The University hosted a series of documentaries about immigration as part of a program titled "America's Ambivalent Open Arms: A series of films and discussions about current US immigration realities" last week.All events were held in the Zinner Forum in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and were organized by Lila Starbuck '08.

Thursday's event, "Rolling up the 'Welcome Mat': The Dynamics of Local Community Response to Refugees and Immigrants," drew approximately 40 undergraduates, graduate students and professors. The program consisted of the documentary The Letter, which captured the aftermath of a controversial open letter written by Mayor of Lewiston, Maine Larry Raymond to the 1,100 recent Somali immigrants in the town. In the letter Raymond writes that the city's resources are strained and asks other Somalis not to move to the city.

The tension already present in the city culminated in two rallies held in Lewiston Jan. 11, 2003: the National Alliance rally supported by neo-Nazi groups who opposed Somali immigration and integration into Lewiston and the Many and One diversity rally. Both rallies were organized in response to Raymond's letter and to the divided community response to the influx of Somali refugees.

In preparation for the rallies, over 150 officers came to Lewiston to secure the area. However, there were no instances of violence.

"Maine may be a lot of things, but it is not and it will not be a haven for hate," said Governor Baldacci of Maine during the Many and One diversity rally. Former mayor John Jenkins, who also spoke at the rally, said that this community-wide response in support of the Somali refugees "is a defining moment in Maine's history, sending a very clear message of who we are and where we are."

In stark contrast to the words spoken by the city officials at the diversity rally, speakers at the rally supported by neo-Nazi groups said such things as, "We don't want the Somalis here" and "I'd like to thank the Mayor Raymond for daring to say that the emperor is naked."

The film opened with a woman's lilting voice describing the common history of humans. Then followed live clips from Somalia, including images of bombs, refugee camps and bodies as a result of the ongoing conflict in Somalia, resulting in hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the violence caused by the lack of effective government in the country, and then a cut to a picture of Lewiston, Maine and its history of prosperity followed by economic distress.

The film also included interviews from two former mayors of Lewiston, including Jenkins and Kaleigh Tara, Raymond, Baldacci, Somali refugees in Lewiston, Cheryl Hamilton, who worked at the Portland/Lewiston Refugee Collaborative Program, and members of the World Church of the Creator and the National Alliance, which are pro-white groups that oppose Somali immigration to Lewiston.

According to Somali refugees interviewed in the film, many moved to Lewiston in order to have a good place to raise their children.

Following the film were presentations by filmmaker Ziad Hamzeh, anthropology graduate student Allison Taylor '11 and Sudanese refugee and graduate student in the SID program Panther Alier '09.

Hamzeh said that this was his first documentary, and he found out about the issue of Somali refugees in Lewiston when filming his movie Shadow Glories there.

"When people are put in such a vulnerability of saying someone is going to come to take your home . and take all your money and all of your dignity," paranoia sets in, and people feel that they have to protect themselves, said Hamzeh. This phenomenon created the turmoil seen in Lewiston, he said.

Hamzeh said that one of the hardest things in filming the documentary was meeting with leaders of pro-white groups. "At first, I couldn't run fast enough to my shower and cleanse myself" after meeting with them, he said, but "as filthy as it began, it was a cleansing experience as I processed it in my own way."

Taylor then gave a presentation about Somali refugees and discussed her preliminary fieldwork with Somali refugees in Kenya.

Tuesday's event featured a documentary called Hearts Suspended by filmmaker Meghna Damani about educated South Asian women who immigrate to the United States but are prevented from working because their visas identify them as dependent spouses.

On Wednesday there was a screening of the documentary Detained by filmmaker Jenny Alexander about undocumented illegal immigrants who were detained after an immigration raid at a factory in New Bedford, Mass. in March 2007.

Rachel Sier '11, who helped organize the events, felt the documentaries and presentations addressed important relevant issues about immigration and U.S. policy. "There's at least 12 million illegal immigrants in America right now, . and that's astounding," said Sier. "It continues to be a problem, and we're not addressing it," she said. "Immigration is just one subset of a larger global issue."

Sier said that several other students have become interested in this issue of immigration policy and hopes to form a club "to try and continue in the spirit of this program.