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J. Goerdt's avatar

Granting 59 white South Africans entry into the United States, while revoking the immigration Visas for 14,000 Afghan refugees, reveals the deeply racist agenda of Trump and his administration. Silence from our Republican representatives in Congress, Grassley, Ernst, Nunn, Hinson, Miller-Meeks, and Feenstra speaks volumes.

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Tim Grover's avatar

Many of the Afghan refugees served alongside our military in Afghanistan w the promise we'd take care of them afterwards. Another slap in the face to military veterans.

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Betsy Warrior's avatar

Certainly there is no basis for giving refugee status to Boer South Africans under any circumstances. On the other hand the women of Afghanistan desperately need assistance in escaping the cruel clutches of the Taliban, which is why I've been working for two years now to get two women and a girl out of their reach. Many Afghans have been able to get just over the border into Pakistan, but every day they are threatened that they will be deported back to Afghanistan, the threat of which is happening to my friends. They are just keeping one step ahead of the deportation agents. It's a life fraught with anxiety and uncertainty. I've written to every possible refugee group and have provided financial aid. We are finally beginning to make some glacial progress. See the story of my friend Marya here:

https://womensliberationfront.org/wolf-tracks-entries/escaping-the-taliban

Consider any help you can give to Afghan women trapped in Pakistan to keep the government from deporting them back to the Taliban regime.

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Betsy Warrior's avatar

If you care about Afghan women you can email UNHCR at

PAKISPRT@UNHCR.ORG

to ask that they protect the Afghan refugees from deportation and support Marya, Shabana and Marwa Maani's passage to a safe country.

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Ralph Rosenberg's avatar

No whispers in this column. Your column is loud and clear.. It is painful to read and memorable to re-tell.

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Rekha Basu's avatar

Thank you, Ralph.

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Blue Thoughts From a Red State's avatar

While reading this pain filled recitation, the intentional acts of discrimination and cruelty against courageous people who fought for and with us, brought feelings of shame, revulsion and anger. And, let’s not forget the nearly quarter million Ukrainians facing a similar fate. Men, women and children sent like animals to the slaughter houses of the Taliban and Russia’s war machine. Our government is ordering organized death sentences for what?

Who benefits from this genocide except vile and evil monsters, masquerading racist hatred’s in the guise of America First. The French minister to the European Union parliament should be granted his wish for the return of the Statue of Liberty. We’ve lost our honor and right to keep it.

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Rekha Basu's avatar

"We’ve lost our honor and right to keep it." Those in charge certainly have. That cuts to the bone.

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Joel Hade's avatar

Perhaps the most terrible thing, as you mention Rekha, is that they feel totally emboldened to wear their racism on their sleeves for all to see. As long as his minions applaud and, even worse, the GOP politicians turn a blind eye to their horrific behavior, it is hard to see how things can improve. We may have to weather the storm for 2 years then work like hell to start changing the leadership in Washington.

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Rekha Basu's avatar

You may be right about that, Joel, but I'm still fantasizing about some Supreme Court ruling coming down that puts an end to this daily horror show.

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Michael Gillespie's avatar

“Gold Card” visas with a path to U.S. citizenship for anyone who can pay $5 million? As others have observed, if they really believed in free market capitalism they would allow any American to sell his citizenship to a foreigner for $5 million or some other set price. But of course that will not happen, because the exodus of American workers who have been betrayed in one way or another by run-amok late stage capitalism would shut down the economy and the country in short order.

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Rekha Basu's avatar

What an idea, Michael!

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Michael Gillespie's avatar

I wish I could take credit for it.

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Denise OBrien's avatar

Thank you for this. It’s hard to press like when the subject is objectionable and reprehensible.

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MARIBETH NEWMAN's avatar

Thank you for following this thread!

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Hazel-rah's avatar

Liar. The US has resettled over 200,000 Afghanis here under the SIV program. The ones who are now ineligible had plenty of time - the last 4 years - to try to qualify like the others did.

We can handle 59 Afrikaners. Don't be such a fucking racist, mmmkay?

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Rekha Basu's avatar

And then along comes Donald Trump to reverse course and send the most recent, most vulnerable ones back to where they'll undoubtedly face revenge. I assume you're good with that? You apparently don't understand that it can take decades to change one's residency status under a backlogged system, which is why past practice has been for presidents to extend their temporary refugee status.

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Hazel-rah's avatar

Face it, it's a stupid, flamingly bad-faith, racist comparison.

How many American lives have we spent trying to save Afghanistan from the Taliban? How many billions of dollars? How many person-years of effort?

COLLOSSALLY inappropriate comparison.

Hang your head in shame.

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Betsy Warrior's avatar

It was never about saving the Afghanis from anything. It was about establishing USA influence in the East by supporting the mujahideen and Northern Alliance warlords in the area, destroying the indigenous government supported by Russia and establishing American military bases in the area to countering any Russia, influence, which the USA military accomplished for about 20 years during which time about 400,000 Afghans were killed.(all facts) Afghanistan is now much worse off. The whole area has been destabilized: from Syria, to Iraq, to Pakistan where thousands more have been killed (facts) and are now even more vulnerable to corruption and violence.

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Hazel-rah's avatar

1) Which has zero (0) to do with Afrikaners other than to highlight her racism and hilariously inappropriate comparison;

2) You're talking about round 1 with the Taliban. Round 2 was because they were harboring Bin Laden and giving us the finger about it.

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Marianne Fons's avatar

Thank you for writing this, Rekha.

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Robert Hopkins's avatar

For Cheato, maga, and all related hypocrites, the issue is pigmentation. It’s as deep as they go.

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Rekha Basu's avatar

And money.

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Robert Hopkins's avatar

Ah yes. Lest we forget their most precious toy. He who hoards the most wins?

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