My name is Abdul Mohamed and I am an ex-employee of Sabri Properties. My wife and I are also registered voters and DFL delegates. I worked in public relations, therefore worked very closely and had several dealings with many of my Somali brothers and sisters who rent at Karmel Square and other Sabri buildings.
There are a few points that I would like to address. First, I would like to say that anyone who is a landlord understands that he/she is bound to have some issues with tenants, especially when you have over 450 tenants to deal with. It is inevitable that one or two of those tenants are not going to be happy with the landlord, therfore will talk bad about him. I know that Omar Jamal also understands this as he was involved with one of those tenants. Although he seems to make it appear as though the world's problems are because of Mr. Sabri. It is fair to mention that Omar Jamal was kicked out of Karmel Square by the Somali tenants and he is no longer permitted to go back into the buildigns. Mr. Jamal's organization only consists of him and one other person. He by no means represents us, the Somali, and our voice. During the 2 years I worked with Mr. Sabri's organization, I found him to be the most generous person I have ever met. When tenants had financial, health problems or family problemss he was always forgiving rent or working with them to arrange for payment. I also know that there are some tenants and non-profit organizations that rent from Sabri Properties that woe him collectively over $75,000, but yet he is still to this date working with them to pay their rent. They have not been evicted. I also know that when a Somali cab driver was killed, it was Mr. Sabri who quietly handed his family several thousand dollars to help. It was also Sabri Properties who put on the Somali Independence Day celebration on Lake St. the last 2 years. The big picture is that 5 years ago, it was Mr. Sabri who opened the first bazaar for Somalis in North America. This opened the door and opportunity for many Somalis to own their own business when others were rejecting us. Included with this bazaar, he opened the first Mosque to serve the somali community. Andis this what Mr. Graham refers to as oppression? I invite anyone to make a visit to Karmel Square to talk with these so-called "oppressed tenants" to see how they really feel about Mr. Sabri, if this is the issue. These people consider Mr. Sabri their brother since he treats them as such. Once again, the issue is a development that is good for the city, the neighborhood and an immigrant community. It is not about a developer personality contest. Thank you Mayor Rybak for standing for what is right. Abdul Mohamed West Phillips __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
