As the refugee industry booms, and the recession continues, I suspect this is a story being repeated in “welcoming” cities across America. From My San Antonio News:
They walked from apartment complexes in clusters. They wore traditional scarves, sarongs and wraps, some mix-matched with Western attire.
They filed behind 60-year-old Ka Sin of Myanmar (Burma) as he held a sign with the words “start here.” Women, men and children from Iran, Iraq, Bhutan, Myanmar, Burundi and Ethiopia stretched along the wall of the Bombay Hall Indian restaurant into the parking lot on the Northwest Side.
The wind whipped women’s scarves and the voucher slips they held to receive food from San Antonio Food Bank’s mobile pantry.
More than 150 refugees lined up at 9 a.m. Thursday at 8783 Wurzbach Road to receive food and fellowship from humanitarian agencies in their new country. The San Antonio Food Bank, Catholic Charities and Communities in Schools sponsored the food-distribution program with help from more than 40 volunteers from several church outreach ministries.
Food stamp and medicaid applications all take longer while we continue to bring high numbers of refugees to the US. For FY2010 we expect to resettle 80,000 refugees, the highest number since before 9/11.
Paula Walker, the Catholic Charities director of refugee programs, said that while the United States’ economy struggles, the refugee program is booming.
“What we’re faced with is food stamps and Medicaid applications taking longer to process than in years past,” Walker said.
Cloward and Piven anyone?