Multicultural News

Multicultural Association Joins Al Haramain Suit

The Multicultural Association has joined a lawsuit to remove the Al Haramain Foundation of Ashland from the government’s list of terrorist organizations.  The affidavit filed August 6 in Federal District Court in Portland contends that the designation is "unfounded and illegal." The suit also seeks to release the foundation’s assets which were frozen by the government.  The Multicultural Association feels the suppression of  Al Haramain deprives the community of cultural diversity and violates First Amendment freedoms of speech, association and religion.

Editorial: 

So why is a small nonprofit organization suing the federal government?

 By Jim Bauermeister

The Multicultural Association of Southern Oregon is a small, low budget, generally low profile nonprofit organization. We are known, if we are known at all, for organizing the annual Multicultural Fair in September, co-sponsoring the Martin Luther King Day Celebration in January and hosting multicultural kids camps. Our board is comprised of ordinary working people and students. The worst epithet that could be hurled at us is “do gooders.” We are community activists and wild-eyed moderates. Like Dr. King, we believe people can become better than they are. One of our mottos has been: “Bringing us all together.”

 On August 6 the Multicultural Association took a step into the national limelight by signing onto a complaint against the federal government. The suit alleges that the government illegally and unconstitutionally suppressed another local organization, the Al-Haramain Foundation of Ashland. In 2004 the U.S. Treasury Department put the foundation on a list of terrorist organizations and froze its assets.

We have seen nothing that convinces us that Al-Haramain supported or gave aid to terrorists. The government claims to have classified information locked in a bombproof vault that implicates the foundation and its directors. However, this top secret stuff was accidentally sent to our lawyers who assure us that it amounts to nothing. This information was gathered in the Bush Administration’s illegal wiretaps.

Our lawyers caution us that the Multicultural Association could be added to the terrorist list simply for coming to Al-Haramain’s defense.  Banning organizations without cause and due process seems more like apartheid South Africa or the old Soviet Union than the United States of America.

This is not my America. Our Constitution and Bill of Rights assure citizens of due process and equality under the law. We have no star chambers here. Heresy evidence from anonymous accusers is inadmissible. The government cannot spy on its citizens and conduct warrantless surveillance.  The Fourth Amendment protects us from unreasonable searches and seizures.  The Fifth Amendment guarantees due process and prevents the government from compelling a citizen to incriminate himself. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, the right to associate with whomever  we choose and the right to petition our government for redress of grievances— a right which we are exercising in this case. 

Before it was suppressed, Al-Haramain had a booth at the Multicultural Fair. They marched in local parades with their camel and participated in interfaith services with Jewish and Christian groups.  In 2005 the Multicultural Association hosted a public forum “Understanding Islam” We would have included representatives from Al-Haramain on the panel had they been available. They would have added much to the discussion.

The forum advanced our mission to "promote understanding and appreciation between cultures" Another part of our mission is to reduce racism and bigotry. If the government is suppressing Al-Haramain solely because it is an Islamic organization (as it seems) this makes our job more difficult. Al-Haramain is one of the few Moslem organizations located in Southern Oregon. Its leaders spoke out on issues of peace, foreign policy and religion. A local resident might conclude that all Moslems are terrorists because the most vocal and visible local Islamic group was designated as a terrorist organization. Yet I urge all citizens to keep an open mind on this issue. Read the legal affidavit. When it becomes available, we will also post the government’s response.

Our system works best when citizens have access to and consider all the facts and aspects of an issue—and when the rights of all individuals and groups are respected and protected.

“We Are One Human Family!” Mail-art Project

You are invited to join with others from around the world in a locally sponsored, internationally recognized mail-art project entitled, “We Are One Human Family!” The collected artwork will be on display at the celebration of Martin Luther King Day on January 20th, 2008 from 3-5 p.m. at South Medford High School.

What exactly is mail art? According to the Modesto Art Museum, it “. . . is art that is created, stamped, postmarked, and sent through the mail to the exhibit. Open to any medium, the art reflects a particular theme that easily integrates into many subject areas. Open to any age or ability level, the art is exhibited … at … venues.” In this case, we ask that participants create and mail postcard-sized pieces of art related to the theme of "We Are One Human Family!"

How can you participate? Send a piece of mail-art to the exhibit. View samples of other submissions and track the project’s progress at http://mlkmailart.blogspot.com. Spread the word and invite others to participate. Then attend the exhibit on January 20^th, 2008 at South Medford High School. To date we have over 100 submissions from 24 countries.

Please send mail-art postcards to:“We Are One Human Family!”c/o Tanya Bemis, P.O. Box 1018, Ashland, OR  97520 (Mail-art by Giusseppe Ricetti, Foligno, Italy)

Editorial:

Racism—A Continuing Legacy in Southern Oregon

By Jim Bauermeister and Connie Saldaña

Most local residents were shocked and embarrassed when two visitors to our community were attacked in broad daylight on a public street by two young men screaming racial epithets.

Most white people don’t think racism is a problem here. Most minority residents disagree. While outright physical violence is relatively rare, nearly everyone outside of the ethnic mainstream is subjected to occasional insults, innuendos, poor service and other rude behavior based on their skin color.

What seems remarkable about the August 21^st incident is that the perpetrators were born in the 1980s--decades after the civil rights movement demanded respect, justice and equal opportunity for all citizens. Shouldn’t we be beyond all that now?

Even the concept of race is obsolete. Genetic science has shown that there are no discernable differences between Africans, Asians, Europeans and Americans.  As Gandhi said, “There is only one race—the human race.”

The main differences are in our histories. Southwestern Oregon doesn’t have a good history when it comes to inter-cultural relations. The original residents, the Takelma, Shasta and Dakubetede, were driven off by violence and treachery.  Chinese, brought in to work for the mines and railroads, were prohibited from owning land or becoming citizens. The Ku Klux Klan was very strong and active in the early 20^th Century agitating against African-Americans, Catholics and Jews. Loyal Japanese-Americans were removed to internment camps during World War II. More recently, our Hispanic neighbors have felt the sting of bigotry. Given our history, it’s no wonder that the Census Bureau finds Jackson County to be 92 percent white, while the total country is 75% white.  People of color are really in the minority here.  White people have less opportunity to get to know and appreciate people who are different. 

The legacy of racism is still with us. Statistically, people identified as African-American or Hispanic make less money, have less access to education and health care and die younger than people identified as white.

Yet we have made progress. As radio talk show host Don Imus learned, you can’t make ignorant racist and sexist comments on the public air waves without consequences. Overt racism has become socially unacceptable.  Unfortunately, covert racism lingers like a contagious virus.

Racism is passed along like an old family heirloom. Everyone of every background has prejudices including some we may not even be aware of. Even the most open-minded of us has to remain alert to our thoughts and actions.

You can have friends who are Black and enjoy rap music and still be racist towards African-Americans.  Racism “is the belief that people of different races have different qualities and abilities, and that some races are inherently superior or inferior.”

The way to overcome these prejudices is to never make an assumption about anyone based on physical characteristics. As Martin Luther King urged, judge others on the content of their characters not on the color of their skin.

Teach your children well. If you slip and say something thoughtless of another race in front of them apologize and use the incident as a learning opportunity. Purge the N word and all other demeaning words and phrases from your vocabulary. Have the courage to speak up when someone says or does something ignorant.

While there are no racial differences between people, there are cultural distinctions. Culture is the aggregate of a people’s language, history, food, music, religion, clothes and customs. Culture is the way people have adapted to live in a place.

Other cultures can seem strange, even intimidating, especially if you haven’t lived among people who are much different from you. However, every culture has something to teach us. Cultural differences ought to be shared, appreciated and celebrated. It is the only way our race—the human race—is going to make it through the 21^st Century.

 Jim Bauermeister is president and Connie Saldaña is a founder and board member of the Multicultural Association of Southern Oregon.

Inspiration Passing Through

 By Jim Bauermeister

On August 7 we (KSKQ and the Multicultural Association) had the privilege of hosting a group from the Martin Luther King Freedom Center in Oakland, CA and the Institute for Community Leadership of Kent, WA. The teenagers and their adult guides were passing through on a tour of the west coast. They did a radio program and then we met in an informal reception. We explained who we are and what we do. They told us about themselves. Nearly all the kids got up and spoke—some more than once. They talked about how walking the path of nonviolence has changed their lives. The support, friendship and love were obvious amongst the very diverse group. Their T-shirts summed up their mission:  “Nonviolence, equality, youth, ecology.”  My teenage daughter Mara also spoke up. She told our visitors how inspired she was by their words and work. She said her high school really needs what they have to offer. We began to incubate some plans.  As Humphrey Bogart said to Claude Rains at the end of Casablanca, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Romania: From Communism to Capitalism

By Mary Barton, Social Studies Teacher at Phoenix High School

In December 2005 I had the outstanding opportunity to travel to Romania on a study tour with 11 other teachers under the auspices of the National Council for Economic Education and the United States Department of Education. We visited numerous schools, government officials, and entrepreneurs. These are some of my observations.

In the last 15 years since the fall of communism in Romania there have been incredible achievements and change.  Excitement abounds in anticipation of entry into the European Union (possibly in 2007).  It is seen by most in Bucharest (the capital city) as the glorious day when Romania will be on near equal footing with Western Europe.  There is a countdown clock in the center of the city and everyone we talked to looked forward to the freedom of movement for the workers, and the investment that they hope will happen in their country once they are viewed as stable and trustworthy.  Young European Week was being celebrated with a rock concert, and uncommon optimism is associated with everything western European. Children already perform the European Anthem and EU flags are everywhere.

Romanians are very well connected. They have more cell phones per capita than any other European country.  Certainly EVERY meeting I went to was interrupted at least once by a cell phone call.  Students had cell phones in the halls at school.  A dubious connection to the US was revealed when a 15 year old I met told me that she has watched every episode of “Southpark” via the Internet.

In our orientation we were told that there is no unemployment in Bucharest or Costanza! Wow, could this be true? Well, as in the U.S., it depends who you consider unemployed.  After two years of unemployment people can no longer collect government benefits so they are no longer on the official lists of unemployed, although they are likely still without a job.  In a population of 22 million, four million that are employed in Romania.  However, apparently another four million Romanians work in Spain and other European countries and send money home. This large number of expatriates sending money home explains the abundance of currency exchange booths in Bucharest; euros must be changed to lei.

 An interesting change is the revival of religious participation.  During communist times no one talked about religion outside the walls of their own homes.  The churches were boarded up for decades.  Now, one hour of religion each week is a requirement in the public schools.  It is in the parents’ choice of religion and there is an “opt out”.  The government has certainly shown a commitment to the value of spiritual learning.  I saw many people wearing crosses and attending churches, and the refurbishment of numerous Orthodox Christian church buildings.

Romanians (uniquely among Eastern European countries) embrace US involvement.  Numerous times we were reminded that after WWII the Romanians hoped against hope that the Americans would come and save them from the Russians. While we were there Condoleezza Rice came to Busharest to sign an agreement for US use of three military bases in Romania.  The phrase we heard was “the Americans are coming”!  US presence, while not universally welcomed, is mostly seen as a factor that will stabilize the image of Romania as a safe place to do business. Romania has supported the US efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan with 2000 troops. I observed several American companies with considerable investment in Romania including Orbitz, Ford, Colgate-Palmolive, and the omnipresent Coca-cola and McDonald's.

 The transition to capitalism requires a new way of thinking.  A high school history teacher compared the situation to the biblical story of the Jews, who had been slaves in Egypt, and on their Exodus became lost in the desert for 40 years.  This, he said, was part of God’s plan because all the people who remembered slavery would have passed on before the people started their new free life. The implication of the story is that it will take two generations for deep change to occur.  A student explained that the older people who lived most of their lives under communism see the current situation as so much better than before, that they don’t have the energy, optimism or knowledge to lead further change – they are satisfied.  Those leaders who desire more change are frustrated by the lingering hold of the older generation.  It is the young people, who have only lived life since the fall of communism, who can shake off the hold of the old ways to live and breathe the new way.  For example, a T-shirt being auctioned off as part of an economics lesson, had the profound message: “Don’t feel guilty.  Self-interest is not selfishness.”  I see this as a statement about the collective guilt forward-thinking Romanians deal with as they try to keep the well-intended attributes of communism alive while embracing capitalism.  In the past “personal development could only occur underground” according to the Ilinca Buciu, the principal of the Cosbuc school.  But now in her school we witnessed students openly debating and discussing the strengths and weakness of their country. We heard how the Freshman class raised $1000 and would most likely use it for a door on the girls restroom – taking responsibility for their school because waiting on the government bureaucracy was futile.

Romania has a bright future, but as we see worldwide, change is hard.

Five Myths About Immigration

Common Misconceptions Underlying U.S. Border-Enforcement Policy

By Douglas S. Massey, Ph.D.

The current crisis of undocumented im-migration to the United States has its roots in fundamental misunderstandings about the causes of immigration and the motivations of immigrants. A growing body of evidence indicates that current border-enforcement policies are based on mistaken assumptions and have failed. Undocumented migrants continue to come to the United States, rates of apprehensions are at all-time lows, and migrants are settling in the United States at higher rates than ever before. Developing effective and realistic immigration policies requires overcoming five basic myths about immigration:

MYTH 1. Migration is caused by lack of economic development in migrant’s home countries.

International migrants do not originate in the world’s poorest nations, but in those developing and growing dynamically. The largest single source of U.S. immigrants, Mexico, is not a poor nation by global standards. Mexico has a one-trillion dollar economy, a per capita income of almost $9,000 (compared to $9,700 in Russia), a fully industrialized economy, a high level of urbanization and an advanced life expectancy.

MYTH 2. Migration is caused by rapid population growth in migrant’s home countries.

The fertility rate in Mexico is about 2.3 children per woman, which is only slightly above “replacement” level. The highest fertility levels are generally observed in the Arab world and Sub-Saharan Africa, but these regions contribute few migrants to global streams.

MYTH 3 Migrants move mainly in response to differences in wages.

Households use international migration as a tool to overcome failed or missing markets for insurance, capital and credit at home. For example, because Mexico has virtually no mortgage banking industry, a large share of the money earned by Mexican immigrants in the United States is channeled into the construction or purchase of homes in Mexico.

MYTH 4 Migrants are attracted to the United States by generous public benefits.

Immigrants are less likely than natives to use public services.

While 66 percent of Mexican immigrants report the withholding of Social Security taxes from their paychecks and 62 percent say that employers withhold income taxes only 10 percent say they have ever sent a child to U.S. public schools, 7 percent indicate they have received Supplemental Security Income, and 5 percent or less report ever using food stamps, welfare or unemployment compensation.

MYTH 5. Most migrants intend to settle permanently in the United States.

Mexico-U.S. migration has historically been circular: 80 percent of Mexican immigrants report they made no more than three trips to the United States and three quarters stayed less than two years.

Douglas S. Massey is professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University and coauthor of Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Mexican Immigration in an Era of Economic Integration (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2002). This article is reprinted from Immigration Policy In Focus, Volume 4, Issue 6, August 2005 © AILF reprinted with permission.

The Family Blackberry Thicket