Maine should cherish its immigrants | Opinion
Roy Smoot lives in Kennebunk.
Since 1999, hospitals and doctor’s offices have become a regular part of my life via various health issues as a caregiver for my late wife, as a patient many times and with my amazing second wife always by my side. Virtually every time, grace and outstanding care provided by expert specialists and support teams have brought me through to continue on this adventure called life.
A recent hospital stay for almost two weeks shone a bright light on our healthcare support teams of PCAs, PAs, patient transport staff and others who often serve us in quiet calm with compassion. Not sure why this light was so much brighter this time, but I’m immensely glad it was. People from Ghana, Cape Verde (remember their World Cup team!), Haiti, Somalia, Ukraine and other places I’ve never been. Allow me to share one story as a microcosm of these tender, strong people.
Denise possesses heat-forged courage and strength born out of love for her children, and their future. Over 30 years ago, she leapt in faith to leave her native Caribbean homeland and come to America with a little boy and little girl. She came here for one reason — a better life and future for them.
While here, she was blessed with another daughter. Over these past three decades, Denise modeled courage, determination, ethics and faith for them and all who came to know her. All who came to be gently drawn into her web of wisdom and compassion for others. Hurdles included leaving her extended family back home, learning a new language and culture, securing multiple jobs to provide for her children and her, helping them afford college, studying harder than natural born citizens to earn her citizenship and facing discrimination time and time again.
All most of us do to become citizens is be born here into our families. Could you and I pass their citizenship tests in our English language after coming here from elsewhere while adjusting to a new way of life? Maybe so, but how hard is such a task with children demanding your time and energy?
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Denise blessed our country by becoming a citizen and raising three young children who are now our fellow citizens. One is a social worker, one a nurse, one a bank branch manager. All in service to other people. Denise’s influence on them is now a multi-generation influence.
As I heard her story while she cared for me in my long hospital stay, I was humbled and overwhelmed by this woman of immense strength and faith. Now, after all she has come through and poured into many lives, she is sad, discouraged by what is happening in her adopted home. She’s seriously thinking about leaving America because of how she’s treated due to her skin color and accent by Americans of many colors.
What a tragic loss it would be for our land of immigrants!
Whether our immigrant family has been here for 30 years or 400 years like mine, we’re all immigrants. Scriptures from several faith traditions call us to welcome and not oppress immigrants among us. Denise is a precious immigrant, as are all immigrants, and we’re better because of her; lesser if she leaves.
May we all move beyond welcoming today’s immigrants. May we embrace their courage and richness added to our land. After all, only indigenous people of this land are true native people.
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