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About The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 1989)
PAGE 12 — The Georgia Bulletin, October 12, 1989 HAPPIER TIMES — Ali Hassan Nur and his wife, Deman Rageh, have received political asylum in the U.S. He is a travel agent; she is employed by the Georgia Council for Interna tional Visitors. Somali — (Continued from page 1) Colombo, an Italian citizen, was murdered July 9, 1989. “News From Africa Watch” a human rights publication, says Bishop Colombo was assassinated by “forces within the government who suspected the bishop of passing infor mation about human rights abuses to foreign embassies and governments.” “A main problem is Siad Barre’s government does not allow members of the international media into Somalia to cover events there and we have a difficult time getting ac curate news,” said Ali Hassan Nur, a Somali who came to Atlanta with his wife in 1986. “Our best sources are the firsthand accounts from travelers from Somalia, either Somalis or Americans who have witnessed the situation.” Nur’s wife, Deman Rageh, is the daughter of Somalia’s first United Nations ambassador, who was part of the previous administration. She is now the heart of a Somalian refugee community in Atlanta, made up of others who have fled. Her husband operated an English-language video business, which attracted foreigners and the suspicions of the Somali government. They were assisted by Catholic Social Services to obtain political asylum status, as was Nur’s brother, a Somali embassy official in Nigeria, who had helped Somalis regardless of their tribe or political af filiation. The brothers now hope to form a group to bring the plight of their country to the American public's attention. People assisted by Mrs. Colussy in more recent months have told harrowing stories of torture. A new client, 22-year-old Yassien Mohamed Issa, had his Four Bishops Trace History (Continued from page 7) toward Catholic evan gelization of black peoples had to rise from the white Catholic community. And Catholic churches usually practiced some form of modified segregation with separate seating, blacks at the end of the line for con fession and communion. “The European im migrant Church was clear ly a white people’s church, and few blacks found a home there; those that did were clearly third-class citizens. This attitude, built up over a hundred year period, did not disappear overnight.” As the immigrant work ing class evolved into the white middle class subur ban culture, thousands of black Americans moved north. By 1960, half of the black population was to be found in the North and in the big cities. “The division of the races, however, per sisted in society at large, and most lamentably, in the Church,” he said. Catholic policy toward blacks as they moved into northern cities was to segregate them in their own separate parishes. In some southern parishes, blacks and whites did wor ship together, separated at the altar and at the pew. “In 1947, Joseph Cardinal Ritter issued an edict that demanded the integration of parochial schools. He threatened those who op posed his policy with ex- communication. By the stroke of a pen, Cardinal Ritter accomplished what lay people and parish priests working together Continuing Education Programs Integrating Theology and Ministry With Spiritual Formation Embracing Life: Spirituality For Today Professor : Sr. Mary Sue Kennedy, O.P. Emory University Dates: October 21 - November 18 Time: Saturdays, 9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Learning to Love the Gospels Professor: James D. Campbell, O.P.. Emory University Dates: October 18 - November 15 Time: Wednesdays, 6:15 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. Preaching Institute Professors Paul J. Philibert, O.P., Provincial, Southern Dominicans James Swiler, Professor of Preaching, Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans Sr. Kathleen Cannon, O.P., Professor of Homiletics, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago Dates: Fridays, November 10 and 17, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Saturdays, November 11 and 18,9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Registration Fee: $10 Tuition: $35 per course Register Now: Aquinas Center of Theology 847 Clifton Court Circle, Suite 5 Atlanta, Georgia 30329-4037 404/727-8860 could not. Though Ritter met with strong opposition, his decision, supported by Church authorities in Rome, prevailed. Moving on to the Hispanic Americans, the archbishop said that by 1900 over half a million Mexicans lived in the U.S., the result in part of the “dubious conquest of Mex ico in 1948.” Then most Mexican Americans of the southwest lost ownership of their land and became a dispossessed ethnic minori ty in the U.S. After the Mexican Revolution of 1910, im migration soared with another half million added by 1920. Today there are 18.8 million Hispanics, be tween 25 and 30 percent of the population in the U.S. By 1960, the archbishop said, quoting Jay Dolan, author of The Catholic Ex perience, two clear trends stood out in American life. The first was the growth of the white Catholic com munity, mainly European immigrants, entering the mainstream of American culture. The other was the emergence of a large Hispanic community, and the migration north of black Americans. They moved into old Catholic neighborhoods and pre sented a great challenge to the white, middle class American Church. Like other minorities, Archbishop Marino con tinued, Asian Americans have experienced severe discrimination, especially during the Second World War when 100,000 Japanese were interned with no con sideration of their rights as U.S. citizens. Asian Amer icans, unlike other minor ities, have managed to compete with white Amer icans. “In many pro fessions their success has been dramatic." (Contributing to this story were Rita Mclnerney and John E. Markwalter.) Are your medical claims not being settled to your staisfaction? Are they causing you headaches and contusion? Medifile, Inc. Can Do the Job for You! 15 years Experience • Senior Citizen Discounts Reasonable Rates FOR INFORMATION WRITE... Medifile, Inc. • P.O. Box 567272 • Atlanta, GA 30356 call MediFile 393-1394 And Ask For...Marianne Kelly GEORGIA BULLETIN Ads Bring Results! ♦ SEEKNG ASYLUM — Ahmed Mohammed points to a stab wound inflicted on Yassien Issa by Somali government forces. Issa is asking fos political asylum in the United States. story told in September by a Somali who is bilingual, Ahmed Mohammed. The son of an opposition leader, Yas ? sien joined a student group and took part in demonstra tions, his friend said. Arrested and imprisoned for five months, he was tortured with electrical shocks, had his arm broken, was stabbed in the chest, beaten with metal rods and immersed in cold water. He shared a tour-by-eight-foot cell with three other prisoners. Opposition forces broke into the jail and freed everybody, he said. He escaped to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. A relative obtained travel papers to the U.S. through bribes. His parents “are alive today, but tomor row, who knows?” his friend said. “At least 43 of his family* aunts and uncles have been killed.” A 25-year-old woman who arrived recently and is staying with relatives in Decatur did not want her name used because her mother and younger siblings are still i* Somalia. Through a family member, Amina Mohamoud, she said that her father was imprisoned and tortured because he had information about the opposition Somali National Movement’s financial resources. After his death in prison, when she was 21, she was arrested because of ficials "thought she could be helpful,” according to Mrs. Mohamoud. # With her relative present, Mrs. Mohamoud spoke of the young woman’s five months in prison which included tor ture by burns, deprivation of food and water and being tied in a sack and submerged in sea water until near drowning. During a hospital stay, a nurse exchanged uniforms with her and she was able to escape, with the help of relatives, to Kenya and then Abu Dhabi. She also used bribes to get necessary documents to travel to the U.S. . Another member of the Decatur household arrived in September, after fleeing her home in the northern town of Borraan, which was bombed for four days. The people fled into the bush, her son, Ahmed Hussein said, and with tlje help of nomads subsisted for seven months in the open coun try. Many of the women and children contracted malaria. The 50-year-old woman, who looks much older, lost part of her hearing during the ordeal. • The group arrived in Mogadishu in February 1989. July 14 she witnessed an alleged massacre of civilians in the capital, as military men surrounded mosques on Friday, a day of prayer, and fired on civilians as they emerged. Ske told of a student reported to have lived to describe an execu tion in which 48 students were taken from their homes and killed. The events of July 14 are substantiated by “News From Africa Watch.” * As more people flee Somalia, it will become more dif ficult for them to win political asylum which states that they would be in danger if sent home, Mrs. Colussy said. “As conditions become generally worse, chances to mafce one’s case are less because the standards for asylum are that you show you are unique and you are in greater danger than anyone else." ^ Atlanta has drawn Somalis because some were here on student visas when the situation worsened. Others had relatives and friends here and others were referred from cities in the U.S. because of Mrs. Colussy’s successful work in the field of asylum cases. She foresees the need to provide counseling for the Somalis, but is not sure they will easily accept it. “Many were tortured,” she pointed out, “and once they are safe they will have to confront what’s happened to them.” Her work with people fleeing violence and seeking asylum is inspiring, but never-ending. She suspects the next surge will be from Colombia, South America as people fiee the drug lords’ war on the country. “We’ve certainly seen a variety of people, different col ors from many countries,” she said. “What they all have in common is an internal strength of spirit that is incredible. If they manage to get here and apply, we really hope they are granted asylum because of all they’ve been through.”
