Lewiston, Maine, U.S.A. – Speaking directly about their interviews with young immigrants, Youth Journalism International students took part in a panel discussion centered on their American Reflections: Young voices on an old promise series.
Listen to an audio recording of this article:
U.S. Sen. Angus King, a Maine Independent, appeared remotely and opened the Oct. 17 event at the Maine MILL with remarks about journalism. Earlier in his career, before becoming governor of Maine and then a U.S. senator representing the state, King worked as a journalist.
Journalists cover events that many people can’t attend, according to King, and they represent the public by paying attention at government meetings and other happenings and then reporting on it to keep the people informed.
“A journalist is there as a person who is there on our behalf to see what happens, to hear what happens, try to make sense of it and report it to us,” said King.
“I can’t emphasize enough how important journalism is to the whole idea of democracy,” said King. “I don’t think there’s a more important job in American society right now.”
Steve Collins, a columnist at the Portland Press Herald and a co-founder of Youth Journalism International, served as moderator of the discussion.
Student reporters Carlos Fra-Nero of Lewiston, Amina Bashir and Samya Young of Auburn and Noga Segal formerly of Lewiston all interviewed young immigrants or first-generation Americans in the Lewiston and Auburn community about their family’s immigration story and their feelings about the United States.
Camila Cateriano, an asylum seeker from Peru who was interviewed by Fra-Nero, also took part in the panel. Besides Cateriano, interviewees had family roots in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Malawi, Somaliland, Angola, Djibouti, Tanzania and Peru.
Both Fra-Nero and Segal also wrote personal essays about their experience with the project. Bashir, an artist at YJI, created the project logo.
The American Reflections project was made possible in part by a grant from the Maine Semiquincentennial Commission.
All students took part in the panel discussion, with Segal appearing remotely from her home in Israel.
Watch the recording below and read the articles by clicking on the logo underneath the video.
Read the YJI series American Reflections: Young voices on an old promise by clicking on the logo below:
