Norwich — Two posters placed on a front table said “welcome” in 17 languages, and speaker after speaker told personal stories of how they or their parents came to America seeking a better life in peace and safety.

The audience of more than 60 people at the “Invitation to Stand for a United Safe Community” gathering outside City Hall on Wednesday applauded and cheered. But the loudest eruption of support rang out when Abdo Hamo came to the podium.

Hamo is head of a Syrian refugee family recently settled in Norwich through the support of a group of volunteers coordinated by Park Congregational Church. Hamo planned to speak through an interpreter, but he boldly stepped up to the microphone.

“Hello. Hi!” he said. “I and my family five months now here. A little we speak English.”

Hamo then turned to his interpreter, Sheila Osko, director of languages and translation services for Norwich Public Schools. Osko told the crowd that Hamo and his family “absolutely love America and thank everybody who have helped him and his family.”

Hamo and his wife, Asya Hamo, embraced in an emotional hug as the applause erupted.

The hourlong gathering was coordinated by the Norwich Area Clergy Association as a positive, nonpolitical show of support for immigrants and refugees in the region. Mayor Deberey Hinchey asked participants to turn and see their neighbors of different colors, styles of clothing, faiths, languages and even different cooking traditions.

“I care about you,” she asked them to say. “I might not always understand you, but I care about you.”

Police Chief Patrick Daley said the question of what everyone can do to make the community united and safe involves more than just police and city officials. The police department will try to build collaborations with all members of the community and finding the answers begins with “events like this,” Daley said.

“We will serve and protect our residents regardless of their status, just as we will pursue criminals regardless of their status,” Daley said. “... For the Norwich Police Department, we want a united and safe community. That concept is central to our mission. We want to be involved in events such as this so our citizens know we are there for them.”

Rabbi Julius Rabinowitz said he enjoys his American experience because some 70 years ago, someone opened a door for two refugees from a war-torn world — his parents.

Rabinowitz said after the election, as anti-immigrant rhetoric spiked, he became determined to open his door to what he thought was a safe, comfortable place to someone in need.

“Then all of a sudden, my community became the target,” Rabinowitz said, referring to vandalized Jewish cemeteries and a slew of bomb threats at Jewish community centers and schools across the country, including two in Connecticut. He said vandalizing a grave site conveys a message that the person buried there “did not exist” and didn't deserve the humanity of a respected burial site.

Countering what he said have been comments downplaying the seriousness of the bomb threats, Rabinowitz said: “It's terrorism.” He read a definition of the word to include both acts and threats designed to cause people to feel terrorized.

Rabinowitz said, however, he defines what makes America great by what happened next. He watched Vice President Mike Pence take a shovel in hand and work to reset a damaged gravestone at one of the vandalized cemeteries. And members of the American Muslim community have raised about $100,000 to date to restore the cemeteries.

“I've been watching America be great for the past 66 years of my life,” Rabinowitz said.

c.bessette@theday.com