Refugees reflect on Independence Day
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ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) Communities all over the United States are gearing up for Independence Day celebrations and remembering what it means to be an American.
But for Americans not born of this country, the Fourth of July and freedom may have different meanings.
Suud Olat In most countries, if you criticize a politician you could end up in jail. You can t say such things you may die. The terrorist may kill you. The government may prosecute you, said Suud Olat, a Somali refugee.
Olat spent 20 years in a refugee camp before coming to the United States in 2012 and came to Minnesota in 2015. In 2018, he became an American citizen.
For Rawhi Said, talking about his family leaving Bosnia amid war in the 1990s, staying in a refugee camp in Croatia and ultimately arriving in Minnesota when he was around 2 is a way to shed light on genocides that have taken place in the recent past and to try to build bridges between people, regardless of their culture. Said is one of the speakers at Winona State University’s (WSU) upcoming “Expanding Perspective” virtual speaker series, which is open to community members.
Through the series, community members have an opportunity to learn about recent genocides with Said, Indigenous food systems of North America with chef Sean Sherman, trans masculinities with Cooper Bombardier and jazz and the civil rights movement with Galen Abdur-Razzaq.
For Rawhi Said, talking about his family leaving Bosnia amid war in the 1990s, staying in a refugee camp in Croatia and ultimately arriving in Minnesota when he was around 2 is a way to shed light on genocides that have taken place in the recent past and to try to build bridges between people, regardless of their culture. Said is one of the speakers at Winona State University’s (WSU) upcoming “Expanding Perspective” virtual speaker series, which is open to community members.
Through the series, community members have an opportunity to learn about recent genocides with Said, Indigenous food systems of North America with chef Sean Sherman, trans masculinities with Cooper Bombardier and jazz and the civil rights movement with Galen Abdur-Razzaq.