“I just want to feel safe in the town where I live.”
That was the plea of a cyclist who said he felt threatened by a group of Somalis while relaxing in Kennedy Park Wednesday.
The man has lived in Lewiston his entire life; this city is his home. What he wants is what we all want – to feel safe in our own community.
The feeling of threat and intimidation the man sitting in Kennedy Park felt Wednesday is not unlike that felt Monday evening when a frozen pig’s head rolled through an open door and into the Lewiston Auburn Islamic Center.
Fear is an awful thing to bear at home and this community cannot let what happened at the mosque or what may happen to a targeted few in the public park reverse the great strides we’ve made in recent years to create a safe, welcoming city.
The incident at the mosque was immediately connected to the images of violence and anger associated with a letter written by former mayor Larry Raymond in 2002 encouraging Somalis to stop their migration to Lewiston. It was a painful time for Lewiston, an episode that the city and its residents have had some trouble shaking.
Racist groups used Raymond’s request, which was made out of financial desperation and not prejudice, to exploit Lewiston to further their hateful cause. We – from Lewiston and from away – stood in solidarity against such vile sentiment, choosing to soothe the hurt and concentrate on our future instead.
There is no excuse for the episode at the mosque Monday. There is no excuse for whatever intimidation was displayed in the park Wednesday.
It’s been a terrific four years for Lewiston – culturally and economically – since we stood against hate, and we must maintain the strength we have gained from one another to stem the anger and fear expressed this week.
Lewiston is home to people born here, but the city has also become home to thousands of people who were born elsewhere and now choose to live here. Every one of us deserves to feel safe and every one of us has a duty to protect one another from fear. That’s what makes a community.
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