Long way home

  • Published
    May 30, 2023

    6 takeaways from our ‘Long Way Home’ series

  • Published
    May 27, 2023

    In photos: View some of the best images from ‘Long Way Home’

    In 'Long Way Home,' Press Herald reporters and photographers told the story of the large influx of asylum seekers arriving in Maine in recent years, fleeing their homelands and embarking on dangerous journeys to make a new life in Maine.

  • Published
    May 27, 2023

    They made it here

    Slowly and painstakingly, African asylum seekers build new lives in Maine, and often find ways to help those who arrive after them.

  • Published
    May 26, 2023

    What can Maine do?

    State leaders and residents are far from unified on how much Maine can afford to spend to support asylum seekers – and on how much responsibility it has to do so.

  • Published
    May 25, 2023

    Life on hold

    Many people who arrived in Maine long before the current wave of asylum seekers are still waiting for their cases to be heard – and success is not at all guaranteed. The waiting can mean years of anxiety, depression and uncertainty.

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  • Published
    May 24, 2023

    Wandering a new world

    Asylum seekers new to Portland spend much time navigating red tape and waiting: for hearings, work permits, English classes and a place to call home.

  • Published
    May 23, 2023

    Welcome to safety land

    Asylum seekers who endured perils to get here say they were drawn to Maine because of its peacefulness, resources and community. Some say they learned of Maine on their long journeys away from their homelands, while others found it doing online research or knew people from home who were already here.

  • Published
    May 21, 2023

    Read the full series: Long Way Home

  • Published
    May 21, 2023

    Exodus to the Pine Tree State

    Over continents and years, through danger and illness, thousands of African asylum seekers, mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola, have made their way to Maine. They tell harrowing stories of peril in their home countries and on their way to the United States, and say they came to Maine hearing they would find safety and help here.