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 T-G City Editor John I. Carney poses with several members of a delegation representing the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. Among participants in Wednesday's meeting were David Lubell, not pictured, director of TIRRC; Ahmed Dahir, civil liberties organizer for the group; Catalina Nieto, public awareness coordinator for TIRRC; Imam Haji Yousuf, the spiritual leader of the Somali Muslim community in Shelbyville; and Salaad A. Nur, outreach coordinator with the Somali Community Center of Nashville. (Photo by David Lubell) [Click to enlarge] |
Representatives of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) met with this reporter and T-G City Editor John Carney on Wednesday to discuss ways of opening communication with the newcomers.
The group is hoping to open a dialogue with members of the Somali community and get them organized so they can reach out to the rest of Bedford County, develop leadership and participate in the community more effectively.
TIRRC is made up of a coalition of immigrants, refugees and their American-based supporters who work to "improve the rights and the public's perception of Tennessee's rapidly growing foreign-born population."
Among participants in the meeting were David Lubell, director of TIRRC; Ahmed Dahir, civil liberties organizer for the group; Catalina Nieto, public awareness coordinator for TIRRC; Imam Haji Yousuf, the spiritual leader of the Somali Muslim community in Shelbyville; and Salaad A. Nur, outreach coordinator with the Somali Community Center of Nashville.
Lubell pointed out the problems that immigrants and refugees face, which includes a mutual fear -- one from the native-born residents of the newcomers and the fear the refugees have of a new country and society.
One of the hopes is that TIRRC can help the Somalis move beyond their former lives in the refugee camps and become better adjusted to western society.
While TIRRC has been helping refugees in the Nashville area, no such assistance has been given to the Somalis in Shelbyville. When this reporter began to research the story, a major roadblock encountered was the fact that no official contacts with the Somali community existed within the native population, nor were any advocacy groups representing them.
Lubell said that due to the civil war and horrid conditions the Somalis escaped from, they have a huge distrust of governments and the press.
This reporter also pointed out problems encountered due to this lack of communication. One county official actually contacted the T-G asking how to get in touch with the head of the Muslim mosque, since they had no prior contact with the Somali community.
Imam Yousuf thanked this reporter for the series, which raised awareness of the Somalis, and invited him for a return visit to the Shelbyville mosque. Nieto said that the series had also brought to light many of the feelings in the community about the Somalis.
"We want to help by integrating the communities, to make sure that both sides are represented," Nieto said.
TIRRC representatives said they want to bring about a change in the public dialogue about immigrants and refugees in Tennessee and have launched the Welcoming Tennessee Initiative, which seeks to increase understanding of "how new Tennesseans share our values, contribute to our economy, enhance our combined cultures and strengthen our communities."
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MikeSc,
"Keep busy hating and insulting immigrants and the ACLU while Tyson and Walmart laugh all the way to the bank. Better yet, join the army and fight for Exxon's God given "right" to Iraqi oil. You'll feel so good fulfilling your duty as a patriotic American."
Wow, good use of bashing those of us in the military. I can tell you 12 years ago when I joined all I thought about was that right to Iraqi oil and being a patriotic American. Was I surprised when I got a pay check, medical care and a retirement with it! Not to mention college money. I don't get back to Shelbyville often, but when I do it just gets worse and worse. I have no desire to even visit, if I do, I stay away from town as much as possible. By saying that there is not one illegal in Shelbyville has to be one of the funniest of the year, nothing has changed from 12 years ago. Tyson hires anyone with hands and feet, speaking or nonspeaking, illegal or not. Use common sense, the people of Shelbyville are not idiots. As for Walmart, wow, how dare they under sale everyone, that's unamerican, they have the nerve! Why don't you stop drinking the Air America Koolaid, Walmart has goods, we desire goods, Walmart is the cheapest, we buy the goods at the lowest price. Them devils! You want to get on here and insult someone when you should be directing your insults to your congressman in D.C. not Joe Smo in Shelbyville.
Seedsower,
Your ignorance is quite remarkable. There's not a single illegal Somali in Shelbyville. If you have any evidence to the contrary, please present it. Otherwise, you and others who're throwing around the Lou Dobbs/Rush Limbaugh lines need to stop. Yes, Tyson is definitely screwing Shelbyville and surely screwing the Somalis too but they're doing it legally. You allow them to screw you. If you had any sense, you'd realize how easy it is to blame your economic woes of today on immigrants (even illegal ones). When the government, the financial institutions, the very wealthy have conspired to fleece you of your hard earned money (through manufacturing in third world sweatshops and charging you 100% profit at Walmart, constant wars and war spending, easy access to debt so you're perpetually enslaved paying that debt back, etc...)
I can't say I don't understand where you're coming from though. You work hard, yet you still can't make ends meet. You can't afford health care and constantly pray no one in your family gets sick. Listening to talk radio, you're permanently made to fear phantom terrorists so you would give your money to war profiteers and never question how it's spend. War on drugs, war on terror, perpetual war for perpetual fleecing. The real war is on YOU, sucker. Your pocketbook, your hard and dedicated labor, your health, even your sanity. You're told to worry about Columbian drug dealers, Arab terrorists, Katrina evacuees, and illegal immigrants yet your biggest worry and fear should be of those who wear suits and sit in corporate board rooms.
Keep busy hating and insulting immigrants and the ACLU while Tyson and Walmart laugh all the way to the bank. Better yet, join the army and fight for Exxon's God given "right" to Iraqi oil. You'll feel so good fulfilling your duty as a patriotic American.
Keep the party going.....
You got that right jaxspike!
It's all about "how can we fool them today".
LOL at Evil Monkey . . . can I be the first in line for assistance since I was displaced from my apartment at Davis Estates because of the Somalis?
You know, these people get grants and government money to "help" refugees, why can't we get those same grants for being displaced in our own communities? Why can't we form a likewise non-profit organization?
You got that right jaxspike!!!!!!!!
Whoa double t. Neither you, me nor anyone else are moving away from here.
First you have to sell your house and the only ones that are moving to Shelbyville are illegal immigrants.
57% of the children enrolled at Eakin Primary school are on the free lunch program so dont look for their parents to be out house looking anytime soon either.
If you do have a potential buyer with children, they look at the school system here and then they decide that either Tullahoma or Murfreesboro may be a better idea.
So just sit back and enjoy watching people like Mr.Carney, Tyson Foods, illegal immigrants and their ACLU friends ruin this town.
Thanks John
Pathetic.
It is amazing to me that the Shelbyville residents think so little of themselves and this community to let this happen to it. The federal government has shoved this down Tennessee's and Shelbyville's throat because they think that garbage communities won't care about the effect. The Fed's believe, places like Shelbyville is GARBAGE. And Carney and you guys are kissing right up to it. I was planning on building my retirement home here. Now, I don't think so. Instead of improving the streets, putting in sewers and such they have to waste money on social kiss-up for people that do not belong here. Maybe New York or Atlanta, but not mid-America. Thank you Tyson for crapping in our yard. BOYCOT TYSON.
I'm with you jaxspike on this one.
I also agree with stevemills - if the TG hadn't published the series of articles about this and if the local Somali's hadn't been able to see the response it generated, I seriously doubt any proposed dialogue would have been proposed by the TIRRC.
Obviously, they now realize how important it is to comply with our laws and regulations and learn how to be cooperative and friendly.
Yeah Nathan, I am glad that Channel 5 caught Electrolux with their pants down and showed the hiring processes of some of these companies. I just don't understand what part of "illegal" that these people don't get and then they act as though they have done nothing wrong.
Companies that do business with illegal immigrants better consider the consequences, or they may end up paying like business owners in Springfield did recently.
http://www.fairviewobserver.com/apps/pbc...
Would this effort have been made if T-G had not published the articles about the situation? Probably not, so for all the negative comments made, at least the T-G effort brought about constructive dialog.
I would have better hope for this if the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition wasn't involved. This is the same group that was involved in suing ICE for arresting those illegal immigrants in Maury County and then wanted the lost wages paid back to those that were arrested even though they were here illegally and ICE was doing its job.
What a joke . . .