5th Sunday – for refugees and asylum seekers in Maine
| They are the poorest of the poor, from Angola and Honduras, Haiti and Somalia and other explosive countries, and at this very moment they are huddled in a bewildered mass in the Portland Expo arena. They are without doubt the “homeless” and “tempest-tost” of Emma Lazarus’ immortal welcome at the Statue of Liberty. And they are the faces of Christ in exile. As we as a parish family ponder how we might assist homeless families in the wider Belfast area, the Outreach Committee is designating the coming Fifth Sunday collection for the desperate mothers and fathers, tumbling toddlers and searching teens down the road a bit in Portland, the denigrated “wretched refuse” from other teeming shores. Our money will go directly to provide a plate of food or a bottle of water, diapers or toothpaste, given with smiles and gentle words by volunteers on scene. It is so little. For now, it means everything. As many as 600 asylum-seekers and refugees have smooshed onto the jumble of cots and rumpled blankets at the Expo in recent weeks. According to the Bangor Daily News, there are now around 270 there. Many have been hoping to move on to Canada and are now snagged in limbo by a new bi-lateral agreement that has stopped crossing the border on foot. Others hoped to find work in hotels and restaurants or as outdoor laborers in Maine, but are forbidden by federal law from employment for six months. All will be evicted on Aug. 16, when the city is closing the Expo. They can then join hundreds more who are overflowing smaller shelters in town, or grab a spot on the street. They are the poorest of the poor, from Angola and Honduras, Haiti and Somalia and other explosive countries, and at this very moment they are huddled in a bewildered mass in the Portland Expo arena. They are without doubt the “homeless” and “tempest-tost” of Emma Lazarus’ immortal welcome at the Statue of Liberty. And they are the faces of Christ in exile. As we as a parish family ponder how we might assist homeless families in the wider Belfast area, the Outreach Committee is designating the coming Fifth Sunday collection for the desperate mothers and fathers, tumbling toddlers and searching teens down the road a bit in Portland, the denigrated “wretched refuse” from other teeming shores. Our money will go directly to provide a plate of food or a bottle of water, diapers or toothpaste, given with smiles and gentle words by volunteers on scene. It is so little. For now, it means everything. As many as 600 asylum-seekers and refugees have smooshed onto the jumble of cots and rumpled blankets at the Expo in recent weeks. According to the Bangor Daily News, there are now around 270 there. Many have been hoping to move on to Canada and are now snagged in limbo by a new bi-lateral agreement that has stopped crossing the border on foot. Others hoped to find work in hotels and restaurants or as outdoor laborers in Maine, but are forbidden by federal law from employment for six months. All will be evicted on Aug. 16, when the city is closing the Expo. They can then join hundreds more who are overflowing smaller shelters in town, or grab a spot on the street. A controversial scenario envisions turning empty dormitories on the former Unity College campus right here in Waldo County into transitional housing for asylum seekers. Now known as Unity Environmental University, the college has undergone its own transition to primarily online instruction, leaving dorms vacant and the administration looking for new sources of income. To date no specifics have been worked out among state, local and university officials to make this happen. The Greater Portland Council of Governments estimates it would cost around $7.8 million to lease the buildings, pay utilities and provide food and other assistance for the next year. Maine-Housing, a state agency, would make the final decision, likely drawing from the $100 million in budget measures to address Maine’s homeless and housing crisis that were passed by the Legislature a week ago. Gov. Janet Mills signed a two-year $10.3 billion state budget into law on Tuesday, but that money won’t be available for 90 days, until October. Meanwhile people wait. They are hungry, destitute and determinedly hopeful. We will reach them through groups such as Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, and the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project. Please give generously on Sunday July 30, noting on checks “Fifth Sunday.” Thank you. Please mark checks “5th Sunday” in memo line. |