FORT SMITH - If you read the article posted today by a branch of the BBC World News organization, the city of Fort Smith isn’t very much positive press. A story written in Spanish for the BBC Mundo website, surfaced early Thursday with the headline “How Is Life In Fort Smith: The Most Unhappy City In The United States“, and has now been circulating primarily among the Hispanic community on Twitter.
You can read the story translated into English by clicking here.
The story was written by Alejandro Millan Valencia, dubbed by the BBC News World organization as their “Special Envoy To Fort Smith”, and focuses on life primarily through the eyes of immigrants who moved to the area, and those struggling with poverty.
The BBC cited a Gallup poll that looked into the aspects of life in 189 cities across the United States, with Fort Smith coming in at number 189 on the poll when it came several key indicators.
“The survey measures five factors: life purpose, financial security, physical health, community life and socialization, and in those aspects, Fort Smith registered a very low rating,” Gallup senior analyst Dan Witters told BBC News. “What we saw is that it is a cycle that they can not break: they do not have money to buy food, so they feed poorly, then they get sick because of it, and all indicators of well-being are affected.”
The article interviewed some who are trying to make Fort Smith a better place, such as longtime activist Charlotte Tidwell who feeds thousands every month through her work with the Antioch organization.
The report also detailed the efforts of local car dealer Brad Randall, who attempted to put together a record-breaking dance event over the Memorial Day weekend, but fell short of the goal.
City Administrator Carl Geffken, described in the article as “tremendously tall, dressed in a linen shirt, dumbbells and a pink bow tie that adorns his neck” told the reporter that the problems Fort Smith faces are not necessarily financial, but can be cured by breaking a mentality.
“We have not been able to recover from the crisis of the Whirlpool factory and the financial crash of 2008 and we have to do something urgent, because we have already wasted 10 years that other cities have taken advantage of,” Geffken said in the article. “Our budget is limited, we do not have social plans for food or housing, because we have to dedicate our resources to other basic expenses: security, infrastructure and administration.”
The article was posted around 8:00 AM on Thursday.
well, i would beg to differ with this article. ft smith has its problems…as do all small cities, especially in the South, but “unhappiest city”…certainly not. when i go downtown on alternate tuesdays i don’t see unhappy people. when i go to the farmers market on tuesdays and saturdays i don’t see unhappy people. when i shop at walmart i don’t see unhappy people. when i go to the movies i don’t see unhappy people.
when i go to the really lovely main library i don’t see unhappy people. in fact, i see happy people pretty much where ever i go in ft smith. not only happy, but nice, eager to talk to others, and pretty darned pleased with their life. want to see unhappy people? try the former industrial cites in the north or england!