Day: December 22, 2010

Human Rights Watch blasts Saudi Arabia over Somali deportations

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We’ve been reporting (most recently here) about the so-called Muslim charity as demonstrated by wealthy Saudi Arabia as it thumbs its nose at the UN and deports fellow Muslim Somalis to Mogadishu.  At least Human Rights Watch has the guts to stand up to Saudi Arabia, something most world leaders are scared to do.

From AFP:

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia has deported thousands of Somali illegal immigrants including children directly into the war zone of Mogadishu, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday, branding the policy “inhumane.”

HRW said about 2,000 Somalis were believed to have been sent back to Mogadishu in June and July, and it cited press reports as saying another 150 were sent to the war-torn east African coastal city on December 17.

“Deporting anyone to a war zone like Mogadishu is inhumane, but returning children is beyond comprehension,” HRW’s Africa director Rona Peligal said in a statement.

“The Saudi authorities should immediately stop these deportations and ensure that Somalis in Saudi Arabia are not returned to their country.”

Wahhhh! We want more government money!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Look who is talking—federal refugee resettlement contractors who were apparently expecting a windfall in the big pork bill that went down in flames this past week, that’s who.  The so-called Omnibus bill was laden with more money for refugee resettlement.  Lamenting that the 80,000 refugees arriving in the US this year would be strapped for cash —what no unemployment payments for them—not one resettlement contractor ever says maybe we shouldn’t bring so many refugees to your town until the economy improves!

From the Huffington Post:

WASHINGTON — The Senate’s decision last week to fund the government through a continuing resolution instead of an omnibus appropriations bill could have implications for refugees, eliminating an 18.5-percent increase in funding for refugee resettlement programs that would help refugees from Iraq, Burma, and other troubled regions, to settle in the United States.

Programs for refugee resettlement are strapped for funds, particularly as the number of refugees admitted to the U.S. creeps upward. The United States is authorized to admit up to 80,000 refugees for the fiscal year 2011 — only a small fraction of those seeking aid worldwide.

For refugees who are accepted into the United States, the omnibus spending bill would have allowed for better social services and a stronger safety net for those who are taken from war-torn countries and expected to find work in the U.S. within three months.

“It takes longer to find jobs for refugees,” Bob Carey, vice president of International Rescue Fund, told HuffPost. “

They’re particularly vulnerable to unemployment. A lot of the refugees we’re seeing are coming with medical issues. They’ve been tortured or have injuries, or some haven’t had medical treatment because of the war.”

The omnibus bill could have provided these refugees with unemployment aid, job training, and an emergency housing support fund for those behind on rent or utilities payments.

Look who is crying for money! The International Rescue Committee (not Fund) is a $282 million dollar a year organization.  It received $175 million dollars in 2008 from the American taxpayer according to its Form 990 here.

CEO, Charles Rupp made $429,705 in salary and compensation that year.  And, they are crying for more of your money.  Maybe all their 6-figure-salaried employees could give up a little of their dough and help out the refugees they lobby Congress and the White House to bring to America.

And, by the way, the IRC was the resettlement contractor that brought the refugees to Abilene which I just mentioned this morning, here.

A food stamp fraud bust in New Haven, CT

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

It’s not much of a story, but interesting that it’s in Connecticut. We don’t see too many busts in New England.   Also the story doesn’t tell us how much he ripped off the taxpayer for, or whether the money went to his buddies abroad (don’t want to frighten Connecticut liberals I’m guessing), but it must have been a pretty big heist for him to get the possibility of twenty years behind bars.

From the New Haven Register:

NEW HAVEN — The former owner of a Ferry Street market pleaded guilty today to food stamp fraud, federal authorities said in statement.

Talib Jawad Kadhim, 55, of Forbes Place, East Haven, faces up to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on one count of food stamp [fraud] on March 11, the statement said.

Search RRW for ‘food stamp fraud’ and read dozens of posts about this scam where immigrant owners and managers of convenience stores trade cash for food stamps at usually fifty cents on the dollar.

Abilene, Texas: Refugee translator arrested on sexual assault charges

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

In my previous post, I reported on the changing demographics of Texas and now, coincidentally, comes this story about an African refugee translator allegedly preying on those he was hired to help.

From ReporterNews.com:

Abilene police said they believe Aloys Nzeyimana used his role as a translator in the African refugee community in Abilene to hide sexual assault crimes against female refugees by intimidating his victims to stay quiet.

Nzeyimana was arrested Thursday afternoon as he left his job at the Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District where he worked as a translator helping area health officials serve refugees. He had worked as a health department translator since 2005.

Nzeyimana, who was an African refugee and is not an American citizen, was charged Thursday with two counts of sexually assaulting a family member in December 2004, the arrest warrant affidavit filed with the court stated. Police said the victim also was a refugee.

Police asking other victims to come forward

At a Friday news conference at police department offices, Sgt. Lynn Beard urged members of the refugee community, or anyone who knows of a refugee who may be a victim, to contact APD’s criminal investigation department with information about the crime.

Beard said some refugees have great distrust for the government and police because of their interaction with authorities in their home countries in Africa. There, where corruption is a part of everyday life, people have little faith in getting relief from police or any branch of government because they see all governmental agencies as being intertwined and corrupt, he said.

This distrust has hampered the investigation for the past two weeks into sexual assault crimes that police believe Nzeyimana committed over the past half-decade against women in the refugee community in Abilene.

“We believe there are more victims in the African refugee community,” Beard said. “We know there is a lot of fear.”

Beard said some refugees view Nzeyimana as a governmental official and identify him as being an authority figure in the area. Potential victims of any crimes Nzeyimana may have committed may well be reluctant to come forward because of fear the police might retaliate against them, Beard said.

There appears to be no mention in the story about which African nation Nzeyimana came from as a refugee to the US.  However, surely, the International Rescue Committee knows Nzeyimana because associated with this report is a link to the International Rescue Committee’s involvement in Abilene.  Diversity is beautiful, right IRC?

Amarillo, Texas: Census figures show change in demographics

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is probably just one of many stories we will see in the weeks and months ahead reporting on the US Census figures obtained by the U.S. Census Bureau during this past year.

From Amarillo Globe News:

The U.S. Census Bureau has begun revealing the first glimpses of its 2010 count, which is expected to further unveil the changing face of Amarillo.

The nation’s population, which continues to shift to the South and West, hit almost 309 million, the bureau announced Tuesday. Texas’ growth – almost 21 percent to more than 25 million – will net it four more representatives in the U.S. House.

In Amarillo, the population increased from 173,627 in 2000 to 185,743 on April 1, 2010, according to estimates from the census’ American Community Survey released last week.  [Reminder:  we just learned how wrong the American Community Survey was as it relates to Somalis, here.]

I saw another article yesterday ( if I find the link again, I’ll post it) but it suggested that since the growth in population was occurring in traditionally politically conservative areas of the country, that the new House of Representative seats would mostly accrue to conservative states and some would be lost in ‘liberal-leaning’ states.

Immigrants account for a huge portion of population growth

If you are someone concerned about the future quality of life in your communities, open space, uncrowded parks, less houses and schools being built, fewer cars on the road, consider this:

Across the country, about 60 percent of growth in the last decade came from births and 40 percent from immigration, said Robert Groves, director of the Census Bureau.

Go here for a link to Roy Beck’s latest educational video on how immigration impacts US population.

More refugees coming to Amarillo with the help of Catholic Charities

Refugees also add to the city’s changing demographics.

“They’re fleeing persecution,” said Lori Bigham, director of refugee services for Catholic Family Service, an agency that has been helping refugees adapt to life in Amarillo for 30 years. “It’s really a humanitarian effort. Immigrants have a choice.”

The refugees pay for expenses such as medical exams, and they repay loans for travel expenses. [The State Department won’t release the figures on how much of the air fare loans are repaid, a large chunk is never repaid.  Catholic Charities gets to keep a portion of any that is collected, so it doesn’t all return to the US Treasury—ed]

Bigham said she expects about 400 people to arrive in 2011 through the program that operates under the U.S. Department of State.

“Amarillo is also known for secondary migration when someone moves here from somewhere else in the U.S. when their family tells them they can make good money without speaking English at places like Tyson or Swift,” she said.  [meatpackers again!]

“That’s another pipeline, an economic drive. They’re anxious to go to work to provide for their families which they couldn’t do in a refugee camp.”

Refugees currently are coming to Amarillo mostly from places such as Myanmar and Iraq, but also from Iran and various African countries.

See my ‘diversity is beautiful’ in Texas post, here, today too!