Index of SPPS Budget Discussion http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/spps-posts.html _________________________________________
I was at the forum to tape it for SPNN and the Minnesota Council of Non-Profits. MCN will have a videostream on their site by this weekend...www.mncn.org....SPNN will have it on Channel 19 the first weekend in April, and will run the program through April. There were more than 350 people at the event at Lao Family, and people had to be turned away. The relocation will have a large impact on many sectors of our community. The one area the assembled panel, which was comprised by members of the delegation, couldn't address was the political implications of the closing of the Wat camp in Thailand, and if there should be changes in the State Department's process for accepting political asylees and refugees. I understand that some members of the delegation have been criticized for reaching out to help the family members of Saint Paulites who aren't yet citizens, or that the effort will burden our overstrapped social support systems. On the other hand, there was at least one sympathetic refugee worker who criticized the delegation for not supporting African refugees. I understand the criticism, but it may be misplaced. There was a very similar case about four years ago when a refugee camp in Kenya was closed and nearly 6000 Oromo refugees from Ethiopia relocated with family members in the Twin Cities. I think because of the difference in political leadership (pre-Kelly, pre-Rybak), political context (pre-9/11, pre-Pawlenty), and relative power of the Hmong community in Saint Paul vs. Oromo groups anywhere, the community response was very different. It probably shouldn't be different in rare cases like these. However, because of the unstable nature of the globe, we should expect that local communities will become more engaged in this type of project. At least one speaker at the delegation thought that this community response to a humanitarian crisis that affects local communities will set a positive example for other US cities. Mike Wassenaar West End _____________________________________________ SPPS Budget Reduction Forum - Feb. 23-27 Co-Sponsored By NEAT: http://www.stpaulneat.org/ _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
