Dowple
05-02-2007, 07:49 AM
To commemorate what will apparently be our yearly requirement to kiss the backside of every "immigrant" on 1 May, I'm posting this link, which is a little over a year old. But well worth remembering, as we bubble and coo over all things "immigrant".
Resettlement counselors who work with Bantus say many had never flushed a toilet, flicked a light switch, watched a TV, talked on a telephone, cooked on a stove, ridden in a car, held a pen, used a fork, seen a two-story building or written or read their own language. In Kenya, some Bantus had gotten stuck in a room at an orientation session because they didn't know how to turn the doorknob. Others asked whether they had to go with their luggage as it passed through the airport X-ray machine.
Resettlement agencies were told not to give the refugees anything too complicated — like a toaster. Plans to cluster some Bantu families in Holyoke, Mass., were canceled when members of the City Council said the community lacked the resources to care for them.
Story (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-03-21-somali-bantu-cover_x.htm)
Actually, I like the idea of these people passing through the airport x-ray machine with their luggage. It might just eliminate our Bantu resettlement problems in one or two generations.
Resettlement counselors who work with Bantus say many had never flushed a toilet, flicked a light switch, watched a TV, talked on a telephone, cooked on a stove, ridden in a car, held a pen, used a fork, seen a two-story building or written or read their own language. In Kenya, some Bantus had gotten stuck in a room at an orientation session because they didn't know how to turn the doorknob. Others asked whether they had to go with their luggage as it passed through the airport X-ray machine.
Resettlement agencies were told not to give the refugees anything too complicated — like a toaster. Plans to cluster some Bantu families in Holyoke, Mass., were canceled when members of the City Council said the community lacked the resources to care for them.
Story (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-03-21-somali-bantu-cover_x.htm)
Actually, I like the idea of these people passing through the airport x-ray machine with their luggage. It might just eliminate our Bantu resettlement problems in one or two generations.