Tag: World Relief

Breaking News: Spartanburg, South Carolina targeted to be colonized as next refugee ‘seed’ community

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update July 13: Spartanburg citizens formalize ‘Pocket of Resistance,’ here.

Update June 6:  A Spartanburg resident answers the “compassion” argument, here.

Update June 5:  US State Department ignores Gowdy, sends first refugees to Spartanburg, here.

Update June 4:  More on the latest State Dept. response to Rep.Trey Gowdy, here.

Update June 3:  Rep. Trey Gowdy gets response to 2nd set of questions to US State Department, here.

Update June 1:  Jeb Bush meets with Jason Lee and other leftwing evangelicals, here.

Update May 26th:  Spartanburg has it all, here.

Update May 20th: Spartanburg County Council obviously afraid to take a role in the controversy, here.

Update May 5th:  Rep. Gowdy gets response from Kerry but wants more information, here.

Update April 19th:  Local and state elected officials want answers, here.

Update April 17th: More media pick up the story, here.

Update April 14th:  Rep. Trey Gowdy needs to help other towns, hold hearings, here.  World Relief admits they get “push back” in some towns, here.

Update April 13th:  Rep. Trey Gowdy, who represents the district, wants answers from Sec. of State John Kerry, here.

Update April 1st: If folks in Spartanburg have any doubts about how little control they will have once this office is established, see Concord, NH—no say in how many refugees come! Here!

Update March 31st:  Spartanburg citizens want impact statement and public meeting on refugee plan for the city, here.

Update March 23rd: Spartanburg residents, please note that mid-western towns are having difficulty coping with large numbers of refugees, here.

Update March 21st:  Folks in Spartanburg, where Syrians may be resettled, need to read about Indianapolis where the resettlement contractor admits the numbers will start small, but will grow!

Update March 19th:  See ‘Comment worth noting: Since Spartanburg is my home,’ here.

Update March 17th:  Everyone concerned about Spartanburg, must read about Worcester, Mass. here.

Update March 11th:  This post has received the highest number of visitors we have ever had to a post in just a couple of days.  I realized this morning that we needed a primer of sorts on what your town should do if the federal government is planning to “plant” refugees where you live.  See our Ten things you need to know and what you can do, here. ***Update*** Don’t believe me, check out what is happening in Manchester, NH, here.

Update March 10th:  This post went through the roof yesterday, thanks to all who sent it around.  However, one reader pointed out that I failed to make it clear that refugees are one class of immigrant which can tap into most forms of welfare without being US citizens.  That is why the Obama Administration is working overtime to expand the definition of ‘refugee’ so as to make our welfare system more accessible to the newly amnestied aliens.

Update! Please all of you South Carolinians forgive me for initially putting an ‘s’ in the middle of Spartanburg in my first post!  And, secondly, I was just informed that some parts of the Spartanburg area are represented by Rep. Trey Gowdy.  All readers should know that Gowdy is the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security that has jurisdiction over the Refugee Resettlement program and should know the threat this resettlement poses for his district!

Editors note:  In my previous post I said our next two posts would be about how far along the Obama Task Force on New Americans “integration” (aka seeding) plan is in a couple of cities that are overloaded with refugees, however, reader Robin spotted this news which is more pressing at the moment!  Spartanburg beware!  South Carolina beware!

Over the years, we have noticed that South Carolina has pretty much stayed out of the top tier of states where refugee seedlings are being planted.  Looks like those days are over as it was announced that World Relief (Evangelicals) one of the TOP NINE federal resettlement contractors is about to open an office there!

They must be having refugee overload problems in North Carolina!

World Relief, like the other eight contractors*** are all Progressive advocacy groups, six of them represent the ‘religious Left.’

Demand answers!

Anyone in Spartanburg who is concerned about this news, must speak up now!  You might want to look at how Athens, Georgia has so far been holding them at bay by asking the federal government and the contractor for a plan—who pays for this, where will the refugees work, is our school system ready for myriad languages and illiterate children, will our health department be overburdened, do we have enough public housing for our own low-income people, how about our police force, is it ready?  Those are the sorts of questions any sensible local government should be asking!  Tell the Mayor to ask questions!

For more question ideas, see our fact sheet.

Additionally, ask World Relief if the flow can be stopped once started if the town can’t afford it anymore?  Or if there is social disruption? I’ll tell you the answer now—NO!

The truth is that the UN/US State Department is running out of “welcoming” towns and cities, so they are constantly on the move to find new towns in which to “plant” refugees.  “Pockets of Resistance” are forming in overloaded communities.

From GroupState.com.   They say they will resettle 65 refugees from Syria, DR Congo, and Bhutan.  Why not Muslim Iraqis and Somalis too?  Of course they will be in the mix because the UN is picking our refugees!  A city doesn’t get to choose the nationality of the refugees that will be dropped off!

Here is the story Robin sent:

Spartanburg will soon be home to dozens of people fleeing persecution in their homelands.

Refugees may begin arriving here as early as spring through a refugee resettlement ministry.

Lee, the new director of the World Relief subcontractor, worked with Somalis in Kentucky. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonalee

World Relief is establishing an office in Spartanburg. “In community with the local church, World Relief envisions the most vulnerable people transformed economically, socially, and spiritually,” according to the faith-based organization’s website.

Jason Lee has been named executive director of the Spartanburg office. He said 65 refugees are expected to move here this year.

Lee served more than five years as pastor of Oak Grove Baptist Church. He’s also ministered to Somali refugees in Kentucky and is a leader with Come Closer Spartanburg.

Come Closer Spartanburg [they come up with such warm and fuzzy names for themselves!–ed] is a partnership of faith leaders, Christians and business leaders with a mission to “to unite God’s people for the purpose of loving our city to Christ.” One need identified is serving residents born outside the United States.

[What!  Has Spartanburg helped all of its own American poor people and it now needs to import more?—ed]

World Relief works with federal agencies to offer resettlement, placement and various services to refugees. According to the organization’s figures, it has resettled more than 250,000 refugees from more than 80 countries in the past 35 years.

Lee said it’s unknown what nations the refugees who will resettle in Spartanburg are from — Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo or Bhutan are possibilities.

Read it all, there is a lot of useful information in it.

Urgent!  Help save Spartanburg! I don’t normally ask, but please send this story around, especially to people you know in South Carolina!  Clearly they have no idea of what they are in for!

*** The federal resettlement contractors (almost completely funded by US taxpayers) looking for new resettlement sites:

Minnesota refugee resettlement contractor: 77,000 Somalis in the state right now!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Big question is:  Do these Christian resettlement contractors ever demand to resettle the persecuted Christians/religious minorities being persecuted around the world?

Arrive Ministries (formerly World Relief of Minnesota) one of three agencies responsible for the large population of Somalis in the State (see 10,000 resettled there in last 10 years, here) reports that the State has approximately 77,000 now.

Robert Oehrig, Executive Director of Arrive Ministries.

See one of our top posts of all time—Why so many Somalis in Minneapolis?  They were resettled there because of the generous welfare Minnesota offered!

Arrive Ministries (“a Christian non-profit organization dedicated to the cause of the refugee and immigrant”) also tells us that Somalis believe their troubles in Somalia began because they weren’t following Allah correctly, now they are having a “revival of religious observance” in Minnesota (scary thought!).

From Arrive Ministries (hat tip: Deb):

From that time [the time of clan violence and civil war in Somalia—ed] to the present, Somalis have fled the country and many have lived in refugee camps in Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania. Many Somalis were resettled in Europe, Canada, and the U.S. Currently, Minnesota has the largest number of Somali’s in the U.S, estimated to be around 77,000 or more. Why here? Somalis originally came to Minnesota because of the good economy and low unemployment. More recently they have come because there is a recognized community here — Somali shops, businesses and restaurants.

No discussion of the Somali people would be complete without discussing their religion, which is Islam. To be a Somali, is to be Muslim. With the war and displacement, many Somali’s have seen their difficulties as a judgment of God (Allah), for not correctly practicing their religion. In response to this, there has been a revival of religious observance.

According to a recent Form 990 for Arrive Ministries, the organization received $1.5 million (rounded number) with $1.1 million coming from government grants (from taxpayers) as a subcontractor to one of the top nine federal resettlement contractors, World Relief (Evangelicals).

Why can’t they see what they are doing?

About the photo, and a question for Bob:   The photo is from his facebook page (unless there is another Bob connected to Arrive Ministries!) where just a few weeks ago he said this:

I stand with my Christian brothers and sisters and all Shias, Yazidis and all peace loving people who find ISIL and militant Islam abhorant.

And this:

The truth of the matters is that the Islamic State is Islamic. Extremely Islamic with the aim to usher in the apocalypse. As is pointed out in this well written article, ISIS has revived traditions and practices that have been dormant for centuries including crucifixions and beheadings which are viewed as sacred requirements and a prelude to the culmination of the last battle and the coming of Messiah. [followed by this article—What ISIS really wants.]

Why can’t Bob see what he and others are doing to Minnesota with the resettlement of tens of thousands of Somalis who are “reviving” their Islamic religion with some returning to Africa and the Middle East to join ISIS and Al-Shabaab.

Talk is cheap!  It is easy to talk about the evils of ISIS, but do these ‘Christian’ organizations ever stand up and say to the UN/US State Department, please bring us only persecuted Christians, Jews and other minorities?  Or is it all about $$$?  (They won’t get any refugees/tax payer money if they don’t take Muslims.)

World Relief: Spokane, Washington on the list to get Syrians in the new fiscal year

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

The new year for the next batch of 100,000 (maybe 200,000 this year counting the Unaccompanied alien children) refugees, asylees, and assorted others the  US State Department and Office of Refugee Resettlement and their nine contractors*** “welcome” to America begins in 6 days.

Mark Kadel, Director of World Relief, Spokane, WA: “…we’ve already been assured that we’ll receive a number of Syrians.” Photo: http://truthatlas.com/mark-kadel-director-of-world-relief-spokane-wa/

Here is a story from Spokane where World Relief (Evangelicals) reports on a new family of Iraqis coming from Syria.

From KXLY.com:

SPOKANE, Wash. –

With the situation in Syria continuing to spiral out of control, between the threat of ISIS and an ongoing civil war, a family originally from Iraq and took refuge in Damascus will arrive in Spokane night.

The State Department reports half of Syria’s population has fled their homes because of the crisis, with thousands of people pouring over the Turkish border seeking refuge each day.

In addition to the Iraqi family arriving from Syria, World Relief Spokane says a Syrian family will be coming in the next couple months with many more to follow.

[….]

World Relief is one of nine organizations contracted by the State Department to resettle refugees that are legally invited to be part of the country. The Spokane office takes anywhere from 500 to 600 refugees a year.

[….]

The State Department estimates that 1,800 people will come to the U.S. from Syria in 2015, with some of them moving to the Inland Northwest.

We have learned that the US will be getting Syrian numbers on par with the numbers we have taken from Iraq (that would be close to 20,000 a year!), here, so when they say 1,800 above, I’m guessing someone left out a zero.

So far we have had reports that Syrians will go to North Carolina and Ohio.  Add Washington State.

The federal migrant resettlement contractors which we have followed for years:

More on those Syrian refugees going to North Carolina

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update:  First Syrian family to arrive in Greensboro living in hotel, here.

This is follow-up story to our post of a few days ago where we learned that Syrians are arriving in the Triad area of North Carolina.  Resettlement contractor World Relief/Evangelicals expects 30-100 this next year (the fiscal year begins October 1).

The Triad area of North Carolina—a major resettlement site.

Our top post for the last six days is this one about the State Department spokesperson’s comment that thousands of Syrians had been selected by the UN for resettlement to the US.  The largest percentage will be Sunni Muslims.

Refugees are not self-sufficient in 90 days as World Relief says below, but have been connected to “services.”  See our fact sheet for the list of social services (aka welfare) available to refugees.  They will be deemed self-sufficient even as they remain on most forms of welfare.

From the Winston-Salem Journal:

Organizations such as World Relief and Church World Service work with the U.S. State Department to resettle refugees from around the world.  [Both “church” organizations are actually federal contractors.–ed]

Timbie said World Relief High Point typically resettles 400 to 450 refugees in the High Point and Winston-Salem area each year. He expects to assist anywhere from 30 to 100 refugees from Syria in the next year.

The government provides money to help these families make it through their first few months in the United States. World Relief employees provide job skill and language training and help the refugees find jobs with local companies and connect to services.

“Our job is to make them self-sufficient within 90 days,” Timbie said.

That does not mean that they are on their own, Timbie said. It just means they are not relying on that upfront money.

Greensboro, NC: First Syrian refugees on the way there this week

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Our post of late last week where we reported that the US State Department is saying that thousands of Syrian refugees have been chosen by the UN to be resettled to your towns and cities went through the roof with thousands and thousands of readers passing it around.

They are probably flowing into other small cities as well, but the Triad offices of contractors Church World Service and World Relief-Evangelicals (two of the big nine!) seem especially adept at getting news stories planted. (Just last month see World Relief here and Church World Service in North Carolina, here.)

By the way, back in 2010 there was a huge controversy in this part of North Carolina about too many refugees with lousy care.  We wrote a three part story about the problem, which begins with this post. Local churches asked that the flow be slowed.  LOL! the series showed what a dog-eat-dog-world the world of federal refugee contracting can be!

From the Winston-Salem Journal:

GREENSBORO — The first in the current wave of Syrian refugees will arrive in the Triad this week, representatives with the organizations helping to resettle them said Friday.

Sarah Ivory, Church World Service director in the Triad, says they are working with the local Islamic Center. Photo: http://cwsgreensboro.org/2012/03/05/40under40/

A Syrian family of seven will arrive on Tuesday and will settle in Greensboro, said Sarah Ivory, the director of refugee and immigration services with Church World Service in Greensboro. The family includes five children, the youngest just 5 months old, Ivory said. The oldest is 10 years old.

Andrew Timbie, the office director for World Relief’s High Point office, said his organization is helping to resettle a family in Winston-Salem. That family also will arrive next week, although he would not provide the exact date.

“This is the first of many that we anticipate,” Timbie said of Syrian refugees.

Church World Service and World Relief work with the U.S. State Department and the United Nations to resettle refugees.

Ivory said the family coming to Greensboro is currently living in Jordan. Timbie said on Friday that he did not have a lot of background information about the family his office is assisting.

The organizations receive government money to help give refugee families fresh starts, but the goal is to help the families become self-sufficient, with the help of other community agencies.  [At least they are admitting they do it with government money, something we never saw reported in the early years of writing RRW.—ed]

[….]

Ivory said Church World Service is working with the Islamic Center of Greensboro, the Greensboro Jewish Federation and the local Syrian-American community to provide other resources to the family, such as hot meals upon arrival, clothing and diapers.