Revere immigrants pack City Hall for meeting

REVERE – Different languages rang out as Revere City Hall filled to capacity Wednesday evening.The overflow crowd was there to discuss the establishment of the office of New Revere Residents. The goal of the office is to make all residents from all countries feel welcome in the city.?I want there to a be a feeling in City Hall that you can come here and get answers, and answers from people who care,” Mayor Dan Rizzo said.?No matter where you are from, we want you to feel welcome,” New Revere Residents Transition Chair Laurie Holmes added.Rizzo and the transition team wanted to hear what new residents need and what would have made their lives easier when they moved to Revere.Revere resident Fatou Fatty said she would like for information on where to get help to be more accessible for immigrants.?Most people don?t know where they can go to get help here,” she said.Fatty works for the non-profit organization Women Encouraging Empowerment (WEE) where she works with immigrants on a daily basis. She also said that there desperately needs to be more English classes for these new residents.?Without English they won?t be able to go anywhere or do anything,” Fatty said.He said once these residents learn English they will be more likely to vote and become part of the community.?They need to know their rights and this is the first step,” Fatty said.Revere Resident Lona Frongillo, who also works for WEE, suggested that councilors teach immigrants what their roles are in the city.?Many of them don?t know what a city councilor is and how they can help them. They don?t know what a school committee member is and how they can help them,” Frongillo said. “Maybe there can be some programs where we teach them.”?Many of them don?t even know how to dial 911,” she added.Thirteen-year-old Israa Gouda moved to Revere six years ago from Egypt and didn?t speak a word of English.?The school system here really helped me learn English. That?s why I?m able to speak right now,” she joked.Gouda is worried about the lack of funding for after school programs. “Many of them get cut or not every student can join because it is filled. I would like to see those programs still happen,” she said.Many credited the Revere Public School system for how they handle so many different ethnic groups in their schools.?They have handled it great. In some ways, they are ahead of the city,” Holmes said.Vice President of the Revere Chamber of Commerce Bob Upton urged immigrant business owners to get involved.?We need to reflect the face of Revere and the face of Revere business,” Upton said. “We want to learn what you need.”Many were impressed with the large turnout of the public meeting.?This is what our city looks like and it?s nice to see what our city looks like in City Hall,” State Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein said.Along with Reinstein, Councilors Brian Arrigo, John R. Correggio, Ira Novoselsky and Arthur Guinasso, and School Committee member Stacey Rizzo were in attendance.Sara Brown can be reached at [email protected].