Dear Fellow Citizens,
We are responding to the InForum editorial about the Sep 7th soccer tournament we are organizing, sponsored by District 10 State House candidate Jared Hendrix. We would like to address comments made by Rep. Hamida Dakane about new Americans, Hendrix, and our tournament. To be clear, Hendrix did not come up with the idea. Rather, we brought the idea to him and he enthusiastically agreed to provide funding and support our event. Regarding Dakane's statement that the name of the soccer team on our flyer was offensive (Somalian FC); we were using the name we were given by the team. If the term was offensive, we apologize, and will not use it in the future.
We should explain that many within the African immigrant community supported our sister Hamida in her 2022 election. Community leaders – including church leaders – supported her because they believed she would be a voice for all of the new American community. We respect the rights of all peoples to practice their faith freely, including Dakane's Muslim faith. As a woman of faith, we believed she would vote along the lines of the values shared by Christians. Unfortunately, her record shows that she voted against the biological definition of "male" and "female", and against sex-segregated restrooms to help protect children from predators, and in favor of allowing sex change surgeries on minor children without parental consent.
Dakane voted against a bill that protected the rights of parents to be the primary stakeholder in their children's education, and she voted in favor of allowing children to have easy access to pornographic material in public libraries. Not only has she voted against family values, which are shared by most in the immigrant community, but she also harmed the financial wellbeing of families by voting against cutting income taxes for 60% of North Dakotans, including lower income people who earn below $44,775. Rent is up. Grocery bills are up. We cannot elect the same people who have failed to reduce the cost of living for hard working families struggling in this economy. These are only a few of the problems in her record.
Dakane wrote that Hendrix "...has always been antagonistic to New Americans and New American settlement in North Dakota... He's worked to divide and cause pain to New Americans." It is not Hendrix who is causing division. The purpose of our soccer tournament is to bring the community together by playing the most popular game in the world, loved by many different peoples and cultures. For Dakane to create unnecessary discord around a unifying, fun event, is very disappointing. Our experience with Hendrix is that while he holds strong views, he's willing to listen and try to understand the experiences of people in our community. Frankly, we would prefer a leader who tells us where he stands, as opposed to a politician who tells us what we want to hear and turns their back on our community after being elected. We will let Mr. Hendrix counter Dakane's other claims and offer himself as a choice for the voters in District 10. That is not our job.
Unfortunately, Dakane has shown disregard for the principles that guide our faith and the moral compass that has shaped both the American nation, and our home countries, for generations. Her policies undermine the importance of family, endanger the health and innocence of children, and go against the moral teachings of both the Bible and the Quran. We agree with what Rep. Swiontek said in the InForum piece, "If you want to get issues resolved, you have to work with people." That's why we're working with Jared Hendrix.
We are confident that the Sep. 7th soccer tournament will be a great success for members of our community. All are welcome to attend and enjoy the game, family, friends, food, music. We are grateful that someone has shown support for our community by sponsoring our event.
Sincerely,
Nathan Davis
Organizers of the Sep 7th Soccer Tournament
Editors note: the opinions expressed in this article are purely the opinions of the one who submitted the Letter to the Editor and not that of The Dakotan.
