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June 26, 2008

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06/25/08 - A Texas Reader Says The New York Times Wants More Islamic Immigration To Europe Because Of…The Holocaust!

A Minnesota Reader Says Ethiopians Aren’t Adapting Either

Re: Patrick Cleburne’s Blog: Somalis: America Should Adapt To Us

From: Cassandra Kyser (e-mail her)

African immigrants from countries other than Somalia are not showing much flexibility either when it comes to adapting to American ways.

My 5 month-old-son briefly attended an Ethiopian-run daycare center.

The owner, Etenesh, was a friendly, grandmother type.

When we first met, she was quick to point out that she was "not an African American", but an Ethiopian immigrant  who  had worked in daycare centers for several years and had just opened her own licensed business.

But I immediately encountered problems.

When my son couldn't nap while the television blared and older children played loudly in the same room, Etenesh deemed him "noise intolerant". 

I suppose televisions blaring and children screaming is mild nothing, compared to the 75 percent of children in parts of Ethiopia that share their sleeping space with livestock.

Ehenesh told me to expose my son to more noise by taking him to shopping malls and having him watch more television with the volume on high. And she ignored my basic questions like "How long did he sleep?" and "How much do I owe you?" 

As the daycare quickly filled with Ethiopian families, my husband and I laughed off the fact that our son was the token white child. But we were concerned about the adult/child ratio—which is regulated by state law—and the resulting uncontrolled chaos. 

Etenesh worked alone, from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, sometimes even until 8:00 pm.  A quick head count proved she had too many babies and toddlers in her care. In Minnesota, a licensed daycare provider, when working alone, can have 10 children under her care but only three can be 24 months or younger. And of those three, only two can be under 12 months.

Even Ethiopians realize they can do better for their children:

"Book Lakew, an Ethiopian scholar suggested that even though there are now generations of educated Ethiopians in the United States, they still suffer social and economic resistance in American society.

“Part of the problem, according to Lakew, is that Ethiopians lack valuable exposure to the team work, leadership, and organizational activities that many American children are trained to thrive in at an early age.

 “Lakew claimed that groups like the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and grade school mock elections provide

American youth with the skills necessary to work in organizational settings later in life. The inability to flourish in an organizational setting, according to Lakew, prevents Ethiopian immigrants from making career advances in the United States."

Kyser is an editor and resides in St. Paul. She reports that her son now naps peacefully in the privacy of his own home.