Inside the Story: Twin daughters of Somalian refugees on the road to becoming doctors
Inside the Story: Twin daughters of Somalian refugees on the road to
becoming doctors
·
(KUTV) Seventeen-year-old twin sisters are at
the front line of speaking out for refugees.
They are daughters of Somalian refugees and
are Muslim.
Asma and Anisa Dahir are also making strides
in the medical field--they both have dreams of becoming pediatric surgeons so
they can one day return to Somalia to help.
"It's so sad to see that children --
newborns to five or 10 years old -- they have so many complications physically
and mentally," said Anisa.
The twins are studying at the Jordan Academy for Technology and Careers, or
JATC, in West Jordan.
"We need to embrace our children and grow
our youth," said Asma. "The youth are the new leaders."
Back in the early '90s, the girl's parents
fled the war-torn country of Somalia and ended up in a refugee camp in Kenya.
Their mother came to America first, by
herself, while pregnant with the twins. She worked several jobs to try and keep
food on the table.
Asma said that her parents' experiences
"made my siblings and I say, 'Oh, we need to get an education so we could
escape poverty.'"
That is why the Dahirs are taking their
education so seriously and want to be doctors.
"It motivated me to make a change in the
world to go back to Somalia, or other refugee camps, and help them," said
Anisa.
But these girls want not just to make a
difference in the medical field. They also want to make a difference out on the
street, making their voices heard in the refugee community.
At just 17, the sisters have joined in several
major protests in Salt Lake for refugee rights.
"As a Muslim, female, black refugee, I
feel obligated to speak for my rights," said Anisa. "I feel like it's
crucial to let your voices be heard."
The twins say people need to be educated about
refugees.
"I've been treated really bad," Asma
said. "People are afraid of the unknown and I feel if we speak up, share
our voices, people will not have to ignorance that they have today."
"I've been called a terrorist. I've had
my hijab ripped off. I've been bullied. I've been harassed so many different
ways because of my identity," Anisa explained. "It takes a mental and
physical toll on me and it's sad because Utah is my home. I was born and raised
here. I don't know anything else besides Utah and to see that I am not safe in
my own home, in my own back yard, it's just horrifying."
The best way the twins know how to fight the
battle is through education, so that one day other refugees can look to them
for leadership.
"We can create a solid foundation where
we can share our narratives and our stories and I feel like that is crucial,"
said Asma.
The sisters are not alone in their dreams of a
better education. All their siblings are also hoping to go into the medical
field.
They also hope to one day create a nonprofit organization to
help kids from third world countries.
BY DAN RASCON
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