refugees. The city's resources are "maxed out".

http://www.sunjournal.com/story.asp?slg=100402mayorraymnd

This was one Somali leader's response:

"Our leaders need to sit with the mayor and find out just what he means,” Tani said. “What he is trying to say, it needs to be expressed better. I’d encourage him to meet with us, so we can really determine what the problem is here...I’d like to see his budget and have him explain his point of view,” Tani said. “Then, I’d like to see our leaders explain our point of view.”

Doesn't look like they get the message does it?

[Morrigan]

You want to hear a cruel joke, Tancred? One of the soldiers killed in Mogadishu was from Lisbon....about ten minutes away from Lewiston. Not only do we have to pay for these freeloaders, but their hatred of Americans is being rubbed in our faces, and there is nothing we can do about it. Thank God for election season! Trust me, Baldacci WILL not be our govornor, and as far as senator, I'm rooting for Bob Stone. He has some great ideas for overhauling the welfare system in Maine and popping the welfare teat out of the mouths of the Somalis. Yay Bob!