Refugee Update

Charleston, WV ‘Interfaith’ leader and lawyer setting up new refugee resettlement office, planning rally, by Ann Corcoran 11/7/16

Funny, it was only yesterday I told you that local ‘Interfaith’ groups were primary promoters of the expansion of refugee resettlement beyond the two hundred or so offices already up and running, here, into dozens of new towns and cities primarily to receive massive new numbers of Syrian Muslim refugees, among others from dozens of countries.

Now we learn from the Charleston Gazette-Mail that Episcopal Migration Ministries is applying to the US State Department to expand resettlement from the small number of refugees placed in the West Virginia capitol now by Catholic Charities (about 25 last year) to add 100 from EMM in the 2017 fiscal year.

‘Interfaith’ leader/lawyer Lynn S. Clark. Photo and bio here: http://www.lawyers.com/charleston/west-virginia/lynn-s-clarke-1783094-a/ Go here to see what she said in 2015 about her WV ‘Interfaith’ group: https://woolfinstitute.wordpress.com/2015/12/16/interfaith-refugee-ministry-in-west-virginia-usa/

A local activist ‘Interfaith’ group is incorporating as a non-profit supposedly for the purpose of being the local resettlement subcontractor.

(If this is your first visit to RRW, be sure to see ‘Ten Things your town needs to know…’ because once opened the office will expand each year even if the city of Charleston begs for a reprieve in the number being placed.)

For background, see this previous post on Charleston, WV and follow links to earlier posts. There is a ‘pocket of resistance’ getting firmly established there.

Wonder where the phrase ‘pocket of resistance’ came from? That is what I heard officials of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement call any community where citizens were demanding answers about the UN/US State Department Refugee Admissions Program. Go here for that 2013 post!  Imagine that! Government bureaucrats referring to citizens who might disagree with their plan for America as being in ‘pockets of resistance.’

From the Charleston Gazette-Mail: A national refugee resettlement agency has submitted an application to the U.S. Department of State to turn Charleston into one of its “resettlement communities.”

Episcopal Migration Ministries, one of nine national refugee resettlement agencies that works with the U.S. government and local groups to place refugees, and the West Virginia Interfaith Refugee Ministry have been working together in hopes of making Charleston a safe haven for refugees.

The West Virginia Interfaith Refugee Ministry aims to create greater understanding of the Muslim community [assumption here for this group is that they will get Syrian Muslims–ed] and the plight of refugees, including those fleeing Syria, where millions have been displaced and hundreds of thousands have been killed.

Episcopal Migration Ministries submitted an application to the State Department last month to resettle 100 refugees in the first year in Charleston. Duvall noted the State Department will determine the number if the application is approved.

Kendall Martin, spokeswoman for Episcopal Migration Ministries, said that the agency has not recently submitted any applications for resettlement communities anywhere else. She said that if the application is approved, they will hold quarterly meetings with the community.

Asked how often their applications are typically approved, Martin said they had only submitted one other site application, for Wichita, Kansas***, to the State Department in the past five years, and it was approved.

Lynn Clarke and Ibtesam Sue Barazi, two of the local volunteers, said they are working on bylaws for their group and preparing for the possibility of establishing a nonprofit organization if the application is approved. A pro-Syrian refugee rally is scheduled for 5 p.m. on November 15th.

There is only one reason for such a rally and that is to create the impression that West Virginia is wildly welcoming of refugees from the third world and from countries that hate us!  It is about swaying the media and the US State Department.

Barazi, a Syrian immigrant who has lived in West Virginia since 1975, said they also are planning a “West Virginia Welcomes Refugees” rally to be held at 5 p.m. on Nov. 15 at Haddad Riverfront Park, followed by a candlelight vigil. The rally follows a similar event last year that drew hundreds of people. Organizers say they want to “respond to fear with love.”

Visit the Charleston Gazette-Mail for more information and to see the cool graphic showing the other locations around the country where EMM has offices.

One more thing! If Clark and her cohorts succeed and get an office open, they won’t be choosing the refugees, but will be required to take what Washington sends them.  Ultimately, refugees will come from dozens of countries, thus, in some ways, making it harder and more expensive for the city and county to deal with the myriad languages.  Remember local and state taxpayers are responsible for providing interpreters for medical care, schools, and the criminal justice system!

P.S. If you are a West Virginian reading this and getting angry, there are 3 people to complain to: Rep. Alex Mooney (R) who represents Charleston in the House of

Representatives and the two US Senators: Shelley Moore Capito (R) and Joe Manchin(D). By the way, if anyone talks to Mooney, tell him to get his history straight about that damn plaque on the Statue of Liberty. It was added later, the original statue had nothing to do with immigration.

Wichita, Kansas is a prime example of refugee overload as the school system is swamped with refugee kids speaking many languages and it is subsequently BROKE, see here. Do you want this problem in Charleston?

https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2016/11/07/charleston-wv-interfaith-leader-and-lawyer-setting-up-new-refugee-resettlement-office-planning-rally/