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| Abdi Nor |
“Abdi and the
Golden Ticket” is a radio show that tells the story of a Somali refugee living
in Kenya who wins a lottery ticket that can completely change his life. This lottery is
the US Diversity Visa Lottery that allows a small group of people from a
wide range of countries the chance to enter the US each year. Abdi explains that, “in any
given year, between 8 and 15 million people apply, with over 100,000 winners.” Abdi
had studied and dreamed of America his entire life, so winning was literally a
dream come true. However, winning the chance for a visa was only the beginning
of Abdi’s journey to actually obtaining it.
This story had
me gripped. You listen to a serious of phone calls recorded over time between
Abdi and news reporter Leo Hornak. After hearing Abdi won the DV Lottery, Leo
decided to call him every night and follow his story. I was surprised to learn
that only about 50% of the people who win this lottery actually end up making
it to the US. The reasons why became clear through hearing Abdi’s struggles. He
was hunted day and night by Kenyan police who were searching for Somali
refugees to take to jail, and then back to Somalia. In order to complete his
necessary papers, Abdi had to somehow obtain a “certificate of good conduct”
from the Kenyan police department—the very people trying to arrest him.
Through a
serious of extremely close calls over many months, Abdi eventually obtains his
visa and makes it to America. I couldn’t believe how much I learned through
listening to his daily reports. His story has made me more aware and
appreciative of refugees like him in the US. Understanding a little about Abdi’s
life prior to moving to the US gives me a whole new perspective on refugees
similar to him. It also made me want to help ensure that living here is the “dream”
that so many of them have longed for.
You can follow this
link to listen to and/or read this incredible story.
What an amazing post, your blog is so good to read as you are helping to spread the awareness of refugees around us. I love how the title of your blog represents what your whole purpose is. It was crazy listening to Abdi's story and hoping that he would be able to make is safely to America without any problems. He was so excited when he knew that he would be able to go and listening to his experiences and what he went through definitely opened my eyes as well that what is going on around us. It was so amazing to hear it first hand of his trials and the fear that he had, and that once he got to America he was working to send home money to his family. He is such a hard working man, and he worked so hard to come to America, something that we were given so effortlessly. Thank you for sharing this, keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post. You were able to give a very good picture of what happened in Abdi and the Golden Ticket while still leaving enough unsaid that it would be interesting for someone to go listen to it after reading your post. Abdi's story really did show us that even when they get the OK to come to the United States, they do not always make it. This story makes me want to try to do more for refugees. Thank you for sharing!
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