Tilbury House, 2009
Paperback, $20
For immigrants, a rebirth in Maine
Echoing Hippocrates and Aretaeus (ancient Greek physicians) about the importance of a positive environment on one’s thoughts, emotions and actions, Winifred Gallagher, in her provocative book, The Power of Place, writes: “Burdened with increasingly complex social roles, we need places that support rather than fragment our lives, places that balance the hard, standardized, and cost-efficient with the natural, personal and healthful.”
For many people on a global scale, Maine has become that place. “Who are those new Mainers and why have they come here?” Pat Nyhan asks in her introduction.
They come from across the global spectrum-from war-torn countries, refugee camps, even economically vibrant places such as Hong King, India and Europe. They have come for a job, for education or to reunite with family who preceded them. They have often come with no knowledge of English or essential working skills. They have come here with hope. “What they have found in Maine, was a safe, small, family-friendly environment,” Nyhan writes.
The book includes vibrant black-and-white photographs. These new Mainers are shown with their eyes looking directly at you-beautiful eyes, open and direct, their outright frankness captured by eminent Dutch photographer von Beest. Their life stories are utterly unimaginable to most of us.
In the forward, Reza Jalili, a writer, community organizer and professor at the University of Southern Maine, describes his life as a refugee from Iranian Kurdistan, a human rights advocate, he describes “a life spent in exile…the loneliness of life among the unfamiliar…the search for identity, and the regret one feels in remembering home…if leaving one’s home is like a death, settling down in a new country is like a rebirth.”
The 25 immigrants interviewed had widely divergent reasons to come to Maine, some sent here directly by agencies, others first sent to other cities and migrating to Maine later to avoid the dangers inherent in larger cities.
Nyhan, as a teacher of English as a Second Language (ESL) in Portland, had many possible candidates for a book such as this one, as did Reza. Only a few new immigrants turned down the author’s request for inclusion in this book. The rest were very excited, revealing their high expectations in what social workers call their “honeymoon period.” While settling into jobs and living arrangements, they have been highly motivated to learn English. Portland and Lewiston have been the most chosen communities for the work and housing opportunities available.
We see Makara Meng, who lives in South Portland with her husband, children and mother. She takes the best part from both cultures-the Cambodian one the American one, which gave her freedom and education.
Diversity has developed in the state. Public schools and universities have scrambled to meet the needs of residents who speak over 50 different languages. Many refugees endured long years of physical and emotional hardship, living in appalling conditions until they arrived in the United States.
Oscar Mokeme founded and is the director of The Museum of African Culture, the only institution in Northern New England that focuses on sub-Saharan arts and culture. More and more people find in Mokeme’s exhibits themes that resonate with Mainers. “I feel there is an energy there,” he tells Nyhan.
The haunting eyes of Khadija Guled grace the cover. “Everyone has problems,” she said. “What keeps me going is the resilience these families have, after what they have been through.” She is able to elicit trust from clients wary of revealing their personal lives.
A sense of loss lingers long after coming here, after learning a new language and establishing new roots. Nyhan researched the countries all her ESL students came from and the places where they were interred as refugees, which were not always their native countries. She steadily asks each new Mainer three questions: What was our life like in your country? Why and how did you come here? What is your life like here?
The answers are as varied as the 25 people interviewed who have come to this northern state-where the climate is often quite at odds with what they have known-as a place for family, security and a new and vital life.
This is a stunning book.