Book project gathers stories from young immigrants

Tatiana Anariba, Oh Kler and Ahmed Mohamed
Tatiana Anariba, of Honduras, Oh Kler, a Karen refugee, and Ahmed Mohamed, a Somali immigrant, are part of a project by Green Card Voices, a Minneapolis non-profit that aims to publish stories of the state's immigrants and refugees.
Courtesy Media Active/Green Card Voices

For immigrants and refugees who traveled to the United States before President Trump's immigration order was signed, life was already filled with obstacles. Three new Americans, one from Somalia, one from Myanmar and another from Honduras, talked about new challenges with Green Card Voices, a Minneapolis nonprofit.

The students from LEAP High School in St. Paul were being documented by youth film crew Media Active so that their oral histories can later be published in a book project.

Tatiana Anariba came from Honduras. She described her home country as "beautiful, but too dangerous," because of gang violence.

Ahmed Mohamed's parents came from Somalia, but he was born in Saudi Arabia and then moved to South Africa. Anti-foreigner violence killed an estimated 1,500 Somalis during the 15 years he lived there.

Oh Kler, an ethnic Karen from Myanmar, came to Minnesota with both her parents. For decades, the Karen have been persecuted in Myanmar. After they arrived in the United States, the newness of life here was hard, and even today, Oh Kler's life is limited to church, her local park and school.

Kler, Mohamed and Anariba now call the Twin Cities home. Their complete stories will be published this summer by Green Card Voices.

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