Monday, August 24, 2009
African Children Learning Cultural Dances
The girls line up first and when the music starts, they begin to dance to the beat of drums--dah dah --pause--dah; dah dah--pause--dah.
They twirl with arms out, bent at the elbows, their feet keeping up the rhythm of two beats and a pause and another beat. Over and over again. They smile. They laugh. They are having a really good time.
Then it is the boys' turn. Louder with more force. They twirl, they stomp, they smile.
They are so proud of their culture, and their parents are happy they are learning something that has been forgotten, or for the smallest, has never been learned.
Twice a week at Parkside Community Center for two hours each these young people are reconnecting with their cultural roots.
Soon they will plan a performance for the public. Come back to this site to find out more. I will be posting pictures of the dancers in the coming days.
They twirl with arms out, bent at the elbows, their feet keeping up the rhythm of two beats and a pause and another beat. Over and over again. They smile. They laugh. They are having a really good time.
Then it is the boys' turn. Louder with more force. They twirl, they stomp, they smile.
They are so proud of their culture, and their parents are happy they are learning something that has been forgotten, or for the smallest, has never been learned.
Twice a week at Parkside Community Center for two hours each these young people are reconnecting with their cultural roots.
Soon they will plan a performance for the public. Come back to this site to find out more. I will be posting pictures of the dancers in the coming days.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Bringing Attention to the Horrors in Eastern Congo
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton could not keep the emotion out of her face as she spoke of the horrors continuing to reign down on women, men and children in the mineral-rich forests of Eastern Congo. The first high-ranking American official to ever visit the North Kivu town of Goma, now "home" to almost 20,000 internally displaced persons in wretched conditions, she demanded that the US help train Congolese forces to protect these people from the ravages of rebel groups.
She did not mention that there are more than 7,000 rapes attributable to government forces.
Bringing any kind of peace to this area of the world is almost impossible as long as there are huge deposits of minerals that the world needs.
She did not mention that there are more than 7,000 rapes attributable to government forces.
Bringing any kind of peace to this area of the world is almost impossible as long as there are huge deposits of minerals that the world needs.
The United Nations has accused all sides of human rights abuses in Congo, including mass killings, rape and lootings.
Last month, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at least 200,000 cases of sexual violence had been reported in eastern Congo since 1996.
Most observers, however, contend that the number is far higher and the resulting deaths by mutilation, disease, or torture compound the situation to intolerable levels. It is believed that more than 5 million people have died in eastern Congo alone in the last 14 years.
Go get em Hillary--let them know that YOU MEAN BUSINESS!!
LWP Membership info — 2009
Living With Peace addresses issues and concerns that affect the ability of immigrants to acculturate to their new lives here in Maine ...
and to successfully orient to the social, economic and cultural aspects of life in Portland and Lewiston. We are a dynamic, grass-roots, community organization that seeks to invest in the future of our immigrants by building and sharing resources with a coalition of support providers.
Help for Whom?
Whether you are a newly arriving refugee from Iraq or an asylum-seeker from Burundi, we are a network of resources to ease and smooth your way in this new world.
How Do I Support Living With Peace?
We need two types of support--money and volunteers!
Our work rests on the strong shoulders of our volunteers.
- Driving, reading, teaching English, buying clothes and supplies
- Nutrition counseling and making good food choices
- Explaining American ways, illustrating American customs, introducing new ideas
- Taking people to cultural and educational events
- Talking with newcomers about current affairs and sharing information
- Inviting immigrants to your home, church, group, club, activity--involve them in your life
- Accept invitations to their homes and get to them as your new neighbor
Send your donation made payable to the MHNO (Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Organization), our fiscal sponsor, to 92 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101.
Living With Peace
A non-profit organization formed in order to help immigrants acculturate and thrive in Maine!
Living With Peace
Strengthening the Fabric of the Immigrant Experience in Maine
Our Board of Directors
President
Christina Feller
cfeller@maine.rr.com
Vice President
Roger Ruganzu
rruganzu@yahoo.fr
Treasurer
Aimee Umutoni
aimeetoni@gmail.com
Secretary
Adelaide Manirakiza
manirado4@yahoo.fr
Project Coordinator
Sergine Gakwaya
gsergine@brandeis.edu
We are currently seeking to fill two empty Board seats—contact any Board member for more information.
Our Mission
Mission: The Mission of the organization is to facilitate collaborative networks in order for immigrants to live, work, pray, learn, and enjoy life in their new home in America.
Our Purposes
Purposes: Living With Peace has been formed for specific charitable and educational purposes, which include
--Informing immigrants about common problems or conditions that potentially interfere with their enjoyment of life;
--Serving as a focal point for communications among community leaders and government officials in order to improve the conditions of their lives;
---Organizing immigrants and coordinating activities to help them bring positive change to their lives, especially on behalf of youth, seniors, the disabled, widows and single mothers, new parents, students;
---Bridging the divide over particular issues or concerns and finding solutions to cross-cultural gaps among communities of people living in the neighborhoods, affordable housing, home life activities, fitness and nutrition, educational attainment, conditions of life in the neighborhoods, and sustainable employment;
---Building sustainable capacity among young and emerging leaders and forming new, neighborhood-based bonds of civic engagement for immigrants;
---Developing community resources by helping neighborhood groups work together for positive changes for their residents with special consideration for “New Mainers”; and
---Supporting the common voice of immigrant residents, and their ability to organize and communicate to effectively be heard by officials and representatives of government, the business community, the health care industry, institutions of education, & social services & economic development organizations.
Upcoming Events of Note
Organizing Focus Groups on the topic of Peace & Reconciliation Among Peoples of Different Tribes, Clans and Neighborhoods
May- June 2009, Fall 2009
Training Classes and One on One Teaching
on such topics as:
_ Healthy Eating & Healthy Food Buying
_ Raising your Children in America
_ Driving Laws and Being Safe
_ Budgeting off of City Services
_ Developing a Strategy for Success
_ Organizing your own Self-Help Group
_ Transportation Systems and Finding Your Way (and then buying a car)
Living With Peace volunteers work with whole families or individuals to fill knowledge gaps in living successfully, provide needed food and clothing at critical times, books and school supplies, transport children, adults and workers to jobs, appointments, and engagements. We build strong friendships. We enjoy our futures together as members of the Maine Melting Pot.
Living With Peace
Our Programs 2006-2010
We are Ready Now --Blending our Cultures
We are Ready Now for a Higher, Deeper Level of Assimilation
— Results of the Three Immigrant Dialogues Sponsored by the MHNO and Living With Peace in May and June, 2009
By Christina Feller / copyright © Christina Feller August 2009
“We are crowded, maybe thirty to a room, with a waiting list for a year at Adult Education. While we are grateful for the chance to learn English, we must have more one-on-one teaching and coaching opportunities. We are not teen-agers. What is lacking is a range of really good cultural brokers who understand what we need and how we arrange for these necessities within our own cultures and to respect our cultures as you provide these services to us.” So, began Dialogue #3 on June 28th at the East End Community School on Munjoy Hill.
We began with a review of the dominant statements from the first two dialogues. “Africa is who we are and we cannot be separated from that reality,” said a young adult girl from Burundi. “Our culture is our property. It is not like a house that can be bought or sold, that can be passed around or renovated,” said a gentleman from Sudan.
“When you ask us to give you our culture and replace it with yours, so that we can live here successfully, you end up taking our culture from us, said a man from Sudan. Because our culture is our property, it is as if you are robbing us of our property. You see the irony I hope—because to us this acculturation process can quickly become perceived as a violent one. Our culture is all we have. And we have suffered hundreds of years of persecution by people telling us how to live. Then, because of our culture, we have been massacred, tortured, finally complete holocaust—the genocides of eastern Congo and Rwanda and Burundi. The killing in Darfur goes on till today. The killing in Mogadishu is going on now. Our separate and unique cultures are being annihilated at home—please do not ask us to become American according to your schedule. We must do it on our own individual schedule. You need to know that.”
Eric Nkusi added, “The fact is that more than 70% of the immigrants from Africa have suffered torture themselves or have witnessed it. You can actually ask someone here in Portland if they have witnessed a lion or a soldier or rebel kill their parent and you can get a yes answer.”
Another woman from Rwanda said to me quietly, “You may wonder why more women who were farmers in Africa do not come out and take advantage of a farming opportunity now when you go to the trouble of arranging for it. They may not tell you that they cannot any longer bend over, or bend down, or even stand for any period of time because of the aftermath of their injuries suffered in the genocide. They are embarrassed. They feel bad. They have horrible memories to overcome every day.”
But this is a cultural “gap”, explained another man from Somalia for not asking beforehand which people are good candidates before you get the grant money, or better yet, not arranging for special equipment or needs for people injured in the genocide to take advantage of the opportunity in a specialized way.
The general consensus from participants was that service brokers and officials of programs meant to bridge the cultural gaps were not always successful because of a lack of quality or competence in understanding immigrant ways, customs, language and special needs because of the torture. “Look,” said one participant, “I moved to Egypt from a Camp in Lebanon and you would think that Arabic is Arabic, but not so. It took me four months to learn how to answer the telephone correctly! Translators should not be used. People need to be able to speak for themselves. There have been major misunderstandings because of inaccuracies in translation exacerbated by tribal conflict that the service provider may be unaware of. We want to, we must learn English ourselves, but we have to do it in a way that is relevant to our individual situations.”
We had a discussion about the word Dialogue. To one man from Juba in Southern Sudan , it was an opportunity to listen and learn only, not to judge, opine, or comment. To understand why tribal law (we are not talking religious mandate) allows and regulates having multiple wives, we need to listen with an inquiring mind. And, frankly speaking, as a Harvard-educated woman and sociologist, it made absolute perfect sense to me as he explained the inter-generational obligations of the marriage contract and dowry requirements on the stability and cohesion of the tribes involved!
At the conclusion of the third dialogue, we were thrilled to welcome Lydia Bakunda from Burundi and Letitia Runyambo from DR Congo who sang an original song written by Lydia called Hope. The girls are forming a singing group and we wish them good luck.
We are now forming additional dates and time to continue these dialogues. We want to include as many people as possible. We will continue to report our findings in these pages. If you are interested in participating, please contact Living With Peace Vice President Roger Ruganzu at rruganzu@yahoo.fr or dialogue facilitator Christina Feller at cfeller@maine.rr.com.
— Results of the Three Immigrant Dialogues Sponsored by the MHNO and Living With Peace in May and June, 2009
By Christina Feller / copyright © Christina Feller August 2009
“We are crowded, maybe thirty to a room, with a waiting list for a year at Adult Education. While we are grateful for the chance to learn English, we must have more one-on-one teaching and coaching opportunities. We are not teen-agers. What is lacking is a range of really good cultural brokers who understand what we need and how we arrange for these necessities within our own cultures and to respect our cultures as you provide these services to us.” So, began Dialogue #3 on June 28th at the East End Community School on Munjoy Hill.
We began with a review of the dominant statements from the first two dialogues. “Africa is who we are and we cannot be separated from that reality,” said a young adult girl from Burundi. “Our culture is our property. It is not like a house that can be bought or sold, that can be passed around or renovated,” said a gentleman from Sudan.
“When you ask us to give you our culture and replace it with yours, so that we can live here successfully, you end up taking our culture from us, said a man from Sudan. Because our culture is our property, it is as if you are robbing us of our property. You see the irony I hope—because to us this acculturation process can quickly become perceived as a violent one. Our culture is all we have. And we have suffered hundreds of years of persecution by people telling us how to live. Then, because of our culture, we have been massacred, tortured, finally complete holocaust—the genocides of eastern Congo and Rwanda and Burundi. The killing in Darfur goes on till today. The killing in Mogadishu is going on now. Our separate and unique cultures are being annihilated at home—please do not ask us to become American according to your schedule. We must do it on our own individual schedule. You need to know that.”
Eric Nkusi added, “The fact is that more than 70% of the immigrants from Africa have suffered torture themselves or have witnessed it. You can actually ask someone here in Portland if they have witnessed a lion or a soldier or rebel kill their parent and you can get a yes answer.”
Another woman from Rwanda said to me quietly, “You may wonder why more women who were farmers in Africa do not come out and take advantage of a farming opportunity now when you go to the trouble of arranging for it. They may not tell you that they cannot any longer bend over, or bend down, or even stand for any period of time because of the aftermath of their injuries suffered in the genocide. They are embarrassed. They feel bad. They have horrible memories to overcome every day.”
But this is a cultural “gap”, explained another man from Somalia for not asking beforehand which people are good candidates before you get the grant money, or better yet, not arranging for special equipment or needs for people injured in the genocide to take advantage of the opportunity in a specialized way.
The general consensus from participants was that service brokers and officials of programs meant to bridge the cultural gaps were not always successful because of a lack of quality or competence in understanding immigrant ways, customs, language and special needs because of the torture. “Look,” said one participant, “I moved to Egypt from a Camp in Lebanon and you would think that Arabic is Arabic, but not so. It took me four months to learn how to answer the telephone correctly! Translators should not be used. People need to be able to speak for themselves. There have been major misunderstandings because of inaccuracies in translation exacerbated by tribal conflict that the service provider may be unaware of. We want to, we must learn English ourselves, but we have to do it in a way that is relevant to our individual situations.”
We had a discussion about the word Dialogue. To one man from Juba in Southern Sudan , it was an opportunity to listen and learn only, not to judge, opine, or comment. To understand why tribal law (we are not talking religious mandate) allows and regulates having multiple wives, we need to listen with an inquiring mind. And, frankly speaking, as a Harvard-educated woman and sociologist, it made absolute perfect sense to me as he explained the inter-generational obligations of the marriage contract and dowry requirements on the stability and cohesion of the tribes involved!
At the conclusion of the third dialogue, we were thrilled to welcome Lydia Bakunda from Burundi and Letitia Runyambo from DR Congo who sang an original song written by Lydia called Hope. The girls are forming a singing group and we wish them good luck.
We are now forming additional dates and time to continue these dialogues. We want to include as many people as possible. We will continue to report our findings in these pages. If you are interested in participating, please contact Living With Peace Vice President Roger Ruganzu at rruganzu@yahoo.fr or dialogue facilitator Christina Feller at cfeller@maine.rr.com.
Immigrants in Maine -- What is "Living with Peace"?
Living With Peace—Welcoming New Neighbors to the Community.
Living With Peace is a dynamic local grassroots community support organization investing in the future of our immigrants by providing information, resources, and training to newcomers to the community and culture.
We are so fortunate to have so many new people coming to Maine. We are finally beginning to look like a "normal" state instead of being so white. I will be posting a number of articles about our new immigrant population in the coming days. Stay with us and keep checking back.
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