COMMUNITY VOICES | Minneapolis police officer Abdulkadir meets with Somali Families at 2909 Bloomington Ave. S. in Minneapolis

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On June 12,  50 family members living at 2909 Bloomington Ave S. met with Minneapolis police officer Mukhtar  Abdulkadir to find solutions to crime and safety problems that have been plaguing their neighborhood and their building.The people living at 2909 Bloomington Ave. S. are predominantly Somali, and many residents speak limited English.  In the past the  language barrier has often meant that some residents have not contacted the police to report crime problems, and when they do they often feel the police do not understand them and are slow to respond adequately.Meeting with officer  Abdulkadir was the first time many of the residents have talked in their native language about their crime and safety problems with a police officer.  They explained  in detail to officer  Abdulkadir what was happening in their neighborhood and in their building.  Their biggest complaints were about intruders who on a daily basis get  into their building and:*Sleep in the front lobby and stairwells overnight*Sneak  into the underground garage and break into cars*Sell  drugs in the building*Urinate in the hallway*Kick in windows in the middle of the night*Smoke in the stairways*Sneak downstairs*Knock on people’s doors in the middle of the nightResidents also said that prostitutes regularly walk  the sidewalk outside their building, and even get into the building and ply their trade downstairs and in the stairways.Families also talked about concerns they had for the safety of  their children. Scores of children live at 2909 Bloomington, and every day dozens play in the  open space out back.  Their play often spills out into the alley.  Parents said that many drivers speed through the alleys at 30 mph+, and suggested that their children would be safer with a fence separating the play area from the alley traffic.  After hearing the lengthy and passionate descriptions of the intrusions and problems, Abdulkadir  offered some  advice.  He said that the problem with the intruders was so huge and endemic, he thought that security inside the building was necessary to get them out.  He also said that working security cameras were a must.Abdulkadir  also said he was ready to continue working with them to successfully deal with their crime problems.Officer Abdulkadir encourages soccer players, thanks soccer coachOfficer Abdulkadir  also told the families about how he became a Minneapolis police officer, and encouraged the youth to consider a career in law enforcement.  He praised  youth involvement in the East Phillips soccer team, and thanked the soccer coach for his efforts.While frustrated by the crime problems in their neighborhood and building, the families felt heartened after their meeting with Abdulkadir, and appreciated having a police officer they knew who could speak their own language.  They looked forward to working with officer Abdulkadir  and the Minneapolis police department to solve their problems and help make the Phillips neighborhood safer for everyone.The families also hope to meet with councilmember Alondra Cano Continue Reading

May 1 marchers demanding immigration reform block Minneapolis intersection

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Members of Asamblea de Derechos Civiles (“Assembly for Civil Rights”), faith and labor groups, civil rights activists, including American Indian Movement leader Clyde Bellecourt, and a host of others, gathered at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis May 1 to call for comprehensive immigration reform and the end of deportations. The event kicked off in the morning with a bus tour of congressional offices aimed at pressuring key U.S. Representatives to sign the discharge petition for immigration reform legislation in order to allow a vote on comprehensive immigration reform. The demonstrators came together at the Hennepin County Government Center in the afternoon. Native American drumming and dance, and singing and chants in Spanish and English, helped warm up the crowd, as banners and flags blew in the biting wind. The size of the rally, roughly 100 people or so, didn’t match the groundswell at the St. Paul rally the same day. But what the marchers lacked in numbers they made up for in determination and grit, evidenced by the event’s dramatic close, an act of civil disobedience.Protesters took to the streets, shutting down the intersection of Fourth Street and Fourth Avenue during rush-hour, to the chagrin of police and commuters. Continue Reading

COMMUNITY VOICES | Breaking News! Obama is not a candidate for anything.

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Shocking isn’t it? Barack Obama is running for no office, has no expressed political ambitions, and likely will never be a candidate again. But, you would not know it from those who have attacked him personally, often unfairly,  and in some cases with unrelenting scorn.The common allegations claim he is a Communist (and turning our country into a Socialist)  state…was not born an American citizen and is an illegitimate President (yes those guys are still out there)…is a closet Muslim (but still under the influence of Pastor Wright)… that he is an agent of the Anti-Christ … and there is even a tiny “impeach” contingent that works tirelessly on their fruitless agenda. Continue Reading

COMMUNITY VOICES | Somali American story muddled by Power Line blog

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I was browsing around Google News Search when I stumbled on a unique news piece by the Star Tribune talking about a Somali American woman in Willmar, Minnesota, regarding the reunification with her husband who is in Kenya: the news piece is entitled Somali Woman Living in Willmar Can’t Get Her Husband into US .  This piece by Star Tribune was reacted to by Power Line (blog) with a meretricious piece entitled The Somali Muddle, Once More Once, written by Scott Johnson, tagged immigration, Islam, Minnesota, in which the story by the Star Tribune of the Somali American Woman was distorted. In the piece, Scott Johnson wrote  the following:Today’s Star Tribune features a formulaic story by Randy Furst from the usual heart-tugging angle: “Somali woman living in Willmar can’t get her husband into U.S.” Deep into the story a small dose of reality is permitted to intrude:Then Scott Johnson copied and pasted from the Star Tribune piece the following:A State Department spokeswoman said that “most administrative processing is resolved within 60 days of the visa interview, but the timing can vary based on the individual circumstances of each case.”She said that Somalis are treated the same as applicants from other countries, and more than 1,000 visas were issued to Somalis in the 2013 federal ­fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30.“At the same time, we must ensure that applicants do not pose a security risk to the United States and otherwise are eligible for a visa” she said in an e-mail. “Applicants sometimes require additional screening to determine whether they are eligible.”Federal authorities have been concerned about possible links between Somali immigrants to the United States and Al-Shabab, a group that has recruited young Somali men to fight in the Somali civil war. Continue Reading

COMMUNITY VOICES | Immigration reform: Shared humanity matters more than differences

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Although I have not suffered the agony of navigating my way through this country’s broken immigration system, I have experienced the trauma that it causes by keeping people from the ones they love. It is something I think about as I follow the Fast for Families happening in Washington, D.C., and events across the country in support of commonsense immigration reform.I am an African-American. Born outside of Minneapolis to immigrant parents from Eritrea, I was well aware of the challenges of the immigrant experience, but it wasn’t until I told my parents about my work on SEIU’s immigration reform campaign that they related to me the details of my mother’s experience living as an undocumented worker for the first few years of my life.My mother entered the United States after fleeing Saudi Arabia; she was granted a visa to visit my father, who had arrived the year before as a refugee after working at a camp in Sudan. My parents were engaged in Eritrea but separated by the effects of war.By the time my sister and I were born, our mother’s visa had expired and she was facing deportation. In our culture, it’s nearly sinful to separate young children from their mother, so my parents were struggling with this choice: to keep their children from their mother and raise them in the country they sacrificed so much to reach, or to raise them away from their father in their war-torn homeland.My father–the very stubborn, but also incredibly smart man that he is–insisted that our family would not be separated. Continue Reading

Minnesotans march for immigration reform

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Holding banners that said “Now is the time” and “Citizenship for 11 million,” thousands of Minnesotans marched through downtown Minneapolis early Saturday afternoon to show their support for an immigration reform bill passed by the Senate and currently awaiting action in the U.S. House of Representatives.Before the march began, the crowd gathered in front of the Basilica of Saint Mary. A group of Aztec dancers performed traditional Mexican dances while more than 20 buses dropped off marchers who had traveled from Northfield, Worthington and other cities outside the metro area to attend the event.Religious leaders from several different faith groups led a brief prayer service on the Basilica steps before the march, each reflecting on the injustice of the current immigration system.“We need legalized citizenship for all people and a process that keeps families together,” said Chad Gilbertson, pastor of Holy Trinity United Methodist Church in Prior Lake. “Regardless of nationality or status, we are united under the same God.”  After the service, the march began by heading straight down one side of Hennepin Avenue until turning on Sixth Street to arrive at the plaza in front of the Hennepin County Government Center.Marchers filled the street, holding up signs and banners, and chanting “Sí, se puede” and “Justice now” as onlookers stopped to watch them pass. What is Comprehensive Immigration Reform?While proposals vary, the elements of comprehensive immigration reform generally include:1) Establishing a path to legal residency and citizenship for unauthorized immigrants already in the United States.2) Providing for family reunification and reducing backlogs 3) DREAM Act — This would establish a path to citizenship for the many young people who were brought across the border by their parents and have spent most of their lives in this country.4) Strengthening enforcement at borders and workplaces.5) Reforming and rationalizing the work visa programs and protecting worker rights.After filling the plaza at the Hennepin County Government Center, speakers from diverse groups including the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, the Minnesota AFL-CIO and several churches spoke. Several remarked that it was usual for the organizations they represented to agree on anything.All said the time for reform was now and that they were hopeful that the immigration reform legislation which passed the U.S. Senate earlier this year will be passed by the U.S. House of Representatives yet in 2013.In the crowd, Claudia Jimenez, a Northfield resident who legally immigrated to the United States 18 years ago, said that she, too, is hopeful that immigration reform will happen this year and she said it is long overdue. “It needs to happen soon. It will make life better for my friends, for my family, and for the entire community,” she said. Continue Reading

OUR STORIES | Meet Shahar: Iraqi Polish Israeli Jewish American Immigrant Social Activist Singer Songwriter Lover Human Being

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Meet Shahar Eberzon: part musician with an album in the making, part social activist, and part backbone of the growing artist community that is Face Forward  With all these projects, and with legendary Minneapolis stages requesting her presence, she is one to keep an eye on.However, I don’t care about any of that today. Today I have a different agenda.   L: I know you’ve had some immigration issues this year, and this kind of gets more to the root of what we are talking about. When did you come to the United States first?S: I came to the U.S. August 2008, five years ago, but I’ve been away from Israel since I was 17 because I was in Italy for two years.L: What was the strangest thing about coming here?S: Um. The passive aggressiveness. Continue Reading

OUR STORIES | Martín: A hidden voice

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I first met Martín while tending my garden in the summer of 2012.  He is perhaps the single most humble recipient of fresh produce from my small garden, and has been for at least two summers.  My earliest recollection noticing him takes place sometime in the spring.  I was looking out my window and he was walking by my house to the park.  It was cold and rainy, and he and his three sons were going to the park to play soccer. Continue Reading