Here is another story on the Springfield dust-up with the US State Department from earlier this past week. (Hat tip: Joanne)
We have heard all of this before, but it’s important to continue to build our archive of problems from coast to coast because after a short time some of these local stories disappear and we don’t want that to happen.
Here is one good thing that all readers should keep in mind about this story—getting publicity outside of the blogospere is an important goal. Normally the mainstream media treats the whole refugee issue with kid-gloves, and silly stories about refugees seeing their first snow abound! So, please help keep this controversy going! For example, if your local paper publishes a story about refugees in your town, send in a comment with a link to the Springfield story. It will help give backbone to your politicians.
The bad thing about this Springfield case is that the media (with the volags input of course) is directing this story to a conclusion that the contractors need more taxpayer cash, when instead the conclusion should be—if we can’t afford the refugees, stop bringing them!
From The Republican which begins in the time-worn way of showing us a struggling refugee (who loves America anyway). Do reporters learn that in J-school (in Shaping the News 101)?
Photo by Stephanie Barry
So where is her husband??? (Two little ones and it sure looks like she is pregnant, although she does say she is eating well.) And why are we taking Muslim refugees from Muslim Turkey??? If she got to Turkey she was safe!***
(What the heck! Go here and see that we have brought over 3,000 “refugees” from a modern ‘European’ country—Turkey—this year alone! )
The latest from Springfield:
SPRINGFIELD — From a refugee camp in a war-torn area of Africa, to a stopover in Turkey to an apartment building near downtown Springfield, 21-year-old Hiboxasan Iyai found the challenges of her birthright were not yet over.
Among hundreds of Somali Bantu refugees resettled here since 2003, Iyai – a mother of a 3- and 1-year-old, has been struggling to feed and clothe her children since she arrived two months ago – she said during an interview hobbled by communication barriers.
With her limited English, Iyai attempted to sum up her plight through what amounted to an elaborate game of charades and about a dozen words of English. [Of course this means she isn’t going to be working for a living anytime soon!—-ed]
She has only been here two months, the building had code violations previously, so why did the Lutherans put her here?
America good,” she said with a broad smile, standing in the hallway of her apartment at 400 Franklin St, a triple-decker home that houses three families of Somali refugees run by a landlord based out of Meriden, Conn.
The property was one of several cited by the city for deplorable, “uninhabitable” living conditions earlier this year – primarily because mice and rats had infested the building so pervasively they were nibbling on a disabled child’s feeding tube on the third floor, according to city records linked to the house.
However, the owner, a member of MEG Realty LLC out of Connecticut (who would only give his first name, Eric) said he bought the vacant apartment building two years ago, gutted it, and rebuilt it with new windows, doors and appliances.
“It’s not my fault. It’s the tenants’ fault,” he said during a telephone interview on Thursday. “If they don’t keep the place clean and leave food out, it’s going to bring mice and rats.
Cash support for 90 days which gives them time to get signed up for a whole array of social services. Remember Senator Rand Paul got sneered at when he said they ‘bring ’em in and sign ’em up’ for welfare.
According to the state Office of Refugees and Immigrants, refugees receive cash assistance, “basic needs support reception” and placement services, funded through the U.S. State Department. For the first 30 days after arrival, host agencies provide assistance with housing, furnishings, food, clothing and transportation to job interviews. During the first 90 days, host agencies also provide help with applying for Social Security cards, registering children for school and tutelage on using public transportation and other public services. They also receive temporary medical coverage.
Sarno and Cotter suggested certain refugees, including many Somalis, appear to need far more support than the resettlement agencies provide and for far longer than 90 days. [That is where the Lutherans should bring in their private Christian charity, right!—ed]
Lutherans: We want them to be free! That’s why we bring them to America (give me a break!).
Jozefina Lantz, director for services for New Americans for Lutheran Social Services, said the local agencies prepare “very responsibly” in resettling refugees and providing support services.
There is a federal timeline for providing support, “but that is too short and we certainly serve refugees past that timeline.”
“If the refugee family runs into issues [a] year down the road they certainly know where to come and we will always help and always have,” Lantz said. “But let’s say three years down the road — that is not something we would follow.
Refugees are resettled to be free. To move freely to live freely. They are not our charge per se. We don’t do that level of control and monitoring.”
Food is good, Lutheran Social Services “not good.”
Iyai seemed to suggest that she was happy in her apartment, but struggled to show a reporter her budgeting challenges. She pulled a slips of paper from her wallet showing a $630 monthly cash allowance against a $540 rent payment and a $150 utility bill.
“Food, good,” she said, referring to her monthly food allowance.
She added that she had been resettled by Lutheran Social Services.
“Not good,” she said, unable to provide more detail in English.
Now the poor Somali girl is in trouble!
***This Turkey reference may be the most interesting thing in the whole story. For 6 years—from sea to shining sea—we have heard all of the sorry facts reported here (Springfield is just one more in a long list of problem cities).
But, I want to know what is this about bringing thousands of “refugees” from, or through, Turkey? If they have reached Turkey they should be safe, at least the Muslims like Iyai should be!
Turkey had resumed regular flights in and out of Mogadishu sometime in the last year, I remember reading that. They aren’t flying in there and picking up refugees to send to the US are they? 3,000 plus Somalis? Or, are they sending their Kurds to us in such large numbers? We know it isn’t the Syrians passing through Turkey (yet!).
Whatever the answer is, it looks like the US State Department is once again doing favors for other countries (we know Obama loves Erdogan). Are the refugees ‘chips’ to be used in a larger political game?
The economic and social price is paid by Springfield (and all the other preferred resettlement cities) which get to pay for the care of the refugees probably for decades. The Obama Administration (Bush too) gets brownie points with the humanitarian crowd. And, the Lutherans get job security, a warm fuzzy feeling, and move on to the next batch of paying clients.