Earlier this winter all hell broke loose in Shelbyville, TN when reporter Brian Mosely of the Times-Gazette broke his story about the Somali refugees lured to Shelbyville by employment at a Tyson’s meat packing plant and how their behavior was troubling to local residents. Things have been kind of quiet, but today I see that Shelbyville’s Somali controversy has not gone quietly into the night.
Mr. Mosely reported yesterday on a meeting last week to discuss how the Somali’s might become a part of the community. Read two stories here and here on the meeting.
Then today he posted his blog comments here. Note he mentions also the growing resentment in the Quad Cities that we reported on earlier. Read his whole blog. This is a portion that caught my eye.
….. then there was the other call I got yesterday that gave me pause. It was from a lady that lives in the apartment complex with the Somalis and she was terrified. Sobbing, she told me how all her tires had been slashed and that she was afraid for her safety, the safety of her sister and their pet. Her various tales about life there were nearly identical to what one of our regular readers related about his experiences at the apartment complex in question. She claimed that she had reported the vandalism to the authorities, but since they saw nothing, no charges could be pressed. She was not satisfied with the response of law enforcement, to say the least …
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“Where are my rights?” is what she asked me repeatedly. “They’ve got more rights than me and I was born and raised in this country!” I had no answer for her, but passed along some phone numbers she requested so hopefully, she will get the answers she seeks.
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I hope that the folks at the Somali Community Center of Nashville takes note of these types of reports and addresses them at once. This type of behavior, which has been continuously going on at the complex, will undermine any efforts they may have underway to bring the refugee community and the locals together. They must also take into account the feelings and concerns of those who have lived here all their lives, not simply the rights and cultural differences of the refugees.
The highlights in the quote are mine. I think this is one of the most critical failures of the Refugee Resettlement program as it is now administered. We see it over and over again—a complete disregard for the citizens of a community. For the most part, refugees are quietly slipped into communities and citizens who notice are fearful of speaking up or asking questions. I believe this fear is because we have been so indoctrinated by the leftwing in the non-profit resettlement groups, government and media, that any question would be answered with a charge of racism.
That is why Mr. Mosely’s groundbreaking series in the Times-Gazette caused such a furor when it was first published. No one dares speak of such things! Papers and reporters in other areas of the country would do a great service for citizens and refugees if they brought the subject into the light of day for full public discussion.
We have covered Shelbyville for months, please use our search function at the left to see why Shelbyville and the Times-Gazette is important in the movement to reform Refugee Resettlement.