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| First big wave of Iraqi refugees heads for the US |
| 2007-06-27 |
| Adnan Abbas – with his poor English, four young daughters, and little money to speak of – shrugs when told that making a new life in the US will be hard. "I know that a new country, new language, is difficult and that America isn't going to say, 'Welcome, Adnan, here's a million dollars,' " he says. "But life in Iraq? That's impossible. We're one of the luckiest families in the world." On Tuesday, the Abbas family will take their five small suitcases, close the door on the small flat they've rented for the past year in Amman, Jordan, and start a journey that will eventually taken them to Lansing, Mich. They are in the vanguard of what's likely to become – if the history of American wars is anything to go by – the latest wave of immigrants to have an impact on the demographics of the US. In February, the US agreed to accept 7,000 Iraqi refugees this year, a large jump over the fewer than 700 Iraqis accepted by the US in the first three years of the war but a drop in the ocean when measured against the estimated 2 million Iraqis who have fled the country since the war began. About 2,000 of those Iraqis coming this year, say refugee officials, will start their lives anew in Michigan. For now, the Abbases are among the exceptions that prove the rule. Adnan, a driver in Baghdad for this paper, was witness to the murder of Allan Enwiyah and the kidnapping of reporter Jill Carroll in January 2006. lots more at link |
| Posted by:lotp |
| #18 AS, clearly there's a wide spectrum of helpfulness. But certainly those who helped the most, at the most risk to themselves, are people we should help in return IMO. |
| Posted by: lotp 2007-06-27 22:17 |
| #17 McZoid: an enormous number of Iraqi civilians have been dying in this war. Also think of every time you've read of a police recruiting drive blown up by a car bomb. A lot of people here may believe in the Great Ummah United In Hostility To The West, but the terrorists don't seem to. |
| Posted by: Abdominal Snowman 2007-06-27 22:05 |
| #16 lotp: what about Sunnis or Shi'ites who may have tried trading information for their families' safety? |
| Posted by: Abdominal Snowman 2007-06-27 22:03 |
| #15 Make an exception for the Kurds who courageously volunteered to translate for US troops, all over Iraq. I've met a few, including young women whose families have been killed because of their work. |
| Posted by: lotp 2007-06-27 21:11 |
| #14 Can't say that Iraqis are doing much to pacify their own country. Over 5,000 South Vietnam soldiers were lost in each month prior to the end of that war. The SVs earned immigration status; Iraqis might not add very much. |
| Posted by: McZoid 2007-06-27 21:07 |
| #13 Michigan has higher |
| Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds 2007-06-27 20:20 |
| #12 Good point MarkE. 7000 Islamists could get lost in that wave. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-06-27 19:37 |
| #11 7,000 Iraqi refugees is a "Big Wave"???? Aren't we arguing over MILLIONS who have come over the Mexico-US border??? |
| Posted by: Mark E. 2007-06-27 18:42 |
| #10 After we abandoned the Vietnamese we took in a lot of refugees. Like any group, there were losers, but there were a lot of good ones too. And, as far as I can tell, they have not formed isolationist communities. Some Vietnamese gangs, yes. Vietnamese churches, yes. But even the gang kids speak English. And it seems their gen 1 & 2 unemployment is lower than average (gen 3, showing up now, not so). If we take Iraqi refugees who were, say, translators for us, I say 'great'. They've already learned English, they've already been exposed to American culture, and they've already shown willingness to take risks and work. Give me more. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-06-27 17:52 |
| #9 No more muzzies in here ! |
| Posted by: wxjames 2007-06-27 15:07 |
| #8 When the demoC*raps pulled the rug from under RVN look at the resulting wave of legal and illegals who wound up here in America. In fact review any war we Americans served in the 20th century and the resulting wave of immigrants afterward. When the demoC*raps do pull the rug from under Iraq, look for a big wave of Iraqis calling the USA home, bring with them their culture and Mosques. |
| Posted by: RD 2007-06-27 14:31 |
| #7 We should not be allowing refugees when a bunch of Iraqi provinces are peaceful and quiet. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2007-06-27 13:11 |
| #6 For the moment, the vast majority of Iraqi refugees have yet to register with the UNHCR, the first step in legal immigration to a third country, if they make a convincing case they would face reprisals if they return home. Should have known....it's the UN at the root of this immigration problem. Their solution to all the world's problems is to export everything, including blame, to the US. |
| Posted by: Danielle 2007-06-27 10:47 |
| #5 First big wave of Iraqi refugees heads for the US... Whatever for? |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2007-06-27 10:28 |
| #4 I would guess that it's because it's a state capital near the Arab settlement band along Lakes Erie & Huron, Dearborn-Detroit-Toledo-Lorain. I'm not that familiar with Michigan, to be honest. Is there much of an Arab community in Lansing? |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2007-06-27 08:45 |
| #3 No, we're not going to say welcome, Adnan. |
| Posted by: Shusing Bluetooth3833 2007-06-27 01:03 |
| #2 They're headed to Lansing because Dearborn is already overflowing. I'm totally against this, no matter what they mught have done in behalf of MNF. No More Muzz in US. |
| Posted by: Woozle Elmeter2970 2007-06-27 00:39 |
| #1 OK, this may be a humanitarian thingy, but why Lansing? in the middle of the rust belt and there are not a lot of jobs in the state (so sayeth my sister and mom, in the Battle Creek area). It would seem to me that there are other areas with stronger economies that would allow the immigrants to get a better financial foothold than central Michigan. (perhaps its to buy donk votes. nah that couldn't be, could it??) |
| Posted by: USN, ret. 2007-06-27 00:33 |