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Thread ID: 20813 | Posts: 3 | Started: 2005-10-31
2005-10-31 05:37 | User Profile
Immigrant activists speak
By SUZAN CLARKE THE JOURNAL NEWS (Original Publication: September 25, 2005)
If you go
What: Next stop on the Stop Prejudice Now listening tour
When: 8 p.m. tomorrow, at the general meeting of the Spring Valley chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Where: Louis Kurtz Civic Center, 9 N. Main St., Spring Valley
Information: NAACP, 845-362-6227; Human Rights Commission, 845-364-2199
SPRING VALLEY ââ¬â The county may consider a recommendation to train its employees in order to reduce what some have called inefficiency and bias in their dealings with immigrants.
Immigrants ââ¬â documented or undocumented ââ¬â often are treated with disrespect or indifference when they seek government services, especially if they do not speak English well, members of the Rockland Immigration Coalition told the county's human rights commissioner last week. Commissioner S. Ram Nagubandi was at his first stop on a listening tour that is part of the county's Stop Prejudice Now initiative.
Gail Golden, the coalition's co-chairwoman, told Nagubandi that when advocates referred immigrants to county agencies, unless they were told to ask for a specific employee, "very often the people that we send encounter very poor treatment."
A training program to educate workers ââ¬â particularly on changes in the law ââ¬â is essential, advocates told Nagubandi. The commissioner has asked the coalition for a proposal on its recommendation, which he will present to County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef.
County workers ââ¬â and the general population ââ¬â tend to misunderstand the distinction between documented and undocumented immigrants, and may not be fully aware of the circumstances under which services must be provided, said Vicki Cohen, an attorney. That ignorance often fosters prejudice.
Immigrants should be viewed as human beings with families who love and need them, rather than as interlopers in America, Cohen said.
"Every immigrant family is a blended family in the sense of some people are citizens, some are legal permanent residents, some are on their way, and some are undocumented," she said.
Nagubandi's visit to the coalition was the first of 20 planned stops on his listening tour.
The tour is intended to get feedback and suggestions from a wide cross-section of people on the status of cultural and religious dealings in the county, Nagubandi told about 30 people at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Spring Valley.
The feedback would be used to examine policies or to implement programs to promote harmony among diverse communities.
"What do you think of Rockland County race relations?" Nagubandi asked. "Where do we stand?"
He received a number of thoughtful replies and practical suggestions, in addition to the idea that county employees be trained. One, from Cohen, was straightforward.
"One thing that we can certainly do is try to eliminate the phrase 'illegal alien,'" she said. "It's an outrageous phrase."
Coalition member Eileen Burge asked whether the county's emergency radio could broadcast in languages other than English.
County Legislator Denise Kronstadt, D-Piermont, said at the meeting that she approved of the training suggestion.
C.J. Miller, Vanderhoef's spokeswoman, said in a phone interview that the county executive was committed to hearing from every aspect of the county's diverse community.
"We will do anything we need to do to improve our communication with everyone who lives here ... so whatever that takes, we're going to do," she said.
Miller said Thursday that the county's emergency radio broadcast solely in English, but noted, "We are working on changing that and incorporating Spanish, Creole, Yiddish as well as English. And it only makes sense. ... Obviously it's crucial."
The county has published several informational brochures on emergency preparedness in English, Creole, Spanish and Yiddish. [url]http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050925/NEWS03/509250349/1019/NEWS03&template=printart[/url]
2005-10-31 05:46 | User Profile
how about we train people on how to elliminate illegals?:angry:
2005-10-31 15:06 | User Profile
[QUOTE]"One thing that we can certainly do is try to eliminate the phrase 'illegal alien,'" she said. "It's an outrageous phrase."[/QUOTE] I agree. Replace that outrageous phrase with "deported criminal".