Posted on 10/12/2002 1:49:10 AM PDT by sarcasm
A request for a federal review of Lewiston's programs and services for Somalis and other immigrants will be filed sometime next week, according to the advocate who will be writing the formal complaint to the Justice Department.
Kathy Poulos-Minott, who heads a Portland-based group that advocates for the rights of people who speak limited English, said the complaint would focus on issues such as lack of training for city employees and inconsistencies in policies and procedures across departments.
"You can't have one policy at one department and then no policy at another department," said Poulos-Minott, founder and director of the National Limited English Proficient Advocacy Task Force. "There has to be consistency and training. These places always assure compliance on paper. That's simple. The reality is when you get out there and you test it. Is it really happening?"
Lewiston city officials met with Somali elders Thursday at the public library to try to mend fences after a letter from Mayor Laurier Raymond angered and offended the local Somali community last week. The letter, referring to an increased flow of Somali immigrants into Lewiston, asked the local Somali community to "exercise some discipline and reduce the stress on our limited finances and generosity."
The Lewiston police chief and other police officials attended the meeting, as well as two city councilors, Roger Philippon and Renee Bernier. Several Somali elders were present, including some who typically work with city officials through the Somali advisory committee.
"The meeting was very encouraging, but there's more work to be done," said Phil Nadeau, assistant city administrator.
The Somali elders who attended the meeting had no comment as they left the library.
Winston McGill, vice president of the Portland chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he met with a Somali elder Thursday and pledged the organization's support. He also has written an open letter of support to the Somali community that will be delivered next week.
The New England conference of the NAACP, which represents all of the region's NAACP branches, also has pledged its support.
McGill said he spoke with officials at the Justice Department in Boston on Thursday to voice his concerns directly to the federal agency. He asked for a community liaison who could act as a mediator between the city of Lewiston and the Somali community.
"It's not really so much an investigation," he said. "What that community liaison will do is they'll bring everybody to the table and work out these issues, whether it's housing or jobs - what the mayor should have done and what he didn't do."
McGill said it's "too premature" to say his organization will support the effort by Poulos-Minott to have a federal review of Lewiston's programs and services.
Poulos-Minott's group represents 300 "stakeholders" nationwide. They are primarily legal organizations dedicated to supporting the anti-discrimination laws that ensure immigrants and refugees have access to interpreters and other services that put them on equal footing in schools, hospitals and the halls of city government.
"Many schools bring unqualified interpreters, if they bring any at all, into disciplinary hearings or school-based health care," she said. "They take medical histories, they dispense medication without interpreters."
Federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin through statutes such as Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Poulos-Minott said her organization tries to work with recipients of federal funding before filing a federal complaint or pursuing litigation. In the past, she has fought Maine Medical Center over the quality of its interpreter services, and she has cases pending against the Maine Department of Human Services, the Portland Housing Authority and Catholic Charities Maine.
She said Lewiston did not adequately plan for the arrival of so many Somalis into the community.
Nadeau said putting programs and services in place for the new arrivals has involved "almost heroic levels of work."
"We want to do more than just meet the marginal need," he said. "If there are places that we need to make improvements, we try to identify those areas as quickly as possible and try to be responsive to those areas and make those adjustments that we need to make."
Ok, I can understand the "too quiet" part...no daily machine gun strafing....but "TOO BEHIND"?? As opposed to SOMALIA??
Cut me a break.
Boost for Baldacci
John Baldacci is a very good friend of mine and we have worked well together since 1994 when he went to Washington, D.C. as our congressman. He has been always attentive to the needs of federal employees and to the folks in Washington County. What's more, he cares deeply about Maine and the issues facing us. LOL!!!! Yes Right!
I give my strong endorsement to Baldacci for governor and ask that you do too. Let's work to help the working people for a change in Augusta.(Sure! Work to help the working people pay for more welfare for the immigrants! Right on ELMER!
Elmer L. Harmon
Dennysville
Oh sure! The ones of us working in Maine have to carry the weight of the immigrants on welfare. It's easy for idiots to talk like this when it's not money coming out of THEIR pockets!
He is not worried. "We can spread out," he says, "anywhere we want."
Does this worry anyone but me?
Yea, I just found Elmer "Fuds" letter. What an idiot!
It worries me, and I dont even LIVE in Main...it should worry ALL Americans.
Blackhawk Down : we will never forget. We won't forgot the Somali REACTION TO THE MOVIE BLACKHAWK DOWN, EITHER.
Why do you think Baldy and Allen are working with the Somali's and bringing them IN! Yes! For their VOTES!!!!! I still can't believe the Catholic Church down in southern Maine is working with this either. Very strange.
I bet that is one of the first priorities for the Somali's when they hit Maine. REGISTER DEMOCRAT!
All ANY DemocRAT cares about is VOTES. The Democrat Party is the Party of Personal Power (to hell with "the people").
As for the Catholic Church (Catholic Charities, I preume?) they just help everybody. Who knows...maybe they'll make some Christian converts out of Muslims along the way...hey, it could happen. On the other hand, the Muslims are probably just gleefully taking advantage of the stupid, infidel Catholics, just as they are taking advantage of the stupid, infidel American federal and state governments.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.