The University of Maine at Farmington special; archivist Laurie Macwhinie, met with us shortly after class on Thursday morning she led us into her office then shifted boxes full of files and piles of books to clear a spot for us. After describing our project Laurie had a great deal of information about how we could find groups of immigrants around our area that we could research and interview. A couple things that I found particularly helpful was to look at Maine memory network and the US census information. Through these two things, I got a general idea of some of the groups that are a part of our community in Maine. Through this research, I found out that the two largest groups of immigrants were from Somalia, Iraq, and China respectively. I was also really excited to find that our immigrant population, though still small, was much more diverse than I had originally assumed. I had learned that Maine has also since 2000 had a growing refugee population which includes many people from central and eastern Africa. You can see this on the map below, where I used a newspaper article to map the groups that are most frequently taking refuge in Maine.
When learning about these groups I felt that the migrant groups that we could interview are Iraq, Somalian, Central-Eastern African, or Chinese. I feel like these are the biggest groups in Maine and the ones whom we would probably be able to reach out to the best. Below you will find some of the questions I have written.
Why did you leave your home country?
What was your life like there?
Why did you choose Maine?
What has it been like for you here?
What role has the Maine community played in your life here?
What do you wish would be different about the community here?
What are your hopes for your future? Your families/friends future?
http://mapmaker.nationalgeographic.org/fXfw6aZAYXA0fDqzMYGYQ6/?edit=dVHImUWLTpQumZ5bgIKLW
Interesting research! It looks like you have found several different migrant communities in which you could conduct your oral histories. I am glad your archivist recommended/you posted about the US Census. This was a resource I had not considered using; now, I realize how powerful a tool it could be in conducting further research. As for your interview questions, I really enjoy the one directed towards the interviewee’s opinion on changing the community. I feel that if you were to ask this question in particular, it would give the interviewee a sense of power/a voice on behalf of the community’s betterment. In other words, this question might help make the migrant feel more included in the community’s decision-making, policy tone, and overall future.
I hadn’t considered the census either until our archivist suggested it, I highly recommend using it. Thank you, I directed that question to be future orientated. It was important to me to have information about how we can strengthen our communities to be more accepting of diversity.
The origins of the migrants within your area is very fascinating. Here in NC, our most common countries of origin for migrants come from South/Central America and India. Do you have a plan for combating any language barriers you may encounter while conducting your interviews?
I recognize that language will most likely be a barrier during the interview. I have not yet thought about how it will be addressed, though I will be considering options in the future to address this barrier.