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  1. #1
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    Shelbyville, TN: Somali Muslims Changing Small Town

    Video at source
    http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/566637.aspx?option=print

    Somali Muslims Changing Small Town

    By Erick Stakelbeck
    CBN News Terrorism Analyst
    March 28, 2009

    CBNNews.com - SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. - It has been nearly 20 years since Somalia last had a functioning government. Islamic jihadists now control most of the country-and sharia is the law of the land. Tens of thousands of Somali refugees have resettled in America in recent years to escape the chaos of their homeland, which is located in the Horn of Africa.

    But the transition isn't going smoothly in one small town.

    Click the player to watch the report from CBN News Terrorism Analyst Erick Stakelbeck followed by comments from Pat Robertson.


    At first glance, Shelbyville is your typical sleepy southern hamlet. It's nestled in middle Tennessee, where the walking horse is king.

    There's Main St., the local sheriff, a movie theatre. It's all very "Mayberry," except for one big difference: the recent arrival of hundreds of Somali Muslims.

    Small Town Having Difficulties

    Shelbyville is about an hour's drive from Nashville, in the heart of the Bible Belt. Like many Americans, the citizens of Shelbyville knew little about Somalia other than the 1993 Black Hawk Down incident, in which 18 U.S. servicemen were killed while battling warlords and Islamic jihadists in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.

    So when hundreds of Somalis began turning up in the town--many of them dressed in traditional Islamic garb--locals quickly took notice.

    "They've had an impact here. Unfortunately, it's not been a good impact," said Brian Mosely, a reporter for the local Shelbyville Times-Gazette.

    Mosely won an award from the Associated Press for a series of articles he wrote for the paper about Shelbyville's Somalis.

    "I found that there was just an enormous culture clash going on here," he said. "The Somalis were--according to a lot of the people I talked to here--were being very, very rude, inconsiderate, very demanding. Tthey would go into stores and haggle over prices. They would also demand to see a male salesperson, would not deal with women in stores"

    Different People, Different Culture

    "Their culture is totally alien to anything the residents are used to," Mosely added.

    The problems extend to local schools--where some Somali students won't talk to female administrators. There have also been issues with local law enforcement.

    "I'm not really sure whether that is because of experiences with the police in their country, or whether that's just the way their culture is," said Shelbyville's Police Chief, Austin Swing.

    Shelbyville is home to about 17,000 people. The town's Somali population is estimated to be between 400 and 1,000.

    Mosely says the Somalis have isolated themselves from the rest of the community.

    "We're talking about people who have not had any experience with Western civilization," he explained. "They don't know the language. Things like running water are a miracle to some of these folks…you don't take people from a totally alien culture, put them into a community, and then say 'alright, you must get along.'

    Little Chance to Adapt

    Abdirizak Hassan is the director of the Somali Community Center in nearby Nashville. He says the state of Tennessee has no programs to help immigrants integrate into their new surroundings.

    "They come, and the only thing they can do is go to work, and then after work they go back to the apartment," Hassan said. "They're totally isolated and there's no interaction between them and the locals."

    He added that some have even expressed a desire to return to Somalia.

    "A lot of them face eviction. They put them in an apartment complex that costs $600 a month. They can't get a job that gives them that much money," Hassan explained.

    "And sometimes you have families, like, a single mother with eight kids, or seven kids or six kids, and you expect her to go to work in six months time with no English, no driver's skills, nothing? I mean, sometimes it's impossible."

    "The locals, mostly, when they see a few hundred people in their backyard with a different look, strangers, you know, of course they have the right to be concerned," he added. "But I think if the local authorities and organizations like ours do a lot of outreach, I think we can bridge the gap."

    So how did so many Somalis end up in rural Shelbyville? The answer can be complicated.

    Taken in by the U.S.

    The State Department helps resettle refugees from war-torn countries like Somalia in the United States. The resettlement project is one part of a taxpayer-funded refugee aid program with a billion dollar budget.

    Immigrants are chosen from UN refugee camps. The selected refugees then undergo a few days of cultural orientation and are soon on their way to America.

    Although most of the refuges are repatriated to their home countries, the U.S. takes in more refugees than any other nation--with a cap of about 80,000 this year.

    "What we do is we look at the most vulnerable groups of refugees," said Todd Pierce of the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. "One group we've tried to help is Iraqi Christians and those who've worked with U.S. and Coalition forces."

    Pierce said the resettlement program helps improve America's image in the eyes of the world.

    "It's one of the best facets of America, that we are a very generous, hospitable country," he said. "This is something that has been bipartisan for decades now--we've brought people in….we look at Africa, we look at the Middle East, we look at Southeast Asia."

    A Rocky Transition?

    More than 150,000 Somalis now live in the U.S., most in larger cities like Minneapolis, Nashville, Boston, Seattle and Columbus, Ohio.

    Gang activity has been a major concern. And according to the U.S. government, at least a dozen young Somali Americans have returned home in recent months to join an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group called al-Shabab.

    As a result, the FBI is conducting investigations in several cities with large Somali populations. The fear is that the Somalis will return to America and put their terror training to use on U.S. soil.

    Pierce says the government tries to shut any potential troublemakers out of the refugee resettlement program.

    "We work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to make sure we vet people coming here, especially since 9/11. It's very important," he said.

    Motivated by Jobs

    "Our experience has been that refugees are very successful at resettling," said Holly Johnson of the Tennessee Office of Refugees.

    Johnson said the federal government contracts with social welfare groups at the local level to help set the refugees up in apartments, find them jobs and ease their transition to America.

    "They are completely self sufficient, usually within 4 months," she said. "They arrive here with nothing but a duffel bag of clothes, and they're on their own, paying their bills, children are attending school, they know where their doctor's office is within a few months."

    After a few months in their settlement cities, the refugees are free to move around the country and live wherever they please.

    Enter Shelbyville

    Somalis in other cities were drawn to Shelbyville by the jobs offered at the local Tyson chicken processing plant.

    The plant came under fire from the Department of Justice in 2001 for hiring illegal Hispanic immigrants.

    The large influx of Somalis has only added to locals' frustration with the plant and the government.

    "We've had three major industries shut down here and 700 to 800 people have lost their jobs," Mosely said. "They're trying to find anything they can, and then--as they see it--the government is shipping people from overseas to come here and take their jobs."

    Getting Past Controversy

    Despite locals' continued complaints over its hiring practices, Tyson says it is doing things by the book. A Tyson spokesman said the company is following federal employment guidelines--and that the majority of its employees are local residents.

    The Tyson plant generated national controversy last fall when it dropped Labor Day as a paid holiday in favor of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr.

    The decision was later reversed, but longtime local residents say the incident was symbolic of the larger changes taking place in Shelbyville--changes they are coping with as best they can.

    "We're probably as culturally diversified as any small town in America." said Chief Swing. "There's been a lot of changes. But I think most people just take it in stride and keep going along with it."

    *Originally aired March 26, 2009
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  2. #2
    Senior Member builditnow's Avatar
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    Pierce said the resettlement program helps improve America's image in the eyes of the world.
    I don't care about America's image in the eyes of the world. Taking in more refugees than any other country probably doesn't help our image anyway, like this guy thinks it does. Other countries are just relieved we'll keep trying anything to get them to like us, whether it hurts our communities or not. Of course, if we would stop trotting around the globe acting like Police of the World, we wouldn't feel so much responsibility to take everyone in.

    "It's one of the best facets of America, that we are a very generous, hospitable country," he said. "This is something that has been bipartisan for decades now--we've brought people in….we look at Africa, we look at the Middle East, we look at Southeast Asia."
    We need to stop. It is NOT one of the best facets of America, not when being "generous and hospitable" is at the expense of our own people and country.

    I wouldn't even mind taking in refugees, but not on top of allowing tens of millions of illegal invaders to violate our laws, borders, and sovereignty. Let's stop the invasion, and I'll be all for refugee resettlement.
    <div>Number*U.S. military*in S.Korea to protect their border with N.Korea: 28,000. Number*U.S. military*on 2000 mile*U.S. southern border to protect ourselves from*the war in our own backyard: 1,200 National Guard.</

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    WE AREN'T DOING ENOUGH AND NOT SPENDING ENOUGH MONEY TO HELP THESE PEOPLE ASSIMILATE? I cannot say here what I think of that argument, but let's just put it that I have taken another blood pressure pill and until that works, I am chewing 10 penny nails.
    The stupidity and arrogance of any ethnic group leader blaming us for the refugees lack of any idea of American society, nor the interest to learn, is probably the world view of this country: we can be pushed anyway you want and we always buckle.
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    SUCCESSFUL EY???


    NO, I'M DEALING WITH A SOMALIAN REFUGEE NOW WHO HAS FIVE KIDS UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE.

    CONTINUALLY MOOCHING OFF THE WELFARE SYSTEM. FOOD STAMPS, HOUSING, HEALTH CARE, YOU NAME IT. THEY GET.

    NO, THIS ISN'T A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM AT OUR EXPENSE WHAT SO EVER.

  5. #5
    Senior Member uniteasone's Avatar
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    It has been on televsion specials already about the Somaili gangs in Tenn. This government is just throwing people from all walks of life AND CULTURES into America without any regard what some of these groups are or represent in the world. This is not immigration by ANY STANDARD! And guess what ? Where are they going to get a job? Who will support these people till they get on their feet? Whose job will they take when they do get a job? America is the MELTING POT? This is just an EXCUSE anymore for an unknown agenda. Americans are not racists,they are just concerned who this government is literally throwing into our midst.
    "When you have knowledge,you have a responsibility to do better"_ Paula Johnson

    "I did then what I knew to do. When I knew better,I did better"_ Maya Angelou

  6. #6
    Senior Member miguelina's Avatar
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    Abdirizak Hassan is the director of the Somali Community Center in nearby Nashville. He says the state of Tennessee has no programs to help immigrants integrate into their new surroundings.

    "They come, and the only thing they can do is go to work, and then after work they go back to the apartment," Hassan said. "They're totally isolated and there's no interaction between them and the locals."
    Isn't that YOUR job Hassan? What are YOU doing to help them integrate into their new surroundings? You are the Somali COMMUNITY Center, aren't you? So why don't YOU have programs like that? It's not the states job to hand hold new immigrants, that's why you exist, no?
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)
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