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(Updated) – A solidarity rally to show support for local immigrants and Muslims will take place Saturday in St. Joseph.
Derek Evans is an organizer for the solidarity event, hosted by a group called Our Revolution St. Joseph. The gathering begins Saturday at 3 p.m. at Civic Center Park on the south side of City Hall. Evans said the purpose is to show support for the local immigrant and Muslim population.
“Both of those groups are feeling a little bit uneasy with the current administration and particularly uneasy with the executive orders that were passed last week,” Evans said. “But more than anything we wanted it to be an opportunity to show solidarity with like-minded community members and those particular groups just to show that we care, we want them here, we value and recognize the importance.”
Last week, the Trump administration signed an executive order placing a temporary ban on immigration from seven countries with majority-Muslim populations. The order also suspended the entire refugee program in the United States which set off nationwide protests over the weekend, including a protest at KCI.
Adel Aljedaani is a Missouri Western State University graduate and currently employed in St. Joseph. He is from Saudi Arabia which is not one of the countries impacted by the ban. Aljedaani said while the executive order signed last week does not impact him he is worried that that could change at any minute.
“It concerns me to one day be a part of those countries that are banned just because we are Muslims or come from an Islamic country,” he said. “It concerns me because I’m here on a visa. One day if they just decide to cancel anyone who comes from my country that would mean my visa would be canceled and I would be deported to another country.”
Aljedaani said there is a feeling of fear at times within the local Muslim community.
“We felt unwelcome at one time. Especially during the election. After that some of them still had the fear of going in public,” Aljedaani said. “Hate crimes. We’ve already seen it in different states.”
Evans said this Saturday at the Solidarity event in St. Joseph there will be a voter registration table and speakers from various organizations. He said representatives from St. Joseph Interfaith Alliance for Immigrants, InterServ, the Islamic Center, YWCA and several other organizations will be in attendance.
“We’re going to have a small PA system and we’re going to have folks stand up and share from those organizations,” Evans said. “Then hopefully we have a peaceful demonstration. We’re hoping to do this somewhere along the sidewalk. We’ve reached out to the folks at City Hall and they don’t have a problem as long as we’re not in people’s way.”
According to OurRevolution’s post in the Solitary Rally event on Facebook they plan to provide an opportunity for members of the community to speak to the crowd and express concerns about or support for immigrants and Muslims living in the area.
“We are trying to create a sense of safety and warmth and embrace of those individuals in our communities who have immigrated here and are already probably pretty scared and have worries being an immigrant or even being a Muslim in St. Joseph,” Evans said. “We want those groups to feel welcome.”
Aljedaani said regardless of current events he sees the United States as the land of dreams.
“So far the U.S. is the greatest country in the world. The freedom, the opportunities,” he said. “Everything is so far better than anywhere else. Yes there are some issues here and there but every country is suffering from issues.”