Welcoming Week embraces immigrants and refugees

By Tara Vocino

Welcoming Week embraced immigrants and refugees in the city last week from Sept. 13 to 22. Language Access Coordinator Elena Martinez said the week brought neighbors of all backgrounds to welcome collective prosperity. Martinez said there are 65 languages spoken in the city, including Spanish, Latin American dialectics, Portuguese, Brazilian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, Haitian Creole, Lebanese and African.

“How are we putting Malden on the map with Welcome Week?” Martinez asked. “A couple hundred people attended.”

Malden residents, community partners and Language Ambassadors were part of the celebration. Anne Webbe, a student and Malden resident, read the proclamation in Haitian Creole. Souad Akib, a Malden resident and founder and executive director of the American Association for Arab Women, read the proclamation in Arabic. Re (Dawn) Wu, a Malden resident and member of Chinese Culture Connection, read the proclamation in Chinese. Mary Ellen O’Meara, a Malden resident and Friends of the Malden Public Library president, read the proclamation in Portuguese. Hilda Torres, President of the Malden Chamber and owner of My Little Best Friends Early Learning Center, read the proclamation in Spanish.

Malden Reads members read “Rainbow Fish” in different languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian and Vietnamese. The book is about including everyone and sharing your gifts with the community.

“It was a great success and afforded us the opportunity to share information about city services,” Mayor Gary Christenson said. “What I thought was most unique about the event was that for the first time ever our proclamation was read in multiple languages.”

In addition, they did a youth film festival, where multicultural and bilingual students could embrace their heritage openly. Martinez said Welcoming Week embraces what is already happening in the city by making informational tables at City Hall accessible.

Biblioteca LIB Inc. (first Brazilian Library in Malden) Founder Michelle de Paula said she’s here to thank the city for their kindness and congratulate the city on the event. “A memorable day for us immigrants,” de Paula said.

A Memoir Marathon about “Growing up in Malden” was held at the Malden Public Library (MPL) as part of Welcoming Week. This event presented the opportunity for Maldonians to read their favorite memoirs of the city, to newcomers and veterans alike. Friends of the MPL President Mary Ellen O’Meara participated by reading three passages from one of her favorite Malden books, “Linden on the Saugus Branch,” by Elliot Paul.

“Paul lived on Beach Street, literally one block away from me,” recounts O’Meara. “He describes what growing up in Linden was like at the turn of the 20th century. So, by reading anecdotes about our neighborhood in the early 1900’s, we find out what families were living there, what ethnicities were prevalent, what diversity looked like, and why certain streets are named as they are. It’s fascinating!”

Mayor Gary Christenson read passages from, “Monkey Corner: Life on the Outside Looking in” by Jerry Romano, and city councillors and other citizens participated in the readings as well.

Malden Public Library Director Dora St. Martin said the Malden Public Library was honored to participate in our 4th year of celebrating Welcoming Week. “Welcoming Week is a nationwide effort to bring together neighbors of all backgrounds to build strong connections and affirm the importance of welcoming and inclusive places in achieving collective prosperity,” St. Martin said.

The library’s events included showing movies related to immigrants and refugees, asking the community questions of the day, handing out take-home crafts for kids, and – for the last two years – hosting a social event called “Coffee, Cookies, and Conversation,” which brings together immigrants and non-immigrants and other people from diverse backgrounds for a cup of coffee and small talk.

Stacy Holder, a librarian at the Malden Public Library, was excited that the city of Malden participated in the event this year because it helps bring a wider awareness about a community’s commitment to welcome all of their neighbors, including immigrants and refugees, into society on a local level. The library provided information about Library services at the City of Malden’s Welcoming Week Kickoff, including information about learning languages, taking English classes and finding out more about the resources in the Malden community.

One of the most important things the Malden Public Library does during Welcoming Week; however, is to provide a resource table in the lobby that gives people information about finding jobs, learning English, getting food and locating legal, immigration and citizenship information. The library also provide information and demonstrations on how to learn a new language using one of the Malden Public Library’s many language learning apps. The Malden Public Library looks forward to Welcoming Week every year.

“The experience of being read to by a real person in the library was very relaxing,” noted one participant. “That doesn’t happen anymore; maybe we should do this more often!”

The library also hosted a well-attended Welcoming Week get-together, “Cookies, Coffee and Conversation,” which was funded by the Friends of the MPL. Residents from many different cultures in our local community stopped by and visited with each other, finding out about each other’s’ cultures and many things they had in common. This is the second year in a row that the library hosted this event, as it was very popular last year.

“The library is where we all come together,” O’Meara said. “We are so fortunate to have this magnificent space.” O’Meara said Welcoming Week at the Malden Public Library offered some delightful activities to bring folks together in the community.

“I’m feeling pretty accomplished by amplifying visibility for Welcoming Week and putting Malden on the National Network Map,” Martinez said.