World

Michigan Muslim group sues Obama, Kerry over stranded citizens in Yemen

Council on American-Islamic Relations argues US govt has done nothing to protect, evacuate and repatriate its citizens

Michigan Radio April 10, 2015

PHOTO: Michigan Radio

LANSING: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Michigan chapter has filed a federal lawsuit to push the United States government to evacuate stranded American nationals in Yemen.

Lena Masri, the staff attorney at CAIR Michigan, said, "The US government has done absolutely nothing to protect, evacuate and repatriate its own citizens, estimated at 55,000, that are currently stranded in Yemen."

Executive director of CAIR Michigan Dawud Walid pointed out that "multiple countries from China, Russia to Somalia have evacuated their citizens."

"Yet our country with the strongest military in the world is leaving our citizens to languish," he lamented.

Yemeni fighters opposing the Huthi rebels hold a bullet belt in Aden. PHOTO: AFP

Walid feared that the US government's failure to rescue its citizens in the troubled country is part of a long-standing pattern of discrimination against Americans of Yemini origin.

Read: US warns Iran on backing Yemen rebels, Tehran defiant

PHOTO: AP

The lawsuit is part of a multi-pronged effort seeking an emergency evacuation.

Notifying President Barak Obama and US Secretary of State John Kerry of the lawsuit, CAIR Michigan wrote a letter: "Contrary to its legal obligations, the United States has abandoned Yemeni Americans."

Read: 1,019 stranded Pakistanis evacuated from Yemen: FO

Walid furthered that CAIR Michigan is also scheduled to meet early next week with Michigan members of Congress to urge them put forth a demand that President Obama mount an emergency evacuation.

Following is some reactions from Twitter over the non-evacuation of US nationals stranded in Yemen:

US citizens stranded in Yemen claim government has abandoned them amid Saudi-led airstrikes:

... http://t.co/Y5hu218fmb
— Ramy Abdeljabbar 🐱🐶🇺🇸🇵🇸🇦🇲☪️ (@Ramdog1980) April 2, 2015

https://twitter.com/attackerman/status/583345156251901952

China, India, Pakistan, Somalia have evacuated its citizens from Yemen. But US has no plans for stranded Americans. http://t.co/sRkWDj9sra
— Morgan Winsor (@MorganWinsor) March 31, 2015

The story was originally published in Michigan Radio

COMMENTS (6)

Khalid Asif | 9 years ago | Reply @Madhav Das: The community is responsible for this situation. Not too many nations regard them as their true citizens.

Asad | 9 years ago | Reply It cuts both ways. If you are loyal to a nation, the nation will be loyal to you.

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Babbarsher Khan | 9 years ago | Reply Indians, Pakistani, Chinese in Yemen bring valuable money (remittance) to their respective economies. So governments of these countries are reciprocating the good deeds of its citizen by rescuing them. The US citizen in Yemen traveled there despite State Department's warning (not to travel there). They also drain the US economy by carrying/remitting welfare checks/support they get in the US to Yemen. Uncle Sam is all knowing, it is economy after all ;-)

cautious | 9 years ago | Reply Darwin principle at work? USA is usually the first country to put the World on alert that a country is going down the toilet - first to tell it's citizens to evacuate and usually first to get its embassy staff removed from the country. In short - when the USA evacuates it's Embassy the whole World knows the country is in trouble and any USA citizens in Yemen were given an opportunity to depart a long time ago.

Hmm | 9 years ago | Reply Why are these people worried ? They are safe with their "ummah" . Why does someone evacuate terrorists ?

Madhav Das | 9 years ago | Reply It looks like the US government is doing to its Muslim citizens what it has not been able to articulate as official policy. It is now in the open. Arab citizens cannot come back to the USA..

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