Update: I had forgotten all about the Delphi Technique until responding to a commenter at this post. Go here and see how what happened at the meeting in Rome puts the technique on full display. Judy posted this in advance of our meeting in Hagerstown, MD last September.
Usually there isn’t a public meeting to discuss whether a city will take more refugees, the volags just bring them, so this article leads me to believe there must be problems afoot. Either Rome has too many refugees already or word has come 20 miles up the road from Utica (the city that loves refugees) that everything is not sweetness and light in that city.
Just as in our city of Hagerstown, MD this time last year, the citizens’ main concern is economic, can our city afford it?
While many Rome residents welcomed the dozens of Burmese refugees who will be moving to the city within the next year, other residents expressed concerns Monday about the economic impact of such an influx.
With roughly 250 Burmese refugees expected to arrive in the community the four to five years ahead, Rome Mayor James Brown hosted a town hall meeting to discuss any questions or concerns people might have about their future neighbors.
And the first concern voiced by two city residents involved money.
Expressing what we found a common theme in Hagerstown, one citizen said,
“We can’t afford any more,” Russitano said. Later, he added, “It’s not who they are, it’s not what they are. What we care about is the economics, and economically it’s a challenge.”
It has nothing to do with the Burmese Karen people themselves, and by the way, they are Christians not Muslims. But, people want to know why we don’t take care of our own impoverished people first.
Notice when you read the article how the Mayor is promoting more refugees, perhaps he should talk with the Mayor of beleagured Ft. Wayne, IN, or maybe the Allen County Health Department.
And, one final thought, it’s disgusting to parade refugees into a meeting of this sort. We flat out opposed the idea for the public forum in Hagerstown last September. It’s embarrassing and demeaning. Citizens are there for a serious public policy discussion about such things as finances, which could only make those refugees in attendance feel even more unwelcome.