Marpheen Chann spoke at the rally in Lewiston in support of Somali Mainers.

On December 13, hundreds of people participated in a rally in Lewiston in support of Somali Mainers. The rally was called in response to President Donald Trump’s recent anti-Somali remarks. Marpheen Chann spoke at the rally, and he contributed his speech for publication.

I’m the son of Cambodian refugees and a leader in the Cambodian community and Asian community. And I am here to say that we are standing in solidarity with our Somali neighbors. I’m also running for Cumberland County Commission to end the County’s contract with ICE.

Our democracy is in crisis. Recently, I read about twelve ways this President is accelerating
America’s slide toward authoritarianism. I won’t list all twelve, but I want to name a few.
He wants to silence dissent. He wants to persecute and retaliate against critics. He wants to bypass Congress and ignore the will of the people. He wants to use ICE and the military as tools of intimidation. And he wants to undermine the courts when they stand in his way.

And here is why we are gathered today. When leaders fail, they look for scapegoats. When leaders lose the public, they reach for fear. And right now, the President has chosen our Somali friends and neighbors as his latest targets. He is recycling an old lie. The lie of the “perpetual foreigner.” A lie that says some of us never truly belong.

That lie has been used before. It’s used against Chinese and Asian Americans to this very day. Against Irish and Franco Americans. Against Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and anyone deemed “other.”

But when I look out at all of you today, I don’t just see a sea of faces. I see what they desperately fear. I see a people united. I see a community coming together.

Across race. Across faith. Across background and political differences.
Today, we stand together. Today, we choose solidarity over fear. Today, out of many, we are one. We the People are Democracy’s last stand. And above all else, we are a people who believe that love is the only way forward.

They want to fight us with fear. They want to provoke hate. They want us angry, divided, and distracted.
But we know something they do not. Love is not weakness. Love is courage. Love is strength. Love is the answer and is what has carried every movement for justice forward in this country.

Our politics must be grounded in love. Our policies must be grounded in love. Our movements must be grounded in love. Not hate. Not fear. Not lies.

So let them hear us today. Let them see us today. Let them know we are not going anywhere.
We stand with our Somali neighbors. We stand with immigrant families. We stand for love, justice, and democracy.
And we will not be silent.

Marpheen Chann

Portland