Blog Posts

224 Sergio Cahueque

2/9/2020

As a boy, Sergio grew up playing soccer on neighborhood streets in Guatemala City and also got to release baby turtles on the Pacific coast with his Boy Scout group. His love of nature only grew stronger when he attended College of the Atlantic ('17) where he focused on International Environmental Policy and the humanities.

Since 2018 Sergio has been an Organizer for the Environmental Health Strategy Center in Portland, ME. He works with outreach and education around public health issues like arsenic in well water. Arsenic is naturally occurring and impacts one in six wells in Maine. He also supports legislation that can help rural Mainers to test and fix wells with arsenic in them. If you have a story to share or a question about well testing you can reach Sergio here.

Music: "Ice El Hielo" by the Mexican-American band La Santa Cecilia.

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223 André Massanga

1/26/2020

André was born in Buco-Zau, Cabinda, Angola. He was educated in DRC where he studied Electro-Mechanical Engineering. Eventually he moved back to his home region and worked for NGO's and government agencies before he became the Provincial Director for Water and Energy. His specialty is water treatment.

André came to the US in 2018 and moved to Biddeford, ME in 2019. He was joined in the studio by the Coordinator for English Language Learners at Biddeford Adult Education, Sam Smithwick.

Presently, André and some of his colleagues have organized a High Council of Cabinda. They met last fall at the Kofi Annan Center in Accra, Ghana for a planning meeting and peace-keeping training. He would like to make peaceful changes in Cabinda in order to provide for generations of people who don't have access to basic needs, while living in a resource rich land.

Music: "Paz No Mondo" by Oos Fieis, a group featuring André Massanga as the lead singer.

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222 Emi Ito

1/12/2020

Emi Ito was born in the Aichi Prefecture, Japan. After college she became a make-up artist and wanted to try living and working abroad. She arrived in New York City to work in her field and found Saori freestyle weaving there, which was the beginning of her work in fiber arts.
In 2008 Emi and her husband moved to Bath, Maine.
Once in Maine she was welcomed into spinning and weaving community where she acquired more skills and found her own style--a hybrid between her Japanese roots and her American life.

To see her beautiful scarves and to view her schedule for upcoming craft shows visit www.emiito.com.

Music: "Ito" by Miyuki Nakajima
Lyrics to "Ito"
We have no idea
why we meet each other
We never know
when we'll meet each other

Where were you,
where have you lived your life?
Two stories playing
out under distant skies.

You're the vertical thread
I'm the horizontal thread
Maybe the cloth we weave
can warm someone up someday

The day I was uncertain about
my reason to live left some fraying
The day I fell down chasing my
dream left some fraying

I've trembled in the wind, anxious about
what a thread like me could become.

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221 Samaa Abdurraqib

12/15/2019

Samaa is an American who was born in New York, grew up in Ohio and earned her PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She came to Maine in 2010 as an assistant professor at Bowdoin College. Now she is the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence.
She shares information for immigrants and all others regarding the programs and resources available to people experiencing domestic violence (also known as intimate partner violence). Hotlines have translators available, if needed. Hot links are available below to supporting organizations:
*Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence
*Immigrant Resource Center of Maine
*New England Arab American Association
*Domestic Abuse Intervention
*Nationial Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233

An immigrant survivor of domestic violence may be eligible for special immigrant-related protections, due to their elevated vulnerability around legal status issues. See the legal aid organization ILAP for more details.

Poetry: Samaa reads an Audre Lorde poem which inspires her whenever she is feeling nervous about telling the truth: "Litany for Survival." Samaa will be reading her own poetry on Feb 6th at the Portland Ballet as part of the group called Renegade Writers.

Music: Dobet Gnahoré sings "Dala" from her album
Na Afriki.

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220 Palaver Strings

11/3/2019

Maya French, violinist from Palaver Strings, joined me in the studio with Alain Igiraneza, a 16 year old Burundian singer and one of the narrators for their upcoming Welcome Home tour. Together they explained about the group's mission to create a new interactive model for audiences which incorporates social justice issues with creative musical expression. Welcome Home is a tour through Maine that invites people to reflect on their own concepts of what "home" means to them, personally, while experiencing music and readings from three cultural groups in our state: Burundian, Franco-American and Iraqi.

Music: From Palaver Strings' album Simple Gifts, "Yorkshire Lass."

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219 Humza Khan

10/20/2019

Humza left his home in Multan, Pakistan and arrived in Standish, Maine in 2005, as an 8 year old boy. He attended Gorham High School and then went on to study at the University of Southern Maine. While there, Humza was an active member of the Muslim Student Association. The club successfully advocated for more awareness of, and support for, the growing numbers of Muslims attending USM. In 2018 he received his Bachelor's degree in Finance and Political Science.
Presently, Humza Khan is the Talent and Diversity Specialist for Bangor Savings Bank. The bank is preparing for the future workforce of Maine. They prioritize workplace belonging by creating organizational capacity to make every demographic feel welcome there. Bangor Savings Bank additionally participates in programs to welcome veterans, immigrants, and low income youth into the banking industry.

Music: "Tu Kareemi Mun Kamina" is a Rumi poem put to song by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

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218 Hawreh Haddadi

10/6/2019

Hawreh Haddadi is a Kurdish-Iranian-American. He and his family arrived in Maine in 1997 and were raised speaking their native Kurdish language at home while attending public schools in Portland and Windham. During high school Hawreh, his mother and siblings had an opportunity to travel back to Iran to visit their extended family. Their experience exceeded expectations as they were surrounded by relatives and felt the full impact of belonging to a huge and loving family. Yet, while visiting Iran, they were also detained and interrogated, a terrifying experience for all.
Hawreh uses his skill as a political scientist (Master's Degree in Political Science and Policy from Suffolk University) to describe his coming of age experience. The story is authentic and accessible giving readers a glimpse of the wonderful and horrible summer in Iran in his new book called Finding Kurdistan: A Kurdish-Iranian-American's Journey Home.

Music: Kurdish National Anthem

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Bangor Road Trip (215, 216, 217)

9/17/2019

New Mainers Speak is broadcast from Portland, ME on Sundays at noon, but on Mondays WERU, (in East Orland, ME), does a re-broadcast of the show at 4:30 PM. That means there is a listening audience up there that is only hearing about people in Southern Maine.
At Matt Murphy's suggestion (General Manager at WERU), I took a road trip up to the Bangor area. Through kind connections I learned about Angela Okafor and she introduced me to her two friends Marwa Hassanien and Tania Jean-Jacques. The three of them are all running for public office in the area and Marwa warmly hosted us for a recording party at her house.
These women are quite amazing. They support one another to take on challenges they might not have imagined alone. And, they were fun to get to know. I hope you will enjoy this set of three interviews (below) with each of them.
And, special thanks to WERU for the studio tour, interview and enthusiastic on-going support.

215 Angela Okafor

9/16/2019

Angela has a life force that is as big as the sun. She is a lawyer originally from Enugwu-Ukwu, Nigeria and moved to the Bangor with her husband in 2007, for his work. She passed the bar in NY, as they had planned to move there after their time in Bangor. But, they fell in love with the Maine and decided to stay and raise their three school-aged children.
Adaptability is the key to Angela's success. She is bright and jumps right in to take action and make the world a better place however she can. Beyond her federal law practice (Okafor Law), Angela operates Tropical Tastes (an international food market), Gela's Hair Braiding and Crafts and she served on the Maine Multi Cultural Center board until recently. She also heard the need and started an affinity group called Bangor Area White Parents of Black Kids.
Last year (2018) Angela was recognized as a "Trailblazer" by Empower the Immigrant Woman, a prestigious award. She is a confident and competent advocate.
Right now she is running for City Council in Bangor and who knows what is next!

Music: "Thankful" sung by Flavour

*This interview was conducted over the phone on Sept 23, 2019 after original interview was technically compromised.

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216 Tania Jean-Jacques

9/16/2019

Tania was born in Les Cayes, Haiti, raised in Montreal, Canada and came to the US to complete her nursing degree in college. She is a natural nurturer and empathetic supporter of others. Tania worked in many capacities as a RN in New Jersey before she and her family moved to Hampden, Maine in 2017 for her husband's work.

Starting Maine Haitian Network and serving on the board of the APCMS in Bangor, Tania gained additional professional skills. Presently, she is running for school board in RSU 22 where she will advocate for rigor, STEM education, equal access, and will offer her global perspective in the process.

Music: Lauren Daigle sings "You Say"