At immigration forum, needs of
groups discussed
CSI event also focuses on hate
crimes, and education and language barriers
Staten Island Advance
Wednesday, March 30, 2004
 Community
leaders from across Staten Island -- who have roots across the globe
-- gathered last night in the Center for the Arts at the College of
Staten Island, Willowbrook, for a forum titled, "Conversation on
Staten Island Immigration."
The discussion, a joint venture of CSI President Dr.
Marlene Springer's Community Advisory Council and the college's
public affairs initiative, Staten Island Project, was heard by over
200 people.
"Here, we can reach a cross-section of the
population and introduce the immigrant population to the natives of
Staten Island," said Alexander Korkhov, deputy director of the New
York City Commission on Human Rights, St. George branch,
representing the Eastern European and Russian communities.
Over the course of the forum, population and
immigration trends were analyzed, and panelists representing their
respective populations discussed their demographic needs and why
Staten Island has become an attractive home to many people of many
ethnicities, as well as obstacles and contributions made to the
community.
According to Dr. Jonathan Peters, assistant
professor of business at the college, Staten Island may have the
smallest percentage of foreign-born population in the five boroughs,
but its numbers are still more than double that of the country as a
whole.
His research, derived from the U.S. Census Bureau,
estimates there are over 75,000 foreign-born immigrants on Staten
Island, with the Northeastern shore of the Island boasting some of
the largest populations. Europeans top the list with the highest
numbers, followed by Asians, Africans and Latin Americans.
 The
rest of the panel included: Professor Wilma Jones, acting chief
librarian of CSI, representing the African community; Dr. Mohammed
Khalid, president of the Staten Island Pakistani Civic Association,
representing the South Asian community; Edward Seto, past president
of the Staten Island Asian Coalition, representing the East Asian
community, and Doris Ruiz, president of the Staten Island Latino
Civic Association, representing the Latino community.
During the forum, several topics were discussed,
including hate crimes, education and language barriers, as well as
the propensity to form ethnic neighborhoods.
"This is one of the most important topics that we
need to address on Staten Island," said Rajiv Gowda, president of
South Asian and Indo-Caribbean Americans for Political Progress, and
a member of the Community Advisory Council.
"The immigrant community [groups] cannot keep their
problems to themselves," he said. "They need to reach out [to each
other]. The only way for problems to be solved is to meet halfway."
by Rob Hart
Reprinted here with permission from the
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