NOTES
AUTHOR’S NOTE
x Utica was not the only struggling city Julia Preston, “Ailing Midwestern Cities Extend a Welcoming Hand to Immigrants,” New York Times, October 7, 2013.
x More than 65 million people Somini Sengupta, “Record 65 Million People Displaced, UN Says,” New York Times, June 20, 2016; UNHCR, United Nations Refugee Agency, USA, “Global Trends 2015”: https://www.unhcr.org/576408cd7.
x It was the largest wave David A. Graham, “Violence Has Forced 60 Million People from Their Homes,” Atlantic, June 18, 2015.
x All through 2015 IOM Global Migration Data Analysis Centre, “Over 3,770 Migrants Have Died Trying to Cross the Mediterranean to Europe in 2015,” https://missingmigrants.iom.int/over-3770-migrants-have-died-trying-cross-mediterranean-europe-2015.
PART I LANDINGS
Chapter 1 DESIRE
3 A total of 19 family members Interview with Zahara, September 18, 2013.
3 The elegant but run-down house Recorded deed of Halima’s house on Rutger, Office of the Oneida County Clerk, Utica, New York.
3 It was used as Zahara, September 18, 2013.
4 The name Rahama About the name Rahama: https://www.names.org/n/rahama/about.
4 Her family Ethnic groups, tribes, peoples, and clans can all mean the same thing. Information from Daniel J. Van Lehman, visiting scholar, Middle East Studies Center, Portland State University, August 4, 2021.
Chapter 2 FIRE
9 As white people started fleeing Interview with Patrick Johnson, March 11, 2021. His family moved to Cornhill in 1960; they were the fourth Black family in the district.
9 At the height of the crisis This number refers to overall fires: Interview with Chief Ingersoll, June 6, 2019.
9 They headed toward streets Interview with Lieutenant Phil Fasolo, January 28, 2021.
10 But as Utica’s population According to US census report.
10 Laughing, he told the interviewer CBS interview with Mayor Ed Hanna, 1997: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9ftEoFOexI.
10 A house in Cornhill Interview with John Zogby, January 21, 2020.
11 Many moved to North and South Carolina Zogby, January 21, 2020.
11 And some owners torched Chief Ingersoll, June 6, 2019.
11 In the mid-nineties “Putting Out the Fire,” TechBeat, Fall 1998.
11 Gas thrown down sinks Interview with Fasolo and Mickey Maunz, retired member of Utica Police Department, Criminal Investigative Unit, March 6, 2020.
11 There was rarely closure Scott Wallace, “State Praises Arson Strike Force,” Observer-Dispatch, March 4, 1998.
11 The police lost control TechBeat, Fall 1998.
12 Anyone can walk into Scott Wallace, “ ‘City of Strangers,’ ” Observer-Dispatch, February 15, 1998.
12 Instead of using guns Rocco La Duca and Chinki Sinha, “Fire Chief: ‘Something Is Happening’; Recent Arson Rate Approaches 1990s Levels,” Observer-Dispatch, July 12, 2008.
12 One hung on to her leg Interview with Azira Tabucic, August 14, 2020.
12 Buffalo lost over half Ken Belson, “Vacant Houses, Scourge of a Beaten-Down Buffalo,” New York Times, September 13, 2007.
12 On virtually every block Belson, New York Times, September 13, 2007.
12 By 2000, there were vast stretches Marc J. Masson, “Vacant and Abandoned Housing in Buffalo,” Partnership for the Public Good, Buffalo Brief, December 2014.
12 By 1997, the population had declined Salena Zito, “The Day That Destroyed the Working Class,” New York Post, September 16, 2017; population graph, Youngstown, Ohio: https://development.ohio.gov/files/research/youngstown.pdf.
12 It was designed by Richard George Fiona O’Downey, “Historical Perspective: Olbiston Once a Jewel on ‘Genesee Hill,’ ” Observer-Dispatch, June 16, 2019.
12 In recent decades, it had fallen Noelle Crombie, “Rebuilding a Neighborhood,” Observer-Dispatch, March 19, 1994.
13 Ten fire trucks and 50 firefighters Fasolo, March 6, 2020.
13 At 2 a.m. on an icy March morning Noelle Crombie and Glenn Coin, “Struggle to Survive,” Observer-Dispatch, March 15, 1994.
13 Some emergency exit doors Crombie and Coin, Observer-Dispatch, March 15, 1994.
13 Grover Smith, asleep Crombie, Observer-Dispatch, March 19, 1994.
13 And the city began to absorb Crombie, Observer-Dispatch, March 19, 1994.
13 Three were hospitalized Crombie and Coin, Observer-Dispatch, March 15, 1994.
Chapter 9 IN BLOOM
From 2013 to 2021, Shelly Callahan—in numerous interviews—kept me in touch with changes in the refugee community. Sakib Duracak and Mohamed Ganiso did the same, regarding their respective communities. Their insights informed this chapter and others. I’m also grateful to Catherine L. Besteman, professor of anthropology at Colby College, for her thoughtful responses to my fact checker’s questions about the Somali Bantus.
36 By 2019, more than 4,000 A summary of the waves of refugees resettled by the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees: https://www.thecenterutica.org/about/our-history/.
36 Newcomers are given Interview with Shelly Callahan, January 13, 2021.
36 Chobani estimates Interview with John Kell, media lead at the Chobani factory in New Berlin, March 5, 2021.
36 The city tore down La Duca and Sinha, Observer-Dispatch, July 12, 2008.
37 Russians, who escaped religious Interview with Shelly Callahan, March 5, 2021.
38 In recent years, the Somali Bantus Interview with Daniel J. Van Lehman, July 27, 2021.
39 That year, the unemployment rate New York State Department of Labor Statistics for Mohawk Valley region, December 2019.
39 More than half of Utica’s Somali Bantus Interview with Mohamed Ganiso, October 19, 2019.
39 Dozens of their children Interview with Dr. Kathryn Stam, February 18, 2021.
39 They made broom handles Henry J. Cookinham, History of Oneida County, New York: From 1700 to the Present Time, vol. 1, pt. 2 (Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing, 1912), 443–53.
39 The city was dubbed Peter Eisenstadt, editor in chief, Encyclopedia of New York State (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2005), 1626.
39 Women mostly worked in the woolen mills George Perazich and W. T. Stone, Economic Effect of Textile Mill Closings, Selected Communities in Middle Atlantic States (Washington, DC: US Dept. of Commerce, 1963).
39 Utica knitting company Cookinham, History of Oneida County.
39 By 1940, there were Lebanese and Syrian Americans; info from Utica College Ethnic Heritage Studies Center: https://www.utica.edu/academic/institutes/ethnic/lebanese.cfm.
39 Almost a quarter of the city’s population Steber’s Utica City Directory (New York: R. L. Polk & Co., 1940–1941), 1.
40 Picking up the slack Perazich and Stone, Economic Effect of Textile Mill Closings.
Chapter 12 SHADOW
48 The government began deporting “Red Cross Criticizes Iran and Iraq,” New York Times, May 12, 1983.
PART II MY UTICA
Chapter 14 THE STRIKE FORCE
I am grateful to Lieutenant Phil Fasolo, Deputy Chief Peter Caruso, and Captain Mickey Maunz—original members of the Utica Strike Force—for sharing their memories in an interview on March 6, 2020.
59 A team of 16 Text from Phil Fasolo, March 9, 2021; Scott Wallace, “May the Force Be with You,” Observer-Dispatch, February 15, 1998.
59 It was a large-scale TechBeat, Fall 1998; interview with Phil Fasolo, January 28, 2021.
60 They had access Fasolo, January 28, 2021.
60 The Strike Force was also given TechBeat, Fall 1998.
60 If the fire marshal Scott Wallace, “On the Trail of an Arsonist,” Observer-Dispatch, February 15, 1998; Fasolo, January 28, 2021.
60 Investigators were able to track Scott Wallace, “Among the Bag of High Tech Tricks,” Observer-Dispatch, February 15, 1998.
60 US Marshals, working with TechBeat, Fall 1998.
60 The Strike Force got guilty pleas La Duca and Sinha, Observer-Dispatch, July 12, 2008.
60 Arson was cut in half. TechBeat, Fall 1998.
61 They covered walls with tapestries Interviews with Captain Zumpano, Chief Ingersoll, and Dr. Stam, from 2019 to 2020.
62 But they had not been able Keshia Clukey, “Months after Adrean Terrace Fire, 4-Year-Old Making Recovery,” Observer-Dispatch, July 6, 2013.
62 Minutes later, Mr. De Carlo Video of rescue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZc0VplNKfQ.
63 These flat, cast-iron elements Interview with Joe Puleo, Utica firefighter, March 4, 2020.
63 The refugee center received Alexander Gerould, “Officials Address Stove Fires at MHA Apartments,” Observer-Dispatch, December 8, 2014.
63 The citywide number of fires Puleo, March 4, 2020.
63 There are only two African Americans Interview with Captain Zumpano, March 4, 2021.
63 So far, they are too young Interview with Stephanie Heiland of Pathways to Justice Careers, March 10, 2021.
Chapter 16 CONFESSIONS OF A TEACHER
68 About 80 percent of the student New York State Department of Education data, school year 2017–2018, https://data.nysed.gov/enrollment.php?year=2018&instid=800000041259.
69 There are programs that offer help Info about Young Scholars Liberty Partnerships Program: https://www.utica.edu/academic/yslpp/aboutus.cfm.
70 AIS—Academic Intervention Services Info about Academic Intervention Services: https://www.uticaschools.org/Page/3651.
70 These programs, like the newcomer program Alissa Scott, “Utica Schools Sued Over Refugee Students,” New York Times, April 23, 2015.
70 And they did not provide Interview with Deborah L. Wilson-Allam, executive director of international education at Utica College, February 15, 2021.
70 This was a violation New York State’s complaint against the Utica school district: https://ag.ny.gov/pdfs/Utica_City_School_District_Complaint.pdf; Benjamin Mueller, “New York State Accuses Utica School District of Bias Against Refugees,” New York Times, November 17, 2015.
71 It sent him back Polly Kreisman, “Teenager from Guatemala Denied Access to Mamaroneck High School,” The Loop, May 6, 2016, https://larchmontloop.com/teenager-from-guatemala-denied-school-in-mamaroneck/.
71 McCaskey High School ACLU of Pennsylvania filed a federal lawsuit against the district of Lancaster: https://www.aclupa.org/en/cases/issa-v-school-district-lancaster#:~:text=The%20ACLU%20of%20Pennsylvania%2C%20the,or%20diverting%20them%20to%20an.
71 In 2015, the NYCLU had filed Info about lawsuits against Lancaster, Mamaroneck, and Utica school districts: https://www.aclupa.org/en/cases/issa-v-school-district-lancaster; https://www.nyclu.org/en/press-releases/school-district-cannot-refuse-admit-immigrant-student-state-orders; https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/nyclu-lscny-sue-utica-school-district-illegally-denying-refugee-youth-education.
71 By doing so, “the District New York State: https://ag.ny.gov/pdfs/Utica_City_School_District_Complaint.pdf.
71 Ms. Wilson-Allam said that in 2014 Info about Utica settlement with NYCLU: https://www.nyclu.org/en/press-releases/settlement-ensures-refugee-children-can-go-high-school-utica.
72 Notices are now posted around Utica David W. Chen, “Utica Settles State Claim Alleging Biased Enrollment for Refugee Students,” New York Times, July 21, 2016; Elizabeth A. Harris, “Utica Settles Lawsuit Over Refugees’ Access to High School,” New York Times, May 19, 2016.
72 The city spends $17,128 per student Info about school district funding in central New York. Utica is at the bottom: https://www.syracuse.com/schools/2020/06/what-school-districts-spend-the-most-and-least-per-student-in-central-new-york.html.
73 The graduation rate of those enrolled Proctor High School graduation rate data as of August 2019: https://data.nysed.gov/gradrate.php?year=2019&instid=800000041259.
73 Kevin Marken, the Utica director Interview with Kevin Marken, director of On Point for College, July 2, 2021. Info about On Point for College: https://www.onpointforcollege.org/.
73 The college also offers Interview with Dr. Randall J. VanWagoner, January 8, 2021.
Chapter 18 THE BAN
79 In the 2016 presidential election Oneida County election results for the 2016 presidential election: https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/new-york.
79 The county has voted for Info about voting patterns in central New York: https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/cny-rural-counties-that-backed-obama-are-now-solidly-trump-country/.
79 But in 2016, East Utica Data about how Utica’s different districts voted: https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NY/Oneida/64645/181949/Web01/en/summary.html.
80 After five years in the country Info about refugee status: https://www.hias.org/refugee-does-refugee-status-expire; info about refugees becoming citizens: https://www.rescue.org/article/how-immigrants-and-refugees-become-us-citizens.
Chapter 21 COMING HOME
93 On a spring night in 2019 911 Oneida County Media Summary Report, June 14, 2019.
93 It is not unusual Interview with Mark Williams, Utica’s chief of police, June 6, 2019.
93 In 2018, there were 37 Appendix: New York Opioid Annual Report 2020, New York State Department of Health, p. 28: https://health.ny.gov/statistics/opioid/data/pdf/2020_annual_report_appendix.pdf#page=28.
93 While the crisis affects families Williams, June 6, 2019; interview with Dr. Natalie Hua, July 28, 2021.
Chapter 23 LOFTS
99 An outsider might be skeptical Utica’s population in 2000 and 2006: https://www.biggestuscities.com/city/utica-new-york#:~:text=What%20is%20the%20current%20population,largest%20city%20in%20the%20US.
99 Residents’ real per capita income Utica’s real per capita income compared to national per capita income: https://www.google.com/search?q=individual+income+utica+2006&sxsrf=ALeKk02ZUnGiEtoMsrxBsvKZ6_ZVNVQd7Q%3A1622664081180&ei=keO3YI2pCo2v5NoPiZWWoA4&oq=in.
99 She saw a market for 108 Interview with Laurie Volk, November 25, 2020; I viewed slides from Volk’s downtown Utica PowerPoint presentation.
102 The region’s economic problems Jesse McKinley, “Cuomo’s ‘Buffalo Billion’: Is New York Getting Its Money’s Worth?” New York Times, July 2, 2018; McKinley, “Cuomo Struggles to Maintain Momentum in Upstate Employment,” New York Times, November 6, 2015.
102 Utica started to see a windfall Dan Guzewich, “State Ups Investment in Utica Aud to $10.5 M,” Rome Daily Sentinel, September 29, 2017.
102 The new project—a power electronics Jesse McKinley, “General Electric Comes Back to Utica, and Brings Jobs Along with It,” New York Times, August 20, 2015.
102 The governor announced that AMS Dan Guzewich, “Double Dose of Good News 2000 Jobs and $2 Billion Investment in Pair of Projects,” Rome Sentinel, August 20, 2015.
Chapter 24 MERSIHA LEAPS
104 Alain E. Kaloyeros, the president Vivian Yee, “How Cuomo’s Signature Economic Growth Project Fell Apart in Utica,” New York Times, December 27, 2016.
104 A modern glass and steel building Interview with Bob Scholefield, executive vice president of facilities and real estate at Mohawk Valley Health System, and Darlene Stromstad, president/CEO of Mohawk Valley Health System, June 14, 2019.
109 “Everybody here have insurance,” Info about refugee health insurance: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/programs/refugees/health.
Chapter 25 BOMB THREAT
110 When Mr. Omerovic, a Bosnian-American Jolene Cleaver, “Utica College Student Arrested After Campus Threat,” Observer-Dispatch, March 7, 2018.
Chapter 31 THE KEY
128 The song commemorates the World War I Lyrics to “March on the Drina,” and description of the Battle of Cer: https://accordeonworld.weebly.com/drinamarch.html.
Chapter 32 WHO WILL HELP YOU?
133 NATO launched Operation Deliberate Force Stephen Engelberg and Tim Weiner, “Massacre in Bosnia; Srebrenica: The Days of Slaughter,” New York Times, October 29, 1995. Description of Operation Deliberate Force: https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/deliberate_force.htm. “Bosnia’s Srebrenica Massacre 25 Years On—In Pictures,” BBC, July 11, 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53346759.
134 His brother returned to his military unit Info about the town of Ključ in the aftermath of war: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab317b.html.
137 My head was bigger Video of Hajrudin the day he was released from the camp: https://youtu.be/G9g1OsBkpBQ. He appears at 13:19; his name is called. He is the second-to-last man in the line of prisoners.
137 The agreement was signed on Bill Clinton, “Dayton Accords, International Agreement,” https://www.britannica.com/event/Dayton-Accords.
139 The rumor was they had taken Anja Vladisavljevic, “Croatia Contests Ruling Sparing War Criminals from Compensation Payments,” Balkan Insight, May 27, 2019.
PART III, NEW AMERICANS
Chapter 33 THEY DON’T TALK ABOUT IT
146 It will not be easy Interview with Dr. Hua, February 26, 2021.
146 In East Utica and Cornhill Reuters analyzed childhood blood lead testing data in different neighborhoods in 34 states. “Looking for Lead,” https://www.reuters.com/investigates/graphics/lead-water/en/.
146 Most of the city’s housing stock “Looking for Lead,” https://www.reuters.com/investigates/graphics/lead-water/en/.
146 Later, if they have a snack Interview with John Adams of Cornell Cooperative Extension, Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, March 11, 2021.
146 The traditional yellow face paint Interview with Dr. Warfel, February 17, 2021.
146 If a child has elevated blood lead Interview with John Adams, March 11, 2021.
147 There is reason to be hopeful Samantha Madison, “Utica Awarded $3.5 Million for Lead Removal,” Observer-Dispatch, December 12, 2018.
147 In 2016, that dropped to Oneida County data about high lead levels in children under 6 from New York State Department of Health: https://webbi1.health.ny.gov/SASStoredProcess/guest?_program=/EBI/PHIG/apps/chir_dashboard/chir_dashboard&p=ctr&ind_id=Cg28&cos=30.
Chapter 37 THE MAYOR’S SWEEP
167 Between 2014 and 2018, the city Utica losing 1,300 residents between 2014 and 2018: https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/utica-ny-population.
167 This will be the lowest number The United States plans to cut the refugee program: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/10/07/key-facts-about-refugees-to-the-u-s/.
167 Refugees helped boost southeastern Michigan Niraj Warikoo, “Study: Refugees Added Up to $295 Million to Southeast Michigan Economy in 2016,” Detroit Free Press, October 17, 2017.
167 The automotive industry and construction Trevor Bach, “Will a Refugee Shortage Affect Detroit’s Famed Comeback?,” U.S. News & World Report, February 28, 2019.
168 The facility is supposed to be “Cree Aims to Start Operations in Marcy in 14 Months,” Rome Daily Sentinel, February 11, 2020.
168 Many in Utica’s Black community Utica’s Black community is about 15 percent of the city’s population: https://datausa.io/profile/geo/utica-ny/.
168 They were marginalized from the start. James S. Pula, ed., Ethnic Utica (Utica, NY: Ethnic Heritage Studies Center at Utica College, 2002), 26, 27, 29.
168 They knew how to avoid Pula, Ethnic Utica, 23, 29.
169 It is now predominately working class In an interview on March 13, 2020, Freddie Hamilton, a Cornhill resident and activist, estimated that about a third of the neighborhood is composed of refugees.
Chapter 39 THE VISIT
177 Saddam was being tried, along with John F. Burns, “Combative Saddam Back in Court,” New York Times, November 29, 2005.
178 The trial was adjourned until November Burns, “Defiant Hussein, Lashing Out at U.S., Goes on Trial,” New York Times, October 20, 2005.
Chapter 43 SIX MONTHS
190 And police had used tear gas Falih Hassan and Alissa J. Rubin, “Facing a ‘Shortage of Everything,’ Iraqis Protest Corruption,” New York Times, October 3, 2019.
190 During the first few days of protest Alissa J. Rubin, “Iraqi Security Forces Kill Dozens in Week of Protest,” New York Times, October 6, 2019.
Chapter 44 HIS TEXT
193 They also wanted a new constitution Alissa J. Rubin, “Pressure Grows on Iraq’s Prime Minister to Quit as Protests Clog Streets,” New York Times, October 31, 2019.
193 A few days later, Mahdi offered Alissa J. Rubin, “Iraqi Antigovernment Protests Grow, Part Battle Lines and Carnival,” New York Times, October 28, 2019.
193 Iran had been supporting powerful Alissa J. Rubin, “A New Slogan Ignites Iraqis, ‘Iran Get Out,’ ” New York Times, November 5, 2019.
193 He was an Iraqi immigrant Tim Arango and Neil MacFarquhar, “His Death Rattled World and Shook His U.S. City,” New York Times, January 19, 2020.
193 In retaliation, the United States Julian E. Barnes, “U.S. Launches Airstrikes on Iranian-Backed Forces in Iraq and Syria,” New York Times, December 29, 2019.
193 There were calls for the American Alissa J. Rubin and Ben Hubbard, “Strikes by U.S. Renew Anger Among Iraqis,” New York Times, December 31, 2019.
194 They shattered security cameras Falih Hassan, Ben Hubbard, and Alissa J. Rubin, “Iraqi Protesters Attack Embassy After U.S. Strike,” New York Times, January 1, 2020.
194 Across the region—and in America Michael Crowley, Falih Hassan, and Eric Schmitt, “U.S. Strike in Iraq Kills Qassim Suleimani, Commander of Iranian Forces,” New York Times, January 2, 2020.
194 The next day, tens of thousands Alissa J. Rubin, Ben Hubbard, and Falih Hassan, “Cries of ‘Revenge Is Coming’ at Funerals for 2 Slain Commanders,” New York Times, January 5, 2020.
194 And the American-led coalition suspended Alissa J. Rubin, Ben Hubbard, Farnaz Fassihi, and Steven Erlanger, “Standoff Builds as Iran Drops Nuclear Limits,” New York Times, January 6, 2020.
194 In some parts of the world, there was Mark Mazzetti, Eric Schmitt, Lara Jakes, and Thomas Gibbons-Neff, “3 Hours from Alert to Attacks: Inside the Race to Protect U.S. Forces from Iran Strikes,” New York Times, January 8, 2020.
Chapter 48 KARMA
220 Down below, the water is the bluest blue K. M. Stewart, K. F. Walker, and G. E. Likens, “Meromictic Lakes,” Encyclopedia of Inland Waters (Amsterdam: Elsevier/Academic Press, 2009), 589–602. Another source: Information about Green Lake posted around the trails of Green Lake State Park.
EPILOGUE WE RALLIED
221 Construction projects—like the Nexus Interview with Marquis Phillips, April 30, 2021.
221 But by January 3, 2021, the seven-day “Oneida County, New York, Coronavirus Cases and Deaths,” USAFACTS, updated May 1, 2021: https://usafacts.org/visualizations/coronavirus-covid-19-spread-map/state/new-york/county/oneida-county; interview with Dr. Hua, April 30, 2021.
222 The hospital was renamed Amy Roth Neff, “MVHS Hits Jackpot with $50 Million Gift from Developer Steve Wynn’s Family Foundation,” March 5, 2021: https://www.uticaod.com/story/news/2021/03/04/casino-developer-steve-wynns-family-foundation-gives-mvhs-50-million/6911146002/.
222 This fiscal year—as of March 2021 Interview with Shelly Callahan, March 10, 2021.
224 But after eight months, Nawres returned Arango and MacFarquhar, New York Times, January 19, 2020; interview with Ali, March 24, 2021.
224 But he was sent to Kirkuk Interview with Ali, March 24, 2021