Mainebiz

V O L . X X I I N O. X X V I I I D E C E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 6 20 S hukri Abasheikh, who owns the bustling 1,500-square-foot Mogadishu Store on Lisbon Street in Lewiston, was among the fi rst wave of Somalis who moved to the central Maine city in July 2002. She's made it a priority to have items she had at home in her general store, including Santa Lucia pasta. " e taste reminds me of my childhood," she says. Now, she's doing the same to wel- come the third wave of asylum-seek- ers from central and eastern African nations like Rwanda, Burundi, Djibouti and Democratic Republic of the Congo. To make them feel more at home, she's stocked a full case of foods from their native countries near the front of her store. Lewiston has seen a boom in all types of immigrants, a catch-all word that includes refugees, second- ary migrants and asylum-seekers. e fi rst wave in 2001-02 saw four ethnic Somali families come and subsequently draw in more friends, and the second wave in 2008-09 brought a big wave of the ethnic minority Somali Bantu, says Phil Nadeau, deputy city administra- tor in Lewiston. Many were secondary migrants, those coming from other U.S. cities, including Atlanta. "In 2015 we noticed a bigger wave of asylum-seekers primarily from western and central African countries like Congo, Angola and Burundi," he says. "It's a shift for us in terms of the clients we're serving and their needs." He says in 2013, 56% of incoming families applying for general assistance were from Angola, Djibouti and Congo, whereas 18% were from Somalia. e numbers began to shift over time, he says, with 2015 showing 71% from the three more recent African nations and 13% from Somalia. From May this year through August, 79% were from the three countries and only 8% were from Somalia. ose numbers of asylum-seekers and secondary migrants show that the ethnic mix in Lewiston's largely Somali community is changing, as is the mix within Lewiston as a whole. Lewiston had a population of 36,592 in 2010, the most recent U.S. Census fi g- ure, and since February 2001 more than 5,000 Africans of all ethnicities have come to the city on the Androscoggin River. Academics call this "rapid ethnic diversifi cation." Sue Charron, director of social ser- vices in Lewiston, says the growth of all immigrants, but particularly asylum- seekers, has been remarkable since fi scal year 2010 ended June 2010. At that time, 12% of all clients (700 to 800 house- holds) coming through the city's general assistance offi ce were immigrants, 4% of them asylum-seekers. In fi scal 2016 that number rose to 51% of total immigrants, of which 46% were asylum seek- ers. Most are from Djibouti, a coastal African nation through which many Somalis come to the United States. " ey fi rst fi le for general assistance, then apply for asylum right away to get their I-589 asylum form (that withholds them from deportation), then get an alien number," she says. "After that they can get help from Health and Human Services, food stamps and MaineCare." It can take 150 days or longer to get employment authorization, and they can't work during that time. "But soon after they get the authorization they are working and being productive," Charron says. She says it's too early to have fi gures on their economic impact to the state. She says that attitudes of local Lewiston residents have changed since the fi rst infl ux of Somalis in 2001. Still, Charron says there's a lack of knowledge about the New Mainer population. " e general public thinks everyone here is from Somalia," she says. " ree people working in my offi ce now are from diff erent countries and speak diff erent languages. at will happen more and more." She adds, " e growth at all schools in Lewiston has been from new Mainers." New ethnicities, new skills Along with the changing mix in ethnic- ity is a new mix of skills and religions, as most people from Somalia are Muslims, while most from the other African countries are Christian. "Large numbers of the [new] Africans lately have quite a bit of edu- cation," Nadeau says, adding that he's meeting people with MD degrees and expertise in information technology. "With the Somalis there are high levels of low literacy in their native language, so it's hard to learn a second language." Charron also says she's seeing lots of pharmacists and doctors coming in from Rwanda, one of whom was able to get his credentials transferred because an agency from Portland helped him get his transcript. With wars in their native lands, many asylum-seekers are unable P H O T O / L O R I VA L I G R A Population grows, diversifies A third wave of immigrants is changing the mix in Lewiston B y L o r i V a l i g r a F O C U S Shukri Abasheikh, originally from Somalia and owner of Mogadishu Store on Lisbon Street in Lewiston, stands in front of a case stocked with foods from Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Who are the new Mainers? Immigrant: An overall name for refugees, migrants and asylees. Refugee: A person forced to leave their country to escape war, persecu- tion or natural disaster. Primary refugee: A person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country. Secondary migrant: A person who entered the United States as a refugee, was settled in one state and moves to another state. Asylum-seeker: A person who has left their home country as a political refugee and seeks asylum in another country. Only asylum seekers who are granted status as a refugee can work in the country. S O U R C E S : United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Catholic Charities Maine

• Cover