Ever since the Somalis came to live in Emporia there have been many rumors circulating the community.
Last week 300 people attended a forum at the Little Theater to listen to city officials speak on the issue and let residents ask questions.
This forum was much-needed and it should have happened months ago. For those who attended I hope it cleared the air. If you could not make it to the meeting, here are some facts that came out:
- Tyson does not receive government money to employ Somalis.
- Somalis pay taxes.
- Emporia is not being set up to be a refugee resettlement community.
- Many of the Somalis living here are single and don’t have families.
- Tyson currently employs around 450 Somalis.
- Somalis receive the same health insurance and benefits package as all Tyson employees.
- Tyson is not exclusively hiring Somali workers. Tyson is willing to hire any person who can meet Tyson hiring standards and who can pass a drug test. This was highlighted at the meeting when Tyson spokesman Rodger Brownrigg had job applications on hand and offered them to the audience.
The main question we hear from people is: How many more might come?
Somalis are going to go where the work is. According to Tyson officials, the Emporia plant is almost fully staffed and the number of job openings is limited. Odds are Emporia will not see many more Somalis coming to town than the ones who are already here.
We hope the meeting last week answered residents’ questions and helped set the record straight. If residents have more questions, we hope the city will be open to hosting another meeting.
At the newspaper, we like good community conversations and this topic has certainly received much attention.
But we hope our community can now turn its attention back to other important issues.
Christopher White Walker
Editor & Publisher
cl702 (anonymous) says...
Somali Immigrant Gets 10 Years for Plotting With Al Qaeda to Blow Up Ohio Shopping Mall
Comment by Jerry Gordon
The conviction in a US Federal court of Somali immigrant and cell phone salesman Nuradin Abdi, for plotting with another al Qaeda Pakistani terrorist accomplice, convicted in Brooklyn, New York, to blow up a mall in Columbus, Ohio is disturbing. It is a reflection of abuses of the US legal humanitarian refugee program, that we have written about, that brings in these tough Somali Muslims, predisposed to become Jihadis in our midst. A tip of the hat to ACT member Lisa of Wichita, Kansas for alerting us to this breaking story. With upwards of 70,000 plus legal Somali Muslims in the US courtesy of the US humanitarian refugee program, you were bound to get an active minority like Nuradin Abdi becoming part of terror cells here in America. addition to a burgeoning dossier that we will build to convince Congress that this legal immigration program is bringing unwelcome Jihadis here to the US to do us harm.
FoxNews COLUMBUS, Ohio, November 27, 2007
A judge on Tuesday sentenced a Somali immigrant to 10 years in prison for plotting to blow up an Ohio shopping mall with a man later convicted of being an Al Qaeda terrorist.
Nuradin Abdi, a cell phone salesman before his arrest, will be deported to Somalia after serving the sentence. U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley imposed the sentence as part of a plea deal Abdi agreed to in July.
In a 20-minute statement to the court, Abdi’s attorney Mahir Sherif said his client apologized to the people of the United States, the people of Ohio and the Muslim community.
“He apologizes for the things he thought about and the things he talked about and the crimes he pleaded guilty to,” Sherif said. “He wants to make it very, very clear that he does not hate America.”
The alleged plot was never carried out and Sherif long maintained Abdi was guilty at most of ranting about the United States’ handling of the war in Afghanistan.
Abdi pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support for terrorists. Three charges were dropped as part of his plea deal; Abdi could have received 80 years in prison had he been convicted of all the counts he had faced.
December 4, 2007 at 3:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Observer (anonymous) says...
What you state as "Facts", Christopher White Walker are merely statements from the respective agents, such has Weitkamp who has no credibility do to contradictory statements.
A quote from Create in the other thread:
"Why did Stephen Weitkamp get so upset when I asked him to explain the difference between direct resettlement and family resettlement? Why did he get so red-faced and upset when he had to admit that they had not yet finished the census? After all this time??????"
There will be no moving on as the answers given ARE NOT FACTS, as you would try to say.
Emporia has a grass-roots watchdog movement, and we will organize and we will not go away.
The eyes of Emporia are focused on Tyson with a proven track record of unethical and deceptive practices.
The eyes of Emporia are focused on the Somali population, the Ayan Cafe, and those agencies which facilitate the refugees.
When the Health Department is full of Somalis and the Elderly Emporia Lady and her granddaughter are treated so rudely, Emporia will be aware of it.
When Weitkamp returns and seeks to increase the incoming refugee population, Emporia will become aware of it.
It is called accountability.
December 4, 2007 at 5:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
Let's see, first the plant had 200 openings, now suddenly overnight they are "almost fully staffed and the number of job openings is limited".
People were applying and being told "no openings now, check back after the first of the year" and suddenly overnight Tyson is handing out applications at the meeting.
Mr Walker, I've got a bridge in Arizona you might be interested in buying....
December 5, 2007 at 10:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
What we witnessed at the meeting that night was flip-flopping and big-time damage control. Mr. Walker, your own reporter was insulted in front of everyone when Weitkamp insisted that he had been misquoted in the first story. Baloney!
We all know that as soon as people find that they have indeed been misquoted, they are screaming for a retraction. Why didn't he? Weeks later he says he was misquoted?
Open_eyes is correct, job openings at Tyson suddenly appeared as if overnight.
Public scrutiny is a magnificent thing in a democratic society. As a member of the Fourth Estate, Mr. Walker, I would think you would know that better than anyone. There will be no moving on.
December 5, 2007 at 1:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Mr. Walker, may I suggest you read the editorial on the following link:
http://www.examiner.com/a-1086807~Amb...
December 5, 2007 at 3:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wookdog13 (anonymous) says...
Many unanswered questions stem from this meeting. One big question, if they are given health insurance, then why are they over running our health department? If they are given decent housing why are so many living in one place? Are they being explained to exactly how their so called benefit packages benefit them? Have they been approached as to whether a union could help benefit them or has tyson completely left them in the cold on this one??????? Why are they sending their wonderful money back home and how much of that money is spent to the benefit of Emporia?
December 5, 2007 at 3:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )