Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108Marine Room, Ocean Terrace and The Porch Live Music thursday, friday & saturday 5-7pm Dining noon - 9:30 pm 207-967-3331 thecolonyhotel.com 140 Ocean Ave, Kennebunkport, ME Oceanfront Lodging, Dining & Gatherings Voices 54 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine from the music industry. “I swear I’m scal- ing back! There’s an upcoming gig with a big band, a very big Irish band, that I just couldn’t turn down,” she says coyly. (Think Bonobo without the bo.) “But even when I’m in one of my favorite cities in the world, I can’t wait to come home to Portland.” Le Grand Voyage A fternoon light streams through the West-facing windows of Chez Okapi restaurant on St. John Street as owner Raphael Kabata prepares for the night ahead. “I’ve had the restaurant for a year now. It was hard to get going–I spent over a year searching for the right location. Portland’s real estate has become very com- petitive in the past few years, so it was a challenge. But the city has also become a lot more open and diverse. There’s a lot more opportunity for immigrants these days,” says Raphael. The 35-year-old former lawyer from the Democratic Republic of Congo left his homeland in 2011 to escape the conflict that has plagued the landlocked Central African country. “I left Congo and emigrated to Dal- las, Texas. I was in Dallas for three months trying to get a job and a place to live, but without my work permit approved I couldn’t get job or an apartment. It was a hard time.” Raphael reached out to some of his friends from the DRC who’d also emigrat- ed for advice. “My friends encouraged me to come to Portland, Maine. They told me about an organization that would help you to get on your feet and start a life here. They said Portland was a good place to live and there were resources for immigrants. In my experience, places like this are rare.” Raphael journeyed to Portland in March 2011 and spent a year in accommodation provided by General Assistance until his work permit was accepted and he could be- gin work. The language barrier proved a “In just the past five years I’ve seen Portland’s diversity grow so much.“ –Raphael Kabata