Monday, March 10, 2003

A Great Day for America

Some good news on the front page of the NY Times for a change (registration required):

Africa's Lost Tribe Discovers American Way

Yet on this recent day, the Bantu people were rejoicing as they stepped from the plane into the blinding sun. They were the last members of the tribe to be transferred from a violent camp near the Somali border to this dusty place just south of Sudan. They knew their first trip in a flying machine was a harbinger of miracles to come.

Over the next two years, nearly all of the Somali Bantu refugees in Kenya — about 12,000 people — are to be flown to the United States. This is one of the largest refugee groups to receive blanket permission for resettlement since the mid-1990's, State Department officials say.

The refugees will be interviewed by American immigration officials in this camp, which is less violent than the camp near Somalia. The interview process has been slowed by security concerns in the aftermath of Sept. 11. Despite the repeated delays, the preparations for the extraordinary journey are already under way.


The Somalis had abducted them 200 years ago and used them as slaves and then as an underclass until the 1991 civil war broke out. Over 12,000 of them will be coming over after being educated in the English language and American customs. (bad, BAD America!) It is estimated that 11,999 of them will turn out to be better Americans than Pat Buchanan. (there's always at least ONE bad apple)

UPDATE: The Instapundit shows why he's the F.P. Adams (for Algonquin Round Table fans) of Bloggerdom by noting that the editorial slant of the Times makes for poor, nay really STUPID, "journalism" at the story's conclusion, where the writer says that they are "ignorant" of "poverty and racism" in America. Reynolds is actually too kind. He doesn't overtly point out that the Bantu are said (in the body of the story itself!) to explicitly express worry at the prospect of being African Muslims in America. They're poor, not stupid, which is more than can be said for the "Paper of Broken Record".
Glenn Reynolds points out that Howell Raines is still clueless and shameless

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