8

Thursday, July 23, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MICHIGAN IN COLOR

Kellon Yaani Kellon

Disclaimer: *names have been abbreviat-
ed in order to ensure the privacy of the iden-
tities involved
In October 2019, the people of Lebanon 
began to fill the streets chanting “kellon 
yaani kellon,” which translates to “all of 
them means all of them.” All of them, refer-
ring to the corrupt sectarian government 
officials who have prioritized their own 
greed over providing the Lebanese people 
with fundamental aid and services for years, 
leaving Lebanon to be the third most indebt-
ed country in the world. Lebanon has a debt 
to GDP ratio of 152 percent, and has over 75 
percent of its population living below the 
poverty line. The country is without a stable 
economy, stable electricity, waste manage-
ment services and food security for no rea-
son other than the government’s inherent 
greed. When the Lebanese people chant, 
“kellon yaani kellon,” it is intended to leave 
no question that all politicians, whether 
the president or a cabinet member, are the 
problem. As long as the current ideologies 
perpetuated through political power persist, 
Lebanon will be stuck in an eternal cycle of 
corruption. 
Years of a broken economic system, char-
acterized by corruption and heavy reliance 
on imports, the pegging of the Lebanese cur-
rency to the US dollar and a diaspora which 
endlessly pumps cash into a fragile banking 
system, has inevitably led to the toppling of 
Lebanon’s economy. In recent months, the 
Lebanese currency has crashed and prices 
have skyrocketed, creating a disappearing 
middle class and further distress on the poor. 
Over 49 percent of Lebanon’s population (6.8 
million) are food insecure, and with the price 
of grocery staples doubling, or even tripling, 
low income people are destitute. Some par-
ents have to decide if they are going to buy 
formula or diapers — as there is no way for 
them to afford both. 
HK*, who has lived in Lebanon through-
out her whole life, including the civil war, 

How the ‘waiting game’ 
suppressesSouthAsian 
voters

AAKASH RAY
MiC Staff Writer

Graphic by Hibah Chughtai

In early December, The South Asian 
Awareness Network, a student organization 
on campus, provided me the opportunity to 
meet Ranjeev Puri— a Democratic candidate 
running for State Representative for Michi-
gan House 21. This was the first time I had 
ever met a South Asian running for a political 
position, although I knew of a few nationally 
such as Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and 
former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. Teem-
ing with eagerness, I went on to ask him a 
few questions, picking his brain about South 
Asians in government and topics like civic 
participation and education.
Ranjeev spoke at length about his back-
ground growing up in Wisconsin as a sec-
ond-generation American to two immigrant 
parents and his work for former President 
Barack Obama in 2012. Yet, what I remember 
most was when he noted that South Asians 
have not historically been a large part of the 
political atmosphere in the United States. 
He left that day encouraging us to fulfill our 
civic duty and inspired me to think more 
about the South Asian community from a 
historical perspective.
While I believe there is certainly a culture 
of passivity within the South Asian com-
munity when it comes to civic engagement, 
I also believe that there are certain systemic 
barriers that have decreased the civic par-
ticipation of immigrants in subtle ways. 
Many of us know of the typical forms of 
voter suppression, including gerrymander-
ing districts, strict voter-ID laws and even 
purging voters. But, I believe there is addi-
tional widespread voter suppression by the 
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 
which currently has an immense backlog of 
applications for legal residence and natural-
ization applications.

Naturalization is the process by which 
U.S. citizenship is granted to a foreign citi-
zen after they fulfill the requirements estab-
lished by Congress in the Immigration and 
Nationality Act. According to Boundless 
Immigration, “the processing time for a citi-
zenship application has surged over the past 
two years to over 10 months—double the pro-
cessing time between 2012 and 2016.” This is 
expected to continue to rise as the govern-
ment continues to keep their processing effi-
ciency stays at an incredibly low level. On top 
of this, there are steep application fees for 
naturalization — becoming a citizen — such 
as civics and English tests which must be 
completed. In lieu, many instead decide to 
renew their permanent residency for 10 more 
years and avoid risking hundreds of dollars 
just to be denied citizenship.
To give a local context, The University of 
Southern California-Dornsife Center for the 
Study of Immigrant Integration provides 
data on the number of people eligible to nat-
uralize in the United States. In Washtenaw 
County, they estimate that there are 8,458 
lawful permanent residents, or “green card” 
holders, who are eligible to apply for citizen-
ship. Of this population, about 54 percent of 
lawful permanent residents in Washtenaw 
County identify as Asian.
According to the database, if naturalized, 
these individuals would make up roughly 3.3 
percent of the citizen voting age population. 
This means close to 1 out of every 25 voters 
is being denied their constitutional right 
to engage in our democracy in Washtenaw 
County.
The “waiting game” and the subsequent 
pressure of the unknown not only holds 
South Asians back from being civically 
engaged, but also inhibits them from pursu-
ing certain jobs, scholarships and loans. 

Read more at michigandaily.com

told The Daily the economic collapse has left 
Lebanon in the worst state she has ever seen. 
“During the civil war, we were mostly 
scared of bombings,” HK said. “We had hope 
that the war would end. Now, we are scared 
of tomorrow and we cannot see hope.” 
Lack of hope, a shared sentiment among 
the Lebanese, is reasonable, given the little 
to no aid the government is providing for the 
people. The government has failed to reim-
burse hospitals, making it impossible to pay 
staff and buy medical supplies, exacerbating 
the effects of COVID-19. 
“COVID-19 is a problem, like it is every-
where in the world, but it is not our main 
problem,” HK said. “The economy is our big-
gest problem.” 
Videos have surfaced of pregnant women 
eating from dumpsters and mothers on the 
streets offering to sell their organs to feed 
their children. Among those belonging to the 
most vulnerable communities are Syrian ref-
ugees— 30 percent of Lebanon’s population. 
Over 87 percent of the refugees lack food, 73 
percent lack a permanent home and each one 
of them are at devastating odds against Leb-
anon’s economic crisis and COVID-19. 
“With all the suffering going on, the gov-
ernment is not doing anything,” HK said. 
“We need a government that cares about 
their people — both the poor and the rich 
people.”
Although the economic crisis hits the poor 
the hardest, those with economic stability 
are still affected. Banks are limiting with-
drawals and those who have bank accounts 
in dollars are getting paid in liras — which 
are worth nothing. 
“I went to the supermarket and spent 
around half a million liras. That bought me 
hardly anything, basically nothing,” HK said. 
Like most of Lebanon’s public services, 
electricity is poorly provided through a 
government-owned 
company. 
Electricite 
du Liban, the state power company, cannot 
afford to purchase enough...

Read more at michigandaily.com

MAYA KADOUH
MiC Staff Writer

