Posted on 03/27/2009 9:12:41 AM PDT by heartwood
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."
“Somalis changing small town.”
For the better, no doubt....
/s
And when did the people of this small town get to vote on being invaded and changed out of recognition by people from another country who share neither their culture, their religion nor their values?
How did they get here if they can’t figure out how to pay rent?
Well the obvious answer is that the Americans in Shelbyville need to change their ways to conform to expectations of the Somalis!
/do I need it?
And the thoroughly Muslim locale of Somalia is such a garden spot! Everyone should have Jihad and Sharia!
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.
OMG! The UN is deciding which "groups" of Muslims get resettled in the US.
There is nothing new in immigrant groups flocking together and maintaining their culture, at least for a generation or two. What is different this time around is the lack of opportunity to better their situations without impinging on others’ opportunities. Historically, immigrant groups formed their own small businesses and moved only peripherally in the mainstream while they built their capital and assimilated. With government regulations dictating everything one might do to support the family and get ahead, opportunities are limited for everyone. Thus everyone is fighting to cut up chickens.
In my city in Central California there is controversy raging about the little pushcart vendors who are largely hispanic. The government wants to shut them down. I have mixed feelings. While I understand the need to ensure food safety, I also see that these pushcarts are avenues to support themselves and they definitely beat, in my view, the mostly white loafabouts hanging around the major intersections with their ragged cardboard signs begging for money. I think we need to get off the backs of people to find creative ways to support themselves, reinstitute caveat emptor in the place of government nannyism, and let the American dream continue on.
And the destruction of the US and us marches on unabated.
When did America become a haven for third world detritus?
Remove the /sarc tag and you have the govt’s answer.
Funny, I've never been made sick by any of the local vendors when I eat from their carts or the roach coaches (best darn tacos I've ever had, actually).
OTOH, I have been made very ill eating in "inspected" restaurants.
Maybe it started with the genius who wrote, “Give us your tired, your poor, your downtrodden, your muslims, etc...”
To all who come here....adapt.
If you can’t...Delta is ready when you.
Face the damn facts please. These people are NOT immigrants to this country. Not in any sense of immigration of the United States of US.
This once proud country has grown to be what it is BECAUSE of generations of immigrants...immigrants who came to American in order to become (gasp) AMERICANS.
Yes the older generations, raised in foreign countries, kept their languages, cultures, mores, foods, and traditions. But their CHILDREN, schooled in AMERICAN schools that taught them the history, culture and traditions of the USA, grew up as AMERICANS. They truly acknowledged the past of their grandparents and parents, all the while becoming more and more AMERICAN.
Children who were born to people that had warred against each other throughout history, sat together in classrooms and learned how wonderful it was to be an AMERICAN. Boys and girls, from vastly different roots, eyed one another and VIOLA...there was what we call the MELTING POT.
Now we are cursed with populations who have NO desire to become of us..no desire to become AMERICANS..no desire to gaze with pride on our flag..no desire for anything except to bleed the system for what they can get.
I am the child of immigrants..the friend of immigrants..the supporter of immigrants...IMMIGRANTS IN THE TRADITIONAL SENSE. All other...get the hell out. Please.
Whenever I run across an “all cultures are equal” individual, I usually, if I feel like it, prolong the argument a bit, then say—
” I just took over the world this afternoon-and I’m going to banish you from the U.S. for arguing with me—I know it’s a moot point for you, but I’m giving you a choice—Copenhagen or Mogadishu—take your pick”
What more do they need to know?
And yes, those in the rest of our Country; now that they are 'so' settled. . .
The want a male salesperson? To hell with them, the shops should only hire women and rub bacon on the thresholds, door frames, and counters, in fact place some bacon in their cash registers.
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