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From: Aliza Becker <azbecker@mindspring.com>
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Subject: [NIFL-ESL:6469] FW: A Nation of Immigrants Rebuilds
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------ Forwarded Message
From: "Mbelanger" <mbelanger@immigrationforum.org>
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2001 17:08:50 -0400
To: <mbelanger@immigrationforum.org>
Subject: A Nation of Immigrants Rebuilds
National Immigration Forum
Date: September 26, 2001
To: Forum Associates and interested advocates
From: Maurice Belanger
Re: More Excerpts from Stories Relating to the Aftermath of the
Events of September 11
----------------------------------------------------
CONTENTS
1. "US Arabic speakers suddenly in demand," MSNBC,
September 19, 2001
2. "Immigrants join citizens in taking stand against
terror," The Cincinnati Enquirer, September 25, 2001
3. "Day of terror makes Asian families feel vulnerable,"
The Patriot Ledger, September 25, 2001
4. "President George W. Bush, meeting with Sikh community
leaders," September 26, 2001
5. "'Invisible deaths' likely in WTC," The Jersey Journal,
September 25, 2001
6. "'Buddies' look to ease local Muslims' fears," The
Courier-Journal, September 26, 2001
----------------------------------------------------
US Arabic speakers suddenly in demand, FBI 'overwhelmed' with linguistic
help
By Tom Curry, MSNBC
Sept. 19 - The United States has a stockpile of cruise missiles and
bombs ready to blast terrorist bases in Afghanistan, but it also has
another strategic asset in the campaign against terrorism: U.S. citizens
like Bushra Iskander and Kirk Belnap whose proficiency in Arabic could
help the FBI track down terrorist suspects who may now be inside the
United States.
***
'The Arabic-American community and others immediately overwhelmed our
telephone switchboard.'
- ROBERT MUELLER, FBI director
***
ON MONDAY, FBI director Robert Mueller asked U.S. citizens who are
fluent in Arabic, Farsi, which is spoken in Iran, and Pashto, the
language of about a third of Afghans, to enlist as contract linguists.
"The Arabic-American community and others immediately overwhelmed our
telephone switchboard." Mueller said Tuesday.
In order to be hired as a temporary FBI contract linguist, applicants
must:
** Be United States citizens.
** Have resided within the United States for at least three out of
the last five years.
** Pass a proficiency test, a polygraph examination, and a 10-year
background investigation.
Applicants who have dual citizenship with the United States and another
country must also be willing to renounce their citizenship with the
foreign country. Those interested can apply at the FBI's job web site.
'OUR DUTY'
Iskander, a Southfield, Mich., middle school teacher who immigrated to
the United States from Iraq 23 years ago, told MSNBC.com Tuesday she had
tried calling the FBI all day and kept getting a busy signal, but was
going to use the bureau's Web site instead to offer her Arabic skills.
"It is our duty to keep this country safe," Iskander said. "I was so
depressed for the last five days and not able to sleep." Working as a
translator, she said, would give her the feeling she was contributing in
some way.
She said if the translation duties were in Washington, she might only be
able to get away from her job for a week or two, but said that during
the 1991 Persian Gulf War she worked from her Michigan home for a
federal agency - she can't recall which one - monitoring tapes of
Arab-language broadcasts that had aired on WCAR, a Livonia, Mich., radio
station.
Iskander lives in an area - southeastern Michigan - that has one of the
highest concentrations of Arab-Americans in the United States. Her
congressman, Rep. John Dingell, urged his constituents Monday to sign up
for duty as FBI linguists.
"I want our Arabic speaking neighbors to know their services are
desperately needed," he said. "This is a tremendous opportunity for
ordinary citizens to contribute to the effort to identify and bring to
justice those responsible for the heinous attacks against the United
States."
"We are citizens of this country. It's one of our civic duties to take
part in this," said Nouhad El-Hajj, the publisher of the Arab-American
Journal, a Dearborn, Mich.-based bilingual newspaper with a circulation
of 20,000. "We're going to be saving lives and serving our community."
SMALL PERCENTAGE OF IMMIGRANTS
According to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, about five
million foreigners became naturalized U.S. citizens from 1990 through
1999, the last year for which the INS has released data.
Of those, approximately 130,000 came from Arab-speaking countries such
as Egypt, Syria and Algeria. There are thousands of other immigrants who
arrived before 1990 who are proficient in Arabic.
These people are all the more important because there are very few
non-Arab-American U.S. citizens who speak Arabic.
***
'You're going to have a pathetically low number of non-Arab-Americans
who could be helpful, certainly not more than a couple of hundred.'
- KIRK BELNAP, Brigham Young University Arabic professor
***
One of those non-Arab Arabic speakers is Belnap, a professor of Arabic
at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Belnap, former director of
American Association of Teachers of Arabic, said there are about 6,000
students studying Arabic at colleges and universities in the United
States. But very few of them have the proficiency needed to interrogate
suspects, translate the conspirators' e-mail messages or translate
recordings of tapped phone calls.
"You're going to have a pathetically low number of non-Arab-Americans
who could be helpful, certainly not more than a couple of hundred,"
Belnap estimated. "The Arab-American community is your treasure house of
linguistic ability."
Belnap said one of his former BYU Arabic students is now translating and
interpreting for a federal agency in Washington - he would not identify
her or the agency - as part of the response to last week's attacks.
Among non-Arab Americans the level of proficiency needed to help an
investigation or do intelligence work is "really rare," Belnap said. As
in the case of his former student who's now in Washington, some of those
with adequate Arabic skills are already working for the Defense
Department, the CIA or some other federal agency.
Belnap gave a low grade to the United States military language training
programs. "The military is the largest trainer of Arabic speakers in the
United States, but by and large they do a lousy job of it. I can't
imagine the millions of dollars we pay to send young soldiers to the
Defense Language Institute (in Monterey, Calif.) to go through language
training, and then with few exceptions they are assigned to an Army base
somewhere in Georgia or Oklahoma and assigned to the motor pool," where
they forget the language they've learned.
If the United States faces a long struggle against terrorism, a steady
supply of Arabic speakers might be an essential part of national
defense.
Belnap said he himself would be willing to use his Arabic skills to help
the FBI, but thinks he might be of more use right now in his current
job: teaching young Americans how to speak and read Arabic.
If, as President Bush has said, the United States faces a long struggle
against terrorism, a steadily increasing supply of Arabic speakers might
be an essential element of national defense.
For now, Belnap said, "our best bet is working with patriotic
Arab-Americans," and, he added, referring to incidents of vigilante
violence against Arab-American in the past week "ironically, these are
the very people that are being harassed."
==========================
Tuesday, September 25, 2001
Immigrants join citizens in taking stand against terror
By Earnest Winston
The Cincinnati Enquirer
For some of the Tristate's newest residents, the terrorist attacks and
their aftermath have been particularly unsettling.
Some have concerns about potential anti-immigrant backlash - not only
against Muslims - or about their personal safety. For others, the
attacks have triggered bad memories of their homelands.
"We feel like we're living the same situation all over again," said
Leonel Pelaez, who fled Colombia in 2000 to escape the epidemic of
kidnappings there.
Members of immigrant communities in the Tristate are, like many
Americans, reacting to the Sept. 11 attacks with shows of patriotism and
by seeking solace in prayer and worship.
At El Rancho Grande restaurant in Middletown, workers drape black bands
over their nametags and flowers decorate an American flag displayed
side-by-side with a Mexican flag outside the building.
Masses have drawn increased numbers of Hispanics in churches from
Covington to Hamilton.
Recent Hispanic immigrants are filing into Sister Margarita Brewer's
office in Carthage seeking reassurance about the secure, stable country
of freedom that drew them here.
"They feel that they came here to be safe. They're afraid. Some haven't
been able to sleep too well," said Sister Brewer, director of Su Casa
Hispanic Ministry. "A woman who left Colombia because of the terrorism
there was in tears."
Mr. Pelaez and Martha Benjumea left Colombia after Mr. Pelaez was
kidnapped by guerrillas and held for six days before escaping. Soon
afterward, Mr. Pelaez and his teen-age son emigrated to the United
States, and they were later joined by his wife and teen-age daughter in
Columbus, Ohio.
They live in Fairfield now and are seeking citizenship.
That that hasn't stopped relatives from asking in recent days for them
to return to Colombia. Mr. Pelaez says that's not an option, even though
the terrorist acts reopened old wounds.
"With the problems, we worry," Ms. Benjumea said. "We have lived these
things, so we know how horrifying it can be."
Luis Valencia, president of the Pan American Society of Greater
Cincinnati, said he was saddened to hear family and friends in his
homeland of Colombia say that it's more dangerous in America than it is
there.
"It tells me that the image of the United States has changed," he said.
""Now to have other people, who used to think essentially that it was
perfect, now think it's no better than anyplace else, that's sad."
But Concepcion Reyna, who is Mexican-American, doubts that the terrorist
acts will stop Hispanics from coming.
"No matter how bad the situation is for them here, they still feel that
it's so much better than at home," said Ms. Reyna, who is outreach
coordinator for Butler County's Department of Job and Family Services.
Puerto Rican native Iversy Velez said her family emigrated in 1994 for
personal reasons. But she knows that many Hispanics come here because of
the strife in South and Central American counties.
"They feel that this government has the stability that nobody else in
this world can offer to any individual," said Mrs. Velez, an attorney,
whose family moved to Florence in 1998.
The last decade has seen the Tristate's Hispanic population more than
double, to 22,000, Census 2000 figures show. Along with Indians,
Hispanics are one of the area's fastest-growing ethnic groups. About
3,000 Indian families live in the Tristate.
Laxmi Srivastava, a board member of the Hindu Temple of Greater
Cincinnati, said the terrorism has not shaken the confidence of the
newer immigrants.
"If the people lose the confidence in the United States, where else will
they have the confidence? This is our home, and any attack on our home
is going to hurt us," he said.
Muslims and Arab-Americans are another fast-growing segment of Tristate
and the country. But since the United States named Osama bin Laden the
prime suspect, residents from Middle Eastern countries have been
threatened, and, in one case, a Muslim woman was attacked inside her car
in Covington. She was unharmed.
The treatment has not stopped Muslims, as well as Indian and Hispanic
residents, from organizing blood drives and fund-raisers to help the
terrorism victims and families.
Last week, federal officials announced new rules that double to 48
hours, and possibly more, the time an immigrant can be held without
being charged.
Mr. Valencia expects immigration laws to become even tighter.
The Bush administration said last week that Colombians, Mexicans,
Indians and other foreign nationals were among the dead and missing at
the World Trade Center.
Local Hispanics say some undocumented Hispanics worked in restaurant and
cleaning jobs at the buildings.
They fear that those who were here illegally will never be identified.
========================
Day of terror makes Asian families feel vulnerable
By JIM DALY
The Patriot Ledger
Asian-Americans on the South Shore say the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11
have succeeded in making them feel vulnerable.
"Everybody's on edge," said Andy Lee at the Quincy restaurant he owns.
Lee, 37, said the collapse of the World Trade Center towers really hit
home because he grew up in Manhattan.
The son of Chinese immigrants, Lee watched the World Trade Center towers
being built in the early 1970s. "I must have been to the top umpteen
times," he said. "Now a part of my history is gone. I'll never be able
to bring my kids there."
Lee said Americans have never known the fear terrorism could bring until
now.
Chinese immigrant Billy Lee of Randolph said the cataclysmic events that
occurred in New York and Washington could happen here.
"I feel maybe the terrorists aren't finished," he said. "Maybe they'll
bring some worse things."
Billy Lee, who is 45, has lived in the United States for 20 years. He
owns a grocery store in Quincy. He is concerned that the economy will
continue slipping into a recession.
Other Asian-Americans are worried about the effect the terrorist attacks
could have on immigration.
Good friends Tony Le and Tom Le are Vietnamese immigrants who grew up in
the Boston area. Both work in a Quincy store that sells customized auto
parts.
The young men worry that the attacks might make the American people shut
the door on new immigrants or even deport immigrants who are already in
the country.
Tony Le, 22, said the terrorists attacks were bad for Asian communities
in this country. "They're bad for immigrants in general," he said.
Tom Le, 20, spoke out against persecuting Arab-Americans.
He mentioned the recent murder of a Pakistani man in Dallas, Texas. The
killing may have stemmed from anger at Muslims for the terrorist
attacks.
Referring to Arab-Americans, Tom Le said, "They're just normal people
like us, trying to survive."
"They should go after all terrorists, not just focus on a specific
race," Tony Le said.
Like most Americans, Asian-Americans want the country to remain unified
against terrorism.
Connie Lam, who works in a Quincy cigar store, was born in Hong Kong.
After hearing President Bush's speech to the nation last week, she said
the country has to rally behind him.
"You can't just let (the president) down," she said. "What about if this
happened in Boston?"
Material from Patriot Ledger news services was used in this report.
Copyright 2001 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted September 25, 2001
==============================
President George W. Bush, meeting with Sikh community leaders on
September 26
"It's my honor to welcome citizens from all across our country here to
the Roosevelt Room and the White House to discuss our common commitment
to make sure that every American is treated with respect and dignity
during this period of -- during any period, for that matter, of American
history, particularly during this time.
"An American Sikh has been killed, unjustly so. These citizens bring
their hearts with them, and I can assure them that our government will
do everything we can to not only bring those people to justice, but also
to treat every human life as dear, and to respect the values that made
our country so different and so unique. We're all Americans, bound
together by common ideals and common values."
=========================
Excerpted from "'Invisible deaths' likely in WTC"
The Jersey Journal
By Frances Robles
09/25/2001
An anguished call came to New York City Councilman Guillermo Linares'
office two days after the World Trade Center disaster. Between heaving
sobs, a woman explained that her brother, a janitor, was missing. But
the illegal Dominican immigrant had worked under someone else's name-and
that person was listed among the missing.
"She was crying, hysterical," said Linares' chief of staff, Mimi Minier.
"She was afraid and didn't know what to do. She kept saying, 'He's got
papers, but that's not him. I don't know what's going to happen to that
other person, because that's the one they're going to think is dead.' "
The caller told how her brother had hopped a raft from the Dominican
Republic to Puerto Rico. Sept. 11, she said, was his first day at work
in America.
. . . . Those who work closely with immigrants fear that perhaps dozens
of newcomers who lived alone, worked illegally or under aliases have
disappeared, too. As New York and federal officials compile a mounting
list of people who vanished when the Twin Towers tumbled, immigrant
advocates are taking their own inventory: the busboys, delivery men,
restaurant workers and window washers they fear no one will notice
missing.
Estimates of how many illegal immigrants perished vary widely. Most
immigrant rights groups think the number is relatively small, though one
group thinks the number could be in the hundreds.
"These people will die like they lived: invisibly," said Brother Joel
Magallan, with the Tepeyac Association, a New York social service agency
for Mexicans.
. . . . The Mexican consulate in New York City says 16 of its nationals
are among the missing. The number seems low to those who worked in the
area. "There are hundreds of us down there," said Luis, a fish delivery
man who narrowly escaped the disaster. "Mexicans are afraid. We give
fake names most of the time, and a different last name a lot of the
time. Those people will be lost. No one will ever know what happened."
Some consulates are paying for radio and newspaper ads to urge their
countrymen to file missing persons reports. But fear grips many
migrants. "They are afraid to get deported," said Ernie Villanueva, of
New York's Immigrant United Foundation. "I know in my heart this will
not happen: it's illegal. But they live in secret, and it's hard to
convince them."
=========================
September 26, 2001
SUPPORT GROUPS
'Buddies' look to ease local Muslims' fears
By Peter Smith
The Courier-Journal
Louisville-area organizations are coordinating a ''buddy system'' in
which volunteers accompany Muslims and Arabs in public to ease their
fears of reprisals in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The goal is to ''let them know there are people out there that care and
are willing to help,'' said Alice Wade, an organizer for the Kentucky
Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. ''I really feel (there
are) more of us out here that care than that don't care.''
The alliance is working on the buddy system along with the Fairness
Campaign and other groups in the Ad Hoc Committee for Peace and
Community, a coalition of more than 20 organizations.
Wade said at least 20 people have volunteered for the effort, which aims
to create a greater sense of security for local Muslims, Arab-Americans
and others. Some have faced harassment from people associating them with
the terrorism.
The U.S. government says the attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon were directed by Middle East-based militants propagating an
extremist version of Islam.
President Bush and Louisville-area officials have taken pains to state
that the vast majority of Muslims are peaceful and should not be
scapegoats for the actions of extremists.
Isolated attacks and incidents of harassment have occurred around the
country, aimed not just at Muslims and Arabs but also at people mistaken
for them, such as Sikhs.
While no serious incidents have occurred in the Louisville area, one
mosque was defaced with graffiti, and several second-hand reports have
circulated within Muslim and immigrant communities in which people have
been insulted or threatened because their clothing or names suggested
they are Muslim.
Yacoub Yacoub of the local Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee
said yesterday that the plan was a positive step.
''Anything that helps people help each other sounds good,'' he said.
He said Bush's visit to a Washington mosque last week was wonderful and
''a great example of understanding and tolerance.''
Carla Wallace of the Fairness Campaign said the buddy system has started
informally, and the group hopes to formally announce its activities in
the coming days.
''So far, those of us who are part of the buddy system have been
contacting people we know in our life whose ethnic background might make
them targets, encouraging them to call on folks (for support), whether
it's going to the grocery or speaking in a class.''
To learn more about the buddy system, call the Alliance at 778-8130 or
the Fairness Campaign at 8930788.
==============================
Maurice Belanger
Senior Policy Associate
National Immigration Forum
mbelanger@immigrationforum.org
http://www.immigrationforum.org
------ End of Forwarded Message
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