A reader recently commented that the new International Rescue Committee office was being silent on how many refugees they were getting. It is easy enough to check at Wrapsnet.org.
For new readers, see our archive on the huge (and still on-going) controversy about the office that is now resettling third worlders from Africa and the Middle East in Montana, in Missoula to be exact.
Montana had resettled a handful of refugees years ago, but up until last year the state (alone with only Wyoming) did not have a program.
Here is a screenshot of the ethnicity and numbers placed in the city that we are told has a shortage of low-income housing. These are only resettled refugees, not secondary migrants or others who entered the US illegally or through different legal programs.
(The data below is for FY2016 and the first 2 months of FY2017, up until Dec. 1, 2016. Fiscal years run from Oct. 1 of the previous year to September 30th of the present year.)
By the way, all three ethnic groups arriving in Montana have a certain percentage of Muslims in their group. See here. But, only the IRC (and its local volunteers) and the US State Dept. know if the refugees sent to Montana are Muslims (they could all be Christians or other religious minorities).
Day: December 11, 2016
RRW weekly round-up for week ending December 2, 2016
A couple of things before I give you the top three most-read posts of the week:
If you subscribe to RRW, are you getting your e-mail notices in a timely fashion? That would be usually within minutes of my posting. Of course you don’t know exactly when I posted, but if you get an e-mail and see that I actually posted that news the day before, then something is wrong.
For example this post I wrote entitled: ‘Comment worth noting: We aid and abet ISIS when we don’t tell the truth about Islam‘ arrived in my e-mail inbox a day after I posted it. As I have said before, I don’t control those e-mails to subscribers, wordpress does. The fact that it was sent out a day late made me wonder if someone somewhere is screening certain topics. It could even be my e-mail server. So, just wondering if you are seeing that either with RRW or some other blog not in favor with the PC police.
And, another word about comments. I do screen them so please don’t get carried away. I know you are ticked-off, but you can be angry without threats or foul language. Also, I wouldn’t recommend signing your comments with your full name and town because who knows who is reading RRW. So, if you’ve wondered about the fact that you did use your name and town (and sometimes phone #) and it doesn’t appear, I have taken the liberty of removing it!
Fake news alert! Someone wrote to me in the last week and I am sure it was an attempt to get me to fall for fake news. I am planning to write about it if I get a few extra minutes. He/she was pretty humorously ham-handed. So, do keep an eye out for Lefties/Open borders types attempting to lure you in to a trap (some are pretty unhinged since Trump won the presidential election) especially if you are blogging yourself.
Excused absence! I have jury duty starting tomorrow. Not sure yet how much of my time that will be eating up, but alas it is our duty. I don’t expect to be chosen to actually sit on a jury, but I do have to report for the next month.
Here then are the Top Three Posts of last week (daily top posts are in the right hand side bar):
First two months of FY2017, Somali ‘refugees’ entering US at highest rate ever!
At least four (more!) reasons SC Governor Nikki Haley as UN Ambassador makes me nervous
Ohio Somali slasher family’s lawyer says family scared by Trump
For new readers, go to this October roundup and scroll down for instructions. In addition to twitter (@refugeewatcher), RRW does have a facebook page, here.
And, as always, thanks so much for your donations. It isn’t necessary, but appreciated as a vote of confidence for my work.
Was Nebraska student diagnosed with TB in November a refugee?
That is what we would like to know! Michael Patrick Leahy of Breitbart is on the case. I know most of you are reading Breitbart (right!), but I wanted to be sure we get this latest Tuberculosis news posted to keep our ‘Health Issues’ category up to date.
Also, before you read what Leahy says about this Nebraska case, see our recent post on Nebraska here (3 days ago).
Leahy at Breitbart:
A student enrolled at Benson Magnet High School, one of seven high schools in the Omaha, Nebraska Public Schools system, was diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB) in November.
Two hundred thirty seven of Benson Magnet High School’s 1,273 students, or 18.6 percent, are refugees, according to Omaha Public School’s District English Language Learner/Refugee Report, 2015-16.
Officials with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the Douglas County Public Health Department are withholding whether the student was foreign-born or American-born.
A number of Omaha’s refugee students were born in countries burdened by TB; Myanmar/Burma (617), Nepal (186), Somalia (140), and Bhutan (84).
As Breitbart News reported previously, foreign-born residents of Nebraska accounted for 82 percent of all cases of TB diagnosed in the state in 2014, much higher than the national average of 66 percent….
Continue reading here. The article is full of links to important related news.
I’m wondering if the problems with the US Refugee Admissions Program will hit home once families in resettlement towns and cities find that their kids have to be tested for TB!
And, I’ve wondered for a long time if volunteers who work with refugees are given instructions on how to stay safe and keep their families safe when interfacing with newly arrived refugees. Does anyone know? (For new readers: Yes we admit refugees with TB.)
Our ‘Health Issues’ category (320 previous posts!) is here.
Honeymoon over in Canada for many of Trudeau's 35,000! Syrian refugees who can't find work
This time last year Canada began ‘welcoming’ thousands of Syrian refugees who were flying in by the planeload as the young new Prime Minister had promised when he was elected weeks before. As a result, Justin Trudeau became the darling of the world’s humanitarians who were clamoring for America to do the same!
Now, one year on, my alerts today are filled with stories like these—panic sets in as one year of government support ends and Syrians can’t find jobs to support their families!
From The Star:
Bedrettin Al Muhamad and his wife, Mariam [featured family—ed] have been taking English classes and making every effort to immerse themselves in Canadian culture since arriving here from Turkey in February.
[….]
But the honeymoon will soon be over, as the Mississauga couple ponders quitting their English classes and starting to look for jobs to support their five children, Hanan, 13; Hasan, 11; Azzam, 9; Mohammad, 8; and Rahaf, 6.
“We are scared we are not going to find jobs. It’s a cause of stress. How are we going to pay for our ($1,735) rent when money stops coming in?” asked Al Muhamad, 37, whose family’s monthly government refugee resettlement assistance ends on Feb. 12.
[….]
For many of the 35,000 Syrians who have arrived in the country — 15,000 in Ontario — since Canada started bringing in planeloads of newcomers last Dec. 9, what is commonly known in the refugee resettlement circle as “Month 13” is looming.
After a year of being warmly welcomed into local communities across the country, the 12-month financial commitment to these refugees by Ottawa and private sponsorship groups will start to come to an end.
And, here is another story (with another featured family) from The Guardian:
Canada had previously granted asylum to a small number of Syrian refugees. But one year ago this week, 163 Syrian refugees were greeted at the airport by Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, in scenes that contrasted sharply with the hostile rhetoric emanating from some US politicians, including then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Thousands more refugees would arrive in Canada the following months, supported either by the federal government or by private citizens who committed to covering their expenses for their first year in Canada.
[….]
But the one-year mark means an end to the monthly living allowance from the government that has, along with food banks and donations, sustained their new lives. From February onwards, the family must either support themselves – a seemingly monumental task considering the parents’ search for jobs have so far been fruitless – or enroll in the province’s social assistance program, in which they would likely receive less of an allowance than what they’re currently receiving.
“All the Syrians say the same thing, we’re worried about what happens after one year. We don’t know. With no stipend, how are we going to live?” Alsakni said through a translator. “It’s like we’re blindfolded. We don’t know what is coming. [This is the mother in the family speaking, she is the only adult in the family to begin to learn English, but she still needs a translator!—ed]
There are many more stories like this in my alerts today.
It is a good thing we have Germany and Canada as models for what NOT to do about Syrian refugees!
For our complete Canada category, go here.