Africa Has Made Us Who We Are

By Christina Feller/ published in the July 2009 Munjoy Hill Observer newspaper, Portland, Maine
“You eat with your hands, you carry water on your head—that’s who we are. We cannot get away from our culture. Africa is what made us who we are. Our job is to make things better. We need to know the cultures and understand the people in their own culture. We can make things better.” So exclaimed a young woman from Burundi, during the second Immigrant Dialogue on Peace and Reconciliation held at the East End Community School on Saturday, June 13th. Parents agreed: “we know our kids have to fit in but we do not want them to lose their culture.”
The first dialogue, at the event the week prior, brought about 60 adults and 20 kids. We spoke of the horrors that people have survived to get here. We spoke about their feelings of safety and security here and how important it is that they are reunited with their families.
We were truly honored to welcome Adelaide’s four daughters who have only this past month arrived from Bujumbura, Burundi. We welcomed Robert and Solange who have come from Kigali, Rwanda only four months ago. We welcomed guests from Iraq, Indonesia, Israel, Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, and many other countries.
The second event focused on elders. It was generally agreed that they are isolated in their own homes and that we need to provide more activities for them. They have great difficulty struggling to learn English, and their lives are very limited because of it. There were about 50 adults and ten children at the second event. We welcomed four guests from Lewiston-Auburn, all of whom spoke eloquently and clearly about the issues surrounding education and acculturation of Somali people.
“We have the same amenities, we do not live in the jungle,” explained one man from Congo. “I came to America because there is opportunity here. Nowhere else. This is the place. You can get a good education here and have a plan for your life. In my country, there is no plan for anyone. I wish I could go back, and maybe someday I will,” he continued, “but I am here now and I will make the best of it.”
Living With Peace has awarded Peaceful Living Awards to 14 people who have made a positive difference in the lives of immigrants in Maine: Alfred Jacob, Mohamud Barre, Gure Ali, Genet Gebrewahd, Pious Ali, Father Jim King, Pastor Mutima Peter, Ethan Strimling, Wells Staley-Mays, Rahime Youssouf, Fatuma Hussein, Zoe Miller, Kazeem Lawal, and Reza Jalali.
For more information on these awardees and the programs they run, please email Christina Feller at cfeller@maine.rr.com.