By JONATHAN BAKER
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Somali-American Ifrah Farah smiles while waving a sign at cars during a demonstration showing community support for law enforcement and Somalians living in Garden City, Kan. on Oct. 16, 2016. The support follows an announcement Friday that the FBI arrested and charged three men with planning a terrorist attack against the Somali community in Garden City, Kan.CREDIT JAMES M. DOBSON / GARDEN CITY TELEGRAM
“Garden City is small and peaceful,” Halima Farah, 26, told USA TODAY this week. “I love living here. I didn't think something like that could happen here.”
Farah lives in the apartment complex that was targeted for a mass bombing this weekend by a violent white-nationalist militia group. The men had evidently hoped to spur similar such acts of violence across the nation. But their foiled plan is having the opposite effect.
“People have been coming to our apartments and saying ‘We are sorry. Nothing will happen. We love you,’” Farah said. “That is what the USA is about. It's not about divisions.”
Steve Ensz, pastor of Garden Valley Church, said his church is collecting a wide range of items for distribution to immigrants in Garden City.
“This is a tense time in our community, but we want to move forward with building friendships and being the neighbors God has called on us to be,” he said.