It is really sad to see an American think of an Iraqi refugee as an enemy. This is either ignorance or simple hatred or maybe both. Iraqis who had suffered under Saddam had suffered even more when the U.S. invaded and occupied their country. Hundreds of thousands were kidnapped, tortured, beheaded, displaced and even buried alive in mass graves since the war started five years ago. And for what? For a war based on lies and private interests. And yet, there is this American woman named Bertha Avila from Marysville who is shocked to see Iraqis, whose lives were destroyed because of her country, being resettled and compensated for what they lost in Iraq.
What Bertha doesn’t seem to understand or maybe doesn’t seem to want to understand is that once upon a time those Iraqis had a relatively normal life compared to their destroyed life after her country invaded theirs. It is the least thing the U.S. could do to atone itself for what it did to those people’s lives. Those were doctors, engineers, teachers, dentists, … etc. They are not enemies; they are the remaining seeds of a better future that for a while seemed dim.
Read Bertha’s letter below:Letter: Why is U.S. aiding Iraqi refugees?
The Department of Homeland Security has recently allowed refugees from Iraq to settle in our country through a program called U.S. Refugee Admission Program, and as of June 4, 6,480 Iraqis have been admitted into the USA and an additional 27,940 Iraqis referred to DHS for interviews, with approvals growing each day.
Iraq was considered a global terrorist threat. We go to war to prevent terrorism and then we turn around and welcome their displaced citizens into this country giving them special visas and loans to travel and all the benefits such as welfare, food and medical services while our own government is facing a recession?
I am puzzled and can’t understand the fairness of this country. One day U.S. sons and daughters fighting in this bloody war will come home to be neighbors with the sons and daughters of the of the enemy enjoying the benefits they will only hope for.
Go to www.USCIS.gov and read all about this program.
Bertha Avila
Marysville
it is so shocking and saddening to hear about ignorance and discrimination…instead of talking about fairness why not look at the facts for once, who initiated the war on Iraq and afghanistan for instance? who for the passed 7yrs has been talking about terror and the war on terrorism? who has been spending billions and trillions on military and war instead of keeping the money for the sake of development and people’s welfare? who has been killing apprehending innocent cicilians and has caused the flee of millions from their own secure homes and surrouindings into the unknown?
I will say to Ms. Bertha Avila that, Japanese are living in this country and they did destroy part of it one time. Germans live in this country and they did fight against the United State. Russian live in this country and they were the main threat to erase the United State with their huge nuclear weapons.
Iraq is a nation with 25 million when the United State is 400 million. Iraq is a nation with history started before the United State by thousands of years. Iraqi people invented the wheel. Iraqi people did not attack the American people. Iraqi did not force group punishment on the American people for 10 years. Iraqi people did not destroy all the electricity power stations, hospitals, schools, water station, roads, bridges, post offices, transportation in the US.
So I want to understand when she said that Iraqi people are the enemies, what was she thinking?
I think if we want to reply to everyone like Ms. Bertha, we will need books that use all the trees in the world and after that she will not be convinced.
I wonder if anyone’s told Bassam that the letters to the editor page of random, small-town newspapers isn’t exactly where America’s best and brightest come together to share their opinions.