Interesting article I came across last night in newsweek, which reveals the benefits of hosting refugees in your city special during hard economic times. The story does not fall short on plots or history for moment, we remember not long ago-the undesirable tone the city mount against as this group of refugees trying a shot at Lewiston in search of better living conditions. Plain and simple , there was a fear that Somali refugees would drain the cities resources to ground. The city believes they face bunch of refugees unwavering and voraciously would dig hard into the city budget and be the cause to all types of constrains.
I don’t mean to side track, a friend recommend this book called ‘outliers’ and in talks about the development of extraordinary talent. Concisely to summary, ten thousand hours goes into individuals to reap the merits of mastery at any skill. Hence, our ten thousand hours at survival skill is overdue. Prudently history records this moment not in the politest way that we will never be a burden or deadweight as proves this article. I also, the section in this book were it talks about immigration of different communities, you learn that often different immigrant communities had a trade or skill practiced in their home country. Don’t be short sighted in judging the capacities and potentials of different immigrant communities.
I often hear this, how is it possible that Somali’s that come yesterday are driving modestly nice cars and owe businesses. Does the government give them free money?
In discussion, with very bright individuals about Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois, I realized the concept of trade mastery. Somalis are natural entrepreneurs. Also, if you have been exposed to economic development you learn that in developing countries individuals engage in vast array of entrepreneurships. And Somali’s have been trading quite a while in the ages. Specializing diminishes your return on the engagements to earn a living.
My closing remarks are that I’m inspired by the positive and the bright futures that we are able to create given the chance to successes.
I don’t mean to side track, a friend recommend this book called ‘outliers’ and in talks about the development of extraordinary talent. Concisely to summary, ten thousand hours goes into individuals to reap the merits of mastery at any skill. Hence, our ten thousand hours at survival skill is overdue. Prudently history records this moment not in the politest way that we will never be a burden or deadweight as proves this article. I also, the section in this book were it talks about immigration of different communities, you learn that often different immigrant communities had a trade or skill practiced in their home country. Don’t be short sighted in judging the capacities and potentials of different immigrant communities.
I often hear this, how is it possible that Somali’s that come yesterday are driving modestly nice cars and owe businesses. Does the government give them free money?
In discussion, with very bright individuals about Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois, I realized the concept of trade mastery. Somalis are natural entrepreneurs. Also, if you have been exposed to economic development you learn that in developing countries individuals engage in vast array of entrepreneurships. And Somali’s have been trading quite a while in the ages. Specializing diminishes your return on the engagements to earn a living.
My closing remarks are that I’m inspired by the positive and the bright futures that we are able to create given the chance to successes.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/180035
Enjoy as always...keep the heritage alive
check out the on going debate in the Newsweek comment section of this article.
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ReplyDeletePosted By: Somaliarena @ 01/23/2009 12:48:34 AM
One act of good goes far, resent the Somalis for making the living standards in Maine unbearable and even blame them for the antics to which they are not accountable for. Let???s start from the basic premise contrive and argued so benevolently. I???m trying to make sense and find mean to this ordeal the best humanly possible. My reasoning tells me that demand and supply dictates returns on the rent fees charge for particular unit of housing. Hence, the ownership of most asses doesn???t belong to Somalis. In these local markets you are the owners of the any activity of market economy and keepers of resulting surplus or benefit. Before you judge and blame them for everything look at where the dollar stands in terms of depreciation from the time Somalis moved into to Maine and until now. Look at how much the oil price has risen, look at the housing crisis and look deeply and tell me Somalis are to be blame for all this factors. One reason might be most Somalis don???t pay for mortgage but rent. Let???s say there are 4000 Somalis and earn per average 14000 flat year per that comes out to a purchasing power of 56 million to the economy. As we know the median income for Maine is little higher compare to rest of the states. It???s positive sum gain for the economy of however small it might seem. Who is being greedy here my friends. I guess you know the answer best.
As for the soldier that was dragged in the streets of Mogadishu, I???m not too proud of that; I have cousin also a Marine that got shot there a Somali American. I???m sure if you study history closely and do your research, I???m sure Somalis had paid for it. Somalis like any other communities contribute to society as much as anyone claims. Somalis are as patriot I have another cousin that just got shot in Iraq in the army so please let???s not questions each other???s motive for entertainment sake. Not all of us, have came yesterday some of us were born in this country so don???t even think about question our loyalty.
Posted By: SweetMainer @ 01/22/2009 11:07:31 PMI have lived in Lewiston since 1995. I didn't think back then that this city was bad at all. Now, I am deciding on moving back to my home town in Northern Maine because of the Somalians. They have given the true "Mainers" not but shame. I have a brother that does live in Georgia and he told me that the Somalians there talked about moving to Lewiston because of the low rents and the benifits they can get from the state. Since they have arrived here, I have seen the rents doubled in price. Fact: When I first moved down here I was paying $425.00 monthly for a 2 bedroom town house in a "good" part of the city. This included heat & hot water. Pretty cheap, Huh? Not no more. I moved to a different town house because the area where I was living starting filling up with Somalians and the crime went up. I never used to hear police cars and sirens at all hours of the night until about 2 months after they moved here. They even think the town owes them. I saw one Somalians vehicle get towed because he refused to move it during a snow storm so the plow man could clean the drive ways.He came screaming out of his apartment saying how the tow truck driver was wrong and that he was going to sue them. He said he was also going to get the town to pay to get his vehicle back. He had 3 chances to move it because the maintence people knocked on his door and asked him to move his vehicle. Now I am paying double that. What did they save Lewiston from anyways? All they did was add more crime and take advantage of the welfare system. I say we owe them NOTHING!
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Report Abuse Reply Posted By: ba101010 @ 01/22/2009 9:21:44 PMthis artical is full of CRAP! i actually live in lewiston and all the somalis have done is walk around and act like they own the city and we owe them everything. it is horrible they think that they can just do whatever they want. infact the other day i was at the local food market and a somali woman was in line for grogcies and the total came up to $374.96. the cashier asks for the money and the somali woman rudely said no no i dont pay i just sign the government pay everything for me, i no pay. ya great econmics there. Then the other day at school a somali girl said oh i'm looking for a job i said oh my work is hiring, her brother then stepped in and said no no you not get job dad tell us no work and government pay everything for us we no work. ya they have done alot of good to lewiston. and actually if you check the crime rate has now SKY-ROCKETED! get your facts straight big guy.
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: Pawn Broker @ 01/22/2009 8:38:17 PMI am just curious, aren't we talking about the same people that shot down two of our black hawk helicopters. Then i believe and please correct me if i am wrong they killed our soldiers and dragged their naked bodies through the streets. Again correct but were we not there to protect them. Well i am sure that Thomas Fields parents who live in Lisbon which happens to be the town Tommy grew up in are tickled to see Somalis in Lewiston. In Case you don't know who he is he was on the first black hawk down and his wife reconized him being dragged through the streets on the news before she could be notified of his death by the army. Or perhaps how about Barry Wyman A black ops soldier sent into mogadishu as a sniper to get the surviving american soldiers out. He was a native to Maine and he had left for sometime and when he returned he saw Somalis on the streets of Lewiston, thought he was having a flashback drove himself to Togus after several months there he committed SUICIDE cause he could not believe his country brought these people here. So Jesse I am thinking you were not talking to the right people or how about the burden they have placed on our school system. How about the fact that our jail or schools can no longer serve pork products. I am sorry JAIL should not have to change the menu it is jail. When my Ancestors immigrated here to Lewiston. They are French Canadian they worked hard they learned the language as best they could and they made it. There were no special prayer rooms in the mills for the french Catholics to pray. There was welfare then if someone in your family was hurt or died if you couldn't make it you went to the poor farm. I am thinking that you didn't speak to any true natives to Lewiston.
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: 2BagleBoys @ 01/22/2009 7:41:40 PMThere they are, walking back from the food pantry...they are in Somalian I mean Kennedy Park where I can't even walk my dogs in because they are too afraid of my little ones and screech when they see us. It got to be a pain so I have to walk my dogs in the Tree Streets..even better! Nice article.LOL
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: Wowhead @ 01/22/2009 7:01:08 PMEthenali
Stop insulting the people you collect your benefits from. You need to learn how to spell, use punctuation,and capitalization. Have enough respect for the American language to use terms correct. Whose is supposed to be who is or who's for short. That is pure ignorance. You are racist against white people and hate Americans. Stop posting.
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: LewistonNative @ 01/22/2009 6:49:20 PMEthernali. Wow your an idiot I am not saying because they are black they want welfare (if so find where I said that).Your just trying to twisted my words to fit it to your liking. As for dividing I am not dividing nothing I am saying the people who were born in city and grew up in the city (Lewistonians) you know the 33,000+ that lived in the city before Somalians came here and were working to make Lewiston better long before Somalians came here. As for my belief that certain residents should be banned from recieving social services. Find where I wrote that please because as I recall I never said anything evenly remotely close to that. So, please again don't make up anything to help support your "arguement." As for what's stopping me from getting social services, I dunno self pride? I'd rather bust my balls working a minimum wage job then take money from others. Specially considering the fact that Mainers are one of the highest tax states. Again Ethenali keep your comments to yourself. Your making yourself look rather stupid on the fact your looking at one side of the story, never been in to Lewiston and don't know what is happening here.
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: ethenali @ 01/22/2009 6:21:10 PMwill, mr native, the mere fact that you divide residents into "lewistonian" and somalis kinda shows that you are the very least driven by hatred. what saw in that documentary was appalling to think in this modern day and age we have not heeded history and yet again respond to people who are not like us in this manner. your former Mayer was racist for doing the samething your doing right now: one, "they're black, they must want welfare" ignorant mentality when studies have shown that not to be the case and two, you belief that certain residents should be banned from receiving "social services". all these complaints about welfare, well get in line, whose stopping you
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: NativeToo @ 01/22/2009 6:10:39 PMLewistonNative is right. Unless you live and work here, this article would make you smile and say "how nice". The fact of the matter is that while there are some entreprenurial spirits that have made their way into this town, there are many many more who are draining the our social services. With regard to crime dropping, there are many ways to manipulate the data. Having a husband who worked as a police officer "across the river" he would hear of the calls the Lewiston Police Dept responded to. While they may be able to report a drop in the crime rate, I highly doubt they would report a drop in the number domestic violence calls to which they responded. There was even some scuttlebut from one call that a family had removed some of their kitchen cabinets and replaced them with a modified chicken coop. To add further insult to the "native" population, I find that rather than having a gracious attitude toward the folks that live and work here the Somali population at large refuses to integrate into or communicate with the community at large....nevermind using the english language. All in all, this article makes me ill.
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: areacode207 @ 01/22/2009 5:54:16 PMWas hoping to see people catch the drift on the media and how it is fueling racism, but what I have read I must say...
The facts are: the social, economic and psychological impact of a flow of people being tossed into small communities faster than they can absorb them is always going to be negative in the beginning. Housing, employment, education, health care, child care, emergency services ..such a quick demand from resources in a short time on a constricted State's budget is not going to go over smoothly.
These FACTS are undeniable. Anyone who tries to argue them needs to enroll in a basic Sociology class at your local college.
So...you combine this with invalidation to native concerns, lack of social etiquette from newcomers and no where in sight is there relief from the growing numbers crammed into small cities and you have yourself a recipe for a bumpy road.
Most importantly, ethenali..your words are exactly the kind of response I expected from someone who is under educated, lacks critical thinking skills and clearly does not know the definition of racism. This my dear public-this is an example of media fed "knowledge." Do not end up posting like this person..for God's sake please. Re-read my post and keep your eye on the facts verses spins.
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: LewistonNative @ 01/22/2009 5:10:46 PMethenali..Yea I am actually Native American thanks. Kinda why I have LewistonNative as a name..Also if you have never been to Lewiston and don't know anything about it other then what you read. You might as well keep your responses to yourself. Lewiston for many years has been cleaning up its image and bringing in new jobs, but just because somalians showed up they automatically think it's them. In fact it's the hardworking Lewistonians that have put in the hours to re-boost itself. Racism, I Don't think so I just have been around enough Somalians to know that not many of them do work. Some do as I have stated before, but not a whole lot. So, please keep from calling us racist if you don't live here and don't know the entire story. They aren't saving Lewiston. Lewiston and the people who have lived here for years and care bout the city are saving it.
And you can call me racist all you'd like because the opinion of a person I don't know doesn't bother me and I am pretty sure my SOMALIAN cousin would say different bout me being racist. *shakes head*
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: ethenali @ 01/22/2009 4:41:24 PMall th hatred, racism and ignorence aside, congrats to the new comers for adding a little color to that dreary and cold little frozan town
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: ethenali @ 01/22/2009 4:35:10 PMam not from Maine but i have watched the disgusting response of some native to the new comers in the documentary. from reading some of the responses to this accurate observation of how these resourceful Somalis have helping this abandoned town from the fate of others like it in that region, you can see the ignorance and hatred has not abated. How shameful, all this none about a little towns resources were non existed before. these tirades are based not reality but ignorance and hatred and racism. congrats to those hard working and resourceful new comers who like all those people before them, added to life in that dreary place. btw, unless u belong to one of the native tribes, you are really not native and like these new comers, your ancestors came from some other god forsaken hot, flat and crowded continents.
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: proudmainer @ 01/22/2009 8:17:21 PMWell I AM from Maine, and I live just over the bridge from Lewiston, and I AM not racist. However, the Somali community has not enriched our lives. I am not saying that they are all bad, but I work in retail and I can say that there are far too many that don't feel the need to pay for their items before they leave, and there are far too many that are rude and ungrateful. I cannot count the times that I have been grunted at and demanded help, with not even a thank you. The only word you will hear out of some is "food stamp" as they swipe their card. I believe that it is ok to move to better your lives and the lives of your family, but it is NEVER ok to move, mooch and act like "we owe you". I have met some very nice Somali's, unfortunately, most are not that way. Those who think they enrich our area, please, invite them your way. You will see.
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: Somaliarena @ 01/22/2009 2:57:41 PMTo EmployedInMaine, If I was to take a trip as you suggested to the DHS, what will it prove? That Somali???s are less productive than their host communities, please don???t over exaggerate. The truth of the matter is that I will find individual from all walks of life struggling as much as the Somali???s. Now I sense stereotyping by suggesting that, ???majority with jobs do not keep them for very long.??? Please share the stat on the how the majority are not holding jobs-don???t overstretch when you have not validity to back your statements. Mere observation will not suffice your argument.
To areacode207,
I could agree with you partly where the article nitpicks a sensitive topic and indulge the wound.
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: areacode207 @ 01/22/2009 2:05:09 PMFirst- It is known the Somalian immigrants created a socioeconomic and psychosocial crisis especially in Lewiston/Auburn/Portland areas. The reason Newsweek printed this article is because it is a TRANSITIONAL ARTICLE. Turn the page readers and read on. The following topic is White states and Black States. The relations from the Somali piece to White/Black state? Maine is a "white"state.
Currently the American Media is hyper focused on a black/white issues. I am perturbed and ashamed at the American media using race as a tool for profit and ratings. Why is Newsweek and other affiliates even printing such racist articles.
I trust the government in Maine will continue to tactfully invent and implement programs to help reduce welfare dependency, contain the violence and crime, promote productivity and cultural assilation, and restore the integrity Maine once had...but in the meatime ..let's hold the media responsible for what they are trying to spin on the American people...Racism.
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: EmployedInMaine @ 01/22/2009 2:01:35 PMHey Somaliarena, maybe you need to take a trip to DHS and see all of your friends and fellow immigrants standing in the welfare lines. There are some Somalians that hold jobs, but those are few and far between and do the majority with jobs do not keep them for very long. The majority tends to get a job long enough to show that they "tried" and back on the welfare roles they go.
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: Somaliarena @ 01/22/2009 1:53:18 PMI'm not saying that Somali???s deserve everything credited to them and they should overshadow other communities equal doing their part in restoring hope. The article is an uplifting one to me as a Somali, I hear a lot of negativity, give some credit please. This article offers a compromise where few would agree to and I hear your bitter tones and sarcasm. If anything, it should be a progressive move for communities that live in Lewiston and add to the collection plate for taxes. If you seek negative and you focus on that part your bitterness grows, I can help you then.
Every community has the good and the bad in it, we???re not angles to be truthfully as human being. So, don???t cite to me irreverent circumstance of the pit falls of few Somali???s to suffice your agreement.
The report card put out by this article to me say Somali are not sleeping over in long line in the welfare office but, rather are being proactive to shape their future while you complain about it.
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: LewistonNative @ 01/22/2009 1:41:16 PMSomaliarena... Dont piss on me and tell me it' raining. Yea there are a couple shops on Lisbon St. Thats employing all 4,000 somalis in Lewiston. I am disgusted at this article nobody helped "save" Lewiston, but the men and women in Lewiston who have for many years been working on fixing up the community. This article is ridiculous growing up in Lewiston I watched as the city slowly, but surely become a better place to live and just because these somalis come in at the right time it automatically means they are the fixer upers. Give me a break. This article is an insult and spit in the face to all the hard-working Lewistonians who helped/helping revive the city.
Report Abuse Reply Posted By: Frenchie41 @ 01/22/2009 1:27:45 PMThis is wholly inaccurate. Lewiston has a long history of immigration (Irish, French, Somali, etc.), which has added to the patchwork of our city, but no one group is responsible for its "resurgence". A great deal of the improvements were a undertaken as a result of, or in conjunction with, the Forum Francophone des Affaires work that happened in the early 2000s. Community leaders of every ilk have worked tirelessly to improve the downtown (decades in the making). Though Somalis have added culturally and economically, the gains being made are largely due to small business loans and integration efforts of area agencies and governments.
Just as a point of journalism 101, stating 'practically everyone' is always dangerous - especially when it is wholly inaccurate.
The people on here that are defending them are not from Lewiston and if they are they don't live around these Somalians. They are useless trouble causers. End of Story.
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeleteSomalis move all over the world in order to sponge off the
people of every other nation on the planet and get FREE
education; FREE housing; FREE medical care; FREE
food; FREE transportation; etc -- that the tax-paying
citizens of these nations cannot get (because they are
not 'immigrants' or "refugees")-- then these very same
Somali FREELOADERS turn around and falsely claim
that it was their own "ambition" and "hard work" that
led to these PARASITES getting all they have
taken from the people of their HOST nations.
In EVERY country which has made the mistake of allowing
them to enter – the Somalis have arrogantly showed up on
the shores; looked down their noses at the hard-working,
tax-paying citizens of the nation; committed atrocious
acts of rape, sexual harassment, and other forms of
violence; AND REFUSED to do ANYTHING that
does NOT involve SPONGING off the citizens.
For examples in every country that has allowed
these “refugees” – more than 80% of the Somalis
who CAN work – simply refuse to even apply to
work; while the small number who actually apply
tend to do NO ACTUAL work on those very rare
occasions wherein they bother to show up at all.
Every nation on the planet is learning the hard way that
the Somalis are the LAZIEST, MOST UNGRATEFUL,
MOST SELF-INDULGENT people on earth and they
have an unfounded SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT that
makes them think that the rest of humanity was created
simply to act as their slaves, servants and hostages.
Throughout the world EVERYONE despises Somalis for
this very reason (their shameless FREELOADING that's
followed by their baseless BRAGGING) – and yet these
Somalis still continue to behave in their same vile manner.
.