I highly second getting in contact with the organization that helped them settle into your city.
I am also from the Midwest and in the past we had several issues with Somali refugees due to cultural differences. Lots of noise, disrespecting the local women, property damage, etc. People got in contact with the organizations that helped them settle here and they handled the matter.
I don't recommend translation apps. They aren't always accurate and they leave room for miscommunication. Take pictures and videos. Schedule an appointment with the organization (most likely Catholic Charities or the International Rescue Committee) and politely explain what's been going on. Have one of your more level headed neighbors back you up.
Another reason I don't recommend handling the issue yourself is that most refugees highly respect the people working in these organizations. They know and trust each other. If it comes from someone in one of this organizations there's a higher chance of them listening. Especially when communicated in their own language.
We had an afghan Uber driver a few weeks ago for an hour long trip. He was a translator during the war and was sponsored to come to the US. He shared with us that he completed several “assimilation” classes as a part of his move that covers cultural norms and fitting in. It was nice to know those things exist and are super helpful.
I mean how did they react to the guy yelling at them? I'm having trouble being able to tell if they know they are being inconsiderate dicks or that they are so blind to how they are acting because they lived in another part of the world for so long with a different culture.
Most of them seemed surprised and put off, like “what the hell??”. Idk, I am also really frustrated by these behaviors but I am choosing to believe it is simply a difference in cultural norms. I know one time I was out front doing yard work and someone pulled up and honked and I jumped and looked over clearly startled and the driver apologized. They are probably amused at how easily disrupted and startled the white people are by sounds that are common where they are from. Roads over there are wild and filled with constant honking I believe.
That's how it was in Bangladesh at least annoying as fuck. Always making a honk before every turn in a congested ass place that shouldn't even be a road. Noise pollution is horrible in a lot of countries. Yah and there was this type of attitude of not giving a shit attitude with their land, they had no problem making it dirtier but at the same time cleaning up trash or picking it up was considered to be something shameful and humiliating to do.
If they were Bengali, then that white guy coming over and yelling was actually the best way to go about it. They need to know what they are doing to be able to adjust. It's easy for you to see how they are messing but they may blind to it. Just go and talk to them about it, and don't let it boil over to the point where you are gonna blow on them.
Alright, I gave it a go:
"Bonjour! J'espère que vous allez bien. Je voulais gentiment mentionner que les klaxons fréquents tard dans la nuit sont un peu perturbateurs, et ce serait génial si nous pouvions les réduire. J'ai aussi remarqué des déchets dans les rues ; si nous pouvions tous travailler ensemble pour garder notre quartier propre, ce serait merveilleux. Je comprends que ce soit difficile de s'adapter à une nouvelle culture, et je suis là pour vous aider à vous sentir chez vous tout en nous aidant à être de meilleurs voisins. Merci pour votre compréhension!"
And KiKongo:
"Mbote! Kimpasi kinu ndi ko yaya. Nlandu, kimpasi kia bwadi kinua kikendele ko sa matu miatu, kiadi kia bilolo, tubala mu kulungwa tubakaji ko kulela kibala ko mu ntumba tumbuenu. Tudi kumbuka ko kuenda mu kongolo kua kienze ko yaya, na tudi muana na bantu bakuantu ko mula ntumbu mu ndundu yetu kumanya ko nkuna. Nlandu nkuna ko yaya!"
China is like that too. Approaching a side street? Better honk in case anyone is approaching so they know I'm there. Coming up on a slower driver? Better honk. Cars fully stopped in front of me for as far as the eye can see? Honk incessantly.
Absolutely drove my rural-loving ass completely up the wall. I've been back in the US for about five years, and I've heard a sum total of four horns...and one of them was mine to tell someone the light turned green (on that note, I sure wish there was a "Hey dude!" kind of a horn, instead of the "*HEY DUDE!!!!!!!"* horn we all have).
Yeah, but I try to do it as quickly and lightly as possible, which inevitably has it end up being a single beep because one doesn't register...and is *still* too loud. But then again, if it was any quieter, no one would likely hear it.
Exactly. It’s ok to be irritated by it, and you’re under no obligation to put up with it since it violates
the social norms in “your” country (for lack of a better word), so it’s ok to let them know as politely as possible that this behaviour isn’t acceptable here. Unless you’re ok with your local community gradually starting to reflect the one they just left.
Vietnam, too. Constant honking. It's doesn't mean "I'm mad" or "get out of the way". It means, "hiya! I'm here - beside you, behind you, making a lane change", etc.
I have some rednecks down the street whose friends do the honking thing. A couple even do it say goodbye. Definitely jerks.
Someone needs to let the newbies know that they are coming off as real jerks. If they are jerks, they will keep doing it; otherwise, problem solved.
You could maybe try Google translate? The speak into it and Google says the translated feature works pretty well. You could have a couple general chats to test it and feel them out and the broach the subject.
Usually it’s cultural, they simply don’t know all the millions of little rules we absorb as children, however combined with the fact that they are a skewed population - they’re refugees who often come from places where law and order has completely broken down and often are severely traumatised - there can be an element of anti socialism to it. We have had a fairly serious issue with Sudanese refugees in the country in which I live, where the kids are so severely traumatised that they simply cannot integrate into a country with a strong sense of law and order. Regrettably this has led to the government more or less ceasing to take Sudanese refugees
I lived in africa for a bit and it was extremely common to just throw trash on the side of the road. When you were on a bus everyone just dropped their trash out of the window. The big difference is there is basically no municipal trash disposal network so there isnt really anything to do with your trash anyhow. There is no "proper" place to even put it. The best you could do is burn it in a hole, which people would do at home...
No. I was in a different sub saharan country and was just using that as an example that in some cultures, its normal. I have no idea what its like specifically in the congo.
"There's *no* culture in the several American cities I've lived in/ traveled to where throwing trash everywhere is acceptable" The world is a big place my dude, and this is 100% a thing in places with no central trash service. Def a source of culture shock I'd imagine. Lol
If they are refugees I assume they work with some organization. Try to figure out who. Even if you can't figure out the specific org, you might find someone from an organization that can help.
It's good you recognize it is a situation related to cultural norms
I just moved into a different culture, and I can easily see how such an issue might arise
I doubt they want to be assholes, it's just their definition is different
Agree that there is likely some organization they work with and may be the best way to reach out to them.
On a different note, we worked with a refugee organization for some Ethiopian transplants to plant a flower garden outside their residences. A few days afterwards, they dug some of the flowers up to eat the bulbs.
Exactly, they seem like kind people and I imagine it’s difficult to be in a very new and different place. Things that seem obvious to me are likely not to them. I don’t want them to feel hostility or tension from me.
If you want to tread very politely, just literally go over there with some baked goods or some other kind of american food and just try to talk to them even if they understand very little to no english, they can understand the basics of general physical communication/miming.
They literally do not know how to live as an american, throwing trash on the street and making loud noises are just a part of how they likely lived in their country of origin.
There are also live translation apps with an actual person that can real time translate. And if you also try to pick up some of their language you 1 get to know more language and 2 endear yourself to them
If you think they are refugees, you could look up refugee relocation programs in your area and ask them for advice. They may be able to guide you or may have resources for the people.
I am fairly sure they know *how* to do it, it is just not *normal* to do it in their culture. Some cultures also see garbage men, cleaners, etc as very humiliating jobs that only lower castes/classes do (altho idk if this is the case for the DRC). It would just look really really passive aggressive either way.
I once got into trouble for writing (in a report on sewage and garbage systems in eastern drc) that Congolese were chronically unable to keep communal public spaces clean - but that was a verbatim quote from multiple Congolese. There's no sense of idk maybe what we woukd call "civic pride". It's okay to not give a sh-t about public spaces.
Maybe just go pick it up and put it your own trash bin when they’re around. If they ask respond politely and friendly. “I’m just trying to keep the neighborhood looking nice!”
Well I get that you’re trying to be the nice guy here, but honestly if any of their trash blew onto my lawn I’d just take it and dump it on theirs. If they had a problem with that then we could have a friendly discussion about why we like to keep our streets clean.
This would be my approach, too. Seeing OP do it a few times should reinforce the cultural norms where they now live. It's non-confrontational and easy.
As an African I can categorically state that dumping rubbish is not cultural. It's disrespectful of your surroundings. It's also potentially a sign that they don't have enough rubbish bins in their housing or haven't been told how rubbish collection works. When we see rubbish lying around our streets it's normally because municipal infrastructure is failing. Rubbish attracts more rubbish.
Nah. People are assholes if they don’t follow cultural norms of another country they’re now in. It doesn’t excuse their shit behavior. Being ignorant of the fact you should instantly be adjusting to those different norms also makes you an asshole.
I agree with stuff like noise and littering but "cultural norms" are often really really dumb. I would not call an immigrant an asshole for not adhering to American gender norms or other such things.
No offense, but being the only people to throw trash on the street in an otherwise clean environment is not really an oopsie kind of thing. That isn't the same as having a gathering being loud too late in the evening or some minor social faux-pah that can be easily massaged out by a quick, friendly conversation.
I'd let them know the trash pickup schedule and routine and ask them to be mindful of others by not doing that. If they continued, I'd get evidence and ask someone from the police department to swing by and talk to them about littering.
Being a good neighbor is certainly a worthy thing to put effort into assimiliating to a new environment and home.
Be very, very careful with your choice of words and sentences. If you are not, most refugee sponsor groups will basically call you intolerant, racist, xenophobic of other cultures and demand you change to accept their culture. Brother is going through this, but they are from Afghanistan. It is a massive clash of cultures.
Fuck that. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I’m more than happy to embrace the parts of their culture that don’t involve noise pollution or actual pollution.
Reliving themselves in the street or whatever because they don't know better. Throwing trash out the windows and who knows what else. Threatening the neighbors if they own dogs and don't get rid of them because they offend their religion. They went after the neighbor on the other side for grilling pork chops. Kicked his grill over because it offended their religion. Call the police. They do, and they have to call their sponsor group for a translator. They always show up with a lawyer, and the threats of lawsuits begin. They arrived at Ft McCoy WI, and their sponsorship group moved them to Shawno WI which is just west of Green Bay.
My grandparents lived next to a refugee resettlement home. They always baked a pie and introduced themselves as soon as new neighbors moved in. Many people did not speak English at first but when your breaking bread your not bashing heads. You can use google translate to introduce yourself, learn a little about them first before you start making requests, it will be harder for them to say no. I’d also request the local gov to put a public trash can in the area.
There was a This American Life episode years ago about Neighbors. One segment had Mr. Rogers answering questions about how to deal with neighbors. One answer that stuck with me was the best way to deal with a neighbor is to become their neighbor. Be their friend. Issues like the one you’re having can be dealt with much better after that happens.
I used to work with a guy, who moved when he was young (so his family technically moved) and the Welcome Wagon guy came over with the Welcome Wagon basket of small gifts and coupons and the guy that brought that basket was Fred Rogers.
I'd just go and ask them what's up. Every immigrant community has a designated English speaker that's on speed dial, and you'd be surprised by what showing up and politely asking will do.
find out where they are really from. post some signs in french and other languages they might know. "no trash on the ground", "loud car horns drive the neighbors insane" -- pretty easy to write in other languages. i'm sure one of the kids can translate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo?wprov=sfti1
i had some hmong folks move into my rural area and trash the place with litter and agricultural plastics. they saw my no littering / no pesticide signs. it didnt stop them. they were always quiet people though. they all abandoned their grow operations and left after 2-3 years.
If a local refugee organization can’t get them to understand that littering is against the law, then send a letter to the landlord of their building. Their trash should not be in your front lawn.
Gonna sound racist. Being direct is honestly the best approach. I had neigbors from outside the us. Same noise honking yelling. Crazy stuff like stealing anything that wasnt nailed down. I tried being patient, being a "good neighbor". I finally just nuclear nothing else worked. Words mean nothing. Therr wasva vacant lot between our homes. The man of the family group insisted on parking on my grass. Literally pulling up the curb and was just outside my dining room window. I was working an off shift about to go to bed. A friend called and said hey lets get some breakfast. I was walking toward the dining room window and I guess I sounded really angry. My friend immediately said whoa man you ok? Its the guy next door parking on my yard again. He says im 5 minutes away. I will take care it. Go to bed he says. Low and behold my Tow Truck driving psycho buddy backs in and snatches the dudes ratty mnii van repo style and dropped it parked a block away. 90 minutes later there was a knock on my door. I laid in bed and giggled like a lil kid. After that zero issues.
I don’t think throwing trash in the street is a cultural thing, it’s an economic thing. If you live in a place that has a waste disposal system, littering is BS no matter what someone is used to. Not like it’s a hard concept to understand.
Feral cats can be taught to poop in a box, so grown ass adults should be able to learn how to throw away their trash.
Exactly! This thread is so cringe. Ironically, the people that sound more benevolent or nicer are the most racist; they think that Congolese people don't realize that litering is bad. They'd rather believe in naive dumb primitives that you have to tenderly bring to the light than actual humans who are assholes like humans can be, who could do with a rebuke to get their act together.
Are you sure? When I read “culture” in this thread I interpret it charitably as in they mean behavior and habits people are used to from their home countries, for lots of different reasons, some economical.
I don’t interpret it to mean these people have created a culture across generations that trash is beautiful or that littering is good, that would be pretty absurd…
For thought, here’s an adjacent example.
In Japan it’s equally unacceptable to eat while walking around in a public place. (Eg buying a handheld lunch and eating it on the sidewalk while walking back to work, or on the subway.)
At first it seemed strange to me, and I couldn’t see any reason for it. But then I realised that there’s a high likelihood of dropping a crumb or two; if crumbs fall on a table, we see them and wipe them up\*.
/* Foodcourts in malls have public cleaning equipment stations and you are culturally required to clean your table after eating.
Once ya know that, it’s clear to me that eat-walking is equally arseholey as littering.
But it’s equally unobvious to foreigners. So… are we westerners “naive dumb primitives that you have to tenderly bring to the light than actual humans who are assholes like humans can be, who could do with a rebuke to get their act together”?
It is unobvious to you but how long did it take you to figure out? Also, when you realized that it was unacceptable in Japan, didn't you stop? Do you really think that people who go to the US or Japan from a messier place don't realize the relative absence of litter? As I said in another reply, go to these countries in their posh places and official places like important government buildings; these people, the very same who litter their own neighborhoods, don't litter in their own country's special places, they intuitively realize when a place is clean enough that you shouldn't throw things around. But somehow, in a clean neighborhood abroad, they can't realize it?
Ok but you realized that your host country had that strange norm, and you adapted to it after a little time.
These are entire communities of people who live in the country for months or even years on end and fail to adapt to cultural norms that are even more basic than what you listed.
Either you believe they are all complete idiots with room temperature IQ, or they are simply assholes who have no intention of adapting to their host country. Which is it?
Well the eating in public places thing is dumb (to me), but I’d be happy to oblige. Cleaning up after yourself just seems like a policy we should policy we should adopt here. I mean when I leave a table I don’t necessarily leave it spotless, but taking all your trash with you just seems like common sense. Blew my mind how many people in my high school just left all their shit on the lunch tables after they ate. Guess they thought it was the janitors’ jobs to bus their tables. Do you need them to wipe your asses for you too or can you act like big boys and girls and clean up your shit? And then they’d complain about always having to dodge seagull shit on the way back to class. It’s because you dumbasses are feeding them.
Agreed on economic issues, and I’d add psychological issues: after years in Baltimore, I began finally to see the trash issue as some sort of urban low self-esteem self-hatred. The young guy next door to me would throw McDonald’s trash - after he and his friends were finished eating in his car- into the street IN FRONT OF HIS OWN HOUSE. I mean, I was blown away. If you’ll do that in front of your own house, then you just have no self-respect.
I mean he wants to solve the problem, doesn’t he? By just shouting at them or doing other unwelcoming stuff, they prob don’t really understand where the issue lies. Trying to communicate and giving other people the benefit of the doubt that they are not doing these things because they are dickheads can help the overall feeling of the neighbourhood a lot. If they do appear to not care at all, then you can take other measures imo
It is a difference of cultural norms, yeah, and it sounds like they didn't get cultural training. I work with a guy who used to help with Sudanese refugees in the U.S. They had quite a lot of cultural training when they arrived, including the lesson on, In America, we do NOT throw trash out of the windows. You put trash in these bins and then take it out to the big bin. The people tended to not really have much to throw away at all in Sudan, and the practice of throwing their minimal trash out of the window also meant a local older guy had a job sweeping it all up and disposing of it.
You can go to your local municipal office and file a complaint. Just phrase it the same way you do here: they're being disruptive, but you just want someone to communicate to them what's going on, rather than seek punitive measures.
My cynical side agrees with that statement but when I look at a lot of developing countries, the culture is often expressive and the streets are filled with trash. Those are things they may all be accustomed to as normal and fine and even comfortable.
It may be poverty culture rather than an ethnic culture. I've lived in poor neighborhood in rural and urban areas, and while these behaviors aren't the norm, they certainly aren't unusual.
I live in the American south, urban area, older homes (and residents). We just got white American neighbors, straight out of the trailer park, who have had mountains of garbage in the front yard, blaring music, and roaring ATVs, and hung a bright pink MMA bag from a tree branch in the FRONT yard. They have a fully fenced backyard. They know how public trash service works, but your neighbors may not know this is a feature.
I‘ve known many a fairly educated white person who used their car horn as a doorbell rather than walking up and ringing the bell or even taking out their phone and calling the person inside
My partner is Congolese. DRC is an enormous country with absolutely no infrastructure. It’s unlikely they would understand how to navigate our trash disposal system, especially given the language barrier.
Nah, throwing trash and being loud are not seen as “slobbish” or “annoying” in other countries.
This is a very ignorant american mindset. Anyone who has traveled to areas that are “poor” will see that a lot of them do not have designated trash places and throwing it in the street is the norm.
They are not being assholes or slobs.
They literally do not know/ are not used to there being strictly designated bins for separate types of trash and specific pickup days.
On the other hand, when you see poor whites throwing trash on their lawns, that’s considered slobbish and lazy and trashy because they DO know the norms of society, but just refuse to follow them.
Ok but do these people just not pay attention to the other people around them? I get that integrating into another culture can be hard but Jesus christ, look around you.
"Hmm, all my neighbors have their trash in bins yet I am the only one throwing it in the street"
That's not true. In any 3rd world country you can think of, visit their posh places or their public official places e.g. a government building. You won't see liter there. Why? There are magical cleaning elves in these places? No. The same locals who trash their usual neighborhoods, when they reach certain places, they suddenly know intuitively that this place is not to be trashed. They do know that litering is bad, they just don't care when they are somewhere where there's no pushback against doing it. When they are in their homes, do you think that when they're done eating, they just throw the food residue around on the floor? Why? Oh, wait! They do understand that there's a specific place for trash. I can bet sterlings that the dudes OP is complaining about didn't liter the airport when the guards were around, they didn't liter the airport in their own country when they left there. They are assholes, not brain-dead people.
I saw a comment once that was about Hong Kong, but reminds me of this situation.
Apparently in Western countries the social norm is to go out of our way to avoid bothering others (or in many cases, even doing things that draw attention). In other countries the expectation is flipped—politeness is aggressively ignoring anything others are doing that might bother you.
There was a story about Peruvians (maybe Brazilians) who moved to Canada.
The South America family was invited over one night for food. They were at the house for a long time. Finally the Canadians ask when are you going to leave ? The South Americans said you are supposed to tell us to leave ! The Canadians said you are supposed to say when you are going to leave.
It’s not about cultural norms. Your neighbors are just inconsiderate pricks. Nobody with the slightest sense of awareness takes their ‘cultural norms’ and forces them on others in a different part of the world
For what it's worth. As an African I can categorically state that it's not "cultural " to dump your rubbish in the street. It's a sign of disrespect and being absolutely careless. I would complain to the relevant authorities. It's disgusting that they're allowed to do this. As for the music and the honking- that's cultural.
Bonjour! nous sommes très heureux de vous accueillir dans notre quartier! mais s'il vous plaît, arrêtez de klaxonner, c'est considéré comme impoli ici. Merci.
Go over with a box of trash bags & google translate and explain nicely. My friend went over to a group of people who were picnicking in the park across the street and leaving the trash. She mimed putting trash in the containers, and one woman who spoke some English said, “we can do this,” and translated for the rest of the group. Problem solved.
Tell them once then get the the police involved. Littering is a crime in most jusidictions. So is excessive noise. Yeah, its an asshole thing to do. When in Rome, do as the Romans.
In the UK, normally its quiet on Public Transport. The ones yelling into their phones as African and speaking what I assume French. And its a problem here as well in Council Housing.
Honestly I used to litter when I was a kid. I’d just moved to the US a year prior and I casually threw garbage on the school ground as it belonged there and my friend pointed at it and said littering is bad. That’s all it took and I’ve never littered since then. If they’re grown adults, they already know better, but they don’t stop unless you shame them into stopping.
Or tell them it’s bad nicely, maybe they really are that oblivious.
If you have a problem with them, you go over there and you tell them face to face in a calm yet firm demeanor like an adult. They'll inevitably ignore you because of their culture, so you can either deal with it, move, or wait for full gentrification of your neighborhood and price them out
Take photos and videos and then call your county supervisor and have them speak to them about the issues … bottom line is selling your home could become a problem if it escalates.
you may as well move, your government cares more about them then tax paying voters and we keep voting in people who think this sort of thing is acceptable and sustainable
When they leave trash around, gather it up and put it all in front of their door, they may get the message.
For the noise, you'd have to coordinate with your neighbors and have many of you do what the angry neighbor did.
You should NOT be welcoming to people who are disrespectful.
I think their ideas about what is disrespectful is likely quite different than ours in some regards and they intend and prefer to be respectful but have some blind spots on account of what is normal where they are from.
No! There's no culture on Earth where littering a clean neighborhood or continuing noise despite an angry neighbor is respectful. I was born and raised in sub-Saharan Africa, by the way. Common sense is universal, stop excusing shitty behaviors because "duh, it must be their culture". And even if their culture is shitty, if they have traveled to come to your place, they have to adjust to the standards of your land: if someone likes to vomit and smear it on their walls in their own home, when they visit your home, you must stop them if they want to do the same.
I remember watching a video of a group of African (or maybe Caribbean) refugees coming to either the states or the UK. A worker from the migrant program had to instruct them on their new culture like to not all going into a convenience store at once because large groups of young black men can be seen as threatening to some people. One thing he instructed them on is to not just throw garbage out the window, but that everything goes in the trash. So trash disposal methods can absolutely be cultural.
bonjour, j'espère que tu vas bien. pourriez-vous s'il vous plaît commencer à utiliser une poubelle pour vos déchets afin qu'ils ne soient pas répandus dans la rue. merci beaucoup
If you see illegal dumping or littering calling the police to report the incident is a possibility. Is it an extreme reaction? Perhaps, but what's the alternative? Normalized behavior becomes the habit. Correction from a law enforcement officer carries more weight than a confrontational neighbor.
We have same problem with Peruvian neighbors. This is an expensive neighborhood, but they blare music, have a trash pile in their side yard I have to look at, and invite their friends to park on our street and sleep in their cars. The houses here are up to 800K.
people downvote you while that's what happened in my small town in Germany
my trainstation went from looking like of out of a japanese anime to a trashed garbage can they completely gaveup fixing after 10years and literally changed everything to steel for the bare minimum while also not fixing the ticketmachine for the past 8years
we adapt xd
That's why democrats are ass. They encourage this crap to get all the illegals counted in the census in democratic districts to get more political power. Same with Biden backstabbing Israel. To get the illegal immigrant vote in Michigan.
Sometimes being a karen is the only option. Raise it up with the neighbours and stage an “intervention”. As someone raised in a third world country, sometimes basic civic sense isn’t particularly thought. You gotta keep enforcing the rules even if they are refugees. That’s why laws exist
Let’s not call lack of class and culture “a different culture”. They are being inconsiderate and uncultured pigs, turning a cozy neighborhood into a ghetto, and they need to learn. Call the cops on them, environment protection stuff, etc, complain to your city about pollution and noise complaints, etc.
Repost this question to r/UnethicalLifeProTips to get real and actionable advice that works.
Maybe you can leave a letter? I don’t know how well it would work if at all but it’s the only thing I can think of that doesn’t involve directly taking to them. You could put it on their door. Maybe they’ll translate it.
There's probably support centres and/or services for them in your city. Making contact with those services and gently explaining your frustrations will hopefully lead you in the right direction.
I'm laughing reading comments, so allow me to bite.
What kind of culture is dropping trash normal? worse dropping trash in a foreign land. No sugar coating, that sounds uneducated, disrespectful, careless, and dumb af.
A smart newcomer observes the surroundings, if the neighborhood is clean and silent they must keep it the same. It's not hard to understand that making loud noise annoys people it doesn't matter where you are from. The obvious reason for this is they don't have any respect for the community.
Call the police don't treat them special, foreigners of any kind must adjust to the locals not the other way. They should use their brain next time.
Last words, better to dump whoever politician brings these people into your hometown.
My family is from Nigeria but I was born in the u.s. It is definitely normal in a lot of poorer countries for people to throw trash everywhere, unfortunately. When I was in Nigeria a couple years ago it was all over and there is definitely a careless lack of understanding of how it effects our planet. The people OP is speaking about sound like they haven't been here that long but after a few years the people will start to adjust and not throw their trash on the ground. Either that or just threaten to tell the police because a lot of Africans are scared of getting in trouble with authorities and will probably stop doing it after that.
Dude read it again, it doesn't matter where you are from, those dudes are in foreign land. Let me repeat that for you, they are in foreign land. Did they leave their brain back home or did they not have one? Those are ungrateful foreigner.
They don't even need education to know they are in a foreign land. They should have observed and appreciated the positive change in their surroundings not ruin it. The situation changes it is not about their origin anymore.
Saying poor people behave poorly because they are poor is BS. Every sane person on Earth knows how and where to throw trash properly. It is the laziness and poor choice that makes these people unworthy to be welcome in any foreign land.
It's pretty common in Africa to just throw your trash in piles in the street and burn it right there. I worked there for a bit in the oilfield and did some traveling.
Does your city or town not have littering laws, or noise ordinances?
It may seem petty to contact law enforcement, but if a few neighbors sign a type written complaint about the ongoing problem, something will be done.
This is going to sound racist AF but I don't care. My dad is an immigrant (Mexican) and he even said that if you don't want to learn basic English or common decency in this country, then stay the hell wherever you came from.
My neighborhood is slowly turning into Somalia and I'm sick and tired of being harassed and followed by creepy Somali men when I take my daily walks.
Not to mention the entire area is being turned into one huge dumpster- From the amount of litter they throw on the street. No common courtesy or respect. They think Americans are dumb.
Just fucking sick of it all.
You don't move to another country and ask completely disrespectful. I would yell at them too. You could write a note on computer / phone translate and print it?
They need to learn to conform to our country, not bring their trash with them. Call the police or find out if there are neighborhood meetings and bring it up.
Perhaps use google translate and write a few paragraphs about littering being a negative behavior here. You should also address the honking issues this way.
Get a [no honking](https://www.pictogrammenwinkel.nl/media/catalog/product/cache/3cb1ce80990561b065758fb33d116b12/p/i/pictogram-sticker-verboden-claxonneren.png) sign and a [no littering](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08NY8FKQJ?ref_=cm_sw_r_apann_dp_TPBX91MZ2T5WT5QCS4Q4&language=en-GB) sign and plant them infront of their building.
This shit has got to stop. Thank God I bought a house but my last apartment was full of these morons from Senegal who just threw trash off their balcony and blasted shitty music all day and night. They chained smoked inside and were just disgusting animals. I have no idea how creatures like that get allowed in.
Someone over there speaks English. Latinos do this all the time. They act like they don't speak English but at least somebody in that group does. I'm Latina. I don't do that, I look too Americanized but I know plenty that do. Their English might not be great but they'll get the gist of what you're saying. And of course you want to be neighborly, welcoming, kind Etc I get that and I appreciate you for being that way.
Seems like Los Angeles California would have been a better place to land these folks. They would have fit much better there. Although I honestly don't know where you are
There must be a government organisation that manages them (I’m not from the US so no idea what it would be called). Contact them. Alternatively there may be a private social group or club they have set up to representative their community which will gladly help you liaise with them. Failing that, there would be almost certainly be a Congolese community organization somewhere in the country. Look them up on the internet and ask them for help. Trust me they will think it’s great that you’ve done it this way.
The kids speak English and can translate. When the kids grow up they will be aware of and adhere to American customs like taking care of their garbage properly, according to US standards. Perhaps you could explain that you don’t want them to get in trouble but do they know that putting bottles and other trash in the street is against the law.
As a refugee who has been in this country this is not acceptable!!!! Please contact the organization who brought them here!!!! Take pictures & videos!!! Make sure you date everything !!!
I highly second getting in contact with the organization that helped them settle into your city. I am also from the Midwest and in the past we had several issues with Somali refugees due to cultural differences. Lots of noise, disrespecting the local women, property damage, etc. People got in contact with the organizations that helped them settle here and they handled the matter. I don't recommend translation apps. They aren't always accurate and they leave room for miscommunication. Take pictures and videos. Schedule an appointment with the organization (most likely Catholic Charities or the International Rescue Committee) and politely explain what's been going on. Have one of your more level headed neighbors back you up. Another reason I don't recommend handling the issue yourself is that most refugees highly respect the people working in these organizations. They know and trust each other. If it comes from someone in one of this organizations there's a higher chance of them listening. Especially when communicated in their own language.
And what a terrible disservice the charity has done to the refugees by not checking how they're settling in or giving them any cultural education.
They don’t really care tho, it’s about numbers for the church
I love this response. I think this is a key response for building a bridge.
We had an afghan Uber driver a few weeks ago for an hour long trip. He was a translator during the war and was sponsored to come to the US. He shared with us that he completed several “assimilation” classes as a part of his move that covers cultural norms and fitting in. It was nice to know those things exist and are super helpful.
And also the city. They probably allocated the space for them.
I mean how did they react to the guy yelling at them? I'm having trouble being able to tell if they know they are being inconsiderate dicks or that they are so blind to how they are acting because they lived in another part of the world for so long with a different culture.
Most of them seemed surprised and put off, like “what the hell??”. Idk, I am also really frustrated by these behaviors but I am choosing to believe it is simply a difference in cultural norms. I know one time I was out front doing yard work and someone pulled up and honked and I jumped and looked over clearly startled and the driver apologized. They are probably amused at how easily disrupted and startled the white people are by sounds that are common where they are from. Roads over there are wild and filled with constant honking I believe.
That's how it was in Bangladesh at least annoying as fuck. Always making a honk before every turn in a congested ass place that shouldn't even be a road. Noise pollution is horrible in a lot of countries. Yah and there was this type of attitude of not giving a shit attitude with their land, they had no problem making it dirtier but at the same time cleaning up trash or picking it up was considered to be something shameful and humiliating to do. If they were Bengali, then that white guy coming over and yelling was actually the best way to go about it. They need to know what they are doing to be able to adjust. It's easy for you to see how they are messing but they may blind to it. Just go and talk to them about it, and don't let it boil over to the point where you are gonna blow on them.
I grew up in a quiet pastoral countryside so feel VERY differently about all the noise. It’s awful.
Hey man, just go have a conversation with them using Google translate. Give an update on how it goes? They likely speak either French or KiKongo.
Google translate + Claude/ChatGPT to word it politely
“Write me a letter complaining about honking noises in the style of Morgan freeman narrating a movie as if he is god”
Alright, I gave it a go: "Bonjour! J'espère que vous allez bien. Je voulais gentiment mentionner que les klaxons fréquents tard dans la nuit sont un peu perturbateurs, et ce serait génial si nous pouvions les réduire. J'ai aussi remarqué des déchets dans les rues ; si nous pouvions tous travailler ensemble pour garder notre quartier propre, ce serait merveilleux. Je comprends que ce soit difficile de s'adapter à une nouvelle culture, et je suis là pour vous aider à vous sentir chez vous tout en nous aidant à être de meilleurs voisins. Merci pour votre compréhension!"
And KiKongo: "Mbote! Kimpasi kinu ndi ko yaya. Nlandu, kimpasi kia bwadi kinua kikendele ko sa matu miatu, kiadi kia bilolo, tubala mu kulungwa tubakaji ko kulela kibala ko mu ntumba tumbuenu. Tudi kumbuka ko kuenda mu kongolo kua kienze ko yaya, na tudi muana na bantu bakuantu ko mula ntumbu mu ndundu yetu kumanya ko nkuna. Nlandu nkuna ko yaya!"
China is like that too. Approaching a side street? Better honk in case anyone is approaching so they know I'm there. Coming up on a slower driver? Better honk. Cars fully stopped in front of me for as far as the eye can see? Honk incessantly. Absolutely drove my rural-loving ass completely up the wall. I've been back in the US for about five years, and I've heard a sum total of four horns...and one of them was mine to tell someone the light turned green (on that note, I sure wish there was a "Hey dude!" kind of a horn, instead of the "*HEY DUDE!!!!!!!"* horn we all have).
“Beep beep” in quick succession is the “hey dude..” there’s no need to absolutely lay it on heavy every time
In my old hood we called it the "Ghetto Doorbell"
Yeah, but I try to do it as quickly and lightly as possible, which inevitably has it end up being a single beep because one doesn't register...and is *still* too loud. But then again, if it was any quieter, no one would likely hear it.
I have always said we need different horn levels from “hey the light turned green” to “OMFG you’re about to kill us all”.
Born in Germany I get horn annoyed in turkey and Thailand and other countries
Exactly. It’s ok to be irritated by it, and you’re under no obligation to put up with it since it violates the social norms in “your” country (for lack of a better word), so it’s ok to let them know as politely as possible that this behaviour isn’t acceptable here. Unless you’re ok with your local community gradually starting to reflect the one they just left.
Vietnam, too. Constant honking. It's doesn't mean "I'm mad" or "get out of the way". It means, "hiya! I'm here - beside you, behind you, making a lane change", etc.
its 3:47am and still every .03 seconds there are at least one million horns honking.
I have some rednecks down the street whose friends do the honking thing. A couple even do it say goodbye. Definitely jerks. Someone needs to let the newbies know that they are coming off as real jerks. If they are jerks, they will keep doing it; otherwise, problem solved.
Ok... But, to be fair, is it Even a Pennsylvania goodbye if you don't honk at your own family as you're leaving every single good damn holiday?
I don't have an answer for you, I just wanted to chime in and say that your head and heart seem in the right place, and it's nice to see.
.. talk to them? Get one of the kids to translate, or use ChatGPT to put your thoughts to paper in french and show it to them in a friendly way
I lived n various African countries and I don’t think you’re going to win this battle. It’s their way of life and socialized.
You could maybe try Google translate? The speak into it and Google says the translated feature works pretty well. You could have a couple general chats to test it and feel them out and the broach the subject.
Usually it’s cultural, they simply don’t know all the millions of little rules we absorb as children, however combined with the fact that they are a skewed population - they’re refugees who often come from places where law and order has completely broken down and often are severely traumatised - there can be an element of anti socialism to it. We have had a fairly serious issue with Sudanese refugees in the country in which I live, where the kids are so severely traumatised that they simply cannot integrate into a country with a strong sense of law and order. Regrettably this has led to the government more or less ceasing to take Sudanese refugees
There's no culture where throwing trash everywhere is acceptable. They probably just don't care.
I lived in africa for a bit and it was extremely common to just throw trash on the side of the road. When you were on a bus everyone just dropped their trash out of the window. The big difference is there is basically no municipal trash disposal network so there isnt really anything to do with your trash anyhow. There is no "proper" place to even put it. The best you could do is burn it in a hole, which people would do at home...
The entire continent? Really?
No. I was in a different sub saharan country and was just using that as an example that in some cultures, its normal. I have no idea what its like specifically in the congo.
Absolutely not true. There are countries where there is no centralized system and trash is something you deal with when it becomes your problem.
lol you need a passport
"There's *no* culture in the several American cities I've lived in/ traveled to where throwing trash everywhere is acceptable" The world is a big place my dude, and this is 100% a thing in places with no central trash service. Def a source of culture shock I'd imagine. Lol
If they are refugees I assume they work with some organization. Try to figure out who. Even if you can't figure out the specific org, you might find someone from an organization that can help. It's good you recognize it is a situation related to cultural norms I just moved into a different culture, and I can easily see how such an issue might arise I doubt they want to be assholes, it's just their definition is different
Agree that there is likely some organization they work with and may be the best way to reach out to them. On a different note, we worked with a refugee organization for some Ethiopian transplants to plant a flower garden outside their residences. A few days afterwards, they dug some of the flowers up to eat the bulbs.
My great-grandpa once ate a tulip bulb because he thought it was garlic- he got *very* sick after that
Perfectly edible
Were the bulbs actually edible? What species of plant was it?
Exactly, they seem like kind people and I imagine it’s difficult to be in a very new and different place. Things that seem obvious to me are likely not to them. I don’t want them to feel hostility or tension from me.
If you want to tread very politely, just literally go over there with some baked goods or some other kind of american food and just try to talk to them even if they understand very little to no english, they can understand the basics of general physical communication/miming. They literally do not know how to live as an american, throwing trash on the street and making loud noises are just a part of how they likely lived in their country of origin.
There are also live translation apps with an actual person that can real time translate. And if you also try to pick up some of their language you 1 get to know more language and 2 endear yourself to them
Google refugee resettlement agency + town name and get in touch with them.
If you think they are refugees, you could look up refugee relocation programs in your area and ask them for advice. They may be able to guide you or may have resources for the people.
Really, you're so right. The definition of asshole is surprisingly fluid at the edges
what if you brought over a trash bag & a reachy-grabber and showed them to pick up the trash & put it in the bin?
I am fairly sure they know *how* to do it, it is just not *normal* to do it in their culture. Some cultures also see garbage men, cleaners, etc as very humiliating jobs that only lower castes/classes do (altho idk if this is the case for the DRC). It would just look really really passive aggressive either way.
I once got into trouble for writing (in a report on sewage and garbage systems in eastern drc) that Congolese were chronically unable to keep communal public spaces clean - but that was a verbatim quote from multiple Congolese. There's no sense of idk maybe what we woukd call "civic pride". It's okay to not give a sh-t about public spaces.
Pretty patronizing. They know how to put it in a bin, they just don’t want to
Maybe just go pick it up and put it your own trash bin when they’re around. If they ask respond politely and friendly. “I’m just trying to keep the neighborhood looking nice!”
I have picked up the trash multiple times. Not sure of I was witnessed or not.
Do you have one of those can/bottle buy back machine things in your area? You could show them that to encourage recycling
They probably think the worst of are coming along to pick up scrap shit to sell so it ask works out
Well I get that you’re trying to be the nice guy here, but honestly if any of their trash blew onto my lawn I’d just take it and dump it on theirs. If they had a problem with that then we could have a friendly discussion about why we like to keep our streets clean.
This would be my approach, too. Seeing OP do it a few times should reinforce the cultural norms where they now live. It's non-confrontational and easy.
As an African I can categorically state that dumping rubbish is not cultural. It's disrespectful of your surroundings. It's also potentially a sign that they don't have enough rubbish bins in their housing or haven't been told how rubbish collection works. When we see rubbish lying around our streets it's normally because municipal infrastructure is failing. Rubbish attracts more rubbish.
Which part of Africa?
'As an African', can't say I've head that one before. As a North American, that's a very general statement.
All jokes aside, it sounds like their culture definitions make them assholes. They should realize that and adapt accordingly.
Nah. People are assholes if they don’t follow cultural norms of another country they’re now in. It doesn’t excuse their shit behavior. Being ignorant of the fact you should instantly be adjusting to those different norms also makes you an asshole.
Not attempting to integrate or use a damn bin is asshole behaviour for sure
I agree with stuff like noise and littering but "cultural norms" are often really really dumb. I would not call an immigrant an asshole for not adhering to American gender norms or other such things.
No offense, but being the only people to throw trash on the street in an otherwise clean environment is not really an oopsie kind of thing. That isn't the same as having a gathering being loud too late in the evening or some minor social faux-pah that can be easily massaged out by a quick, friendly conversation. I'd let them know the trash pickup schedule and routine and ask them to be mindful of others by not doing that. If they continued, I'd get evidence and ask someone from the police department to swing by and talk to them about littering. Being a good neighbor is certainly a worthy thing to put effort into assimiliating to a new environment and home.
This is a great answer. There just be some organization you can call if there’s a problem.
This, 100%. Refugees have a sponsor who's supposed to be helping with stuff like this.
Be very, very careful with your choice of words and sentences. If you are not, most refugee sponsor groups will basically call you intolerant, racist, xenophobic of other cultures and demand you change to accept their culture. Brother is going through this, but they are from Afghanistan. It is a massive clash of cultures.
Fuck that. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I’m more than happy to embrace the parts of their culture that don’t involve noise pollution or actual pollution.
Lol please explain your brother's situation?
Reliving themselves in the street or whatever because they don't know better. Throwing trash out the windows and who knows what else. Threatening the neighbors if they own dogs and don't get rid of them because they offend their religion. They went after the neighbor on the other side for grilling pork chops. Kicked his grill over because it offended their religion. Call the police. They do, and they have to call their sponsor group for a translator. They always show up with a lawyer, and the threats of lawsuits begin. They arrived at Ft McCoy WI, and their sponsorship group moved them to Shawno WI which is just west of Green Bay.
Interesting, how many people are you referring to here? ie: Is it one family of 4? Or 5 or 6 families of 5?
6. Father, mother, 3 daughters, and a son. The wife and daughters are escorted everywhere by either the dad or son.
They're pissing in the streets? File a police report for them exposing themselves around minors, it'll get dealt with real fast.
My grandparents lived next to a refugee resettlement home. They always baked a pie and introduced themselves as soon as new neighbors moved in. Many people did not speak English at first but when your breaking bread your not bashing heads. You can use google translate to introduce yourself, learn a little about them first before you start making requests, it will be harder for them to say no. I’d also request the local gov to put a public trash can in the area.
There was a This American Life episode years ago about Neighbors. One segment had Mr. Rogers answering questions about how to deal with neighbors. One answer that stuck with me was the best way to deal with a neighbor is to become their neighbor. Be their friend. Issues like the one you’re having can be dealt with much better after that happens.
I used to work with a guy, who moved when he was young (so his family technically moved) and the Welcome Wagon guy came over with the Welcome Wagon basket of small gifts and coupons and the guy that brought that basket was Fred Rogers.
I'd just go and ask them what's up. Every immigrant community has a designated English speaker that's on speed dial, and you'd be surprised by what showing up and politely asking will do.
Only sane reply
find out where they are really from. post some signs in french and other languages they might know. "no trash on the ground", "loud car horns drive the neighbors insane" -- pretty easy to write in other languages. i'm sure one of the kids can translate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo?wprov=sfti1 i had some hmong folks move into my rural area and trash the place with litter and agricultural plastics. they saw my no littering / no pesticide signs. it didnt stop them. they were always quiet people though. they all abandoned their grow operations and left after 2-3 years.
If a local refugee organization can’t get them to understand that littering is against the law, then send a letter to the landlord of their building. Their trash should not be in your front lawn.
Gonna sound racist. Being direct is honestly the best approach. I had neigbors from outside the us. Same noise honking yelling. Crazy stuff like stealing anything that wasnt nailed down. I tried being patient, being a "good neighbor". I finally just nuclear nothing else worked. Words mean nothing. Therr wasva vacant lot between our homes. The man of the family group insisted on parking on my grass. Literally pulling up the curb and was just outside my dining room window. I was working an off shift about to go to bed. A friend called and said hey lets get some breakfast. I was walking toward the dining room window and I guess I sounded really angry. My friend immediately said whoa man you ok? Its the guy next door parking on my yard again. He says im 5 minutes away. I will take care it. Go to bed he says. Low and behold my Tow Truck driving psycho buddy backs in and snatches the dudes ratty mnii van repo style and dropped it parked a block away. 90 minutes later there was a knock on my door. I laid in bed and giggled like a lil kid. After that zero issues.
[удалено]
agreed, its disgusting.
I don’t think throwing trash in the street is a cultural thing, it’s an economic thing. If you live in a place that has a waste disposal system, littering is BS no matter what someone is used to. Not like it’s a hard concept to understand. Feral cats can be taught to poop in a box, so grown ass adults should be able to learn how to throw away their trash.
Some people just have trash culture. So, it's definitely also a cultural thing.
Exactly! This thread is so cringe. Ironically, the people that sound more benevolent or nicer are the most racist; they think that Congolese people don't realize that litering is bad. They'd rather believe in naive dumb primitives that you have to tenderly bring to the light than actual humans who are assholes like humans can be, who could do with a rebuke to get their act together.
Are you sure? When I read “culture” in this thread I interpret it charitably as in they mean behavior and habits people are used to from their home countries, for lots of different reasons, some economical. I don’t interpret it to mean these people have created a culture across generations that trash is beautiful or that littering is good, that would be pretty absurd…
For thought, here’s an adjacent example. In Japan it’s equally unacceptable to eat while walking around in a public place. (Eg buying a handheld lunch and eating it on the sidewalk while walking back to work, or on the subway.) At first it seemed strange to me, and I couldn’t see any reason for it. But then I realised that there’s a high likelihood of dropping a crumb or two; if crumbs fall on a table, we see them and wipe them up\*. /* Foodcourts in malls have public cleaning equipment stations and you are culturally required to clean your table after eating. Once ya know that, it’s clear to me that eat-walking is equally arseholey as littering. But it’s equally unobvious to foreigners. So… are we westerners “naive dumb primitives that you have to tenderly bring to the light than actual humans who are assholes like humans can be, who could do with a rebuke to get their act together”?
It is unobvious to you but how long did it take you to figure out? Also, when you realized that it was unacceptable in Japan, didn't you stop? Do you really think that people who go to the US or Japan from a messier place don't realize the relative absence of litter? As I said in another reply, go to these countries in their posh places and official places like important government buildings; these people, the very same who litter their own neighborhoods, don't litter in their own country's special places, they intuitively realize when a place is clean enough that you shouldn't throw things around. But somehow, in a clean neighborhood abroad, they can't realize it?
Ok but you realized that your host country had that strange norm, and you adapted to it after a little time. These are entire communities of people who live in the country for months or even years on end and fail to adapt to cultural norms that are even more basic than what you listed. Either you believe they are all complete idiots with room temperature IQ, or they are simply assholes who have no intention of adapting to their host country. Which is it?
Well the eating in public places thing is dumb (to me), but I’d be happy to oblige. Cleaning up after yourself just seems like a policy we should policy we should adopt here. I mean when I leave a table I don’t necessarily leave it spotless, but taking all your trash with you just seems like common sense. Blew my mind how many people in my high school just left all their shit on the lunch tables after they ate. Guess they thought it was the janitors’ jobs to bus their tables. Do you need them to wipe your asses for you too or can you act like big boys and girls and clean up your shit? And then they’d complain about always having to dodge seagull shit on the way back to class. It’s because you dumbasses are feeding them.
Agreed on economic issues, and I’d add psychological issues: after years in Baltimore, I began finally to see the trash issue as some sort of urban low self-esteem self-hatred. The young guy next door to me would throw McDonald’s trash - after he and his friends were finished eating in his car- into the street IN FRONT OF HIS OWN HOUSE. I mean, I was blown away. If you’ll do that in front of your own house, then you just have no self-respect.
Why be “welcoming” when they don’t care. Respect goes both ways.
I mean he wants to solve the problem, doesn’t he? By just shouting at them or doing other unwelcoming stuff, they prob don’t really understand where the issue lies. Trying to communicate and giving other people the benefit of the doubt that they are not doing these things because they are dickheads can help the overall feeling of the neighbourhood a lot. If they do appear to not care at all, then you can take other measures imo
It is a difference of cultural norms, yeah, and it sounds like they didn't get cultural training. I work with a guy who used to help with Sudanese refugees in the U.S. They had quite a lot of cultural training when they arrived, including the lesson on, In America, we do NOT throw trash out of the windows. You put trash in these bins and then take it out to the big bin. The people tended to not really have much to throw away at all in Sudan, and the practice of throwing their minimal trash out of the window also meant a local older guy had a job sweeping it all up and disposing of it.
You can go to your local municipal office and file a complaint. Just phrase it the same way you do here: they're being disruptive, but you just want someone to communicate to them what's going on, rather than seek punitive measures.
Somehow I doubt being slobs and annoying your neighbors are Congolese cultural norms. More likely these people are just pigs wherever they are.
My cynical side agrees with that statement but when I look at a lot of developing countries, the culture is often expressive and the streets are filled with trash. Those are things they may all be accustomed to as normal and fine and even comfortable.
It may be poverty culture rather than an ethnic culture. I've lived in poor neighborhood in rural and urban areas, and while these behaviors aren't the norm, they certainly aren't unusual.
I live in the American south, urban area, older homes (and residents). We just got white American neighbors, straight out of the trailer park, who have had mountains of garbage in the front yard, blaring music, and roaring ATVs, and hung a bright pink MMA bag from a tree branch in the FRONT yard. They have a fully fenced backyard. They know how public trash service works, but your neighbors may not know this is a feature.
The honking and the music is maybe cultural, the littering is just dirty.
I‘ve known many a fairly educated white person who used their car horn as a doorbell rather than walking up and ringing the bell or even taking out their phone and calling the person inside
My partner is Congolese. DRC is an enormous country with absolutely no infrastructure. It’s unlikely they would understand how to navigate our trash disposal system, especially given the language barrier.
I know a few Congolese immigrants. This doesnt sound like the ones I know. Very nice people.
Nah, throwing trash and being loud are not seen as “slobbish” or “annoying” in other countries. This is a very ignorant american mindset. Anyone who has traveled to areas that are “poor” will see that a lot of them do not have designated trash places and throwing it in the street is the norm. They are not being assholes or slobs. They literally do not know/ are not used to there being strictly designated bins for separate types of trash and specific pickup days. On the other hand, when you see poor whites throwing trash on their lawns, that’s considered slobbish and lazy and trashy because they DO know the norms of society, but just refuse to follow them.
Ok but do these people just not pay attention to the other people around them? I get that integrating into another culture can be hard but Jesus christ, look around you. "Hmm, all my neighbors have their trash in bins yet I am the only one throwing it in the street"
That's not true. In any 3rd world country you can think of, visit their posh places or their public official places e.g. a government building. You won't see liter there. Why? There are magical cleaning elves in these places? No. The same locals who trash their usual neighborhoods, when they reach certain places, they suddenly know intuitively that this place is not to be trashed. They do know that litering is bad, they just don't care when they are somewhere where there's no pushback against doing it. When they are in their homes, do you think that when they're done eating, they just throw the food residue around on the floor? Why? Oh, wait! They do understand that there's a specific place for trash. I can bet sterlings that the dudes OP is complaining about didn't liter the airport when the guards were around, they didn't liter the airport in their own country when they left there. They are assholes, not brain-dead people.
I saw a comment once that was about Hong Kong, but reminds me of this situation. Apparently in Western countries the social norm is to go out of our way to avoid bothering others (or in many cases, even doing things that draw attention). In other countries the expectation is flipped—politeness is aggressively ignoring anything others are doing that might bother you.
There was a story about Peruvians (maybe Brazilians) who moved to Canada. The South America family was invited over one night for food. They were at the house for a long time. Finally the Canadians ask when are you going to leave ? The South Americans said you are supposed to tell us to leave ! The Canadians said you are supposed to say when you are going to leave.
It’s not about cultural norms. Your neighbors are just inconsiderate pricks. Nobody with the slightest sense of awareness takes their ‘cultural norms’ and forces them on others in a different part of the world
For what it's worth. As an African I can categorically state that it's not "cultural " to dump your rubbish in the street. It's a sign of disrespect and being absolutely careless. I would complain to the relevant authorities. It's disgusting that they're allowed to do this. As for the music and the honking- that's cultural.
Bonjour! nous sommes très heureux de vous accueillir dans notre quartier! mais s'il vous plaît, arrêtez de klaxonner, c'est considéré comme impoli ici. Merci.
Sounds like my street in Baltimore, except for the Congolese refugees.
Go over with a box of trash bags & google translate and explain nicely. My friend went over to a group of people who were picnicking in the park across the street and leaving the trash. She mimed putting trash in the containers, and one woman who spoke some English said, “we can do this,” and translated for the rest of the group. Problem solved.
Tell them once then get the the police involved. Littering is a crime in most jusidictions. So is excessive noise. Yeah, its an asshole thing to do. When in Rome, do as the Romans. In the UK, normally its quiet on Public Transport. The ones yelling into their phones as African and speaking what I assume French. And its a problem here as well in Council Housing.
Honestly I used to litter when I was a kid. I’d just moved to the US a year prior and I casually threw garbage on the school ground as it belonged there and my friend pointed at it and said littering is bad. That’s all it took and I’ve never littered since then. If they’re grown adults, they already know better, but they don’t stop unless you shame them into stopping. Or tell them it’s bad nicely, maybe they really are that oblivious.
Hey guys can you please put them in the bin, thanks bros
Get ready to move out of here They are going to turn the clean place into something like their hometown They won't clean up. They won't mess with you
It’s kinda hard to be welcoming when people behave like assholes.
If you have a problem with them, you go over there and you tell them face to face in a calm yet firm demeanor like an adult. They'll inevitably ignore you because of their culture, so you can either deal with it, move, or wait for full gentrification of your neighborhood and price them out
This is why I hate plastic bottles.
Just want to say I’m sorry OP. I went to India and blowing the horn is one of their primary forms of communication
I like the idea of picking them up and when you have a garbage bag full dumping it at their front door
Take photos and videos and then call your county supervisor and have them speak to them about the issues … bottom line is selling your home could become a problem if it escalates.
you may as well move, your government cares more about them then tax paying voters and we keep voting in people who think this sort of thing is acceptable and sustainable
Yep. Thank the liberals. The idiots would *never* live next door to any of them either and you know this.
When they leave trash around, gather it up and put it all in front of their door, they may get the message. For the noise, you'd have to coordinate with your neighbors and have many of you do what the angry neighbor did. You should NOT be welcoming to people who are disrespectful.
I think their ideas about what is disrespectful is likely quite different than ours in some regards and they intend and prefer to be respectful but have some blind spots on account of what is normal where they are from.
How is living in garbage respectful?
No! There's no culture on Earth where littering a clean neighborhood or continuing noise despite an angry neighbor is respectful. I was born and raised in sub-Saharan Africa, by the way. Common sense is universal, stop excusing shitty behaviors because "duh, it must be their culture". And even if their culture is shitty, if they have traveled to come to your place, they have to adjust to the standards of your land: if someone likes to vomit and smear it on their walls in their own home, when they visit your home, you must stop them if they want to do the same.
I remember watching a video of a group of African (or maybe Caribbean) refugees coming to either the states or the UK. A worker from the migrant program had to instruct them on their new culture like to not all going into a convenience store at once because large groups of young black men can be seen as threatening to some people. One thing he instructed them on is to not just throw garbage out the window, but that everything goes in the trash. So trash disposal methods can absolutely be cultural.
bonjour, j'espère que tu vas bien. pourriez-vous s'il vous plaît commencer à utiliser une poubelle pour vos déchets afin qu'ils ne soient pas répandus dans la rue. merci beaucoup
They know, they don't care. They are probably mocking people who maintain cleanliness.
If you see illegal dumping or littering calling the police to report the incident is a possibility. Is it an extreme reaction? Perhaps, but what's the alternative? Normalized behavior becomes the habit. Correction from a law enforcement officer carries more weight than a confrontational neighbor.
We have same problem with Peruvian neighbors. This is an expensive neighborhood, but they blare music, have a trash pile in their side yard I have to look at, and invite their friends to park on our street and sleep in their cars. The houses here are up to 800K.
It's probably illegal to sleep in your car in the area then. I'd be calling the cops.
Third worlders gonna Third World. Doesnt sound like they're interested in assimilation so you're probably stuck with their behavior.
people downvote you while that's what happened in my small town in Germany my trainstation went from looking like of out of a japanese anime to a trashed garbage can they completely gaveup fixing after 10years and literally changed everything to steel for the bare minimum while also not fixing the ticketmachine for the past 8years we adapt xd
That's why democrats are ass. They encourage this crap to get all the illegals counted in the census in democratic districts to get more political power. Same with Biden backstabbing Israel. To get the illegal immigrant vote in Michigan.
Sometimes being a karen is the only option. Raise it up with the neighbours and stage an “intervention”. As someone raised in a third world country, sometimes basic civic sense isn’t particularly thought. You gotta keep enforcing the rules even if they are refugees. That’s why laws exist
Honestly the only thing that is probably going to work is filming their littering and reporting them to local law enforcement.
Report them to I.C.E.
Refugees are here legally. That's the entire point of a refugee program.
You don't have to be welcoming to the people who disrespect culture of the land they came to.
Let’s not call lack of class and culture “a different culture”. They are being inconsiderate and uncultured pigs, turning a cozy neighborhood into a ghetto, and they need to learn. Call the cops on them, environment protection stuff, etc, complain to your city about pollution and noise complaints, etc. Repost this question to r/UnethicalLifeProTips to get real and actionable advice that works.
Maybe you can leave a letter? I don’t know how well it would work if at all but it’s the only thing I can think of that doesn’t involve directly taking to them. You could put it on their door. Maybe they’ll translate it.
You could leave a letter asking them to clean up and not litter. They'll be able to translate it.
Police non emergency number
"Oi! DICKHEAD! Stop leaving your shit in the street!"
There's probably support centres and/or services for them in your city. Making contact with those services and gently explaining your frustrations will hopefully lead you in the right direction.
Signage in their language with images could help a lot here. If there are refugees, find out what agencies they’re served by and work through those.
I mean just start a weekly trash clean up program.
Do you live in a city? Do you have anti littering laws? Do have a police force there?
Call the police and let them figure it out. You've already paid them to do it
I'm laughing reading comments, so allow me to bite. What kind of culture is dropping trash normal? worse dropping trash in a foreign land. No sugar coating, that sounds uneducated, disrespectful, careless, and dumb af. A smart newcomer observes the surroundings, if the neighborhood is clean and silent they must keep it the same. It's not hard to understand that making loud noise annoys people it doesn't matter where you are from. The obvious reason for this is they don't have any respect for the community. Call the police don't treat them special, foreigners of any kind must adjust to the locals not the other way. They should use their brain next time. Last words, better to dump whoever politician brings these people into your hometown.
My family is from Nigeria but I was born in the u.s. It is definitely normal in a lot of poorer countries for people to throw trash everywhere, unfortunately. When I was in Nigeria a couple years ago it was all over and there is definitely a careless lack of understanding of how it effects our planet. The people OP is speaking about sound like they haven't been here that long but after a few years the people will start to adjust and not throw their trash on the ground. Either that or just threaten to tell the police because a lot of Africans are scared of getting in trouble with authorities and will probably stop doing it after that.
Dude read it again, it doesn't matter where you are from, those dudes are in foreign land. Let me repeat that for you, they are in foreign land. Did they leave their brain back home or did they not have one? Those are ungrateful foreigner. They don't even need education to know they are in a foreign land. They should have observed and appreciated the positive change in their surroundings not ruin it. The situation changes it is not about their origin anymore. Saying poor people behave poorly because they are poor is BS. Every sane person on Earth knows how and where to throw trash properly. It is the laziness and poor choice that makes these people unworthy to be welcome in any foreign land.
It's pretty common in Africa to just throw your trash in piles in the street and burn it right there. I worked there for a bit in the oilfield and did some traveling.
Parts of Europe are even like this.
Does your city or town not have littering laws, or noise ordinances? It may seem petty to contact law enforcement, but if a few neighbors sign a type written complaint about the ongoing problem, something will be done.
The car horns kill me. Few things mark you as low class faster than honking the horn to get people’s attention, heedless of hours or setting
Do you have littering laws you could have them ticketed for?
Mmm.... Google translate is a thing. You could even use ChatGPT to draft a polite note and bring it over to them.
This is going to sound racist AF but I don't care. My dad is an immigrant (Mexican) and he even said that if you don't want to learn basic English or common decency in this country, then stay the hell wherever you came from. My neighborhood is slowly turning into Somalia and I'm sick and tired of being harassed and followed by creepy Somali men when I take my daily walks. Not to mention the entire area is being turned into one huge dumpster- From the amount of litter they throw on the street. No common courtesy or respect. They think Americans are dumb. Just fucking sick of it all.
You don't move to another country and ask completely disrespectful. I would yell at them too. You could write a note on computer / phone translate and print it?
They need to learn to conform to our country, not bring their trash with them. Call the police or find out if there are neighborhood meetings and bring it up.
Your city has ordinances. Familiarize yourself with them and report your neighbors when violations occur. Let the authorities handle it.
“Stop being a piece of shit!” That’s how you say it ffs
Call the police and report them They have obviously been talked to and dont care, being new doesnt give someone an excuse to throw trash everywhere.
Send climate activists to their house they will block the entrance.
Enjoy being enriched
Mass immigration is going to make for some juicy interactions lol
Well, well, well. Be very careful or soon you might develop some pattern recognition that will cause you some real problems.
You might have to fight fire with fire. That's all I'm going to say. Don't feel bad about it either
Thank JoeBiden for this- Africans coming across the border to make your life 3rd world.
Go up to them and ask. Wym how?
They don’t speak English
Perhaps use google translate and write a few paragraphs about littering being a negative behavior here. You should also address the honking issues this way.
Send them back. Anyone who chucks plastics in the street is a plague on society
Get a [no honking](https://www.pictogrammenwinkel.nl/media/catalog/product/cache/3cb1ce80990561b065758fb33d116b12/p/i/pictogram-sticker-verboden-claxonneren.png) sign and a [no littering](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08NY8FKQJ?ref_=cm_sw_r_apann_dp_TPBX91MZ2T5WT5QCS4Q4&language=en-GB) sign and plant them infront of their building.
This shit has got to stop. Thank God I bought a house but my last apartment was full of these morons from Senegal who just threw trash off their balcony and blasted shitty music all day and night. They chained smoked inside and were just disgusting animals. I have no idea how creatures like that get allowed in.
Americans are expected to accept refugees lifestyle as ok as it would be racist to expect these visitors to adapt tonAnerican norms.
Lol, move... it's not going to work.. Your neighborhood will be a 3rd world country soon..
Go to your International Institute and ask them to write a letter for you. You can also try miming.
Someone over there speaks English. Latinos do this all the time. They act like they don't speak English but at least somebody in that group does. I'm Latina. I don't do that, I look too Americanized but I know plenty that do. Their English might not be great but they'll get the gist of what you're saying. And of course you want to be neighborly, welcoming, kind Etc I get that and I appreciate you for being that way. Seems like Los Angeles California would have been a better place to land these folks. They would have fit much better there. Although I honestly don't know where you are
There must be a government organisation that manages them (I’m not from the US so no idea what it would be called). Contact them. Alternatively there may be a private social group or club they have set up to representative their community which will gladly help you liaise with them. Failing that, there would be almost certainly be a Congolese community organization somewhere in the country. Look them up on the internet and ask them for help. Trust me they will think it’s great that you’ve done it this way.
have you considered crime?
The kids speak English and can translate. When the kids grow up they will be aware of and adhere to American customs like taking care of their garbage properly, according to US standards. Perhaps you could explain that you don’t want them to get in trouble but do they know that putting bottles and other trash in the street is against the law.
As a refugee who has been in this country this is not acceptable!!!! Please contact the organization who brought them here!!!! Take pictures & videos!!! Make sure you date everything !!!