2023-08-20 21:21:28
SUNY University in Buffalo, New York in the US has kicked 44 migrants out of its dorms following parents raised concerns regarding student safety, according to the Buffalo News.
University officials made the quick decision, as two migrants were charged with two sexual assaults. This worried the parents of the students.
The school had previously reached an agreement with the Jericho Road Community Health Center to house migrants in dormitories from May to August, as local shelters are full. The agreement was to allow the migrants to be housed until February.
In a statement, the university’s acting president, Bonita R. Durand, never made reference to the two alleged sexual assaults.
“As we welcome our students back to campus on Tuesday, we wanted to ensure the best possible learning environment for our students and the smooth running of our academic operations,” said Bonita R. Durand.
“I have made the difficult decision to end the revocable permit and I want to reassure our university community that when our students return to campus on Tuesday, they will find their learning and living environment as they expect it” , she added.
Of the 44 asylum seekers affected by the decision, 32 come from Africa, including Congo and Nigeria. The others come mainly from Colombia, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Prejudices
The founder of the community center bearing his name, Jericho Road, lamented the University’s decision which he called “discriminatory”.
“We live in a community where there are prejudices,” he said. I am obliged to denounce this discriminatory decision. Asylum seekers are humans like you and me.”
For her part, a migrant from Sudan stressed that the University’s decision jeopardizes her future.
“We don’t know where we’re going to go,” Josephine Amuna Loki said. It’s so stressful! I’m afraid we’ll end up on the street.”
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