Massachusetts governor, Deval Patrick responds to questions from African Immigrants in Massachusetts during the "On Our Side: Communities Connecting for Deval Patrick” in Boston last week.
By Harrison Maina, Ajabu Africa News
BOSTON, Mass.,_ APRIL 24_Massachusetts governor, Deval Patrick has told African-born residents of the state that he was pleased to meet and connect with them and urged them to get more involved in generational responsibility initiatives especially by participating in the electoral process and taking heed to return census count forms.
Census and other community activists attending the event told Africans that the forms for the ongoing population census were required to be filled and returned by April 22nd, 2010, after which residents will start getting a knock on their doors starting early May, by census personnel who will be keen on leaving no house unaccounted for.
The Governor was speaking last Saturday during the first ever direct meeting by any Governor in the bay state with over 600 hundred Africans and several of their community and religious leaders at the Tobin Community center in West Roxbury near downtown Boston.
Africans were also told that there were about 76,000 African born registered voters in the state of Massachusetts and thefore if was important for them to come out and excercise their voting power.
The event started with a Muslim prayer said by Abdullahi Mohammed , and a Christiam prayer by Rev. John Baker Katende of the Ugandan Global Evangelical church based in Burlington.
During the event, Gov. Patrick surprised the Africans present by revealing that he has spent many years living and working in many countries in Africa and therefore he understands their aspirations, their needs and their problems.
He said that as opposed to what many may think that he does not pay attention to African Immigrants in America, he was closely watching what the Africans and their children are doing in Massachusetts.
“I see you. I want you to know that I see you”, said the Governor.
Deval Patrick together with Africans during the On Our Side: Communities Connecting for Deval Patrick” in Boston last week. Seated next to the Governor are, Shirline Nabulime from Uganda and David Kavis, who works for the Secretary of State’s office in Massachusetts.
The Governor reiterated that it was extremely important that every African resident in Massachusetts fill and return the census forms mailed to their houses to avoid shortchanging when it comes to allocation of federal funds for various federally financed programs.
He said that currently, Massachusetts has 10 congressional seats and strands to loose some if the population is undercounted.
“This is a generational responsibility. We can not afford to wait another 10 years for the next count,” he said.
He added that no one should fear to return the census forms for fear of immigration repercussions since confidentiality of the census details is protected under the US constitution.
The Governor also told Africans that the state has a good track record of improving the lives of its residents even in the hard economic times.
“Our children are leading in achievement in the entire nation. When it comes to health insurance, over 97% of our residents are insured, although I know it is still expensive for small businesses,” said the governor.
“Innovation industries are growing today, not by accident, but by our deliberate efforts,” he added.
The governor also said that Massachusetts has also been having the most productive legislative session in the last 30 years. He therefore asked Africans to come out in large numbers to vote in the upcoming mid-term elections to enable him to complete the work he initiated.
“We have made great progress working together, but it is about finishing what we started,” said the Governor.
During the event, many Africans from almost all over Massachusetts were excited to meet face to face with the first ever African American Governor of the state.
The governor was welcomed to the hall in a traditional African style by a troupe of Ugandan women traditional dancers gyrating to the sounds of large African drums played by Ugandan men etched somewhere in a corner of the massive hall.
Deval Patrick is escorted into the meeting venue by a troupe of Ugandan traditional dancers from Waltham
As the Governor walked down the aisle to the front, he was surrounded by many Africans eagerly waiting to shake his hand, or have a photo opportunity.
Before the governor took the floor, various African community leaders from different African countries who reside in Massachusetts gave speeches.
They told the assembled Africans that it was in their own interest to get engaged into the civil process in the bay state.
“If we can’t be engaged civically, then we can’t effect change for our future,” said Sharline Nabulime, a Ugandan resident from Waltham. "We have over 76,000 African born registered voters in Massachusetts.Let us come out and vote", she revealed while urging Africans to get engaged with the state civically.
Other community organizers who spoke during the event included Kola Akindele, a Nigeria from Worcester, Francis Buk, a Sudanese from Lowell and Deeqo Jibril, a Somali resident from Cambridge.
They all said that it was important for Africans to come together and support one another especially in running for civil office so that their needs can be met faster, which is not the case today.
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During a question and answer session, moderated by Chris Kibathi, a Kenyan resident of Worcester, many Africans got a chance to ask the Governor a number of questions on different issues, which he promptly attempted to answer.
Charles Mwangi , aka Doc, from Kenya (with mic), asks Gov. Patrick a question on how he will help African small businesses in Massachusetts . Mwangi is the proprietor of a transportation business called Comfort Care Resources Group
Several Africans expressed fear that during the ongoing population census, filing the census forms would invite trouble from the authorities .
In response, the governor said that it was ok for everyone to fill the census forms irrespective of their immigration or tribal affiliation because no one would see the census data including the authorities.
Other census officials including David Kavis, who works for the Secretary of State’s office in Massachusetts, said that the census data is usually sealed for 72 years and no one would see it. “Not even president Obama,” said Kavis.
The officials reassured Africans that the law protecting the confidentiality of the census data superseded the Patriot Act which was created to protect the country from terrorists, and that the immigration status was irrelevant in the case of census data collection.
A Cameroonian man dressed in traditional attire manages to wiggle his way through and shake the Governors hand. Satnding next to the Governor in white T-shirt isRoy Afrique from Rwanda, proprietor of Roy Afrique promotions
“We can’t get it wrong. If we don’t get it right, we will have to wait another ten years for it to happen again. If we mess up now, will do without enough text books for our children, many programs even for the seniors will suffer and many things will be affected negatively,” said the census officials. “It affects us all,” they added.
Governor Patrick ended the event by making another plea to Africans and their friends in Massachusetts to vote for him in November to give him a second term at the corner office to complete the great initiatives he has already started that are seeing Massachusetts emerging from the biting recession faster than other states.
The event was part of the governor’s initiative dubbed; On Our Side: Communities Connecting for Deval Patrick”.
It was organized by the Governors African Council (GAC), an independent community initiative that aims to strengthen the African Voice in Massachusetts through political and civic engagement, the Massachusetts governor recognizes the input that the hard working Africans are putting in the development of the economy and society in Massachusetts.
