Today’s Stupid Thing for Christian Trump Supporters to Defend

Last updated on: January 31, 2017 at 10:06 am by Mark Shea

Today’s Stupid Thing for Christian Trump Supporters to Defend 2017-01-31T10:06:05-07:00 Mark Shea

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

…instead of the gospel or the unborn:

Image may contain: 1 person, smiling, text

Samira Asgari, a computational biologist with a newly minted PhD, was on the verge of starting a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School studying infectious diseases when she was stopped from boarding her flight to Boston this weekend. The 30-year-old Iranian scientist, who completed her doctorate at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland last spring, says: “A gentleman stopped me from boarding the plane. He told me he was a consulate of the American government in Frankfurt and not allowing anybody with a number of nationalities to board planes to the United States.” Despite having a valid visa and having traveled to the US five times in the past, the promising young researcher, who had already quit her job and given up her apartment in preparation for the move, was left stranded — and feeling differently about the United States. “America always seemed like a land of opportunity, that if you’re willing to be a part of this community, it reciprocates,” she says. “That has changed. The image of America as a country that is free and that has a history of fighting discrimination, of fighting biases — it’s like going a step back.”

Samira was going to start working with Dr. Soumya Raychaudhuri, a rheumatologist at the Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital, on a tuberculosis project. “I was going to do research on genomics of infectious disorders,” she explains. “I’m trying to understand how human genetics affect susceptibility to different infectious agents, and how we can help those people [with infections].” Making arrangements to come to the US took seven months: “I’ve done interviews for postdoc positions since July, I’ve already been in the US for interviews, and then I started writing my grant proposal. I put a lot of research into that.” She was approved for a J-1 visa and even won an award granting her two years of funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation, which would have paid her salary in full. “I was really ready to go,” Samira says. “I had done everything right.”

She still finds it hard to believe this is happening. “My first reaction was: But I have a valid visa,” she recalls. “He told me this is an American government-issued visa, and they decided they are not valid, so I cannot board the plane… He was there to execute the order. I was left to deal with it.” Even if the ban ends up being temporary, Samira says that her visa will expire by then and she’s uncertain if she’ll be able to secure a new one; leaving her entire fellowship and the contributions she could have made toward fighting infectious diseases up in the air. “The United States is the place everybody thinks that if you’re good enough, and work hard enough, you can reach anything you want,” she says. “It’s a land of many generations of immigrants, many people who came on visas who have contributed to the community. My hope was I could bring my expertise and learn from the great research community in Boston. That didn’t happen.”

You can read an interview with Samira about her experiences on Vox, visit http://bit.ly/2jwj5Yj — or to read more about how scientists have been affected by the Administration’s ban in Scientific American athttp://bit.ly/2jMRztd

Several civil rights groups are already taking legal action against the Administration’s illegal Muslim ban. To support these organizations’ legal fight with your donations and advocacy, visit the ACLU Nationwide (https://www.aclu.org/) and the National Immigration Law Center (https://www.nilc.org/). To learn more about how to take a stand as an individual, visit the Indivisible Guide (https://www.indivisibleguide.com/).

Uncategorized

Life in the Banana Republic of Trump's Amerikkka

Previous Post

January 31, 2017

Chaldean Patriarch Denounces Preference for Christian Refugees

Next Post

January 31, 2017 Evil and Stupid

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 September 2006 June 2006 July 2005 April 2005 May 2002 April 2002 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz