Liz Allen: Can you help fund Erie film?

Maitham Basha-Agha's dream is to make a documentary about three former refugees, including himself, determined to live the American dream in Erie.

But the clock is ticking. To fund his film, Maitham is using Kickstarter, a website that raises money for the creative arts. His deadline to raise $5,000 is next Sunday, Nov. 24. So far, only $431 has been pledged.

Maitham's Sept. 20 Guest Voice column, "How Erie can benefit from new cultures," inspired him to make the film. "People around me said, 'Yes, it's a good article in the newspaper. You are bringing awareness about the refugees in Erie, Pennsylvania. You should take this a step further.' The step further is to produce a documentary," he says.

His film will note Erie's connection to Oliver Hazard Perry, refer to our history as a manufacturing hub and give a shout-out to Presque Isle State Park.

But he also wants the film to change perceptions. "The refugee community is always viewed as, we come here, we live on the system," he says. "There are also people who have done well to better themselves."

Refugees have strong motivation to succeed here. In their homelands, he says, "You are waking up every day and you don't know if you will have tomorrow. You come here, you come for a better life, not just for you but for your family. You go to school, you work hard to make sure education becomes part of your life, you become an active member of the workforce."

Maitham, 25, was 12 when his family escaped from Iraq. His older brother, blinded by shrapnel in 1991 at age 5, lives in Austin, Texas. He also has two little sisters.

He graduated from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 2010 and works as a behavioral support staff member at the Sarah Reed Children's Center, where Margaret Ihiju Atarri, a friend from Edinboro, is a co-worker.

A one-time refugee from South Sudan, Margaret raises money to aid schools in her former country. In the film trailer, when Margaret raises her right arm, you see a fleshy scar, a wound of war.

Maitham's East High friend, Zakaria Sharif, a Pennsylvania State University graduate, will also be featured in the film. "It is a good project, (about) what a melting pot Erie is and how many diverse people Erie really has," says Zakaria, an assistant manager at a restaurant chain in Erie.

To see the film trailer, which convinced me that these stories should be shared, visit Click on "film & video." Your Erie location should take you to the clip. Or just search for "Erie."

Maitham wants to show the common experiences of Erie's refugees, no matter which war-torn country they fled, regardless of their ethnicity or religion.

That's why he picked this title for his documentary: "The New Americans."
