LEWISTON — Samira Aden, 12, a Lewiston Middle School seventh-grader, was looking forward to seeing her grandmother this spring. “I haven’t met her yet,” Samira said. For the past 24 years her grandmother, Isha Varsame, a native of Somalia, has lived in a refugee camp in Kenya. Aden has talked on the phone with her. […]
Somali
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Susan Collins says Trump’s comments on Somalis are ‘unhelpful’
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, appeared at a rally in Portland on Thursday. He cited the state’s Somali community as an example of refugees “coming from among the most dangerous territories and countries” and added that “has to stop.” The comments drew widespread criticism in Portland, a liberal city that is the largest by population in […]
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Tying the Knot: Somali wedding adheres to tradition
LEWISTON — When Abdimalik Maalim and Fartun Bare got married, no wedding invitations were sent out. Yet the reception at the Longley Elementary School gym July 9 was teeming with men and women. The women were dressed to impress in colorful skirts and head scarves. Girls took selfies. Two DJs played lively Somali music. “Our weddings […]
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Lewiston Somalis find lead in homes
In 2000 and 2001, Somali refugees poured into Lewiston. And while they found a home there, they also found trouble. “The initial crisis was getting people off the streets, off of homelessness, into homes,” said Fatuma Hussein, head of United Somali Women of Maine. “We didn’t know what we were getting into.” What the Somali […]
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Lewiston graduates say thank you, goodbye
Principal Shawn Chabot reported that 82 percent of the graduating class is enrolled in a degree program, four percent will serve in the military, and 32 are going to work or pursue personal dreams. Speeches during the ceremony reflected the diverse men and women in blue and white caps and gowns. While many grew up […]
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Lewiston Somalis give new life to New Gloucester, Pownal farms
NEW GLOUCESTER — A new season, a new chapter and new beginnings are taking root for an immigrant community and unused farmland. Intervale Farm, which ended its nearly 20-year run of harvesting and selling popular pumpkins and gourds last October, has a new crop of farmers. The Somali Bantu Community Association of Maine, a Lewiston-based […]
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Looming crisis for Somalis who wire cash to families
LEWISTON — Once a month, Anisa Dol wires $200 from Lewiston to her parents in Somalia to help pay for their food and rent. It’s not an extravagant amount of money by American standards, but $200 means survival in Somalia. If her parents didn’t have that, she worries they’d be kicked out of their home. […]
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Sharing his light: Somali refugee leads through love
Editor’s note: This essay was originally published in the Assumption College Magazine. WORCESTER, Mass. — Shobow Saban, a Somali refugee who immigrated to the United States and settled in Lewiston, lends his personal story to a fictional work, “Out of Nowhere,” authored by Maria Padian. The book, published last year and winner of the Maine […]
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Teaching adults English exciting, challenging, instructors say
LEWISTON — Audience members at the Great Falls Forum got a lesson Friday in the challenges and satisfactions of teaching English to adults who speak other languages. With paper and pencils at each table of the Lewiston Public Library’s Callahan Hall, about three dozen attendees attempted to copy the swirls of a phrase written in […]
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Lewiston Dems to meet May 14
LEWISTON — The Lewiston City Democratic Committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 14, at the Lewiston Armory. Said Issa Mohamud will speak about the Somali community. He is a community leader, businessman and founder of the local African Immigrants Association. He is also founder of the Somali People’s Party and campaigned for the […]