36 CHALDEAN NEWS
36 CHALDEAN NEWS AUGUST 2007
efugee overload? Warren mayor’s fears spark outrage Warren Mayor Mark Steenbergh is standing firm to statements he made earlier this week regarding Iraqi refugees settling in Warren. “We were told 90 Iraqi refugees are due to arrive very soon with many more to follow,” said Steenbergh in a statement released on July 18. “I’ve been told that these refugees will be given assistance in locating housing and in learning English. Will the City of Warren receive assistance for the burden placed upon our services with so many people set to arrive? Will our schools be given assistance with the need to educate so many more non-English-speaking children? “My biggest concern is where the refugees will find employment?” continued Steenbergh. “The economy is horrible in Southeastern Michigan. Where are the jobs the refugees will need? Longtime Warren residents are having trouble finding jobs. This is not the time to add more people to a shrinking pool of employment.” Steenbergh’s remarks raised howls of protest from the Chaldean community, and the Chaldean News received numerous phone calls and e-mails on the topic. “Warren’s mayor is a bigot,” said Martin Manna, executive director of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce. “Steenbergh is just trying to get residents to vote against the Chaldean candidate for mayor, Richard Sulaka.” Sulaka is Warren’s first Chaldean candidate for mayor (Steenbergh is term-limited so cannot run for re-election). “It is not a surprise that Mayor Steenbergh would turn a political hardship into a political ploy,” said Sulaka’s spokesperson, Mark E. Gilman. BY JOYCE WISWELL “These people have been driven out of their homes because of the situation in Iraq and we as a society have some moral responsibility to address this difficult situation.” – DAVE NONA, CHAIRMAN OF THE CHALDEAN AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE James L. Clor, superintendent of Warren Consolidated Schools, said he is delighted to welcome the new Iraqi students, especially at a time when so many people are leaving Michigan due to the poor economy. “We are excited about serving these children. We can handle it and we do get state aid,” he said. “Quite honestly, our enrollment is flat. We have plenty of seats and we’re looking forward to serving these kids. We know the hell these families have gone through. How about being sympathetic to these people?” Clor noted that the school district has students who speak 54 different languages, an “outstanding English as a Second Language program,” and more than 1,800 Chaldean students. Steenbergh was not available for comment, but his spokesperson, Joe Munem, said that all he did was ask legitimate questions. “The mayor has an obligation to the 138,000 residents of this community to ask these questions,” Munem said. “The mayor is very compassionate and understands the plight of what is going on in Iraq, but the mayor is obligated to ensure his community is able to maintain services and not reach a breaking point by having a large influx of people coming in.” Warren’s statement said that the city could expect that up to two-thirds of 25,000 Iraqi refugees could resettle in Warren and Sterling Heights. On July 18, U.S. Rep Sander Levin issued a sharply worded statement about Steenbergh’s comments, calling that information “inaccurate and misleading.” “While the hope was to re-settle 7,000 this year, the State Department has recently informed the international community that the U.S. can process at most only 2,000 individuals by the end of September 2007,” Levin said in the statement. “It’s not enough to know what the numbers aren’t, we want to know what they are. Levin doesn’t answer that,” countered Munem. Munem said other U.S. cities are in a better position to accommodate refugees. “There are other parts of the country whose economies are thriving far more than ours, Houston for example,” he said. “The mayor has concerns that people who have lived here their whole lives are having trouble finding gainful employment. So how are we going to find employment for these individuals? Will they need to go on some sort of public assistance? “It’s not that we don’t welcome new people coming in,” he added, “but we are worried about a lot of people over a relatively short period of time.” “The Chaldean community is committed to helping the newcomers,” said Dave Nona, chairman of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce. “These people have been driven out of their homes because of the situation in Iraq and we as a society have some moral responsibility to address this difficult situation. If it is truly a burden on the Warren community, we can meet with the mayor and see what we can do to help with the situation.” Munem said the mayor’s remarks have been distorted. “We think the knee-jerk reactions that this was somehow bigoted were utterly contrived and ridiculous,” he said. “Someone accused him of being anti-Catholic, which I’m sure was a major shock to his priest.” Joe Kassab, executive director of the Chaldean Federation of America, said Steenbergh is politicizing a humanitarian issue. “We must help these refugees out and receive them with open arms regardless of what the numbers are,” he said. Kassab said Warren has nothing to worry about. “We have a coalition of many NGOs [non-government organizations] to provide services to these people called the Chaldean Federation of American Resettlement Committee. We will deal with the numbers as soon as they come in. “We know that Chaldeans will never become a burden to anyone,” Kassab added. “If anything, they will be an asset to this country.” Warren Mayor Mark Steenbergh faced wide criticism following remarks about Iraqi refugees. AUGUST 2007 CHALDEAN NEWS 37
