Asylum Seekers: Leaders demonstrate for better treatment
Please, somebody tell me what my eyes are seeing, what my ears are hearing is all a fantasy! What I am seeing and hearing are Asylum Seekers with their leaders demonstrating at City Hall demanding that Mayor Adams cease the policy of having Asylum Seekers removed after 30 days for individuals, 90 days for families from the places that they had residence and have to reapply unless or until shelters are found for them. The idea is not to create permanency in the transit residents but to keep hope alive that by moving or reapplying eventually there will be permanent residents. The leaders are demanding that the policy cease because it imposes hardship upon the Seekers.
Somebody help me please so that my blood pressure doesn’t go up and my heart rate doesn’t increase. How is it that these Asylum seekers are numbering over 200,000 in the last year or so entering uninvited from near and far. And the city opens its arms to them, providing accommodations and other kinds of amenities while seeking an answer to the problem.
But these Asylum Seekers instead of being grateful for whatever is offered are now complaining that they are not getting proper accommodations – they do not want to go into these shelters. Now keep in mind, there are tens of thousands of good old Americans who have been in this country for years, helping to make NYC and the country what they are and have become, and for various reasons are in shelters. Everybody agrees there is a desperate need for housing in New York City. But these Asylum Seekers with their well-intentioned leaders (and it's hard for me to say they are well intentioned) are complaining they are not getting proper treatment.
This Mayor has welcomed Asylum seekers. He was at the bus stops when they came into the city from other places. In fact, they were bused in from other cities that demonstrated they didn’t want them. But here in New York compassion and sensitivity were shown to the Asylum seekers not only by the Mayor, but in general by New Yorkers. And at the same time, millions of New Yorkers are going through hard times. This is not the best of times for most New Yorkers. But we’re trying to live with it and do the best that we can.
But, the Asylum Seekers, few in number, I hope, want better accommodations, better treatment. This Mayor, moved with compassion and empathy, is doing the best he can with what resources he has. Keep in mind, there is no solution anywhere – From nowhere has anyone come up with the answer, from the president on down has found a satisfactory answer to this problem.
Some Mayors out of compassion and empathy are doing the best they can with the resources that they have. And yet, not only are these Asylum seekers complaining, but the press seems hard and unfair on the Mayor. It seemed from the beginning of this Mayor's tenure- the press, black and white have not been fair. Let me put this in a personal way. Suppose you had a home and they showed up one day to crowds of people showing up one day at your door seeking residence, they’re being driven out of their country and you say to them, “I am having difficulty myself but I’ll find you some room. It may be up in the attic or down in the basement, or my backyard. But I will find you some accommodations and provide you with the sustenance for survival and I will show you love and understanding.”
So you welcome them in and provide food, water, and shelter and treating them with respect. Even more with love, even though you are getting complaints from your family members in the same house. Then out of the basement comes a group saying, we don’t want to live in the basement any more. We want to live on the ground level floor, the basement is too difficult for us, or we don’t like the policy of being moved out of the basement onto the lawn. We don’t like that policy, we want to stay in one place. You say to them, you want them to move into their own permanent residence. So can you bear with us to get this done.
Then you wake up one morning and see demonstrators in front of your house, demanding for better accommodations or treatment. I wonder what you, dear reader, would do? And at the same time you think your neighbors will help. Then you go to your neighbors and they say they are willing to help and send them somewhere else. You find yourself by yourself and here you have people demonstrating, I just wonder what you, my dear readers would do. I rather not entertain the thought. I don’t even want to entertain the thought about what I would do.
Let’s try to pull together and help this Mayor find a solution. It requires all of us including corporate America. We need a National Policy! I refuse to believe that in our great country of America putting people up on the moon making all kinds of incredible discoveries, we cannot find a group of people, with the impartiality, love, concern, creative genius, you mean we can't find people who can come together and draw up for us a workable solution to this problem. I refuse to believe we can’t find the people to do that. But in the meanwhile at the risk of being repetitive, let's give the Mayor a break!
And for those of us who believe in prayer, let’s continue to pray for this Mayor that God would give him the wisdom of Solomon!
Save the Planet – Save the People!
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