Thursday

Violence between Bhutanese-Nepalis & African-Americans in Columbus, Ohio

This kind of story is one of the untold (or at least lesser-told) parts of the refugee resettlement story. Refugees don't immediately lay hold of "the American dream" but are rather initially settled in poverty. Very often, they are resettled into some of the most impoverished and crime-ridden parts of the country. Unfortunately, violence, robberies, and even murders are the result. Refugees are often easy targets for such things.

I can testify to the fact that there is a growing sense of fear particularly among the Bhutanese refugees of their African-American neighbors. Every story such as the one below is taken as evidence that every black person is to be feared as a threat. The countless counter-examples that can be provided usually prove unable to outweigh even one story of "black-on-Bhutanese" violence. So, while the story below tries hard to claim that race and ethnicity played no role in the situation, such an assertion is impossible to believe.

City wants residents at apartment complex to meet on conflicts | The Columbus Dispatch: "By the time police arrived after an onlooker called 911, the melee had grown. One woman who saw the fight said that as many as 20 Bhutanese Nepali refugees were beating four black men."

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:29 PM

    "Every story such as the one below is taken as evidence that every black person is to be feared as a threat."

    Is this Stormfront? Oh wait its a baptist blog.. Sorry couldn't tell the difference..

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  2. Congratulations, "Anonymous" for making what is clearly the worst comment we've ever had on this blog. It is tempting to simply delete it, as that is exactly what such a comment warrants. However, I think I'll just let it be.

    First of all, your decision to go for "anonymous" was probably the smartest thing that you did here. I likewise wouldn't want anyone to know I was capable of such an ignorant comment.

    What makes your comment so stupid, of course, is a couple things. First, you've actually charged me with advocating white-supremacy. I can honestly say that this is the first time such an accusation has ever been made against me. To arrive at such a conclusion about myself or about our ministry, when we have sacrificially devoted our lives entirely to working among immigrant people from around the world, requires a level of superficiality and stupidity that is simply breathtaking to contemplate.

    Secondly, to associate "baptist" with white-supremacy manifests a truly awesome level of ignorance. I help to lead an association of Baptist churches in Chicagoland, roughly half of which are led by African-Americans. Would you consider them to be undercover "Stormfront" agents?

    Finally, it is clear that you do not possess the capacity to follow the flow of thought of a simple paragraph. I gather this from your misconstruing of the quoted sentence to infer something that is quite the opposite of the thrust of my post. Rather than explain this, I would request that you indicate what your first language actually is. I may be able to acquire resources in that language that may better serve your needs that this blog.

    Bravo, "Anonymous"! You are one of those people for which we constantly must warn people to be careful of the "dangers of the internet".

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  3. Pretty easy to be that one person on the outside looking in and providing an incomplete view from both sides. smh

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  4. Yep222, who is the "one person on the outside looking in" that you are referring to? Would that me myself? If so, in what sense would you say that I am on the outslde looking in? Secondly, please explain why my view is incomplete?

    ReplyDelete