There have been 180,000 request by Iraq refugees ...

[butterfly77]

to come america. Michigan is accepting 90,000 and the Iraqis who already reside here are protesting that they don't want them hear because they are already out of work and they say that they will take their jobs. Why do we have to accept them all in this area, why not other parts of the country too.

[noamnety]

1. Where are the protests? I haven't seen any.

I haven't been out and about much, though lately, so I guess it's possible ... ?

What I'm reading online are mixed reviews, with some people thinking it will hurt the local economy, and others thinking it will help, because of their entrepreneurial skills and advanced degrees. Some think the influx of refugees can help revitalize the city. And some think we have a moral obligation to help them, because we, as a country, created the situation that drove them to refugee status.

If you have a spare room in your house that you can afford to offer up, please consider that. It's often better to look for ways to help those less fortunate, than it is to complain about their impact on us. :)

[butterfly77]

2. Anytime I post something about this ...

there is no response. I believe this is the case because some don't want them in their area. Put them in some red states and you will hear more than protests. These are the people who wanted to invade their country but they don't want them want to help them now.

Their should be plenty of outrage when they are trying to put them in the most depressed area of the country. I have seen reports on Wxyz and the other stations. These stations did an story on the Mayor of warren throwing a fit. They also were talking about something in Sterling Heights. This reminds me of those who keep won't enlist but are fueling the fires.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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[butterfly77]

4. That was correct they should be put in every state by the hundreds and thousands...

the katrina evacuees as well as the Iraqis. Its not about what you seem to think they should be spread all over the country.

[noamnety]

5. As I'm sure you are aware

"In order to obtain refugee status with the United States Department of State, applicants must first list someone living here as a contact person."

Having a supportive community of people who speak the same language and can do some networking is going to be a major factor in the ease of the relocations. My neighborhood has a high population of Iraqis, we have a Chaldean Church (which is awesome, by the way, they work with the Interfaith Council for Racial Justice), the Muslim Unity Center is not too far away (nicest people ever). The kids will have a network of other children they can play with, without the language barrier.

I'm sure you're aware of all that, so I'm not sure why you are presenting this as if a refugee can successfully relocate anywhere in the country with equal ease, or why you feel equal distribution through the country outweighs the value of having a contact person that they know, and a local community for support, with agencies already in place to specifically serve their population. I suspect if we had a disaster here, and you needed to relocate - and let's say you had a friend in Arkansas who said you could stay with them, you wouldn't take too kindly to the US Government deciding that no, they don't want you staying with the people you know and can talk with in Arkansas - they've decided to send you to an ethnic neighborhood in some other state, where you will be living in a neighborhood where nobody speaks any English. Would that be okay by you?

Your idea of just dropping them into random communities across the country without regard for where they contact people are strikes me as a lack of concern for their well-being, and prioritizing your own fear of losing whatever you have over the needs of people who already HAVE lost everything that they have.

When you say you think the Katrina refugees should have been spread all over the country, including here, I'm going to assume you registered to host a displaced family, then. Either you need support services set up for that situation (maybe not the most effective, but at least they had agencies where the folks in Texas could attempt to get aid), or you need a place for them to stay. If you felt so strongly that they should have come here, you should have offered up housing. Like I said, I assume you did.

I will restate that I believe we have differing conclusions as to why you aren't getting responses here.

It's good to remember they didn't ask to be refugees; they don't owe us anything - we owe them everything.

[butterfly77]

6. Listen, really I don't give a damn where they stay ...

if they are coming to this country it is better than where they were before they go here, in some cases. They most likely will be better off than a lot of people already in this country. The Katrina evacuees were placed here and all over the country with little concern for relatives. I also live in a neighborhood that is populated with Iraqis and Chaldeans.

Listen, I have my facts straight you get yours straight. Don't try to paint me as being racist or predjudice against any race because YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IN THE HELL YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT! I'll tell you what, I offer them up some housing when your asshole of a presidents puts them up in his,. It's good to remember also that the victims of the Katrina disaster aren't refugees! The Iraqi REFUGEES will no doubt get better treatment from this adminstration than the people of New Orleans.The Iraqi refugees should be placed all over the country.

[noamnety]

7. Sorry, Katrina evacuees

I've been trying to change my language there, but sometimes the original habit I learned - picked up stupidly from the media - replaces the conscious thought. Thanks for the reminder.

The Katrina evacuees were placed in various locations where they had contacts, but primarily in a few centralized spots where support services were set up. It doesn't make sense to randomly drop a person with no belongings, no savings, no job connections, and no support into a new location. So I offered up our house to house a family. That's what people do - they try to be part of a solution, where they see a problem, instead of saying "not in my backyard."

And so it is with the Iraqi refugees. Like I said, I doubt you would feel it was just to have your home and city destroyed, your relatives killed, and have to pack up with nothing but the clothing on your back - and forced to move to a country where you don't speak the language - and then be told that the government has decided you can't stay with people you know. If you were sent tomorrow to China with no belongings or contacts, just dumped in the street there with your family, small children maybe, and you didn't speak the language, and were coping with PTSD, what the heck would you do with yourself? How would you survive? They are trying to prevent that situation from occurring as best they can. Your solution is not one you would like applied to yourself, and it's one that when you put yourself in their shoes, I 'm sure you can see is not in their best interest.

I am offended by your attempt to present this as the refugees getting "better treatment" from this administration than the people of New Orleans. Perhaps you forgot how they BECAME refugees. Not to minimize how the Katrina victims were treated, but bombing these refugees' country, murdering their families, and blanketing their cities in chemical weapons is not "better treatment" than anything. It's like saying "Well, sure, we raped and murdered your child in front of your eyes, but afterwards we fixed you some lemonade." And then the person next door acting jealous cause that new person got lemonade while the local residents were all out of lemons. As screwed up as the aftermath of Katrina was, the one thing I doubt is that those folks look at what's happening in Iraq and think "if only I'd been living there, then I'd be in a much better position."

"They should be placed all over the country" <-- for whose good? Theirs? or yours?

[butterfly77]

8. For their own good...

they need to mix and mingle with the citizens of their new country. They will be better off, what do other refugees do, it is the same for immigrants, there are many people who come to this country and don't know anyone they fit in wherever they can as we all do. They need to assimilate. If you put groups of them in an area they will know each other.

[noamnety]

9. Lots of immigrants live in ethnic communities.

"If you put groups of them in an area they will know each other."

The HORROR!!!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

12. That's the point

they didn't ask to be refugees-we owe them. And from what I have heard, the ones allowed into this country are professionals.

And yes, you are absolutely right about immigrants (whether refugee or not) wanting to settle near other immigrants from the same area. This happened here in the US-just look at Holland and Zeeland! In Illinois, south suburban Cook County was populated almost exclusively by Germans, and, up until WWI, there were several German language newspapers in Chicago and St. Louis. The Polish language paper in Chicago lasted even longer! There are more Poles living in Cook County than in Warsaw, for heaven's sake!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

11. They should be relocating many to DFW

Dallas-Ft. Worth Texas--there is a sizable Muslim community there. I'll ask my brother in law if he's heard of this happening.

But couldn't this influx of people actually help the economy if federal aid comes along with the refugees, as well it should? I've heard that most are professionals--wouldn't that be a boost? And they would be renting houses that now might be standing empty--that is helping the economy, I would think. In my experience, refugees and new immigrants are hard workers-these would create new restaurants and markets, and help the economy along, I would think, just by helping one another.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

10. I hadn't heard of this

have you a link to the statements of Iraqi-Americans living in Michigan?

And who decided Michigan is to get half the refugees? Where are the others going?

Thank you for your answers.