Honestly, I don’t want to re-name this blog Somali Refugee Watch but every day, every few hours! I get another story about some Somali problem somewhere in the US. This one, from a reader in Kansas, draws us to a little publicized issue involving Somalis—they are tribal, and they are now bringing their clan squabbles to your town.
How would you like to take the kids to the park on Saturday morning in middle America and find Somali clans squabbling in the park?
Sure looks like that is happening in Garden City, KS. If you ever wondered why Somalis can’t govern themselves in Africa, this story from the Garden City Telegram will give you a hint!
Holding signs of protest and discussing leadership in Garden City, a group of Somalis on Saturday called for the closing of the center of Somalis of Southwest Kansas, saying the leaders cater only to certain groups and tribes of Somali people.
About 40 Somalis rallied Saturday in Stevens Park in downtown Garden City.
Organizers of the protest, Said Yousuf and Faysal Ahmed, said they felt some Somalis are welcome at the center, some are not. They said the problem is dividing the people. Ahmed said the reason for the divide is that the center isn’t welcoming those in certain tribes. The men don’t want to have to deal with that treatment because it’s what they escaped from in conflict-torn Somalia.
One group of protesters wants the present “community” center closed and a new one created.
In order for all Somalis to be welcome at a community center, Ahmed and Yousuf called for the closing of the center organized by the Somalis of Southwest Kansas. They said it would be impossible to have an inclusive center without closing the current one.
I’ve written about these Ethnic Community Based Organizations (ECBOs)* on many previous occasions, I even wrote about this one in Garden City previously, here. The federal government—the Office or Refugee Resettlement—is encouraging, with grant money, the growth of these litte ACORN-like ethnic groups. It is part of the Far Left’s community organizing model.
In my view ECBOs create ethnic tension in cities when they selectively help THEIR PEOPLE get government goodies. In this case the Somalis have taken the tension one step further by suggesting this likely taxpayer-funded group helps one clan over another.
Look at what the wimps at the “cultural relations board” have to say—we will help dialog, but we can’t judge who is right and wrong. Of course not—we can’t judge other cultures, and we all know that diversity is beautiful afterall.
“The city and its cultural relations board are aware of the disagreement in the Somali community. We have talked with those who are disgruntled with Somali community leaders. Their issues are interpersonal and not related to local governmental functions. Nonetheless, we are interested in helping the two groups resolve their problems. We have expressed to both sides our willingness to convene a meeting to improve the dialog. It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to identify who’s wrong or who’s right in this private matter. And even if it was, we don’t know enough about it to render that kind of opinion.”
Here is an idea—take away ALL PUBLIC FUNDING for groups like these. Tell them this is America and they can form all the private groups their hearts desire, and they can work out their conflicts within the confines of the law and the US Constitution and they needn’t draw in the wusses at the “cultural relations board” to mediate.
* See our whole category on ECBOs, here.