Silver Spring, MD November 18th, 2016: It has been a week since the U.S Presidential election and whether you are celebrating or lamenting, Malawi Washington Association (MWA) thinks that it is important for all of us to acknowledge the current sociopolitical climate in the country. Campaign promises made by President-elect Donald J. Trump to deport immigrants and increased incidents of hate crimes in the country against racial and ethnic minorities have left many concerned about their future in the country. Although we are aware that Malawians supported both Trump and Clinton, our aim is to reach out to the majority who are concerned about what a Trump election means for them. Currently, many people in our community do not feel safe and we want to assure you that we are aware of these sentiments. We also want to offer some suggestions that may help you get through this period.
Even though US president-elect Trump has made a pledge of unity, promising to be a leader for all people in the country, his election seems to have emboldened self-identified white supremacist Trump supporters who have been harassing minorities around the country. In the wake of the recent presidential election, there has been an alarming surge in verbal and physical harassment which we find disturbing. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has recorded over 400 incidents against Blacks, Muslims, and Ethnic minorities over the past week. MWA has also received reports that this includes at least one Malawian who has reported to have been verbally abused by a stranger in public and subsequently reported this to the police. Some Malawian parents have reported that their children have been subjected to vandalism at their schools or colleges where racist epitaphs or threats against minorities are being inscribed. We encourage you to talk to your children about these incidents as many of them have questions as they were paying attention to the bitter election rhetoric and are paying attention to the post-election hate crimes. It is a good time to talk to them about what they should do if they are bullied or harassed at school.
We encourage Malawians who are being harassed, threatened or intimidated to take the proper actions. There are steps that you can take if you are a victim of physical or verbal abuse:
- If you are threatened, harassed or assaulted please report it to your local police.
- Report incidents of harassment and intimidation to the Southern Poverty Law Center, who are keeping track of the number of hate crime cases: https://www.splcenter.org/reporthate.
- If your children are verbally or physically harassed at school, report these incidents to your school’s administration. If they happen outside of school, report these to the appropriate authorities as well.
- You may report any ethnic, religious or race based harassment to the Malawian Embassy.
- News of the hate crimes are reaching Malawians back home who have been paying attention to the election. If you haven’t spoken to family and friends in Malawi yet, call to let them know you are safe.
We also understand that there are some people in the community that may fear deportation due to the campaign promises made by President-elect Trump. We would like to assure you that most lawyers advise that Trump’s immigration laws will likely apply to immigrants with criminal records who entered the country illegally (this should be differentiated from the crossing the border without a visa) and will not take effect immediately. However, if you are concerned about your immigration status, we advise you to consult with a lawyer that specializes in immigration law about your options. As mentioned in the immigration workshop we held last year, if you are not able to afford a lawyer, one of the pro-bono immigration services on the list we provided can assist you with your case.
We would like to remind you that in our area, Baltimore and Washington DC are sanctuary cities and Montgomery County, Prince Georges County, Arlington, and Chesterfield County are sanctuary counties (See complete list) so they do not permit police or municipal employees to inquire about one’s immigration status. This decreases chances of deportation. Lastly, we urge everyone to call their congressman/congresswoman to let them know that immigrant friendly policies and reform are important to our community so that they can vote for immigration friendly policies.
Finally, we would like to ensure you that we are monitoring the situation and will speak or act on behalf of the community as need arises. However, we would like to encourage to all our Malawians who are being targeted because of their race, ethnicity, immigration status or religion to remain vigilant to the current political climate.
MWA Executive Board