Sandnigger Immigrants Ruining Small Towns in America

http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/immigrants_disease_towns_/2007/12/09/55808.html

Small Towns Grapple with Diseased Immigrants

Sunday, December 9, 2007

The incidence of a Somali meat packer in Kansas who died from tuberculosis

has officials calling for better health screening for the waves of unskilled

immigrant workers flooding smaller American communities.

In the wake of the January death at a Tyson Foods plant in Emporia, Kan.,

public health officials found 160 cases of latent TB among the facility's

500 Somali workers, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal.

Local officials say the case represents only a small part of the growing

problem of foreign-born, unassimilated communities with high rates of

communicable diseases such as TB and HIV. Many say they need help from

Washington, which has been silent on the issue for too long.

"We have not really gotten Congress to engage, which I would like to see

occur," Peggy Mast, an 11-year Republican state representative from Kansas

whose district includes Emporia, tells Newsmax. "I have talked with some of

the offices and they think it is more of a state issue . . ."

The U.S. government has agreed to resettle more than 12,000 Somalis who fled

their war-torn country in the past decade. Many have been living in refugee

camps in Kenya prior to coming to America.

Mandatory health screenings are frequently put off for several months after

the immigrants' arrival. Those who blend into the secretive, tight-knit

Somali community often do not resurface to be tested for communicable

disease, officials complain.

Mast says that all levels of government need to be more pro-active in

dealing with the issue of immigration workers, as it has opened up many

additional areas of concerns including community safety, cultural clashes,

and a long-term financial drain on communities where unskilled immigrants

congregate for employment.

"From what I hear, I don't think Kansas is unique in this," Mast, 59, said.

"These individuals are coming in with latent TB and HIV. This should not be.

We are putting the general population at risk."

The death of the worker at the local Tyson meatpacking facility was first

reported by the Emporia Gazette. A town meeting was held on the issue, which

opened many other areas of concerns by residents regarding the foreign

workers.

Mast said the TB infections in the Somali community Emporia, a city of

28,000 people, the third highest TB rate in Kansas.

"[The Somali community] is dealing with active cases now," she tells

Newsmax. "This population is extremely difficult to track and it is hard to

treat them. You have to make sure they are compliant with the medication and

make sure they finish it up."

Originally there were between 70 and 90 Somali workers at the Emporia plant

who transferred to Kansas after a similar Tyson facility in Norfolk, Neb.,

shut down.

Now, Mast says there are some 500 Somali workers and "they are not the same

people who came in originally.

"Most are single men from Minnesota and other places, because they heard of

the packing plant and the wages of over $11 an hour, which is good for the

unskilled population," Mast says.

Public health officials still can't determine if the Somali workers were

infected while working in the Norfolk facility or elsewhere. What they do

know, however, is that latent TB and other infectious diseases are prevalent

among Somali and other humanitarian refugees arriving in the U.S.

She said there has been little family reunification among the male workers -

something that could occur in the future and further exacerbate the problem

and stress the community financially and culturally.

"There have already been several cultural clashes. This is a disservice to

the population you are bringing in and you are inviting a cultural clash,"

Mast says. "The fact there is such a cultural clash and where you have

active TB cases, you only have to guess to imagine the fear that spreads

through the community."

Mast and others argue the federal government must conduct more thorough

screenings on refugees entering the U.S. In addition to health concerns, she

said there should be mandatory cultural education to help refugees

assimilate.

"They do not understand the culture. Men tend not to show respect for women.

They are very demanding and do not respect other people's space," Mast says.

Additionally, she said the limited language skills have caused communication

issues beyond simple day-to-day contact.

For example, Mast says most of the Somalis in Emporia are single males who

live in a cluster near Emporia State University. She said several female

students complained of being "extremely intimidated" by the Somali men's

presence.

Mast complains that Rep. Jerry Moran has advised Kansans that the Somali

health and safety issues are state problems. She said she received more help

from the mayor of Lewiston, Maine, a city of 36,000 that has a similar

enclave of 1,200 Somali refugees - with 50 percent of them unemployed.

"Lewiston has asked Congress for more funding," Mast says. "We look down the

road and see the problems they can create. Unemployed single males with

nothing to do."

Mast says the "inconsistency of some of the authorities does not help create

any sense of security."

She notes that it is cultural for Somalis to marry up to four wives at one

time.

"My concern is multiple children: Is our society prepared to take

responsibility for caring for that size of the family? [sponsors] say it

will be a major resettlement [in Emporia]. The community is not ready for

this," Mast says.

Mast says even Catholic Charities, which helps with resettlement, could not

give her an accurate count of how may refugees will ultimately resettle in

her district.

"They do not know who they are, where they came from, what their intent is,

and what we are looking at down the road," she told Newsmax.