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  • 3 days ago
Few immigrants to the United States endure what this visually impaired young woman has overcome. A refugee from West Africa, she arrived in New York as a member of a U.N. delegation and was granted asylum to escape her abusive fiancé, whom she was arranged to marry. Lifted by her passion for biology, which she studies at Borough of Manhattan Community College, and her powerful faith in Islam, she ultimately hopes to rebuild her life here in the United States as a practicing psychiatrist. Resiliently optimistic, she notes disabled peoples' greater opportunities for independence and educational support in America, demonstrating how her love of reading braille helps soothe the isolation and loneliness of starting over in an unfamiliar country. Watch the video above, in which she chooses to remain anonymous as a further protection against her fiancé, for more information about her story.
Transcript
00:15In my country, you have to have a
00:18still confusion before Malaysia.
00:20I was afraid in my country for not being safe.
00:24The reason why I'm not showing my face is because of my safety.
00:48I can see light, shadow, colors.
00:54I can see blue, white, green, sometimes red.
01:01I dream like an excited person because when I dream, I see everything very clear in my
01:09dream.
01:15My life back home was with my family who was doing everything for me.
01:20But I was more dependent because there is no special education.
01:25As a woman, you are not allowed to think about your career.
01:30I didn't appreciate that because as a human being, my dream was to learn how to live with
01:38everyone, not to be just dependent.
01:42Being blind in my country for me means seeing the world by the window, but not being able
01:50to do anything for myself.
01:58I came in this country, I have no family members.
02:04I was afraid of not understanding the language at all, and I had no idea about New York.
02:13I did not plan to stay here at all.
02:16I was still thinking about returning back to my country.
02:24When I met my counselor at the commission for the blind, she said the commission is going
02:30to help me to learn how to navigate by myself and to go back to school and to get a
02:38job.
02:40Among all those things that she said, the most exciting things for me was learning how
02:48to use the cane, because all my life I could not move from one place to another place without
02:55being guided.
02:58That represented giving me my freedom.
03:02I decided to stay here.
03:13I'm in school every day, Monday to Sunday.
03:18My major is science.
03:20I plan to be a psychiatrist.
03:25Islam is my light.
03:28It's a guide for me.
03:29I go to the mosque almost every Friday to pray.
03:35I'm most grateful for being alive.
03:40I am grateful for being able to read and write.
03:45Being able to read braille.
03:48To feel the words, the spelling.
03:50I'm so happy when I'm reading braille.
03:55I don't have everything that I want to have, but at least I'm seeing where I'm going.
04:03I'm seeing my dream.
04:05I'm seeing the direction where I'm heading to.
04:09America felt me my freedom, my safety.
04:13They helped me to make my dream true, to make my dreams real.
04:18What'spotness and the
04:18people are telling you?
04:19My observation is오 Center.
04:20It's a've been an independent pнд this group.
04:23Here it has a projection of directors for heaven.
04:24The sorgen band in part 212,
04:25And in one place is representing the hotel.
04:26It's very grateful for doing incredible work.
04:29Here's an mastermind.

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