Events
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Previous Events
2024
– May 30
– February 15
The Great Canoe Loop: Recovering Native Travel Routes & Forging New Community
For millennia, Native American communities not only survived, but built societies which thrived based on using canoe technology and water skills to harvest natural resources across the landscape. In the spring of 2023, a team of paddlers left Penobscot Territory bound for Boston and beyond on an 1800 mile canoe circumnavigation of the Northeast. Join Penobscot Nation paddler and guide Ryan Ranco as he shares stories from “the Great Canoe Loop”, a first-of-its-kind, three and a half month odyssey connecting more than a dozen surviving native communities together — in the traditional way, by water.
– January 10
El Salvador Today
This presentation will be a conversation with Mario Guevara to learn more about the political situation in El Salvador: deterioration of democracy, Human Rights abuses, and the relationship with the US government. We will discuss the Exception Regime implemented since March 2022 and why current president Nayib Bukele remains popular among most of the population as he plans to get reelected, despite the prohibition in the Constitution.
2023
– December 13
An Iranian Religious Refugee Tells Her Story
A religious refugee from Iran, Parivash Rohani presently lives in Portland, Maine, where she is actively engaged in human rights advocacy. Join us as Parivash describes her journey from Iran to Portland, along with commentary on her life in Iran and her subsequent experiences since leaving her native land.
– November 15
A Post Title 42: Happenings on the Arizona-Mexico Border
Title 42, a public health law from 1944, was used for more than 3 years (March 2020- May 2023) to shut down the asylum system. While the predicted rush did not initially occur, since May 12, the Arizona-Mexico border has continued to be a very dynamic region. From her experiences living and working in the Arizona borderlands from Feb-August each year, listening to the personal stories of people in the midst of their migrant journey, as well as observations and learning from individuals working in a variety of fields, Amy Tice will share insights on humanitarian issues and other aspects of life in the region.
– October 18
Healthy Homes and the Immigrant Experience in Maine
Among the challenges faced by new Mainers is the safety of older rental housing. Learn about one immigrant community from Rwanda who survived and fled genocide and political instability. Also learn about immigrant tenants in the Portland area being trained to identify and correct environmental health hazards in a Healthy Homes partnership with Defend Our Health, a nonprofit public health and social justice organization.
Apolliinaire Munyaneza, Ph.D., President of the Rwanda Community Association of Maine, has led cultural and economic integration efforts for Rwandan immigrants in Maine. He also serves as Executive Secretary of Ibuku USA, which advocates nationwide for the survivors of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi people. A green chemist by training, he also conducts environmental assessments.
Sergio Cahueque, a native Spanish-speaker from Guatemala and a graduate of the College of the Atlantic, is a grassroots organizer working with Maine communities to foster environmental health and to achieve justice in the face of toxic chemical pollution of drinking water, wells and homes by arsenic, lead, and PFAS—the forever chemicals.
– September 26
Humanitarian Relief Work with Syrian Refugees
What is life like for a Syrian refugee as they live in Lebanon waiting for permanent resettlement? Join us in an informative and interactive session with Rev. Donnie Bentley as he discusses his 10+ years working internationally in Beirut, Lebanon assisting refugees.
– June 21
“Where Is Home?” An Immigrant Experience
Yetunde O. Ajao, MPA, Ph.D. is the Assistant Director of the Student Life for Training and Multicultural Programming at the University of Maine, Farmington. As a mother of five children, Dr. Ajao shared her experience as a scholar, mother, and “non immigrant,” along with insights into the rich and unique culture of Nigeria, her country of origin.
Unfortunately, there is no video / audio for this event
– April 18
Gaining Perspective: Ukraine’s History and Rich Legacy
– March 15
Advocating for French Heritage Women’s Voices.
Rhea Cote Robbins is the Founder/Director of the Franco-American Women’s Institute (FAWI), which advocates for the creativity of French heritage women and provides a safe place for those women to express their creativity. Robbins discussed the purposes, history, activities, and plans for the future of the Institute.
– February 15
A Muslim Immigrant Runs for Public Office.
Dina Yacoubagha, a Muslim immigrant running for public office, discussed the challenges and barriers she encountered, the support she received in the running for the Bangor City Council, and the comparisons between the election process in the US and in her native Syria. Dina talked about the recent catastrophic earthquake that hit Tukey and Syria.
– January 18
One of Each – Raising Adopted Sons from Russia and Ukraine
Robert Klose, a Prize Winning Author and adoptive parent of boys from Russia and Ukraine, recounts his experience in navigating the joys & challenges of foreign adoption, where one must interface with cultures whose ways are unfamiliar and where American conceptions of justice, fair play, and freedom of expression may have little meaning.