red states rule
08-09-2007, 04:58 AM
Bush Derangement Syndrome is as severe as ever. E.A. Torriero of the Chicago Tribune wrote the bridge collapse, is insult added to injury for mostly Muslim Somali immigrants already angered by American foreign policy.
You cant make this stuff up folks
Somali community hard hit by Minneapolis bridge disaster
By E.A. Torriero | Tribune staff reporter
8:48 PM CDT, August 7, 2007
snip
MINNEAPOLIS - In the war-ravaged land they fled, Somalis got used to burying the bodies of tens of thousands of their dead. They usually knew what killed the victims: maybe a bullet, a hatchet, sickness or starvation.
But in a grim irony for many of the 20,000-plus Somali refugees who came to this city in America's North Country seeking peace and safety, at least two of their own - a pregnant mother and her 20-month-old daughter - are lost in the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge. They are among about eight Minnesotans officially listed as missing almost a week after the disaster that killed at least five and injured scores.
For Somalis, mostly Muslims living here among one of the nation's largest Somali populations, the limbo has horrible implications. In their culture, it's important for someone to be regarded as either dead or alive.
snip
Still, the collapse was something Somalis never expected to witness in their new homeland. And it has some wondering if the American government has misplaced its priorities by ignoring a decaying national infrastructure in favor of its costly foreign policy.
"Instead of building bridges, they spent more on invading countries," said Abbi Osman, a young Somali who came to Minnesota four years ago and was watching buddies play dominoes Tuesday in a Somali coffee shop. "They are investing in the wrong places."
The collapse too adds to uneasy feelings among Somalis who say they have felt a federal backlash since Sept. 11, 2001 not only because of their Muslim faith but also because Somalia has been accused of harboring terrorists associated with Osama bin Laden. The bridge collapse has added jitters for Somalis who in recent years regrouped and rallied around one another.
"This all adds up to be very painful," said Omar Jamal, a Somali who directs the Somali Justice Advocacy Center that fights for Somali rights.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-070807bridge,0,1625840.story
You cant make this stuff up folks
Somali community hard hit by Minneapolis bridge disaster
By E.A. Torriero | Tribune staff reporter
8:48 PM CDT, August 7, 2007
snip
MINNEAPOLIS - In the war-ravaged land they fled, Somalis got used to burying the bodies of tens of thousands of their dead. They usually knew what killed the victims: maybe a bullet, a hatchet, sickness or starvation.
But in a grim irony for many of the 20,000-plus Somali refugees who came to this city in America's North Country seeking peace and safety, at least two of their own - a pregnant mother and her 20-month-old daughter - are lost in the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge. They are among about eight Minnesotans officially listed as missing almost a week after the disaster that killed at least five and injured scores.
For Somalis, mostly Muslims living here among one of the nation's largest Somali populations, the limbo has horrible implications. In their culture, it's important for someone to be regarded as either dead or alive.
snip
Still, the collapse was something Somalis never expected to witness in their new homeland. And it has some wondering if the American government has misplaced its priorities by ignoring a decaying national infrastructure in favor of its costly foreign policy.
"Instead of building bridges, they spent more on invading countries," said Abbi Osman, a young Somali who came to Minnesota four years ago and was watching buddies play dominoes Tuesday in a Somali coffee shop. "They are investing in the wrong places."
The collapse too adds to uneasy feelings among Somalis who say they have felt a federal backlash since Sept. 11, 2001 not only because of their Muslim faith but also because Somalia has been accused of harboring terrorists associated with Osama bin Laden. The bridge collapse has added jitters for Somalis who in recent years regrouped and rallied around one another.
"This all adds up to be very painful," said Omar Jamal, a Somali who directs the Somali Justice Advocacy Center that fights for Somali rights.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-070807bridge,0,1625840.story