James was a child from a "mixed marriage" because his father was Protestant and his mother was Catholic.  He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland and raised in Donegal, Ireland.  His family's lives strattled both of the countries, a mere four miles between the two towns.
James is entering his second year of his Master's degree in Social Work from University of New England and also works in social services in Southern Maine.  He has been a youth worker for most of his adult life, as well as many other jobs.
Additionally, he and his wife have a side business called Maine Inflatable Pubs, renting out a 20x40' inflatable pub around the state, sharing some Irish fun.
In this interview James also refers to historical information about Ireland's famine (FMI: click here).

Music: Aslan sings "Crazy World"

Ayman Nijim was born in Gaza, Palestine, attended university in Baghdad, Iraq and came to the US in 2012.  He has gotten his Master's degree in Intercultural Service and applies his knowledge of organizational management and trauma recovery professionally.  Ayman is also a human rights activist and has spoken at numerous universities around this country raising awareness about the political situation in his home in Gaza.
FMI: Contact Ayman at aymanijim@gmail.com.
Music: Fairouz sings "Ya Tayr"

Claude is the Executive Director of ProsperityME (formerly Community Financial Literacy) now located in Portland and Lewiston offices.  They offer an array of services to the refugee and immigrant community  including, but not limited to, classes on basic finances in the USA, workforce development, access to education, and small business support. 
While Claude has been in Maine for 22 years, he has never forgotten what it is like to try to get started in a new country.  In previous interviews he has shared about his life story NMS 015 and his organization that helps newcomers NMS 140.

Music: Mike Kalambay sings "Belela" (This musician is from DRC and will be on tour in Maine later this month). 

Sofia and Emily Wedick have spent the last year and a half interviewing and photographing Maine immigrants and the objects that they Carried From Home (also the name of their show).  Sofia recognized that objects brought humanity to the stories she was hearing and imagery to the storytelling they were seeking to portray in these portraits.  Their show opens on Wed, June 20 from 5:30 to 7:30 at Venn + Maker at 65 Washington Ave, Portland.  There will be music by Pihcintu and African Dundada as well as food from Babylon Restaurant.  During the opening the people featured in the pictures will be sharing their stories and some will even have the very objects they carried from home. 
Home is an illusive concept that seems to be defined by each person individually.  If you wish to hear more about Sofia's original home in Buenos Aires, Argentina from last year's interview (NMS 143) click here. 
You can also see her art and photography on her webpage: SofiaAldinio.com.

Music: Xavier Rudd sings "Follow the Sun."

Makumbundo Francisco was born in Angola, raised in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo and moved to Maine in 2013. 
Was trained as a painter at the Institute des Beaux-Arts and has painted internationally.  His favorite style is surrealism but he is accomplished in many other forms.  To see more of is art visit his facebook site (makfranciscoart).

Music: "Above All" is sung by Michael W. Smith.

Christian Muhunde was born and raised in Kigali, Rwanda.  His teacher noticed his art talent, as a boy, and he has been drawing and painting ever since. 
Christian has lived in Portland since 2014.  He studied English at Portland Adult Education before attending SMCC.  This fall he will continue his education at USM.  His hope is to be a full time artist. 
You can soon reach him at his new website: www.christianmuhunde.com. (or on Instagram)

Music: Justin Timberlake sings "What Comes Around."

Imad was born in Beirut, Lebanon and raised during three decades of violence and tumult.  At times, his family of five went about their lives; learning, educating, and conducting usual business.  Yet, these times were punctuated by random episodic violence that would send citizens into local bomb shelters. 
Imad and his wife met in medical school and came to the US to complete their training.  They served in rural Maine as a step in their path to citizenship. Today Imad works at Central Maine Medical Center as an infectious disease specialist and lives with his wife and two sons in Cumberland, ME.

Music: Lena Chamamyan sings "Ya Msafira"

Enrico was born and raised in Naples, Italy.  There, Enrico taught history and philosophy for twenty years and coached soccer and basketball at a professional level.
In 2005 he met a woman from Maine, they fell in love, got married and returned to her home state in 2015.   They have lived in the Biddeford area since. He is presently teaching Italian at the Language Exchange, in Portland.  He also coaches locally and has his own photography business called Photo Italia: A Touch of Italy.

Music: Bruce Springsteen sings "The Promise"

Emma is originally from the United Kingdom and moved to Maine in 2011.  In her adult life she found a beautiful way of expressing herself through jewelry making.  
Now Emma has become a Creativity Coach so she can help other people to find ways to mindfully express themselves through whatever they create.  Doing work around values and beliefs helps clients to understand their reason for being and frees people up to express themselves clearly.  You can learn more about her practice on her coaching website.
www.emmatallackcoaching.com

Music: Nina Simone sings "Feeling Good"

Sabina is originally from Baku, Azerbaijan and came to Maine in 2015 after winning the diversity green card lottery.  She is dancer, model, ceramicist, art therapist and conceptual artist now living and working in Portland, Maine. 
She enjoyed rigorous studies on the academics of art at the Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Art and she also worked with Mark Jenkins on a project called "Manimals"  in 2013 where she deepened her love of large scale conceptual art.  Sabina is a representative of Arts Council Azerbaijan (an Independent art platform and NGO) and has been a member of the Union of Azerbaijan Artists since 2012. 
One of her wishes is to have her own art studio where she can freely express herself while also offering art therapy to children with Down syndrome.  Another wish is to open the same kind of organization as the Arts Council she loved in Azerbaijan so that artists here can work and grow together. 

Sabina's art is visible on her Instagram site: jannetartstudio.

Music: Vagif Mustafazade performs "Fantaziya."