Zaynab Abdi

Last updated

Zaynab Abdi (born 1995 or 1996) is an American immigration, refugee, and women's rights advocate and speaker.

Contents

Early life and education

Abdi was born in Somalia to a Somalian mother and Yemeni father. [1] [2] Due to the Somali Civil War, [3] she moved to Yemen with her family, although without her father, at the age of seven. [4] She played soccer as a child in Aden, Yemen, [5] [6] and decided she wanted to be an architect. [3] While living in Yemen, Abdi's mother received a diversity immigrant visa to come to the United States. She chose to immigrate, with the hope of becoming a citizen and sponsoring the rest of her family; Abdi and her younger sister were left in the care of her grandmother. [3] Abdi's mother went on to remarry in the United States, and had two more daughters. Her grandmother died in 2010. [6]

Abdi and her sister moved to Cairo, Egypt in 2012 after the Arab Spring began in Yemen. [1] When the second Arab Spring happened in Egypt, Abdi and her sister applied to becomes asylum seekers in the United States. [1] [3] Abdi immigrated to the United States in 2014, at age 17, and joined her mother in Minnesota, but her sister was unable to obtain a visa. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Abdi attended Wellstone International High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, [7] where she learned English, became a member of the student council, and formed a school soccer team. [5] She went on to attend St. Catherine University beginning in 2016, where she studied political science, international studies, and philosophy. [3] She graduated in 2020. [3]

After graduating college, she joined a soccer team based in the Twin Cities. [3] In 2017, the team became eligible to represent the United States in an international tournament, but Abdi, as a green card holder unable to leave he country, was unable to play. [3]

She went on to pursue her master's degree at Columbia University. [1]

Career

After graduating college in 2020, Abdi became a civic engagement coordinator for Reviving the Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment (RISE), a Minneapolis-based nonprofit. [3] [8]

Abdi has worked for Green Card Voices, a publishing organization helping immigrants in Minnesota, [1] as an immigrant and youth ambassador. [8]

In 2023, Abdi published the graphic novel Voice for Refuge: Our Stories Carried Us Here. [1] She founded a soccer team for immigrant and refugee children. [9] She was the delegate for the Malala Fund organization at the United Nations Social Good Summit. [10]

Personal life

Abdi is Muslim. [8] She has a younger sister, who lived in Belgium with her son as of 2021. [3]

Related Research Articles

The Khadr family is an Egyptian-Canadian family noted for their ties to Osama bin Laden and connections to al-Qaeda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burmese Americans</span> Americans of Burmese birth or descent

Burmese Americans are Americans of full or partial Burmese ancestry, encompassing individuals of all ethnic backgrounds with ancestry in present-day Myanmar, regardless of specific ethnicity. As a subgroup of Asian Americans, Burmese Americans have largely integrated into the broader Southeast Asian and South Asian American communities.

African immigration to the United States refers to immigrants to the United States who are or were nationals of modern African countries. The term African in the scope of this article refers to geographical or national origins rather than racial affiliation. From the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 to 2017, Sub-Saharan African-born population in the United States grew to 2.1 million people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somali diaspora</span> Somali emigrants and their descendants

The Somali diaspora or Qurbajoogta refers to Somalis who were born in Greater Somalia and reside in areas of the world that they were not born in. The civil war in Somalia greatly increased the size of the Somali diaspora, as many Somalis moved from Greater Somalia primarily to Europe, North America, Southern Africa and Australia. There are also small Somali populations in other pockets of Europe and Asia. The UN estimates that in 2015, approximately 2 million people from Somalia were living outside of the country's borders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somali Americans</span> Americans of Somali birth or descent

Somali Americans are Americans of Somali ancestry. The first ethnic Somalis to arrive in the U.S. were sailors who came in the 1920s from British Somaliland. They were followed by students pursuing higher studies in the 1960s and 1970s, by the late 1970s through the late 1980s and early 1990s more Somalis arrived. However, it was not until the mid and late 1990s when the civil war in Somalia broke out that the majority of Somalis arrived in the United States. The Somali community in the U.S. is now among the largest in the Somali diaspora.

Religion in Minnesota is characterized by a variety of beliefs and practices that has historically been dominated by Christianity. The state has no official church, adhering to the Establishment Clause and Everson v. Board of Education. The right to freedom of religion is a constitutionally protected liberty in Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faysal Ahmed</span> Somali–American actor

Faysal Ahmed is a Somali–American actor from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdi Warsame</span>

Abdi Warsame is a Somali-American politician in Minnesota's Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. After moving to London as an asylum-seeker, he immigrated to Minnesota in 2006. In November 2013, he was elected to the Minneapolis City Council, becoming the first Somali official to be elected to the position. Warsame was reelected for a second term in 2017. He resigned from the position in 2020 to become the head of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority.

Somalis are an ethnic group in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area that makes up the largest Somali diasporas in the United States. By 2018, approximately 43,000 people born in Somalia were living in Minnesota, and approximately 94,000 Minnesotans spoke Somali language at home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohamud Noor</span> American politician

Mohamud Noor is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Noor represents District 60B, which includes parts of the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fathia Absie</span>

Fathia Absie is a Somali-American writer, producer, actor and filmmaker. She has worked with both documentaries, as well as fictional narratives, and published a graphic novel titled, The Imperceptible Peace Maker. Fathia is the co-founder of Eat With Muslims, a project designed to bring Muslims and non-Muslims together over dinner and stories in the hopes of building bridges between neighbors and communities of different faiths and cultures.

As of 2013, there were around 10,000 ethnic Somalis in Lewiston and Portland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somali Museum of Minnesota</span>

The Somali Museum of Minnesota is a cultural institution in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro area is home to the largest Somali immigrant and refugee population in the United States, after civil war in Somalia prompted large-scale displacement of the Somali people. The Somali Museum of Minnesota presents a collection of more than 1000 traditional nomadic artifacts from Somalia, as well as educational programming about Somali culture, arts events, and cross-cultural activities. It may now be the only museum in the world dedicated to preserving Somali culture and traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trump travel ban</span> Ban by U.S. President Trump

The Trump travel ban denotes a series of executive actions taken by Donald Trump as President of the United States, beginning with Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.

Anti-Somali sentiment or Somalophobia refers to the existence of fear and hostility against Somalis, or their culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hodan Hassan</span> American politician

Hodan Hassan is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Hassan represents District 62A, which includes parts of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Hassan served as an assistant majority leader of the House DFL caucus from 2019 to 2020.

Dr. Deqo Aden Mohamed is a Somalia-born obstetrician-gynecologist who is the former CEO of the Dr. Hawa Abdi Foundation, Founder of Hagarla Institute and co-founder of Somali Cancer Society. The operations of the foundation are based in Hope Village, a complex in Mogadishu, Somalia, providing healthcare, education, and shelter to thousands of displaced people. The village was founded by Mohamed's mother Dr Hawa Abdi and is run alongside her sister, Dr Amina Mohamed. In addition to her executive role, Deqo Mohamed works as a doctor in the Dr Hawa Abdi General Hospital. Currently, the village is closed due to security in the area, the village was functioning from 1991-2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samatar Crossing</span> Shared-use path in Minneapolis

Samatar Crossing is a 1,850-foot (560 m), shared-use path and innovative urban redesign project in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Posthumously named after Somali-American politician and activist Hussein Samatar, the crossing connects the Downtown East/Elliot Park and Cedar-Riverside neighborhoods via a former interstate highway ramp. The Samatar Crossing redevelopment project received national recognition when it opened in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zaynab Mohamed</span> American politician

Zaynab M. Mohamed is an American politician serving as a member of the Minnesota State Senate since 2023. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represents District 63, comprising southeast Minneapolis and parts of Richfield.

Nadia Mohamed is an American politician and current mayor of St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Mohamed is the first Somali American elected as mayor of a US city.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "From Somalia to Yemen to the U.S., Minneapolis woman finds a home – and a voice". MPR News. 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  2. ↑ "Zaynab Abdi: This Is My Story". beta.prx.org. 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Ansari, Hibah (2021-03-01). "Zaynab Abdi has lived through a civil war, two political revolutions, and a Trump presidency. Now she wants to put her family back together". Sahan Journal. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  4. 1 2 Mahamud, Faiza. "Among Minnesota's refugees, military presence in Twin Cities stirs painful memories". Star Tribune.
  5. 1 2 3 Stieg, Cory (2018-04-04). "How This 21-Year-Old Refugee Found Home In A Soccer Team". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  6. 1 2 3 Abdi, Zaynab (2018-07-01). "Where Do I Belong? Zaynab Abdi". Minnesota Women's Press. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  7. ↑ "International Student Overcomes Significant Odds on Way to Graduation". www.hiiraan.com. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  8. 1 2 3 "Congratulations to our 2020 Excellence Award Honoree Zaynab Abdi". Achieve Twin Cities. 2020-10-19. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  9. ↑ "Quebrando Barreiras: Refugiada encontra uma nova identidade no futebol". Red Bull. May 18, 2018.
  10. ↑ "From Yemen to the United Nations: St. Kate's student advocates for women's education". St. Catherine University. October 3, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.