By Faisal Roble
“God extends to enable you to rise from ashes like the proverbial sphinx.” John Sensele
I could not commemorate the legacy of Martin Luther King and the impending African-American month in February by no other means than pay homage to my good friend Representative Ilhan Omar, who shattered many barriers. Reverend King would have saluted her as much as did America’s surviving civil rights icon, Representative John Lewis. A senior member of the Georgia delegation, Lewis, a protégé of Rev. King, welcomed Ilhan to Capitol Hill with great enthusiasm.
Representing district 5, Minneapolis, Ilhan is a phenomenal 37-year old Somali born politicians. The hopes and aspirations she instills in many social groups is nothing short of the proverbial shining north star. Her rise from a young struggling refugee girl to one of the 110 most powerful woman (81 Democrats) is an enviable feat. Such a rise to the top led the editors of Wardheernews to declare her as their choice of the person of the year of 2018.
Her rise is nothing short of the mythical sphinx rising from ashes; her joining America’s powerful corridor at Capitol Hill, where key decisions that impact the world’s 7.5 billion residents, is historic.
With the new Congressional session to start, she will take up her influential seat at the powerful House on Foreign Affairs sub-committee. With that, the garb-wearing Arab Mullahs will have no other option but to respect this African queen.
Her success in politics directly infuses hope to her own constituents most of whom are progressive Minnesotans and former Somali immigrants who are largely naturalized citizens. The residents of district 5 in Minneapolis have undoubtedly in D.C. a rock to lean on.
It is near impossible to miss her chic attire, effervescent personality and elegant but piercingly powerful language with which she challenges America’s archaic, often racist narrative, towards Somalis, Muslims, and women in general. She inspires young men and women regardless of color and ethnicity; she instills in them the values to dream big and to speak boldly to power.
I am certain many people, both famous and not-so-famous, would rejoice at the symbolism in Ilhan’s meteoric rise to power. One such person would have been Elbert Einstein, the most famous refugee in human history, who later one became the scientist that every nation wanted. Yesteryears refugee can always become tomorrow’s Einstein or Ilhan Omar.
I myself was once a refugee trying to survive and be somebody someday. I still vividly recall seeing a huge poster hanging on the walls of a United Nation’s High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Africa; it was a poster with a picture that greeted all those who were seeking resettlement in the West. The man with the mustache on that over-size picture was Albert Einstein, the foremost scientist.
Underneath it read a huge caption: “Even Einstein was a refugee,” who had immigrated to the US fleeing from Nazi Germany. That caption not only captured my full attention, but it gave me the internal push that I needed to work harder so I could succeed once I was resettled in the US.
Today, Ilhan Omar is a symbol to millions of Americans, Africans and refugees all over the globe who are watching her rise from the bottom to the top. They watch and listen to her uncompromisingly progressive narrative challenging the traditionally WASP-based conversation; she unequivocally promotes diversity and multiculturalism affirming America’s endearing motto of “E Pluribus Unum,” or “out of many, one.” For her tenacious stance to pursue and win a congressional seat, we greatly admire her for that.
It would greatly advance the messages of both the UNHCR and the USA were her poster be placed on the walls of UNHCR and Capitol Hill to reaffirm and give hope to those trying to find a satisfying home, and to others who are striving to get a more perfect union in America.
My two daughters are her number one fans. Wrapped in a beautiful hijab and an ever-beaming infectious smile, Ilhan’s poster hangs in our dining room. This poster is to them what Einstein’s was to me 35 years ago. They found in Ilhan the perfect role model.
It is, therefore, an honor for me and my family to commemorate this MLK weekend and the coming of black Month in February by paying homage to honorable Ilhan Omar. Good MLK Day.
By Faisal Roble
Email: [email protected]
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Faisal Roble, a writer, political analyst and a former Editor-in-Chief of WardheerNews, is mainly interested in the Horn of Africa region. He is currently the Principal Planner for the City of Los Angeles in charge of Master Planning, Economic Development and Project Implementation Division.
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