After a terrifying January, Waterville immigrants and locals share culture and food
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José Martinez had a good Sunday afternoon. He spent time with his family, he met new people, and his 5-year-old daughter, Olga, ate something she didn't even know the name of — and liked it.
Martinez was at a community dinner, hosted by Capital Area New Mainers Project, a nonprofit organization that helps immigrants new to central Maine connect with their neighbors. Martinez loves the food and the community, but he skipped the last dinner, which happened in January, as a federal immigration enforcement surge saw nearly 200 Mainers arrested, most with no criminal convictions or charges.
Martinez had just received his green card but opted to stay at home with his daughter while his wife Katya, a Russian immigrant who directs operations and workforce for CANMP in Waterville, attended the meal.
During and following the ICE surge, attendance at English as a second language lessons dropped, according to Hannah Bard, who directs Mid-Maine Regional Adult Community Education. She's seeing numbers start to come back up, but plenty of people like Martinez were scared despite solid immigration status.
But since the surge, CANMP has noticed a different kind of change. Since Jan. 1, the cross-cultural organization has seen more than 100 new volunteers sign up. At Sunday's dinner, hosted in Waterville Senior High School's cafeteria, at least 15 volunteers served food and mingled with attendees.
The event, where about 100 immigrants and lifelong Mainers gathered to share a meal, was hosted as part of Better Together Waterville, which, in addition to CANMP, includes Waterville Creates, Colby College, the Center for Small Town Jewish Life and Mid-Maine Regional Adult and Community Education. Catering was provided by Strait Jamaican Cuisine, Mezza, Jewel of India and Honey and Home bakery.
Some attendees also brought their own food to share. Muna Hasan has lived in Maine for 19 years, but Sunday was her first community dinner.
Originally from Iraq, Hasan is in her first year of culinary school and made homemade chocolate eclairs.
When she finishes, Hasan hopes to open a restaurant serving Middle Eastern cuisine, as well as the American classics she has perfected.
Pancakes, her young daughter said, are a favorite.
Hasan said there were no community events for immigrants when she first moved to Maine, and now she knows plenty of people who came here from the Middle East. Martinez agrees that Waterville's immigrant community is growing, and he said community dinners are the place to start connecting with others.
"This is the beginning of the relationships to break the ice," he said. "Something else can be built on top of this."
Jon Godbout, executive director of CANMP, said bringing people from different cultures together isn't about making a melting pot, but about creating a patchwork.
"It's about bringing distinct cultures together and being able to share them with one another," Godbout said. "It's not just the free food. I think it's just that people really gravitate toward being able to eat together."
Sunday's dinner was causal and upbeat, as volunteers and attendees of all ages mingled and shared their meals. The dinners keep getting more popular, Bard said, and she thinks it's a testament to how Waterville feels about its immigrant neighbors.
"We want diversity in our community," Bard said. "That makes a big difference of why people feel welcome here."
The next Better Together Waterville community dinner is slated for June.
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