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Meet refugee leaders helping to build back America
With COVID-19 vaccines offering hope to the world and community leaders across the country advocating for change to end a long history of racial discrimination, the United States is slowly beginning to rebuild after the challenges of 2020.
Refugees, asylees and other new Americans are at the forefront of this work. The IRC recently spoke to a few of these leaders about their aspirations and hopes for the country in 2021.
Meet one of them, Sheeba Shafaq, a supervisor at a California mobile medical clinic that provides COVID-19 testing. She was on her way to becoming an OB-GYN when she had to flee her home in Afghanistan because of her advocacy for women’s rights. Now, she works ten-hour days and takes classes at night in order to rebuild her medical career.
“Saving lives has always been my passion in life,” she told us.
Hear from Sheeba about her work, her efforts to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19 and her hopes for the future.
Fredrick Shema is also a leader in his community. After spending much of his childhood in a refugee camp in Uganda, he now lives in Idaho, dedicating himself to helping young people with similar backgrounds navigate life in the U.S. After George Floyd was killed and Black Lives Matter protests grew across the country in the summer of 2020, he knew he wanted to do more.
“It felt almost like it gave me superpowers to be able to say, ‘Hey, I'm not the only one who's trying to fight for something that's right.’” he told us. “People across the country and world are doing it, too.”
Hear from Fredrick on what refugee students are facing during COVID-19, his perspective on racism in America and what he’s doing to create change in his community.
Explore more stories of refugees helping to build back America. |
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