Tag: Syrian Refugees

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Letters To The Editor Opinion

What They Said…

CREDIT: Greg Cravens

Greg Cravens

About the Syrian refugee crisis and Randy Haspel’s column, “The Great Unfriending” …

I had to chuckle over Randy Haspel’s column. Seems he thinks that anyone who’s worried that accepting refugees from an alien culture from an area of the world torn apart by that same culture is a Nazi, an idiot, or both.

He was doing all right until the last paragraph, where he reminded us “that once our forefathers were accepted as refugees into this country by the indigenous population.” Yup, the natives here accepted people from a completely alien culture in large numbers. Tell us, Randy, how did that work out for them?

Bill Runyan

Having spent the majority of my years in Memphis, I was and am in awe of the tremendous work performed by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. A big reason for the hospital’s success, not to mention its charity, was ALSAC, the American Lebanese Syrian Association Charities. Without the immigrants who formed ALSAC — those from Lebanon and Syria — many lives would not have been touched and saved by St. Jude. 

As the debate rages about preventing Syrian refugees into this country, consider the amazing work their predecessors, and all other immigrants, have performed here, how they’ve helped make this “Land of Immigrants” the great country it is today. Also, consider the hell these refugees are fleeing. Put yourself in their shoes, as well as in those of the kids and their parents who’ve been helped by organizations such as St. Jude.

Richard Banks

French President François Hollande has said that 30,000 refugees will be welcomed to France during the next two years. He also said that “the people of Iraq and Syria have fled because they are martyred by the same people who attack us today.”

The process of selecting and vetting refugees should be as strict and rigorous as possible, and we have to err on the side of caution. But the men, women, and children, who themselves have suffered at the hands of terrorists, should be allowed to settle here. 

If we see refugee camps created worldwide, there could be many in them who turn to extremism and violence because of their frustration and anger. Such camps could be the breeding grounds for future terrorists, and, if so, we will be even more unsafe in the future.

Philip Williams

It’s a raucous chorus, led by disciples of the Republican right.”No!  No!  No!” they chant.”No Syrian refugees in our back yard!” Eschewing the words written on the Statue of Liberty, our cowardly Congress now has passed legislation that effectively bars any significant influx of Syrian refugees into these United States.

That this is a thinly veiled act of bigotry directed toward Muslims is hardly debatable. But, more than this, it is an act of contempt aimed at the very core of our Judeo-Christian values. If there is any theme that courses through the teachings of the Old and New Testaments, it is the undeniable message of welcome to the stranger, the alien, the homeless, the outcast, the sick and the hungry. Those who are saying no to Syrian refugees are saying no to the very essence of the sacred scriptures. Such behavior can be compared to tossing the Holy Bible into a roaring fire fueled by hatred and fear.

Instead of being intimidated by such despicable hypocrisy, we who object must name it openly for what it is and challenge it wherever it is found. 

Rev. Thomas E. Sagendorf

United Methodist Clergy, Retired

About Frank Murtaugh’s post,

“Sweet Sorrow: Fuente Bids Farewell to Memphis” …

I’m not one who usually says, “What if … ” but I will this time. Can Tiger fans imagine how good we would be next year with both Fuente and Lynch back? The only difference I would like to see would be the development of our next quarterback.

I am thankful to all of the Tiger players for their play this year, and I wish all of the Tigers, Fuente and Lynch included, the very best, no matter where they land.

David Morelli

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

The Great Unfriending

CREDIT: Bhofack2 | Dreamstime.com

Bhofack2 | Dreamstime.com

If nothing else, Facebook was certainly interesting last week. After the horrible carnage in Paris, people changed their profile pictures to the French flag or superimposed the vertical red, white, and blue stripes over their faces. We were united in solidarity with the French in their grief and anger.

Then, in the aftermath of the attack, it was discovered that one of the soulless killers had a Syrian passport and had registered as a refugee in Greece. When the topic of refugees from the Syrian civil war being resettled in this country arose, all hell broke loose.

Thus began “the great unfriending.”

Generally speaking, a new strain of xenophobia exploded onto social media. The most common sentiment was that this was all a plot for ISIS to infiltrate this country and kill Christians, and, of course, it’s Obama’s fault. The ignorance and racism on Facebook was appalling. An exact quote from my comment section said, “All you liberal lesbians and out-in-left-field democrats can take a flying fuck. Our gutless president needs to pull his head out of the sand and to be like France.” He got unfriended. In fact, one social media critic claimed, “It was the largest unfriending week in Facebook history.”

Of course, the crassest and most repugnant remarks came from the klavern of GOP presidential candidates. Ben Carson compared the refugees to “mad dogs.” Marco Rubio said, “We can’t background check them. You can’t pick up the phone and call Syria.” And Donald Trump out-uglied everybody.

A month ago I wrote that it was never proper to use Hitler references when discussing American politics, but Trump has gone flat-out Nazi. Saying, “we’re going to have to do things that were frankly unthinkable a year ago,” Trump favors a database to track Muslims, surveillance of mosques, warrantless wiretaps, and ID cards proving religious affiliation. A Black Lives Matter activist was beaten and kicked at a recent Trump rally. Asked if Muslims should wear some sort of identifying badge, he shrugged it off but didn’t rule it out. Obama countered with, “perhaps ignorant racists should wear special ID badges too.”

Trump’s new applause line, “I would bomb the shit out of them,” is a sentiment held by many, but not exactly what you want to hear from the potential leader of the free world. He’s still trying to find a “humane way” to round up 11 million Mexicans. I don’t know, but it sure sounds like Germany in the 1930s.

While every GOP candidate is rattling a sabre for more wars using other people’s children, Congress passed a bill that forces every refugee from Syria to be screened by the head of the FBI. Half the governors in the country, all but one a Republican, have put out the sign that says, “Syrians not welcome here.” Contrast that with the sentiments expressed by French president François Hollande. After the bloodiest terrorist attack on French soil, Hollande said it was France’s “humanitarian duty” to help refugees landing on European shores. Hollande proclaimed that France would accept 30,000 Syrian refugees and spend $53.3 million to develop housing for them. Since the United States pledged to stand with France, aren’t we fortunate to have a secretary of state who speaks the language fluently? And do you remember when John Kerry was mocked by the Republicans for being “too French?” Or the “freedom fries,” and the “cheese-eating surrender monkeys?” Germany has offered to settle 800,000 refugees. The United States is accepting 10,000 with hysterical resistance. Isn’t it ironic that in 70 years, Germany has transformed from Nazism into a beacon of hope for the world?

The truth is that the United States has resettled more immigrants than any other country. Since 9/11, the United States has admitted 859,629 refugees. Of that number, three were convicted of planning attacks on targets outside the United States, none of them successful. This country has one of the most thorough vetting processes for immigrants in the world, but how do you stop someone who is both suicidal and homicidal? These savages aren’t the huddled masses yearning to be free. They are well-financed zealots who can afford an airline ticket and a visa. They aren’t the desperate refugees who walked from a war zone in Syria all the way to Europe with their babies and grandmothers, looking for sanctuary from hell.

Before Facebook, most people kept their idiotic opinions to themselves until they were drunk. Not any more. Right-wing media spews misinformation as a business plan. You might hear some Fox News quotes from an angry uncle this very week.

Before sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner, we should be mindful of what the holiday is for and remember that, once, our forefathers were accepted as refugees into this country by the indigenous population. So just shut up about the Muslims and eat your turkey.

Randy Haspel writes the “Recycled Hippies” blog, where a version of this column first appeared.

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News News Blog

Lawmaker Urges Suspension of Syrian Refugees in Tennessee, Haslam Concurs

TN Representative Sheila Butt

Thirty Syrian refugees came to Tennessee last year and eight of them landed in Memphis, according to the Tennessee Office for Refugees.

President Barack Obama wants to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees into the U.S. Over the next year. But in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris, states are proclaiming those refugees aren’t welcome in their borders. Obama called this refusal a “betrayal of our values.”

The Tennessean reported Monday that Rep. Sheila Butt, R-Columbia, wants Tennessee the join those other states. A letter from Butt to Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam was leaked on Scribd today.

A few hours later, Haslam issued a statement saying he was asking the federal government to suspend Syrian refugee placements in Tennessee.

“We are currently working to get specifics from the U.S. Department of State on the status of any Syrian refugees currently slated to come to Tennesse,” Haslam said. “While screening, acceptance and placement is legally under the authority of the federal government, they have said in the past they would be open to cooperating with receiving states. Today I’m asking the federal government to suspend placements in Tennessee until states can become more of a partner in the vetting process.”

In the letter from Butt, she asks Haslam to “suspend all efforts to settle any Syrian refugees in Tennessee, through any agencies, until the U.S. Department of Homeland Security completes a full review of security clearances and procedures.”

For context behind the move, Butt points to the “violation and the loss” still felt in the state after the Paris attacks and the attack on a military recruiting office in Chattanooga earlier this year.

Tennessee state Senate Minority Leader Lee Harris, D-Memphis, said this in statement Monday afternoon: 

“We should offer safe sanctuary because we can, and taking several dozen displaced families is the least we can do,” Sen. Harris said. “We should step up when called, because that’s what the good guys do during these days of crises, and we should not turn a cold shoulder, because we understand that the refugees will head into the arms whoever offers help first, including the bad guys and those who might seek to exploit these families.”

Blogs and Facebook posts have swirled after the Friday attacks in Paris noting that “thousands” of Syrian refugees were already arriving en masse across the country. Newspapers are moving to report real figures. 

In Tennessee, the number of Syrian refugees admitted here last year is 30, according to the Tennessee Office for Refugees. The office is a department of Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Inc., which administers the federal Office of Refugees Resettlement for Tennessee. A spokesman for that office confirmed Monday evening that eight of those Syrian refugees have been settled in Memphis. 

Data from the office shows that the 30 Syrian refugees came to Tennessee from October 2014 through September 2015. Two of them came in July, four in August, and six in September, in an apparent ramp-up after refugees flooded out of Syria.

In the same time period, 186 refugees were settled in Memphis, though the data does break down the nationalities of those refugees here.

However, the nationalities of the refugees settled in Tennessee in the last year have been from Afghanistan, Cuba, Palestine, Somalia, Ukraine, and more.