Ilhan Omar

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Ilhan Omar is an African-American politician and a human rights activist. She is an elected representative in the house of representatives from the Democratic Party and is also known for her anti-Israeli stand. In 2022, Ilhan presented a resolution against India over India’s alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.Ilhan Omar was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, but she had to leave her homeland because of the outbreak of a civil war between the government and the rebels.In 1990, at the age of eight, Ilhan Omar left Somalia and migrated to Kenya with her family, where she stayed in a refugee camp until 1994. While giving an interview, Ilhan said, The war started when I was 8. One night militia tried to break into our home, and the exterior was riddled with bullets. I remember hiding under the bed with one of my aunts and one of my sisters and sort of everything getting quiet inside the home. And then militia men who were outside of our windows started talking about ways that they could make their way in. My family left our neighborhood, passing through dead bodies and debris. Not long after, me and my family left their home and relocated to a refugee camp in neighboring Kenya.”.In 1995, when Ilhan Omar was 12 years old, her family was granted asylum in the United States. According to Ilhan, after she moved to the US, she had to face difficulties in her school due to cultural and linguistic differences. While giving an interview, she said, After moving to the States from Somalia, not only I was shook culturally but also linguistically. I and my sisters could speak English but not well because of which we were made fun of. So one day we decided to start learning English. We used to read books, watch TV and listen to all types of English songs available to us. After three months of hard work and determination, we finally succeeded in learning acceptable English. Moreover, not a lot of the kids knew how to co exist with people of a different background, so we created a unity and diversity program. We’d have meals together and connect through experiences and stories. I was finally just Ilhan, not that Somali girl.”.From 1995 to 1997, Ilhan Omar lived in New York before moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where her family built their home in the Cedar-Riverside neighbourhood, which is a Somali diaspora-dominated area. Ilhan Omar as a young refugee in the US.After moving to Minneapolis in 1997, Ilhan Omar began to visit the democratic caucuses with her grandfather, where she would translate English speeches into the Somali language for her grandfather as he could not understand English.In 2000, Ilhan Omar and her family received their American citizenship.In 2001, Ilhan Omar completed her schooling at Edison High School, Minneapolis. A photo of Ilhan Omar with her grandfather taken during her graduation ceremony.From 2006 to 2009, Ilhan Omar worked as a community nutrition educator at the University of Minnesota, where she delivered speeches to the lower-income group living in Minneapolis and informed them about the benefits of a balanced diet. She also worked with State and Federal agencies to spread awareness about nutrition in the community.From July 2012 to November 2012, Ilhan Omar worked as a campaign manager for the re-election of Kari Dzeidzik at the Minnesota State Senate.