Times were bleak, but Abdi got lucky and won the diversity visa lottery from the US government for a green card. (For more information listen to this link: "Abdi and the Golden Ticket," an interview from 2015 with Ira Glass on This American Life).
Today Abdi is a translator for Catholic Charities, is a student of Political Science at USM, and speaks at public events all around the state of Maine. If you find his stories compelling, keep your eyes out, he is writing a book about his unbelievable life experiences.
Music: "Faraskaagi Laga Badi" ("Your Horse Lost the Race"), a favorite of his father's.
nms_162_abdi_iftin_somalia_dec_17_2017.mp3 |