Interview with Khadar Abdullahi, July 15, 2017

Partial Transcript: I'm Jack Wilson, uh, interviewing Khadar Abdullah, uh, and today's date is July 15th, 2017.

Segment Synopsis: Khadar Abdullahi fled with his family when he was a baby in 1991 from war in Somalia to Ethiopia where he lived for 11 years and went to school run by UNHCR through eighth grade in the refugee camp. He is the oldest of 12 children, including three adopted cousins. His parents told him about leaving Somalia, his mother carrying him walking weeks to Ethiopia. She saw people dying in front of her. The U.N. agency welcomed them and gave them assistance and housing but it was still a very difficult life.

Keywords: Ethiopia; Family; Refugee life; Somalia; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Subjects: Childhood; Education; Families.; Refugees

Partial Transcript: So how, how did you happen to come to the U.S.?

Segment Synopsis: Abdullahi's family came to the U.S. in December 2005. His baby sister had a heart problem that they could not fix in Ethiopia. They asked Denmark, Norway, Australia, Israel and others, but were rejected. Israel would take only mother and child. His mother refused. Luckily it didn't take that long, a couple months. His mother and sister came to Louisville three months ahead of the rest of the family and his sister went through four open heart surgeries at Korsair/Norton Hospital. She is now 13 years old.

Keywords: Babies; Illnesses; Korsair/Norton Hospital; Sickness; Sisters; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Health care issues, costs, and access; Immigrants--Kentucky; Louisville (Ky.); Medical care

Partial Transcript: So, so what was it like when you first came?

Segment Synopsis: "We were excited to come, but life has obstacles." He and his sister knew some English but not how to speak. "Everything was hard work." His father started to work at a job that Catholic Charities found. They had obligations and responsibilities like rent in three months. "It is not as easy as you thought. You need to live like an American and work hard." His mother emphasized education. He graduated from Waggener High School and studied at National College for two years to become a pharmacy tech. He would like to have continued but as the oldest child, he needed to work. So he has two jobs, at Kroger as pharmacy tech and as interpreter at a refugee agency. His younger brother has B.A. in biology from University of Louisville and is taking a test to go to medical school. One sister got a scholarship to go to U of L and wants to be a doctor, another is studying to be a nurse. The youngest who had the heart surgery also wants to be a surgeon and help Americans. His mother gave them prizes if they did well in school and was sad if they did not. One of his sisters nominated his mother as Parent of the Year at U of L and she was honored at a ceremony they all attended. His mother said she is appreciative of the freedom to have education.

Keywords: Adjustment to U.S.; Catholic Charities; English; Family; Interpreters; National College; Obligations; Parent of the Year; Pharmacy technicians; University of Louisville; Waggener High School

Subjects: Education; Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: And would you like to go back to school yourself?

Segment Synopsis: Abdullahi would like to go back to school and become a pharmacist. He got married last month to a Somali woman and she will help him but he still feels he has to support the family as the oldest son. That is part of his culture. It was hard to speak when people are always saying "Excuse me." The kids don't understand the accent and make fun of you. When people get to know you they appreciate you. He got an award for most positive attitude in the school.

Keywords: Accents; Adjustment; Award for Positive Attitude; Culture; Marriage; Pharmacists

Subjects: Education; Emigration and immigration.; Immigrants--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: And you, just before we started, you were talking about, uh, kinds of questions people ask.

Segment Synopsis: People ask, "Where do you come from?" He says Somalia. He has to explain that Africa is not a country but a continent. He has found a lot of nice people. He remembers waiting for a bus to go visit his sister in the hospital. It was cold, he was shivering. A man gave him his jacket when he got on the bus.

Keywords: Compassion; Jackets; Kindness; Questions people ask; Somalia

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Immigrants--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: In what ways do you think you have, uh, sort of acculturated?

Segment Synopsis: Abdullahi says that in general, people think another culture is bad. Older immigrants believe this culture is bad. You have to bring the good culture and take the good culture here. It is sometimes hard to explain why Somali women wear different clothes. He talks about how he deals with discrimination. Women suffer the most discrimination because of their dress. For example, a person at a grocery store pushed his mother out of line and said, "Go back where you come from."

Keywords: Cultural differences; Culture; Women's dress

Subjects: Discrimination.; Emigration and immigration.; Immigrants--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: We, we have, uh, talked about this, uh, a little bit but I'd like to be more specific.

Segment Synopsis: Abdullahi wants to help people. He used to work with the Somali community, teaching them how to find a job or write resumes. He would like to do a government job to help people, do public assistance, do some diversity teaching, to teach what it is like back home and what it is like here. He would like to go to community college. He still owes money for education at National College. He works for both Catholic Charities and Kentucky Refugee Ministries as an interpreter, and now at a company making bags.

Keywords: Ambitions; Catholic Charities; Goals; Jefferson Community College; Kentucky Refugee Ministries; Public assistance; Somali community

Subjects: Education; Emigration and immigration.; Employment--Kentucky; Immigrants--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: You know, more--when we started this, this project, um, one of the reasons was that we had seen that in the, oh, 1990s there were maybe two to three thousand, uh, African immigrants in Kentucky.

Segment Synopsis: Abdullahi says that immigrants contribute work to this country in factories and professions. He states that America needs those people.

Keywords: Africans; Contributions; Engineering; Intelligence; Jobs; Kentucky; Kentucky Refugee Ministries; Work

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Employment--Kentucky; Immigrants--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: Uh, do you still have, uh, family in, in Somalia or, or in Ethiopia and if so, how do you keep in touch with them?

Segment Synopsis: Abdullahi's aunt and uncle are waiting in a camp in Ethiopia to come here and he sends them money when he can. They communicate by phone. He feels bad when the president says people cannot come, but says that the country has done a lot for his family.

Keywords: America; Aunts; Brothers; Close family; Communication; Difficult; Donald Trump; Ethiopia; Family; Keeping in touch; Louisville (Ky.); Money; Siblings; Sisters; Sponsorship; Telephones; Uncles; Welcoming

Subjects: Discrimination.; Emigration and immigration law--United States; Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants--Kentucky