If you are in the Nashville area next Saturday (October 24th), maybe you would like to check it out.
World Relief (Evangelicals), one of the major federal resettlement contractors, is working in the Wilson-Fish state*** of Tennessee. According to their website, since 1987 they have seeded Nashville with diversity:
We have directly resettled refugees from various war torn areas including the following ethnic backgrounds: Afghani, Bhutanese, Bosnian, Burmese, Burundi, Chin, Colombian, Congolese, Cuban, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Iranian, Iraqi, Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Kurdish, Laotian, Pakistani, Palestinian, Somali, Sudanese, Vietnamese, and Ukrainian.
Now they are clearly getting ready to begin the Syrian settlement in Nashville starting with a tour of the Islamic Center of Nashville (so they can get your minds right?).
Go here for the invite:
We’ll meet in the parking lot behind the Islamic Center of Nashville before heading in for a tour of the mosque and a Q&A presentation. This is a great time to ask any honest, but respectful, questions you may have about the Islamic faith and Muslim culture. [LOL! What is a dishonest question?—ed]
We will then enjoy an Indian lunch buffet ($9.95) at Sitar (116 21st Avenue North). During this time, you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about World Relief and the refugee community in Nashville. [Then they are off to a temple—ed]
We have been following the plight of Nashville for years and have an entire category devoted to news from there. Go here to learn more about how Catholic Charities, which runs the resettlement program in TN (working with other contractors like World Relief), has brought huge demographic change to the buckle of the Bible belt.
***If you live in one of 12 Wilson-Fish states you need to start learning more about what that means for you. Although elected officials at the state and local level in all states have little say about the administration of the program in the state, in Wilson-Fish states the resettlement of third worlders is run exclusively with a contractor and the federal government. After reading our Wilson-Fish post, go here and learn more.
Wilson-Fish states: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee and Vermont.