Blog Posts

240 Gerard Kiladjian

10/17/2020

Gerard was born and raised in Damascus, Syria to Armenian parents. He came to study at Boston University in 1983 and has lived with his family in Maine since 2000.

He is the General Manager and Innkeeper of the Year at Portland Harbor Hotel, The Inn at Diamond Cove and Diamond's Edge Restaurant and Marina.

Gerard and his wife Annie lead the Armenian Cultural Association of Maine to celebrate their cultural roots while inviting others to do the same.

This interview was pre-recorded on 10/1/20. Gerard expresses his sadness at the current warring factions in Armenia and Azerbaijan and hopes for diplomacy and peace in the region.

Music: Vatche and Adiss sing "Karoun, Karoun."

nms_240_gerard_kiladjian_armenia_oct_16_2020.mp3
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239 Ekhlas Ahmed

10/4/2020

Ekhlas came to Maine at age 12, with her family from Darfur, Sudan. As my guest in 2017 she told her personal immigration story and read her own poetry. You can hear that whole interview by clicking here.
Ekhlas is now the Citizenship and Civic Engagement Coordinator for the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center. She is currently registering immigrants to vote in the upcoming general election.
Her insights about the barriers to voting and the joys of participating are shared in this Covid-friendly Zoom recording.
FMI: You can find Ekhlas at Ekhlas@WelcomeImmigrant.org

Other organizations supporting immigrants in the Get Out The Vote effort which Ekhlas refers to in the interview include:
League of Women Voters, Maine (non-partisan)
Gateway Community Services (who offer voting info in numerous languages)
Portland Adult Education (helps with filing forms)

Music: Miley Cyrus sings "The Climb"

nms_239_ekhlas_ahmed_sudan_october_4_2020.mp3
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238 Brian Evans-Jones

9/20/2020

Brian was the Poet Laureate of Hampshire, England in 2012-2013. In 2014 he and his young family moved to South Berwick, Maine. Brian earned an MFA in poetry from UNH in 2017. His poetry has appeared in magazines, competitions, and art shows in America and in Britain.

Before Covid, Brian could be found visiting schools all over the state through the Maine Arts Council's Leadership Initiative. He has also coached and judged the high school Poetry Out Loud competition. Brian is now offering an online forum called Poetry Parlor. It is a membership club where people can have access to learning together, getting feedback on their poetry and individual reviews from Brian, as well. www.brianevansjones.com.

Music: Polly and the Billets Doux sing "Follow My Feet."

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237 Antonio Rocha

8/20/2020

Antonio was raised in Brazil and came to the US in 1988 to study the performance of mime with Tony Montanaro through Partners of the Americas. He's not only lived an immigrant's experience here in Maine but has also performed on this subject (and many others) through mime and storytelling, all around the world. Antonio's warmth and expressiveness appeal to a wide variety of audiences.

The Black Lives Matter movement is something Antonio heartily supports as a man of Afro-Latino heritage. He shares his own experiences in this interview. Antonio's belief is this:
"Stories beget understanding,
Understanding begets respect,
Respect begets justice,
Justice begets peace.
That is the power of story."

www.storyinmotion.com

Music: "Nessun Dorma" sung by Luciano Pavarotti.

nms_237_antonio_rocha_brazil_aug_23_2020.mp3
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236 El-Fadel Arbab

8/9/2020

El-Fadel came to the US in 2004 and became a citizen in 2009. He was originally from Darfur, Sudan. On July 30th, 2020 he hosted a candlelight vigil in Portland to remember the people who have been killed in violence and genocide in his home area, and for those who still suffer in refugee camps. The exciting part is, people in those camps can watch the vigil occurring in Portland, ME from their camps in Sudan where they are not only vulnerable to violence in the area, but are also susceptible to hunger and diseases, including Covid-19. El-Fadel and others offer solidarity and hope to people who sometimes feel forgotten. Sudanese Youth 4 Better Future continues to organize for more awareness and action in the region.

To hear more of El-Fadel's insights and life stories click here and here.

Music: Bob Marley sings "Get Up, Stand Up."

nms_236_el-fadel_arbab_sudan_aug_9_2020.mp3
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235 Noor Alnaseri

7/26/2020

Noor, her husband, and their young son went directly to Augusta, Maine when they left their home in Southern Iraq in 2016. It was a rough start but in the past three and a half years she has completed her high school degree at Adult Education, volunteered at four locations and is now working for the Capitol Area New Mainers Project while she gets ready to start college (KVCC) this fall to become a radiology tech. She is now 21, mother of two and helps a lot of children and immigrant families in Augusta to receive the services they need to make a good start here in Maine.

Music: Zeynep Bastik sings "Bir Daha."

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234 Leyla Hashi

7/12/2020

Leyla was born in Somalia. Her family became refugees and moved to Boston when she was four years old. Later they moved to Maine when she was twelve. This past spring she graduated from USM with a Bachelor's Degree in communication. Her dream is to be a journalist. You can hear her former work on her podcast called Refugees of Portland and this summer you can follow her work at Amjambo Africa, the newspaper created for Africans in Maine.

A few years ago Leyla took her 90 year old grandmother back to visit in Somalia, now as Americans. She details that experience with rich personal insight. And imagine her grandmother's surprise when she learned that Leyla was to be USM's 2020 commencement speaker.

Music: "Baby" by Xariir and Xiis, Somali singers.

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233 Abdi Iftin

6/28/2020

This is an hour-long (two part) interview with Abdi Iftin, author of Call Me American. He came to the US in 2014 and became a US citizen in January 2020. In this interview he talks about his memoir which details his epic journey from Mogadishu, Somalia to Maine.
Abdi speaks about things that are sometimes considered taboo like being black in Maine, FGM (Female Genital Mutilation), religion and politics.

Currently, Abdi is a student at Boston College getting a bachelor's degree in political science while promoting his book and working on a movie based on his book.

For more background on his life you can listen to his 2017 interview on New Mainers Speak. Click here.

Music: A2VT (Africa to Vermont) sings "Faas Waa"

Part I of 2 part series, aired on 6/28/20

nms_233_abdi_iftin_1_of_2_somalia_june_28_2020.mp3
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Part 2 of 2 part series, aired on 7/5/20

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232 Safiya Khalid

6/14/2020

Safiya Khalid came to the US in 2005 from the Hagadara refugee camp in Kenya. She, her mother and two younger brothers fled Kismaya, Somalia due to war and civil unrest.
Sixteen years later, Safiya is a Lewiston City Councilor (Ward 1) and Community Resource Coordinator at Gateway Community Services. She holds a BA from USM in Psychology and is also a graduate of the Emerge Maine program to help women organize and run for office.
World Refugee Day is June 20, 2020 and Safiya understands what the issues are for immigrant families who have lived with feet in both worlds. For more information on Maine's refugees click here.

Music: "Waving Flag" by K'naan.

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231 Nargiz Alizada

5/31/2020

Nargiz Alizada is studying at the University of Maine for her MBA after years of working as a finance manager, auditor and consultant for international companies.
During these Days of Covid she has found her way back to her family traditions from Azerbaijan: singing, cooking, creating, and enjoying being in nature with her daughters in Falmouth, ME.

Music: Rashid Behbudov sings "Uzunumun Qashi Firuzedendir."