Effects of Refugee Resettlement in Portland and Lewiston (schools, taxes)

[bevman]

Originally Posted by elston

I guess the "abstinence only" training that we are funding with tax payers money and prohibitions against birth control and family planning, isnt working who knew.

You're right, much better to have my money going to methadone clinics and condoms for 6th graders.

[benditlikebekah]

yeah, the resettlement in portland and lewiston is different. a lot of people are just resettled in portland soon after arriving in the US

[benditlikebekah]

and genmomto- i completely agree with you. it's great to have people from other countries in portland... i used to go to school in the suburbs before going to HS in portland and having a little variety in demographics (a lot compared to suburbs, a little by most other standards) is so important/VASTLY more interesting. i have learned a lot of valuable things

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by flycessna

get your facts streight!! The mayor of Lewiston asked the Somali " elders" if they could in some way slow down the immigration of their people coming here. I fail to see what is nasty or racists. Most of them came from Alanta after living their for up to a decade. They are NOT refugees and have been in america for years. They group together and communicate well so when the word went out that lewiston Maine had affordable housing, low crime, GOOD social benifits....they started coming.

Fact is they didn't come here for work, they didn't come here to asimilate. I have met many Somali famlies in my travells and they are decent people who are doing nothing but taking advantage of a situation.

I also think the "Sisters of charity" through Stmary's hospitl was instrumental and establishing Lewiston as a place for them to move too. and may have assisted them greatly. Why you ask.........well guess where they all go for medical care....and guess who pays.

If the place you're living in doesn't have that, shouldn't you be able to leave and go to a place that does? I think so. And I don't blame the Somalis who were living in ATL for going to Maine. I live in the metro ATL and it is a scary place.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by flycessna

But the majority of somali's that settled in Lewiston have been in America for years and are american citizens. The chose freely to move to Maine. Now....if your talking about the politics behind why they chose to move to Maine......think Stmary's hospital and the sisters of charity.

I am not familiar with St. Mary's.

The politics that I was referring to had to do with labor and moving them to places where they could fill in the employment gaps (particularly because a lot of them were farmers). There are somewhere between 30,000 to 50,000 (depending on source of info) Somalis that live in Minneapolis. Some have been there since the early 90's. When I lived in Minneapolis I was curious as to why people from an almost desert like environment would move to the frozen tundra; so I looked into it.

[dandelion_21]

My mom is an ESL teacher in the Portland school system, and she and my dad are themselves refugees. My mom was sponsored by a wonderful family from Portland in 1981. Since the majority of my mom's students are ethnically Somali, she would probably be more qualified to comment, but I'm going to give my point of view anyway:

Maine is the whitest state in the U.S., at >96% Caucasian. No one here can deny that racism exists. You can justify the pig's head incident all you want, you can say that the perpetrator was mentally ill (and I have no doubt that he was, and that he suffered), but the root of the hate crime was just that: hate.

Crime rates have not risen due to the influx of immigrants (and why should they? The Somalis fled because they wanted to escape violence in the first place). I think it's great that communities in Portland and L/A are gaining cultural depth from the Somali people. My mom has always enjoyed teaching the kids; she says that they are some of her most diligent and respectful students. The problem just happens to be that they are different -- they have a different skin color, a different language, and a different religion -- and some people in Maine, preferring an ethnically and culturally homogenous society, don't appreciate the differences.

Hearing the "if they can't fit in, they shouldn't be here" mentality absolutely pains me. My parents arrived in Portland with not a dime to their name, yet they never received government support of any kind. They made sure my brother and I went to some of the best public schools in Maine, and then supported us through two of the best universities in the country. We're both headed for medical school now. And my family has shown only moderate success compared to some of the refugee families that arrived at the same time as my parents. What makes you possibly think that refugees can't "fit in"? I wonder if this is fear of change, or something darker. Believe me, the Somali population, and other refugees who come to Maine, enhance the state's culture much more than they place a strain on resources.

[bignhfamily]

Here's my take.
I dislike anybody who is a burden on taxpayers and take advantage the system - be they refugees, drug addicts, criminals, welfare frauders, whomever.
But I'm also compassionate and believe that their are some people in some situations that can use and should get a helping hand.
When I lived on the west coast, I lived in a neighborhood filled with refugees from all over, illegal immigrants, whites, blacks, a real mixed pot. My experience was that the refugees and immigrants made good neighbors. They were much like me. Struggling, hardworking, honest, decent people trying to make it. The several I knew took nothing from the system. There were also alot of people born and raised in the area that sucked every penny from welfare they could, sold their food stamps for crack and would NEVER consider ever even applying for a job like one that the refugees or immigrants would take.
Back here at home in Northern New England the small ethnic population are our best customers for our lambs and sheep. These folks all seem like their hardworking too. I would rather be neighbor to any of the refugees/immigrants I have ever known then to some unemployed trailer park queen with 6 kids from different dad's who lies around watching tv, snorting meth, smoking cigarettes and bitching about how bad she's got it.
There's a big difference from helping out and hand outs.
IMHO

[flycessna]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

If the place you're living in doesn't have that, shouldn't you be able to leave and go to a place that does? I think so. And I don't blame the Somalis who were living in ATL for going to Maine. I live in the metro ATL and it is a scary place.

My conspiracy theory about this is that when Stmary's hospital helped designate lewiston as a place for them to come to it had to know that it was good for their business. I would expect that most of the Somali's are now patient's of Stmarys and there bills are probably mostly paid through government programs. I do find it also coincidental that Stmary's has been growing these last 5 years or so.

And as far as living where you want in this country...........thats fine.......as long as you support yourself. They didn't come here because of more opportunites to WORK...I mean..... Atl to L/A... They came here because they could live better here on social services. And yes.......I have a problem with that. I also "heard" that unlike Maine...Atl actually enforces their time limits on welfare.

So I do not think these people are lazy or do not want to work........but like any animal (human)....they will take a path of least resistance and where they can prosper the most.

IF you took away all social services......how many would still be here (just people for that matter..let alone Somali's)........very few......they would all race back to ATl and other cities where there is employment opportunities.

[moughie]

When I lived in Maine in the late 1980's to 1995, I was an avid volunteer with the Refugee Resettlement Program administered by Catholic Charities . My understanding was that Portland was one of the cities identified by Catholic Charities to received refugees.

There were many, many wonderful employees and volunteers who all worked together to help ( at that time) Cuban, Cambodian, Iranian, Afghani refugess find suitable housing, employment and shelter. Barber Food was a big employer, as was B & M beans off of Marginal Way. We all accomplished so much back then to help and improve the lives of many who had suffered in their home countries due to civil war or other conflicts. The majority of Maine employers, landlords, and other contacts were happy to help out the refugees who in turn were grateful and reliable employees and permanent residents/citizens. Thanks to the Refugee Resettlement Program in Maine, Thai, Afghani, Sudanese and other tasty markets and restaurants appeared to help provide variety to the local restaurant scene!

It really saddens mean to hear stories of discrimination, ghettoization and other acts of discrimination against these new Maine residents in recent years.

[flycessna]

Originally Posted by moughie

It really saddens mean to hear stories of discrimination, ghettoization and other acts of discrimination against these new Maine residents in recent years.

What discrimination, ghettoization and other acts of discrimination against these new Maine residents have you heard about. I have heard of almost none.