| The Oregonain
(Portland, Oregon)
August 16, 2006
NEWCOMERS' AGENDA EDGES TO FOREFRONT
Oregonian Columnist
S. Renee Mitchell
Scoot over, Portland, the newly arrived immigrants and refugees
want more respect.
They want us to stop treating them like they're visitors.
Legal or not, they live here now.
In some east Portland neighborhoods, immigrants represent
one of every three residents, according to the Urban Institute,
which issued a 2003 report on the number of foreign born in
the tri-county area.
Almost half of them are Latinos, who cluster in Gresham and
Hillsboro, according to the report. "People out there,
they feel, are less understanding," says Maria Damaris
Silva, a longtime social-justice activist from Michoacan,
Mexico.
Another third are from Vietnam, China, Korea, India and the
Philippines, and tend to live in eastern Portland, Hillsboro
and Beaverton. Asian Pacific Islanders most often complain
that their children don't get access to culturally relevant
curriculum, after-school activities or Asian teachers.
"There are tons of other issues that get listed and
identified," says Moe Uema-Yonamine, a community organizer
and hip-hop dance instructor from Okinawa, Japan. "But
that's the one that keeps getting repeated."
Africans, particularly those from Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia
and Uganda, make up 3 percent of the foreign born. Many have
settled in Northeast Portland and receive the same forms of
racial discrimination that Portland-born blacks complain about.
The rest come from Ukraine, Russia, Romania and other parts
of Europe. They mostly live in outer eastern Portland, and
in Sunnyside and Happy Valley in Clackamas County.
As varied as their language and experiences are, though,
the immigrants and refugees have similar difficulties adjusting
to life in Portland. Many are recent arrivals who have low
incomes and limited English skills. They worry about feeding
their children, finding and keeping a job, and getting access
to government help.
Those commonalities have helped inspire a multiracial, multicultural
movement for immigrant and refugee rights that has been quietly
gathering momentum. The Center for Intercultural Organizing,
which speaks up for legal immigrants as well as undocumented
ones, started as the Community Language and Culture Bank.
It was birthed three and a half years ago to demand respect
from local, state and federal politicians.
"I would really like for people to know that we would
like to be a big voice here," says Uema-Yonamine. "We
want to come together as all people and be able to say to
the city, 'This is what we would like to see.' "
The center helped organize a December meeting with Mayor
Tom Potter, and more than 200 showed up to vent. The mayor
asked for the group's help in involving immigrants in City
Hall affairs.
Then, in March, Potter found himself at odds with the Portland
Police Bureau for siding with Kayse Jama, a Somalian national
who founded the Center for Intercultural Organizing. He is
also an adjunct instructor at Portland State University.
After Jama publicly complained that he was frequently pulled
over by police, Potter said the traffic stops "smacked
of racism." The mayor later apologized for his knee-jerk
comment after he learned Jama had received a citation for
driving without insurance.
Saturday, hundreds of immigrants and refugees are expected
to have Potter's undivided attention again when they meet
with him and other city leaders. The center was able to secure
one of the VisionPDX grants.
The meeting is from noon to 5 p.m. in the council chambers
of City Hall, 1221 S.W. Fourth Ave. Child care is available.
Information: 503-287-4117.
"We have our own agenda that is specific to our communities,"
Jama says. So after Saturday's meeting, "the question
will be, 'What are we going to do about it?' "
The answers might change the soul of Portland forever.
S. Renee Mitchell: 503-221-8142; rmitch@news.oregonian.com
©2006 The Oregonian
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