【313-316】One US Immigrant's Long Road to Asylum

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AS IT IS

Nigerian Answers Boko Haram's Anti-Education Campaign with Schools

August 12, 2018

Rebecca Gadzama and schoolteachers survey the aging school building and discuss the upcoming school year.

In Nigeria, the militant Islamist group Boko Haram wants to end anything related to Western society – especially Western-style education. Even the name “Boko Haram” means “Western education is forbidden.”

But some activists are turning Boko Haram’s target into a weapon. In 2014, Rebecca Gadzama and her husband started a group called Education Must Continue, or EMC. It aims to bring quality education to an area where Boko Haram militants have destroyed most of the government schools.

“We are just private individuals, just good citizens, natives of this area, so…because we weren’t sure when the government would start their school, we just found this place,” Gadzama said.

EMC manages two schools for displaced children, one in Lassa and one in the city of Yola. Gadzama said the schools have 1,600 students and 80 teachers.

The teachers sometimes meet outdoors, under trees in open fields. The location gives them a chance to see danger and run in case of an attack.

But classes with students are held under roofs, either in newly built buildings or tents provided by the government.

A classroom in the EMCI school in Lassa, where much of the help comes from nongovernmental organizations.

Lassa

Except for the tents, the schools are supported mostly by donations. One reason, Gadzama says, is because the government does not appear to be rebuilding in the Lassa area.

She thinks the little help might be because Lassa is a mostly Christian town, while the majority of people in northern Nigeria are Muslim. When Boko Haram launched its violent insurgency in 2009, Christians and their churches were the group’s early targets.

Maimuna Zhubairu is a 23-year-old school teacher from Lassa. Boko Haram killed three of her uncles and her older brother. She feels the government has given up on helping Lassa.

“Most of the help comes from NGOs,” she said. “The government, they are not doing much help.”

Muhammed Bulama, the Borno state minister of information, says the government has begun working in Lassa, helping to rebuild a church. “Reconstruction is not an event, it is a process,” Bulama said, adding that the government has not forgotten about any area.

But he also told VOA the government is overwhelmed by the amount of damage Boko Haram caused: $9 billion in northern Nigeria and $6 billion in Borno state alone.

He said that most of the rebuilding work is done in northern Borno because that is where most of the damage is. He also said parts of southern Borno are still not possible to enter.

EMCI receives donations of primary school textbooks. These books will be used by thousands of students in the southern Borno, northern Adamawa area.

Still suffering

Most of the students at EMC schools are Christians still suffering from what they have seen. Some of them want to become soldiers when they get older to punish Boko Haram.

“Boko Haram, I see them use knife, chop my grandfather head,” 13-year-old Ibrahim Daniel told VOA, speaking in pidgin English. He adds that he wants to become a soldier. He says if he sees people from Boko Haram, he will kill them.

Sometimes kids in Lassa play war games outside. One side pretends to be soldiers and the others act like Boko Haram.

Rebecca Gadzama, the EMC founder, hopes the school library she is working on will help heal the students’ minds.

“It is not an issue of fighting back,” she said. “It’s an issue of how do we get over this? How do we become one again, because the guys in the Boko Haram are also children.”

Part of the answer can be found, Gadzama believes, in education.

I’m Phil Dierking.

This story was originally written by Chika Oduah for VOANews.com. Phil Dierking adapted the story for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor.

Do you think education can help a community heal after violence? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

allocate - v. to divide and give out (something) for a special reason or to particular people, companies, etc.

chop - v. to cut (something) into pieces by hitting it with the sharp edge of an ax, knife, etc.

counseling - n. advice and support that is given to people to help them deal with problems, make important decisions, etc.

displace - v. to take the job or position of (someone or something)

NGO - n. nongovernmental organization

overwhelm - v. to cause (someone) to have too many things to deal with

psychosocial - adj. relating to the interrelation of social factors and individual thought and behavior.

tent - n. a portable shelter that is used outdoors, is made of cloth (such as canvas or nylon), and is held up with poles and ropes

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AS IT IS

One US Immigrant's Long Road to Asylum

August 12, 2018

People who request asylum after entering the United States illegally are much more likely to be denied than approved.

That information comes from the U.S. Department of Justice. Out of around 120,000 asylum requests by people who entered the country illegally in 2017, only about 7,000 were approved.

That makes Sergio very lucky. Sergio is a 64-year-old man from Mexico who asked to only be known by his first name. In Spanish, he told VOA his reasoning for coming to the U.S. “I came to the United States in 1992 because there was not a lot of work down there,” he said.

But under the “zero tolerance” policy of the administration of President Donald Trump, Sergio was targeted for deportation. That happened after he was arrested for drunkenness in May of last year.

Asylum requests that are made after an illegal entry are called “defensive asylum” requests. They are handled by the Department of Justice. Asylum requests made by people who came to the U.S. legally are called “affirmative asylum” requests. They are handled by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The chances of being approved for defensive asylum got a little better in the first half of 2018. Requests fell to less than 86,000. But approvals remained around 7,000. The approval rate remains extremely low. Even for affirmative asylum requests in 2016, only 10 percent of more than 115,000 were approved.

Disagreement with guard

Sergio was moved to a jail in Orange County, near Los Angeles, where he says a guard insulted him early in his nine months there. Sergio said the guard accused him of being disrespectful and reminded him that he was prisoner.

“I said, ‘No, I’m not a prisoner,'” Sergio answered. “'I’m in detention for immigration. I haven’t committed any crimes.’”

He says his relationship with the guards got worse from there.

Joel Frost-Tift works for the Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project of Catholic Charities. He is Sergio’s lawyer and requested asylum for him. He said that Sergio suffered from mental illness.

"He did have some medical treatment in detention, but it was clearly very inadequate. He ended up attempting suicide a month before he was released. So I think that's a sign that his medication wasn't right; he wasn't getting adequate care while he was detained.”

Getting asylum

A judge agreed with the lawyer that Sergio would not receive good care if he were sent back to Mexico. The judge approved asylum for Sergio on February 15.

But, Frost-Tift said, because the judge did not make a full written or spoken statement, there is no way to know his reasoning.

"Some judges have found that conditions in mental health institutions cause people to face a reasonable possibility of persecution,” he said, “and in some cases even that they are more likely than not to be tortured."

Petitioners for asylum must prove they have a "reasonable fear" of persecution in their home country. The United Nations defines reasonable fear as at least a 10 percent chance of persecution.

Asylum seekers must also officially request asylum within a year of their arrival in the U.S. Sergio did not do that.

"There are two exceptions to this rule," Frost-Tift explained.

First, the person can show changes to their situation which affect their right to asylum. Or, they must show that a highly unusual situation caused them to delay making their asylum request. He said that both of these things are true for people with mental illness.

Trump administration officials say asylum requests have risen sharply because many people are abusing a broken system.

Michael Bars is a spokesman for USCIS. In a written statement, he said that changes to the agency’s interview process have helped slow the large number of requests. But, he said, the current system is often abused and this prevents real asylum seekers from being processed in a timely way.

Sergio is still waiting for the government to send him a visa. He says he is pleased to have been given asylum, but also frustrated. “I’m frustrated,” he said, “because I’m staying at a shelter.”

Free and living in a homeless center in central Los Angeles, Sergio's health has improved and he is ready to start his new life.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Mike Sullivan wrote this store for VOA News. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

lucky –adj. producing a good result by chance

tolerance –n. the willingness to accept feelings, habits or beliefs that are not you own

drunkenness –n. caused by drinking too much alcohol

petitioner –n. a person who asks for a legal case to be decided by a court

persecution –n. to treat someone cruelly or unfairly especially because of race or religious or political beliefs

frustrated –adj. to be angry, discouraged or upset because of being unable to do or complete something

interview - n. a meeting at which people talk to each other in order to ask questions and get information

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AS IT IS

South Africans See Rise of Anti-Immigrant Policies

August 12, 2018

FILE - People rally during a march against xenophobia, in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, 2015. Anti-foreigner sentiments have been on the rise in the country which, according to most recent data, is home to some two million foreign nationals. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

A new political party in South Africa wants the government to expel all foreigners.

The African Basic Movement party claims that foreigners bring crime into the country. It also says they are responsible for high unemployment.

Political observers say the party is unlikely to win many seats in the South African general elections next year. But they say its appearance shows that the wave of nationalist, populist politics in other countries has come to South Africa.

Thembelani Ngubane is the head of the African Basic Movement, which he started last year. Ngubane says his group already has tens of thousands of members and signatures that support a plan to expel all foreigners by the end of the year. Those numbers could not be independently confirmed.

The party recently registered to compete in the 2019 elections. But critics question whether its goals follows South Africa's progressive, inclusive constitution. They also wonder whether the party's positions are dangerously close to hate speech, which is illegal in South Africa.

"We should get rid of all foreigners who are here, they are taking South Africa's jobs," Ngubane told VOA.

"They sleep with our sisters. They give them children. They get married to them, so that they get South African citizenship. When they get them, they abandon them ... So South Africa is like chaos. And they are criminals. We can't catch them. They have no fingerprints because they are from other countries."

Dangerous direction

About two million foreign nationals live in South Africa. The latest population count shows that most come from neighboring countries, such as Zimbabwe. However, the actual number is thought to be higher.

The rise in xenophobic politics is extremely worrying, says Sharon Ekambaram of the rights group Lawyers for Human Rights. She warns it could lead to xenophobic violence because South Africa sometimes experiences violent clashes between unsatisfied citizens and foreign nationals.

"I can't even articulate how dangerous this is for our democracy," Ekambaram said, talking about the rise of Ngubane's party.

"This is clearly a group that is racist. They're xenophobic … and I don't think there's a place for those kinds of people in our country.”

She also said that, if the group has registered as a party, election officials should then investigate whether that is constitutional.

Ekambaram added that the party's ideas are weak. She said researchers have found that foreign nationals are often job creators, and do not cause more violent crime than South African citizens.

ANC opens the door

Another observer, Ralph Mathekga, says he is concerned, but not that the African Basic Movement will beat the ruling African National Congress or ANC in the elections. What worries him, he says, is that the movement’s extreme ideas will enable other nationalist beliefs to gain standing.

Mathekga believes the many corruption cases involving the ANC and its inability to reduce unemployment and poverty make it easier for other parties to compete.

"I'm not surprised," he told VOA about the rise of the African Basic Movement.

"South Africa's politics is going in that direction, of populism. You have always had that level of leftist populism that has been there within South African politics. But the thing that is very, very different is the emergence of nationalist populism.”

Pointing to the United States, Ngubane praises President Donald Trump's policies against illegal immigration. He shares the U.S. leader's beliefs.

"Donald Trump is putting Americans first. Here, we are putting South Africans first. You see, you cannot let your child sleep on [an] empty stomach and feed your neighbor's child. That is the problem. Here in South Africa, our children sleeps on empty stomach. Our neighbors like Pakistan, Chinese, they sleep on full stomach. We don't want that."

I’m Phil Dierking.

Anita Powell reported this story for VOANews.com. Phil Dierking adapted her report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

What do you think is the correct policy to have toward immigrants and illegal immigrants? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

abandon - v. to leave and never return to (someone who needs protection or help)

articulate - v. able to express ideas clearly and effectively in speech or writing

chaos - n. complete confusion and disorder

emergence - n. the act of becoming known or coming into view

fingerprints - n. the mark that is made by pressing the tip of a finger on a surface

rid - v. to no longer have or be affected or bothered by (someone or something that is unwanted or annoying)

signature - n. a person's name written in that person's handwriting

stomach - n. the organ in your body where food goes and begins to be digested after you swallow it

xenophobic - adj. fearing or hating strangers or foreigners

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AS IT IS

Young Americans Are Less Wealthy Than Their Parents

August 12, 2018

FILE - In this Wednesday, June 27, 2018, photo, a for sale sign is seen in front of a home for sale in Waukee, Iowa. The cost of living in the U.S. is going up, especially the costs of housing, education, health care and child care. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

The cost of living in the United States is going up, notes writer Alissa Quart. As reported in the New York Post, Quart points to “the costs of housing, education, health care and child care in particular.”

At the same time, a new study found that half of Americans born in the 1980s are falling behind their parents economically. The study is a project of researchers at Stanford University, Harvard University, and the University of California, Berkeley. Their report is called “The Fading American Dream.”

Together, these findings show that many younger adults are experiencing “downward mobility.” In other words, they are not doing as well, either socially or economically, as their parents were at the same age.

Unemployed men queued outside a depression soup kitchen opened in Chicago, Feburary 1931

Will things always get better?

The idea of downward mobility is especially troubling for Americans, writes Robert Samuelson in The Washington Post. He says most U.S. citizens believe that, over time, the amount of money they earn will rise and life will get easier.

And for some, that belief has come true.

In the “Fading American Dream” study, researchers found that 90 percent of Americans born in the 1940s grew up to earn more than their parents. That percentage is so high, say the researchers, partly because of historical events. In the 1930s, the U.S. economy was in a severe depression, and most people’s earnings went down. But in the 1950s, the economy expanded, and most people’s incomes went up. As a result, almost all Americans born in the 1940s experienced upward mobility.

But among members of this generation, only about 60 percent of their children earned more money than they did. And only 50 percent of children born in the following 10 years were earning more than their parents at the same age.

In other words, Americans’ ease of living is going down. In technical terms, the economists write, “Absolute mobility has fallen sharply” over the past 50 years.

This tiny cottage on Lombardy Lane in Laguna Beach, Calif. is for sale at just shy of $1 millions is shown Friday, May 25, 2018. This one bedroom home is 595 square feet and is a few blocks from the ocean. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

The middle class

Alissa Quart wrote a book about the financial difficulties of everyday Americans. It is called Squeezed: Why Our Families Can’t Afford America.

In her book, Quart tells about teachers who are struggling to pay for housing, child care and other regular costs. One high school teacher said he drives for ride sharing service Uber at night to earn more money. He corrects students’ papers between riders.

Another man, a college professor, only earns enough to pay for simple food, such as pasta and potatoes, for his children. A different college professor turned to government assistance to feed her child and pay for a doctor.

Quart says even lawyers increasingly cannot earn an income that enables them to meet their needs. The problem of decreasing incomes in their field is made worse by debt they may have from law school.

In this Thursday, June 21, 2018 photo, a job applicant looks at job listings for the Riverside Hotel at a job fair hosted by Job News South Florida, in Sunrise, Fla.

What caused these problems?

Quart and the economists who studied these issues say many things have led to lower incomes and downward mobility.

The economic recession of 2007 to 2009 is partly to blame, they say.

Modern technology also plays a part. Quart says robots threaten to reduce the earnings of health care workers, truckers, reporters, and people who work at supermarkets, drug stores and tax preparation services.

In The Washington Post, Robert Samuelson noted that poor schools, a weak housing industry and too many government rules also are to blame.

With all these things – and more – partly responsible, what is the solution? These experts say the answer is complex. But all point to one issue that needs to be examined: economic inequality. Quartz writes that while America is one of the richest countries in the world, it also has one of the biggest divides between the wealthy and the poor.

A homeless man sits outside the White House in Washington, U.S., August 2, 2018.

The researchers in the “Fading American Dream” study make a similar observation. They say raising GDP -- the gross domestic product – will not significantly improve the economic situation of most Americans. A higher GDP may help only those who are already doing well.

Instead, the economists say, the United States could try to repeat something Americans born in the 1940s experienced. As those children grew up, they almost all benefited from a better economy.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Kelly Jean Kelly reported this story for VOA Learning English. Her story was based on material from VOANews.com, The New York Post, The Washington Post, the Brookings Institution, and the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report. George Grow was the editor.

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