Recently, I read the Newsweek article crediting Lewiston’s rebirth to its refugee population.

In reading the article, I would have thought that my weekly paycheck was a direct result of the divine intervention of the refugee population.

Maybe it’s just me, but I would have thought that Lewiston’s prosperity has come from real estate developers who take the financial risk to bring businesses and their tax base to town. I would have thought that small business owners, who lay it on the line every day to employ people, had something to do with it. I would have thought that every Lewistonian who goes to work and pays Lewiston’s exorbitant real estate taxes had something to do with it.

The article is an absolute insult to every hardworking Lewistonian who has staked his or her claim in the community. It is an ignorant distortion of reality to take the efforts of many in revitalizing Lewiston and drop it in the lap of one select group of residents who have been here for such a short period of time.

Lewiston’s leaders should be demanding a retraction and put credit where credit is due (not where some would like it to be). Otherwise, I submit that the refugee population who have solely brought the city to economic prosperity be solely responsible for carrying the weight of Lewiston’s budget.

Quite frankly, my shoulders are tired.

Shawn Bell, Lewiston