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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 2016)
Page 12 The Skanner February 17, 2016 News Reborn Maine Milling City Offers Lessons Amid Refugee Crisis By David Sharp Associated Press LEWISTON, Maine— The arrival of thousands of Somali refugees in this former mill city in the nation’s Whitest state sparked a backlash at first, complete with a ral- ly of White supremacists and a pig’s head rolled into the local mosque. Fifteen years later, the Somali newcomers are solid members of the community, as evidenced by its proliferation of shops, restaurants and mosques — and a cham- pionship-winning high school soccer team fea- turing players from So- malia and other African countries. Shukri Abasheikh, owner of Mogadishu Store, a general store that caters to the African community, said she and her fellow newcomers have won respect from residents through hard work. “When Somalis came in, Lewiston people, Maine people, they think we need welfare, but we don’t need welfare. We need jobs. We need peace. We need educa- tion,” said Abasheikh, who worked as a janitor before achieving her dream of running her own business. As the U.S. prepares to accept thousands of refugees from war-torn Syria in coming months and years, this riverside community illuminates the challenges such new- comers can face — and shows that integration can be slow and painful, AP PHOTO/ROBERT F. BUKATY 15 years ago, Lewiston saw an influx of Somali refugees, who are now a part of the community’s fabric In this Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016 photo, Abdi Said, right, trims the rubber bottoms of Bean Boots at an L.L. Bean factory in Lewiston, Maine. Said, a refugee, was originally put in San Jose, California, before he moved cross-country to Lewiston. “We are working hard and we’re going to school and everything - like regular American people. They see that we are not different,” he said. but ultimately success- ful. Since February 2001, more than 5,000 Afri- cans have come to Lew- iston, a city of 36,500 on the Androscoggin River, in a prime example of what scholars call “rapid ethnic diversification.” At first, Lewiston resi- “ a turning point. Today, the smell of deep-fried samboosa fills a store in Lisbon Street, and the aroma of basmati rice and goat meat emanates from another. Shops fea- ture colorful clothing and African staples like fufu flour. Somalis have tak- When Somalis came in, Lew- iston people, Maine people, they think we need welfare, but we don’t need welfare. We need jobs. We need peace. We need education dents didn’t know what to make of these new- comers who spoke no En- glish, providing a chal- lenge for schools. Many knew little of Somalia beyond news coverage of a soldier from a near- by town who was killed in a Somali firefight that became the basis for the movie “Black Hawk Down.” Some locals resented so many Black Muslims moving to a Roman Cath- olic community where the twin spires of the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul dominate the skyline. Rumors spread that the newcomers were getting perks like better housing and even free cars. Then came a letter from the mayor to the Somali community in 2002, asking them to dis- courage their friends and family from moving to Lewiston, saying “our city is maxed-out finan- cially, physically and emotionally.” An out-of-state White supremacist group seized upon the discord to hold a rally. Residents were bewil- dered to find their com- munity painted as racist in the national news, and that low point became en jobs with L.L. Bean, Maine’s iconic outdoors retailer, and other local employers. Refugees and asylum seekers will account for about half of the city’s general assistance spending in the coming year, but overall spend- ing is the same as it was in 1990, said Deputy City Administrator Phil Na- deau. The success flies in the face of a wave of anti-im- migration sentiment nationwide that’s fueled by concerns over re- cruitment by Muslim ex- tremists, something that could cause problems for Syrian refugees, said Westy Egmont, director of the Immigrant Inte- gration Lab at the Boston College School of Social Work. Immigration oppo- nents include Republi- can presidential candi- date Donald Trump, who wants to ban Muslims, and several governors who have rejected the president’s call to accept Syrian refugees. “Syrians, like all new- comer groups, will face both a warm welcome and serious opposition,” Egmont said, “depending on where they end up be- ing placed.”
