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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 30, 1981)
For the children o f Atlanta and fo r all children who are hungry, suffer ar'd live in fear. Refugees: A focus By Nyewusi Askari Believing that federal financial aid to his fam ily would be ter minated August 1st, 61-year-old Laotian refugee, Shue Long Vue hanged himself in the front yard of his North Portland home Monday. Hours later, after receiving angry telegrams and telephone calls from P ortland’ s Adult and Fam ily Ser vice officials, and agency leaders, the federal government announced that Oregon had been allocated $1.5 m illion to keep the Indochinese Refugee Group Assistance Program alive through August. The tragic death o f Vue; the un certainty o f contunied funding o f the Refugee Group Assistance Pro gram; the economic and political difficulties facing refugees, coupled with the growing belief o f some citizens that the refugees are becoming an intolerable nusiance, point to the need for a greater political and cultural understanding of the people we call refugees. Refugees arc defined as those persons who have fled from their native country because of political, economic or religious pressures. By definition, the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock, were refugees. How they managed to leave does not affect their status as refugees. The presence o f S .E . Asian refugees in the State o f Oregon, came about because o f political promises made to them by the American government and military. D uring U .S . involvem ent in S.E. Asia, the American government made commitments to thousands of S.E. Asians who supported American causes there, to protect them if the communists took over. The communists did lake over the country, and, according to A stri Suhrke, “ The early wave o f refugees from Indochina -including the 1975 evacuation o f 130,000 people - was followed by a relatively small U.S. program to assist what in most cases were persons who fled because they had been associated with previous regimes or the American involvement during the war. However, in m id-1978, the refugee flow suddenly swelled as Vietnam encouraged, or facilitated, the departure o f tens o f thousands of ethnic Chinese (Hoa). Following C h in a ’ s invasion o f Vietnam in early 1979, the exodus o f refugees exploded as H anoi began putting pressure on the ethnic Chinese in northern Vietnam." Suhrke continues: "A s the ethnic Chinese descended upon the shores of neighboring Asian countries, the United States took the lead in marshalling a massive international assistance program. Some o f this was also channeled via the U N H C R to C hina, which received about 260,000 ethnic Chinese from V iet nam. For some American officials dealing with Indochinese refugees, the assistance program appears to be the last phase, if not the con tinuation, o f the American war ef fort.” Many Oregon citizens simply view the refugees as “ invaders"; a people without a common work identity. There are also growing sentiments that S.E. Asian refugees are making it d iffic u lt for unemployed Oregonians to find jobs because of their willingness to accept jobs at low wages. But according to D r. Bernard H aldane, the refugees possess a strong-work identity. " A refugee possesses a work-identity in his native country. He left that / (Please turn to Page 5 Col 1) / PORTLAND OBSERVER July 30. 1961 Volume XI Number 41 2S< Per Copy African businessman expelled Caxton Muru Munne, a Kenyan businessman, has been ordered to leave the United States by August I, 1981, or face deportation. Munne orig in ally came to the U.S. in 1971 to attend school. After completing Jackson High School in 1974, he returned to Kenya to determine what career option would best serve his country. He returned that fall and enrolled in the Univer sity o f Portland, where he studied engineering and business ad m inistration. A fte r his 1978 graduation, he again returned to Kenya. " I decided the best service I could perform was to attempt to bring business people in Africa and in the United States together, to help build the economies o f both countries,” he explained. "1 think that the el- fort o f the Immigration Service is to stop the two from getting together." Munne explained that he contrac ted businesses in Kenya who were willing to have him represent them in the U.S. and Canada, and had the option of operating from either the United States or Canada. " I decided to come back to Portland because I had friends here and because I wanted to repay the country for providing me an opportunity to get an education." In January of 1980, Munne came back to Oregon on a six-month visa. He established a corporation - Munne Trust Enterprise In te r national - and over the next year did $164,000 in exports to Africa. The companies he represents include En tertainment and Recreational Ser vices, Ltd., Aladins’ Magic Lamp of Kenya and Uzoagbato International of Nigeria. U.S. companies involved include A ta ri Video C o rp oratio n Systems. Car Freshening C o r poration and Dallas Products. During the first months o f 1981, sales increased rapidly and im por tation o f products from Kenya began. Munne also had other interests - African Market Consultants, to aid American businesses interested in the African market, and Firewood Subscriptions Services, which he projects would hire 300 persons by 1983. Munne believes the threat o f deportation stems from an incident with the Portland Police Bureau that resulted in his filin g a com plaint. Munne said he was in a telephone booth at Portland Boulevard and Greely when a young white woman asked to use the telephone. He allowed her to, then when she left he made another call. He then called a woman who had left a message on his message recorder. A fte r a few minutes the woman came by and said “ You have been on the phone too long.” He went on talking; she went across the street (near another telephone booth). She came back across the street, went into the Plaid Pantry, and came by again saying, "Y ou ate still on the phone.” “ W ith in minutes she returned with a can o f dog repellant which she aimed at my fa c e ...In the struggle that ensued, I, trying to get the can o f repellent from her, and she, trying to get a better shot at my eyes, I saw the barrel o f a pistol revolver trained at me by a male Caucasian." Munne states that he managed to get the girl between him and the gun and get away. He stopped at a house nearby and called the police. When a female officer arrived she listened to his story and took the dog repellant that he still had. She told him the attackers had been ap prehended and were on the way with police officers. When the other three police cars arrived - the scene changed. M unne became the agressor and they, the victims. He at first was to be allowed to leave, but when he continued to ask that the man with the gun be apprehended, he was arrested. He was arrested for “ sexual (Please turn to Page 2 Col 4) (Photo: Richard J. Brown) -----Smoke filled room s------ Roll another one Fire on up! Take a deep drag, baby Fire on up! Hit and pass it! Grassroot News N .W . - Those are the counter-culture phases of a 1974 recording o f Rasputin Stash. The meaning of these hyped drug state ment are derived from the social ritual o f smoking m arijuana. Whether you refer to this plant as herb, smoke, dope or weed, the question the young, habitual or even the weekend smoker faces remains the same: Is smoking dope hazar dous to your health? For many years conflicting medi cal studies have canceled each other out, but a current wave o f in fo r mation is being circulated by the medical and social professions that reinforces the negative effects of the drug along with establishing the medical properties of "hemp.” The recreational vice o f our parent’ s generation was alcohol. The vice for young adults in the 80s is smoke. The accepted popularity of "herbs” has caused a certain at tractiveness that appeals to the teens and pre-teens. Avel M ay fie ld , Director of the N .E. Youth Service Center, has observed an increased availability o f m arijunana to the young. This accounts for an earlier turn-on age and regular use during the vital maturing stage, from child to adult. "School personnel have noticed the drug being very prevalent. Adults use it and the act is becoming glam orized. T h ere’ s also an information gap of the ef fects. However, the main problem is the double-standard that’s being set. You see, there’s no consequence for drug use and no one is out there saying not to use it because you are physically and em otionally too young.” The contention o f experts in the medical and social field is that young people who start their smoking at an early age fail to un dergo adult personality maturation; lack perseverance and self- discipline; and are pre-occupied with achieving only imm ediate, pleasurable, self-gratification. The textbook definition of these trait* is maturational deficiency. Jasper O rm and, a community mental health specialist goes into depth about the social aspects o f smoking Mary Jane. "Drugs tend to relax and sensitivity increases. The in d ivid u al, young and old, is not able to focus on items outside o f themselves. This concentration can cause an unnatural sensitivity, creating hyper sensitivity. This can effect your physical person because your nervous system isn’t geared to handle the increased pressure." The economic concerns of main taining a smoke habit grows ex ceedingly high. This takes a large chunk o f money outside o f the community and family budget. A three matchbox a month habit is a $360 a year expenditure durin , a time when a lo a f o f bread cost a dollar. A smoker told G ra ssro o t N ews how they felt about their vice. "O h, I feel a bunch o f d ifferent ways; good, relaxed, tense, frustrated and sometimes I feel broke. I do fear the long term effects because it will show up in my generation. I ’ m afraid that people might not have the same energy level." The sensation brought about through use is one described as high, stoned, mellowed and spaced- out. The physical and psychological effects are an increased pulse iate, reddening of the eyes, increased ap petite and a distortion o f time and space perceptions. Dr. Jerry Fest, staff coordinator at the O utside-In C om m unity Health Clinic stated that the biggest physical determinant linked to its use are the effects on the lungs. " A joint is about as harmful as a pack o f cigarettes. To a certain degree, the drug relaxes you, which may cause an individual to become less m otivated. Therefore, the use o f m arijuana is a real individualized decision." Another physical effect is that pot stays in your system for well over a week. M arijuana is still an illegal sub stance, although in the Portland Metro-area, at any given moment, you can purchase weed for as little as a dollar a joint or as high as $75 an ounce. W hether m arijuana is 5 or 500 dollars, the people who smoke it are going to continue. It has become an accepted social vice and the decision to fire-up rests with the individual. Teach your child about safety By Nyewusi Askari Now that summer vacation is in full swing, and many Black children are left at home while their parents are working, The Black United Front, The Urban League Northeast Youth Service C enter, and the C .R .I.B ., organization feel that now is the time for parents to in struct their children on personal safety. Their efforts have resulted in a pamphlet entitled, “ Personal Safety Tips Parents Can Teach Their Children.” Noting that the arrest o f Atlanta resident Wayne B. Williams, for the death of Nathaniel Carter, has done nothing to quell the fears of Atlanta children, the writers o f the pam phlet, Ron H erndon, M arie Martin, and Avel Mayfield, believes that what is happening to A tlanta’s Black children, has the potential to- happen in any Black com m unity, including P o rtlan d, and that preventative measures must be taken now to prevent such tragedies. “ Parents are the key," says Marie M a rtin . “ It is time for parents to begin instructing their children on how to be and stay safe.” The phamphlet gives the following instructions for parents to teach their children: • Never to talk to strangers, even if they appear friendly. • Never accept rides, candy or gifts from people they don’t know. • To stand near other children at bus stops. • To walk near the middle o f the sidewalk to avoid passing closely to shrubbery, passing vehicles, dark doorways or places of concealment. • To always stay at least an arms distance away from vehicles. • To remain alert o f people follow ing them. Instruct them to turn around and walk in the op posite direction if being followed by a car. Teach them to seek help from nearby groups of people. • To go to the nearest home displaying BLOCK H O M E program sign, if they need help and if the neighborhood has the program. • To never visit with a friend after school unless they first receive your permission. Instruct them to call you from the friend ’ s home when they arrive to let you know they have arrived safely. • To report all suspicious per sons, activities, sounds, and vehicles to you and to their school officials. • To travel in groups or pairs. I f you have small children teach them to memorize full names, addresses and telephone numbers. O r have them wear a braclet or a necktag with the data engraved upon it. • To always carry a dime to make emergency telephone calls. I f at home alone, remind your children to always keep doors locked, and to never open the door for strangers. Teach them how to dial "Operator" when they need to make an emergency telephone call to the police, fire or to home. Tell your children never to wait or play around restrooms; never play alone in alleys or in empty buildings; always try to remember what a stranger looked like and what he or she was wearing, and to tell your children to write down the license number o f stranger’ s car who bothers you. In a special note to parents, the pamphlet advises: ( I ) Parents should always know where your children are going, what time they should arrive, and when they should return; (2) Designate a safe place, such as a neighbor’ s home or the neighborhood youth service center, for your children to go in an emergency when you are not at home; (3) I f you work, you should be in constant contact with your children throughout the day. Make certin that they know your telephone number at work in case an emergency arises; (5) It is not good to let children play outside when it is dark, even if they are playing with other youths. Another area of concern, but one not mentioned in the pam phlet, has to do with teaching children how to handle telephone calls from strangers. According to Marie Martin, many children have a habit of giving information to strangers that can haunt them later. For examples (C aller) Is your mother home? (Child) No. (Caller) Is your father, brother, sister, or anyone else home I could speak with? (C hild) No, there is no one home but me. The above telephone conversation illustrates how easy it for a child to (Please turn to page It) col. 6) I
