OH:07 Austria Sinks to New Low

Steve Austria and his cronies in a false attack reminiscent of the "fathered a black child" falsehood pulled on John McCain by Karl Rove in the 2000 South Carolina Primary, has sunk to a new low in his desperate attempt to gain this Congressional Seat.

Austria's cronies with the complicity of the Dayton Daily News, and the Springfield Sun-Times have run a story that Sharen Neuhardt is harboring an illegal alien.

This is a sick attack using a boy that has lived through hell as a Rwandan refugee.

Here is the true story. Ishema Umuhoza was an 11 year old boy when he was separated from his family as they were trying to flee Rwanda. His parents were diplomats with close ties to Rwanda's former President Habyalimana who was assassinated.

Ishema then spent the next 4 years in a refugee camp alone, where he met Cecile Ntawukulilyayo. She took him under her wing and posed as his Aunt telling him to never let anyone know who his parents were for his own safety.

When Ishema was 15 years old Cecile brought him to the United States still referring to the boy as her nephew. Cecile filed for asylum along with her own son and Ishema and it was denied. There was no testimony at this hearing concerning who Ishema's parents were or on the merits of his case and the likely of his persecution in Rwanda.

Ishema was young was not aware of his rights to appeal or even what his status was. Once he became more fluent in English and had become independent of Cecile he has since began legal proceedings to gain asylum. Ishema remains in this country under a stay issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Case No. 3:05CV164. He is therefor at this time in this country legally.

Sharen Neuhardt and her family have done a remarkably generous and moral thing by giving this young man who has lived through hell a place to stay while he fights to legally stay in this country.

The Austria cronies have falsely claimed she is harboring an illegal alien. This is blatantly false. They claim he has a long criminal record. Again completely false, his only record is for traffic violations and being drunk in public. I don't know about all of you but I have been picked up for speeding quite a few times in my life and when I was a young man like Ishema is, drunk in public happened more times then I want to remember.

Austria is scum to use Sharen's generosity to help a young man that faced genocide, that lost his parents, that was dragged to a new country were he didn't speak the language by the only woman he trusted, then to face a complicated legal and immigration system.

The Dayton Daily News and Springfield News-Sun to publish this story without checking into the facts, to refer to the young man as illegal with a long criminal record is irresponsible. This is not journalism in any way shape or form.

We must get the true story out. We must hold Austria responsible. We cannot have a man that shows such immoral tactics to hold any political office let alone be our Congressman. We must call out the Dayton Daily News and Springfield News-Sun for their irresponsibility in this matter.

This tactic of complete lies and distortions by Austria and his cronies is the lowest of the low.

source: Court Filings in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.