Category: Iraqi refugees

Lobbying campaign on Iraqi displaced persons underway

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is going to have to be a quick mention of a very important issue, but no time today to do it justice.  Since the campaign was launched yesterday, I couldn’t let too much time pass before telling you about it.

Here is the appeal from Human Rights First.  The goal here is to get a so-called “grassroots” movement going to pressure Congress and the Administration to bring more Iraqi refugees.

On April 14-16, Human Rights First and more than 20 other U.S.-based NGOs – and activists like you – will travel to Washington to educate and persuade members of Congress to take the Iraqi refugee crisis seriously, and to make it a part of any future plan for Iraq and the region. The Iraq Action Days kick off with an all-day Iraq Policy Forum* featuring a keynote speech by the Iraqi ambassador to the United States, followed by advocacy training and Congressional visits. Our own Amelia Templeton will cond uct some of the advocacy training.

This is a great opportunity to broadcast a powerful message on behalf of the more than four million Iraqis who have fled their homes. That’s one out of every seven Iraqis – people who are now struggling to find food, shelter and medical care, unable or afraid to return to their homes.

* Check out the speakers at the Forum here.

And here are the NGO’s involved.

This is all part of the lobbying and PR campaign that began with the meeting of bigwigs earlier in the month, and includes the introduction of the Kennedy/Biden/McCain bill I wrote about yesterday.

All ties in to Judy’s excellent report on Laurence Jarvik’s paper on NGO’s and the role they play.

More later…….

Senator Joe Biden is such a hypocrite

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is the big lobbying week (I’ll get to that later) when NGO’s like Human Rights First ramp up their pressure on Congress and the Administration to do more to resolve what they call the “humanitarian” crisis involving Iraqis who have been displaced from their homes by the sectarian violence in Iraq. 

Last year Senator Ted (bring them to Hyannisport) Kennedy managed to pass legislation in the dark of night (attaching it to the Defense Authorization bill) that increased the number of special immigrant visas for Iraqis who might have helped America in the war (by the way, no mention of the truly persecuted Christians).   After some late night debate, but no hearings, the number was set at 5000 and the bill became law at the end of January.  Not satisfied, Kennedy and Senator Biden aided by others including Senator (open wide our gates) McCain, are about to, or have just in the last few days, introduced another bill to bring more sooner.

Senators Kennedy, Lugar, Biden and others will introduce a bipartisan bill providing additional authority for continued processing of special immigrant visas for qualified Iraqi and Afghan translators who worked for the U.S. military and U.S. government. The National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008, enacted January 28, 2008, created 5,000 new special immigrant visas for Iraqis whose lives are at risk because of their service to the U.S. government. These special visas are not available until FY 2009. Senator Kennedy’s bipartisan bill would make the visas available immediately to qualified Iraqis who worked for the U.S. military and the U.S. government. Iraqi translators and interpreters who placed their lives, families, and livelihoods at risk to serve on the side of America are eligible for these special visas. Others cosponsors include Senators Leahy, Specter, Levin, Cornyn, Obama, Lieberman, McCain, Durbin, Sununu, Cardin, Smith, Hagel and Coleman.

By the way, did you ever notice how they always put this translator stuff in these pitches.   Some of those are the “refugees” Homeland Security is most concerned about and Denmark discovered that the hard way.

I don’t know where McCain’s head is on this because this whole effort smacks of whacking the Bush Administration over the war and McCain continues to be a strong supporter of the war.    This large public relations campaign on refugees is meant to damage Republicans.    If McCain were smart instead of  signing on to this initiative to bring Iraqi Mulsims here (to live in ghettos and clean motels)  he should be promoting a sort of Marshall plan for Iraq.   Here is another post on unhappy Iraqis in Arizona no less.

There is also a report attached to this article that you need to read.  I quickly searched it to see if it said anything about a rebuilding effort in Iraq and I didn’t see a mention.

Now to Senator Joe Biden!   Just as Senator Ted isn’t going to be resettling any refugees of any sort to Hyannisport, Senator Joe (any place but Delaware) Biden is a hypocrite.    He is one of the few originators of the Refugee Act of 1980 (along with chief sponsor Kennedy) still in the Senate, yet his own state of Delaware ranks third from the bottom in the number of refugees resettled there between 1983 and 2005, this while surrounding states Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have each brought tens of thousands of refugees.    Ranking below Delaware are only West Virginia and Wyoming.   

So, Senator Biden is promoting bringing more Iraqis but few if any will come to Delaware.   The politics of this stinks!

The public relations campaign to brainwash the American public gets underway shortly.  More in my next post.

Muslim Ghettos forming in Canadian cities

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This coming week when you hear all the hype building around the Iraqi refugee issue—you know, bring more now!   Or, if the lobbying campaign makes you feel all warm and fuzzy about helping all those Muslims escape persecution (from each other!) in Iraq.   Think about this article from Canada today.

On the corner of Dundas and Chestnut Sts., Ahmed dumps a handful of pennies and quarters on the sidewalk, and begins counting his day’s earnings.

“Asalamu alakum, can you spare some change?” he shyly asks two men as they rush past him and into Masjid Toronto, a downtown mosque.

A former teacher, Ahmed left war-torn Iraq five years ago for Canada. “I came here but couldn’t find a job, couldn’t make money,” he said. “Now I am homeless. I live in a shelter.

——

The scant data available paints a troubling picture of a growing community of nearly 300,000 Muslims, which includes a mix of refugees, recent immigrants, and those who settled in Canada decades ago.

The four poorest of all ethno-racial groups, with more than 50 per cent of their members living below Statistics Canada’s low-income cut-off, were Somalis, Afghans, Ethiopians and Bangladeshi populations – all from predominately Muslim countries.

——

“It’s not about settlement; it’s about systemic barriers in the system. We are receiving well-educated people. They are … engineers and doctors, but they are still doing dishes, or driving cabs.”

How about if instead of bringing educated Iraqis to live in ghettos in the West to clean motels for a living,  we figure out a way to help them rebuild Iraq.   Doesn’t that sound like the more humane thing to do?  But, of course, then the volags won’t get the clients they need to stay in business and someone will have to admit that maybe Iraq will be O.K. someday. 

Trials and tribulations of refugees in Arizona

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is a lengthy but worthwhile article published today in the Tucson Citizen.  It’s mostly about Iraqi and Afghan refugees who have been resettled recently.  Some are doing well, others are unhappy.  Representatives of the refugee agencies involved try to put a good spin on the whole thing.

Check out the comments because for the most part, those commenting are not happy about the whole resettlement issue. 

This is the link http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/81733.php

Last day to sign up to lobby for more Iraqi refugees to come to the US

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Advocacy groups are gearing up for a big push to pressure Congress and the Administration to bring more Iraqi refugees to the US.    Another bigwig pow-wow (see first bigwig pow-wow here) is set for April 14th in Washington where speakers will be priming the audience to hit Congress with a two day lobbying campaign. 

It’s spring in Washington, DC, the cherry blossoms are in bloom and IRAQ ACTION DAYS are fast approaching. It’s the perfect time to plan a trip to our Nation’s Capitol. Already, more than sixty EPIC supporters and friends from around the country have signed up to join us this April 14-16.

I’ll tell you more about this effort when I get some time over the weekend, but I wanted to be sure to get this information to you since today is the last day to register if you would like to attend.

Just a little personal note:  Rep. John Dingell is a keynote speaker.  I had an occasion many years ago (30 years ago) to meet  him over a political issue in Washington and I found him to be a blowhard and a tyrant.  Now, I guess he must be a pro-Muslim immigration cranky old blowhard and tyrant.