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The incident on July third
was a violation of
our community's
sense of decency.
In America we have freedom of religion
and there is no excuse for people living in Lewiston to feel threatened,
uncomfortable, or unwelcome
due to what they believe.
We claim to be a diverse society with many cultures, faiths, languages and traditions
but if any one group among us is threatened, if any one group
lives in fear
then there's no telling who will be the next target.
It must stop here, it must stop now.
This country
is for all. There is nobody who is not an immigrant
in this country.
So my message to those who hate us: Please--we are brothers and sisters
we have to live
peacefully and in brotherhood. I think allies need to stand up, white people need to stand up,
non-Muslims need to stand up and do the educating as well
because it's an exhausting job to be a targeted group
and be the ones trying to educate and say, "You really need to respect me."
Today I felt a lot of support
from the Lewiston-Auburn community, I feel like a weight is lifted off my shoulder
like I have support from people and I'm not alone in this situation
And the state stands as one against these kinds of acts
In our state we are like an extended family
and when somebody's picking on a member of our family we stand together and
unite as any other family in this state does. So may we all be reminded today
as we stand in solidarity with all of those who have been victimized by
hatred and malice
that the choices that we make everyday, the choices in how we respond to the
actions of others create our future.