Maine has been a good place to receive refugees and immigrants for a long time. In Maine, there is a program called General Assistance. They help everybody who doesn’t have income, including refugees. Some of us came from camp and the United Nations organized everything. Another kind of refugee is the one who pays for his own ticket and leaves his country because is not a safe place, and they have to seek the asylum.

Five years ago in Maine, it was easy to apply for asylum. The process was a period of one month, but now the process is taking one to five years. It has become a big issue in Maine because a lot of refugees are not getting the opportunities. Some of them went to high school but they can’t go to college, because they can’t apply for grants and loans. The others fear they will never see their families again.

In other states, the process hasn’t changed like this, and it makes me ask, “Why did this happen in Maine?” Sometimes I think that is the way for Maine to refuse receiving refugees. If the U. S.A. is a country of freedom for everybody, how can we help those refugees in this situation?

Tonny Kabonye,

Burundi