My mother was an immigrant.

My wife is an immigrant.

I have worked with immigrants since 1987, first in the Philippine Refugee Processing Center (1987 to 1989) where Linda Marsella and I lived with our two children. We helped to prepare refugees from Southeast Asia on their way to the United States to prepare for the new lives that awaited them.

From 1994 to 2002, I directed the English as a Second Language program for the ConVal School District. I got to know students from all over the world, and in particular the young Cambodian-Americans whose grandparents came to Peterborough in the 1980s. At that time, we had 50 Cambodian-Americans living in Peterborough, and while you may not have met most of them, you may know Meas on the town crew or others who worked at the basket factory. The fourth generation of Cambodians now attends Peterborough schools!

As co-founder and later director of Mariposa Museum, I had the great pleasure of meeting people from immigrant communities in this region – Finns, Greeks, Franco-Americans, Italians, Irish – and from beyond: Filipinos, Hmong, Mexicans, Ghanaians and so many more who live in New Hampshire and nearby in Massachusetts. They shared their stories, cultures, food, music and dance with us. What a rich tapestry we have woven in New England and in this country!

Since 2020, I’ve worked with Project Home, bringing asylum-seekers into homes in the Monadnock region so they can create productive lives for themselves and their children as they await the outcome of their asylum cases. More recently, I’ve joined efforts to stand in solidarity with immigrants of all statuses who live in the region, to assure their civil rights are observed and their humanity respected.

Immigrants are our neighbors, our friends, the people who work hard to keep us safe and comfortable and fed, and who share the beauty and wisdom of their cultures with us and so enrich our lives. I am proud to live in a community that welcomes immigrants.

David Blair is the former director of English as a Second Language for the ConVal school district, co-founder and board chair of the Mariposa Museum.