Narrator: Nimo Hashi

Summary: Nimo Hashi, whose refugee status meant he spent most of his childhood moving around Somalia and Ethiopia, discusses immigrating to the U.S. as a child and having to support himself as a teenager living alone. Nimo speaks of his irreligion despite his parents’ Muslim faith and of the struggles of life among those who looked so different than he does.

Topics: childhood, family, immigration process, education, language, cultural adjustment, religion, pandemic

Outline

Section 1: (00:00-12:02)

• Childhood, Family - Born in Mogadishu, Somalia and raised in Ethiopia.

• Family, Immigration Process - Moved across provinces and countries a lot due to refugee status

Section 2: (12:02-33:34)

• Family - His mother passed away the year before the interview, but he couldn’t return for political reasons, so he could only be by her side virtually.

• Financial Struggles - Lived alone from a young age and had to support himself as a teenager.

• Education - Initially didn’t want to pursue higher education, but eventually became a chiropractor.

• Education, Language - Excelled in other subjects, but he felt behind in English since it was his second language.

• Childhood, Cultural Adjustment - Felt a mixture of emotions while coming to the US as a child.

• Community, Cultural Adjustment - Looked and felt different from other Americans, including his cousins who had “blond hair, blue eyes.”

• Family - His uncles in the US served as a “support family,” but largely he was alone

Section 3: (33:34-48:13)

• Religion - His parents were Muslim and taught him about the religion, but he didn’t feel a connection to prayer and faith.

• Attended Bible study in high school and went to church with his American aunt, but didn’t feel connected to this religion either.

• He believes religion is a good thing and helps some people do good, but he can uphold values without it.

• Pandemic - Ambiguity and skepticism of health regulations such as vaccination, social distancing, masking, etc.

• Religion - Wonders whether other beings in the universe believe in human religions and says we should not judge people based on religion.