These are strange times, wouldn't you say? How we react individually and as a community to the new political reality will define all of us and this country for decades to come.
On Thursday evening, Yemeni deli and bodega owners are closing their businesses between 12 pm to 8 pm in support of the members of their community who have been stranded at airports or overseas.
They will also be holding a rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall later today from 4:30 pm to 7 pm.
There is one thing that unifies us all: we are all immigrants and/or decedents of immigrants here in Brooklyn. This borough is stronger and unique because of our differences and of our tolerance towards other cultures.
So let us show solidarity by joining them today. #myyemenineighbor
Below are a few photos taken at the rally by reader Richard Weisfeld. Thanks for allowing me to post them, Richard!
(photo credit: Richard Weisfeld)
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12 comments:
To those readers who are thinking about leaving a xenophobic comment, don't, just don't. I will not publish it.
if you have hate in your heart, ask yourself where it comes from.
almost everyone in this community is here through immigration.
i hope people will look in their family history to remind themselves of how they got here, and be grateful for that.
and from that gratitude, there can be compassion and empathy for today's immigrant communities and their struggles. we are stronger as a nation because of our history of immigration, and, at a minimum, we owe it to ourselves and our collective histories to honor that.
Do you also happen to know which specific delis in our neighborhood are Yemeni owned or operated?
Part of me wants you to identify the shops in the neighborhood so that I can make an effort to shop there... On the other hand I am worried that you may identify "targets" for those who would do harm to our neighbors, friends, and small businesses.
Sad and Disheartening!
I suppose we wil find out since they will most likely be closed this afternoon, Biraz.
Let us support them when they re-open tomorrow.
Wouldn't it be nicer if our immigrants came through a system like my grandparents did through Ellis island and if they don't deserve to be here they can't get in . Hope this is published and not such a terrible idea .Just a thought
Anonymous, but that is exactly what they are going through except that they arrive at airports instead of harbors.
Immigrants today go through a much more rigorous vetting process than your grandparents.
Hi Katia your right in some sense . The bigger issue is when the immigrants came through Ellis island they were rejected for and sent home. The Refugees coming in are almost never sent home they have almost no way to determine if they are with Isis or not ? Impossible to know.
It's a scary scenario especially when you have children .
@ Anonymous 6:36 PM, here is the vetting process for refugees. Please read it so that you understand just how rigorous it is. It usually takes about two years and takes place entirely outside of the US, before they even touch US soil.
http://www.businessinsider.com/vetting-process-refugees-enter-us-syria-iraq-executive-order-ban-libya-sudan-2017-1
http://www.vox.com/first-person/2017/2/2/14459006/trump-executive-order-refugees-vetting
You should, as a parent, be aghast at the violence and starvation refugee children are forced to endure and are trying to escape. They must endure these conditions for years as they wait to complete the visa asylum process.
https://www.worldvision.org/refugees-news-stories/syria-refugee-crisis-war-facts
Your own children are more likely to be killed by their own clothes or their pillow or a toddler with a gun than harmed by a refugee. From the conservative Cato Institute: The chance of being murdered in a terrorist attack committed by an asylum-seeker was one in 2.73 billion a year. The chance of being murdered in a terrorist attack committed by a refugee is one in 3.64 billion a year.
Thank you for this, Anon. I hope people take the time to click on these links to educate themselves on what the immigration process entails.
How much for the cat?
"Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have entertained angels."
Heb 13: 1-8
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/03/politics/travel-ban-iranian-baby-heart-surgery-trnd/
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