I could be wrong, but the fact that a refugee is going to tell you his success “story” at a roundtable discussion tomorrow night sure looks suspicious to me. Why bother with a propaganda event if they aren’t getting Laconia primed for a new resettlement site?
Here is the news at the Laconia Daily Sun:
LACONIA — As present global conflicts are forcing millions of individuals to flee their home countries, nations around the world are opening their borders to refugees in need of a place to resettle. Recognizing that Laconia has been one of the cities in New Hampshire welcoming refugees for the past 20 years, the Laconia Human Relations Committee is hosting an educational refugee resettlement roundtable forum in Laconia which will allow community members to better understand the process of resettlement in the region.
The forum will be held on Monday, July 18, at 6:30 p.m., at the Woodside Building at the Taylor Community. The forum aims to educate citizens on why refugee resettlement occurs and the process individuals must go through to get refuge in the United States. Carol Pierce, director of the Laconia Human Relations Committee, will facilitate a conversation with local refugees who have first hand accounts of how the process works in our region.
[….]
Stories like Ragassa’s will be shared at the roundtable forum, specifically discussing what challenges refugees had when they came to the United States and how they overcame them, as well as an informational presentation explaining the difference between immigrants and refugees. The forum is free and open to the public, but reservations are requested by calling 524-5600.
What the heck? Laconia has been welcoming refugees for 20 years we are told. Well, I’ve been following the refugee program and Laconia has not been a resettlement site. I didn’t go back 20 years, but I did go back into the data for the last nearly 8 years and other than 35 Bhutanese resettled there in 2009 and 2010, Laconia has not been a target site.
This ‘forum’ sounds to me like Laconia is in their crosshairs next!
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