PORTLAND, Maine — A sign of support welcoming refugees to Maine is hanging on a Congress Street apartment building. Neighbors and people passing by have written messages nearly filling up all the blank space on the sign.
“It’s great. It shows that we agree that they should be over here and not over there,” East End resident Maureen Roy said.
Strand Covoner, who grew up in Maine, said, “It speaks volumes to the fact that people here are open minded and open to diversity and embracing other cultures.”
Covoner said when he walked by the sign for the first time he felt compelled to sign his name. He said it’s nice to see this message especially so close to Thanksgiving.
“Many of our ancestors came here as immigrants and refugees fleeing persecution elsewhere and were welcome and given food and shelter by people who were native to this land. I think it would be sort of ironic for us not to welcome others who are fleeing persecution,” Covoner said.
Last week, Gov. Paul LePage and more than two dozen other Republican governors asked President Barack Obama to suspend all plans to resettle any more Syrian refugees in the United States.
In a statement LePage wrote, “To bring Syrian refugees into our country without knowing who they are is to invite an attack on American soil.”
Covoner said these refugees aren’t a threat. “We’ve got to safeguard against unsavory elements coming in but I think the vast majority of these people, just like us, want to live in comfort and free from fear,” Covoner said.
Before the Paris attacks, Obama promised to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to the U.S. in the next year.