Street Roots • March 24-30, 2017
News
Page 7
New Portlanders
Tim Cowley has created a platform for promoting
immigrant- and refugee-run businesses in Portland
BY EMILY GREEN
S T A F F W R IT E R
hat’s the best way to help
immigrants and refugees? It’s a
question Tim Cowley’s heard a lot
W
lately.
Before moving to Southeast Portland one
year ago, Cowley was working on
community development projects in East
Africa, where he said he saw how a hand up
can be more impactful and dignifying than a
handout.
He also discovered local connections who
can help you learn how to survive in your
new home are crucial to successful
acclimation.
He said he remembers thinking to
himself, “What if we could mobilize people
in Portland to interact within places in their
communities, and be that bridge between
American culture and new-Portlander
cultures?”
That’s why in December, he launched
NewPortlanders.Net, a website where users
can post reviews and photographs of
immigrant- and refugee-owned businesses in
the Portland area.
The idea behind the website is twofold:
Help foreign-born families to be self-
sufficient while connecting them with
people who reside in their new community.
Anyone can submit a review and photos
of a local immigrant-run restaurant, food
cart, salon or other service-based business
for publication on the website.
“I’m trying to keep it simple and have
some visuals, without making it too
complicated,” said Cowley. “Everyone has a
phone; they can take pictures.”
Cowley’s career has centered mainly on
assisting Christian-based nonprofits through
digital media. Today he directs Expat Media
Pro, a collaboration of media professionals
who market overseas nonprofits.
He created NewPortlanders.Net as a side
project which he hopes will open a door to
new friendships and support for immigrants
and refugees seeking a fresh start in
Portland.
The site also provides a directory of other
ways to support immigrant communities,
with a list of charities serving their needs
and a menu of options for helping new
arrivals, such as making welcome kits or
adopting a family.
Still in its infancy, New Portlanders
featured just three local businesses at press
time: Juba East African Restaurant, Abu
Hassans Iraqi Food Cart and Taqueria Mi
Mole Mexican Restaurant.
But with more than 22,000 self-employed
immigrants living in Oregon, there is no
shortage of entrepreneurs who could be
reviewed for the site.
Immigrants and refugees make a
significant contribution to the state s
economy. Their businesses in Oregon
generated $473.8 million in income in 2014
while providing more than 70,000 jobs,
according to a New American Economy
P H O T O S B Y D IE G O D IA Z
Street Roots met with Tim Cowley, above,
creator o f New Portlanders, at the first
restaurant he featured on his site, Juba. I t ’s
a Som ali restaurant on Southeast 122nd
Avenue owned by Som ali refugee, Karani
Jeylani, at right. For six m o n th s Jeyla n i has
been serving up generous portions o f his
fa m ily’s authentic E a s t A fr ic a n recipes.
report released this past summer.
Cowley said he would have launched New
Portlanders regardless of the current
political climate, but that climate is what’s
ignited an increased interest in helping
immigrants and refugees, and he’s hoping
his site will do just that.
Popular online foodie publication Eater
recently stated that despite being
“inundated” with requests for lists and maps
of immigrant-run restaurants its readers
could dine at, it is refusing to do so, citing
fears they “would double as cheat sheets to
help intolerant actors find new people,
businesses, and families to target.”
Eater later edited its statement to include
a form business owners can fill out if they
give their permission to be featured “on a
potential list of immigrant- and minority-
owned businesses.”
Cowley said people interested in
contributing to New Portlanders should take
a few precautions, such as steering clear of
questions around immigration status when
speaking with proprietors and obtaining
permission before featuring their business
or photograph online.
For diners unfamiliar with patronizing
immigrant-run establishments, Cowley
advises approaching the experience with an
open mind.
“Look at it like an adventure,” he said.
Reviewers shouldn’t expect the same
style of customer service they might receive
at a typical American business.
“You have to recognize that you’re dealing
with different rules. People have not come
here and adopted all the American rules for
everything,” said Cowley.
Street Roots met Cowley for a weekday
lunch at Juba, a Somali restaurant on
Southeast 122nd Avenue.
We ordered the salmon ($12), beef ($10)
and a gyro ($5.99).
When owner Karani Jeylani came from
the kitchen with salads, tall cups filled with
mango juice and whole, unpeeled bananas
for each of us before our meal, we asked
Cowley if we were getting special treatment.
He explained this was how meals are
typically served in East Africa.
“When we first came here with some
friends who lived in Kenya for a long time,”
he said, “a different meat was brought out
than what we ordered. We all laughed,
because we know that always happens in
Africa.”
On this particular day, however, we all got
what we ordered. The entrees were simple
yet delicious and delicately spiced, with
generous portions of sauteed beef, a thick,
moist salmon steak and heaping sides of
goat-broth-flavored basmati rice. After our
meal, Jeylani brought us fruit cocktail and
mango yogurt desserts.
Jeylani said the food was made using his
family recipes. Originally from Somalia, he
moved to the U.S. in 1997 and has been in
Portland for five years. He opened Juba,
along with an attached market carrying
Somali ingredients, about six months ago.
The Cowleys were delighted to discover
the East African restaurant within blocks of
their new Portland residence. After
spending most of their childhood in Africa,
See NEW PORTLANDERS, page 13
WRITE A REVIEW;
BUILD A BRIDGE
Writing a review for NewPortlanders.
Net is easy. Simply introduce yourself
to the owner of the restaurant, salon
or other service-based business, ask
them about their establishment, write
about your experience there and take
a few high-resolution photos with your
smart phone. Email your review and
photos to Tim Cowley at babatim@
gmail.com.
Obtain permission from the proprietor
first, making sure it’s understood that
your review will be posted online. If
you want to publish the owner’s name,
get permission for that separately.
Due to the current political climate in
the U.S. and traumatic events many
immigrants and refugees have
experienced in the past, reviewers
should be respectful and
understanding of anyone who doesn’t
wish to be featured or photographed.
To learn more about writing reviews
for NewPortlanders.Net, visit the
website and click on “Become a
Bridge.”