Photo courtesy of Green Card Voices
Green Card Youth Voices
When Nima Ahmed came to the United States from a refugee camp in Djibouti as a young teenager, she didn’t know anyone but her family. She knew “yes” and “no” in English, but not much else—which, partnered with her shyness, didn’t help her make friends in an Atlanta, Georgia middle school. She didn’t meet any other Somali kids until she moved to Minnesota a few months later, where she enrolled in LEAP High School, a school in St. Paul specifically designated to teach immigrant students.
Tea Rozman Clark, co-founder of Green Card Voices, thinks Ahmed has a story to tell.
In fact, Rozman Clark knows all immigrants have stories to tell. In 2013, she started Green Card Voices, a book and digital storytelling series dedicated to sharing first-person stories of the area’s immigrants. While Green Card Voices has a few books telling adults’ stories, the three Youth Voices collections are gaining popularity in schools and beyond. In part, they are meant to help kids and teens learn about immigration and connect with real-life examples of local peers.
“We know that peer learning is effective, and there were no local resources on the subject [of immigration],” Rozman Clark said. “Kids don’t relate to famous immigrants or older people. We wanted to share their neighbors’ stories because that’s what’s relevant to them.”
The books include a glossary, so kids (and adults) can learn words and phrases like baht (the currency of Thailand) and gaw ler gay (“good morning” in the Karen language), that may be unfamiliar to them. They also contain teaching resources for classrooms and links to resources and videos online.
A few authors from the most recent book, Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from a St. Paul High School, will host a reading at Red Balloon Bookshop on July 26. Readings are common for Green Card Voices authors, Rozman Clark says, and help create a bridge between the immigrants sharing their stories and the people in the audience.
According to Rozman Clark, children are a great audience for the subject matter because they’re naturally open and inquisitive about other people. Questions are always encouraged, and the events give kids a chance to connect deeper with the readings and actually see the authors as real people.
“The more you can expose them to these stories, the more deeply it will be a part of their world view,” Rozman Clark said.
Photo courtesy of Green Card Voices
Nima Ahmed
Nima Ahmed
Nima Ahmed is one of the immigrant students who shared her experience in the St. Paul book. We caught up with her recently to learn more about the Green Card Voices process and what sharing her story has done for her as a person.
Why did you decide to share your story?
I was at the school, and the teachers told me there was going to be this writing thing called Green Card Voices, and if we would like to write a story maybe we could be part of it. At first I said, “No, I can’t do it,” but the teacher said, “Nima, you of all people can actually do it.” I love writing, and she knew that and thought this would be a good opportunity to tell my story and share my experiences and values.
What was the process like?
It was kind of hard for me because I didn’t know what I wanted to talk about initially, like what was important and not, and what I wanted to leave out. But the writing process happened in the classroom. We started by writing essays. When we started writing, everyone was sharing their stories as they wrote, so we kind of knew what we would be sharing with other people. Some people came from colleges [graduate students from Hamline University] into the classroom to help us with our stories, and help record the videos of us telling our stories.
How did you choose what to include?
I like to write beginning to end. But since it was a personal story, I didn’t know where to start or what to leave out. I thought maybe people wouldn’t know where I came from or what I’m doing now, so I just wanted to take some things from the past to what’s happening now. I shared a personal story about being gay in the Muslim community. I had never told anyone that. Muslim people don’t really think you can be Muslim and be gay at the same time. I feel comfortable with my family, and I talk about it with my teachers and people I’m close to, but not other people. I haven’t seen anyone who can relate to me, so that’s kind of scary. I hope it will help other Muslims. I want to be an example for other Muslim community members, or kids, or teenagers who are struggling with the same thing. I want to give them hope and show them that this is okay, and your family might be mad at first, but you’re a part of them and they love you.
Have you participated in any readings?
I did one at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. It was really great. It was my first time taking a mic and talking to people. I thought I couldn’t do it. I feel like I can talk to people, but only once I know them. People from my school and other places came to listen to us and encouraged us. When I saw other people telling their stories, they got emotional, and I didn’t really want to cry in there. But then I thought, you know what, this is me, this is who I am, so why not? If I tell the truth and I tell my story, it’s going to help other people to know where I came from and who I really am. When people get to know each other, they love each other for who they are.
Why do you think it’s important for immigrants, especially younger immigrants, to share their stories?
I think it’s great because not a lot of people in America know about us, or where we came from, or our struggles in life, or where we are now and what we’re trying to do for the community and how we’re giving back. Once you tell your story, you educate people and teach them that you are this person that’s capable of doing anything, and you’re just the same as them. Once they find out about who you are, then it’s less awkward. For example, when you know someone really well, then you feel comfortable with them, like you could sing around them or do whatever, right? When they don’t know you, they might wonder if you’re crazy or a terrorist. It’s important that people know that we’re here, and we’re people, and we’re here to better our lives and other people’s lives.
Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from a St. Paul High School, $20, greencardvoices.com
