Only in America: Majid Al-Bahadli
29 09 2008
Majid Al-Bahadli, Obama delegate from Washington State, danced on the floor of the Democratic National Convention, cheered on by members of his state’s delegation, this past August. How he came to be there, the only Iraqi delegate on the floor, is an inspiration to us all.
Born and raised in Iraq, the budding political activist knew the risks of opposing Saddam’s regime: in 1980, his uncle and cousins, and many other family members, were executed for it. When Saddam invaded Kuwait in 1991, Majid heeded the United States’ call to rise up against him. But when the U.S. withdrew and power was restored to the dictator, Majid’s life was at risk. He slipped through the border checkpoints and surrendered to an American soldier. For nearly five years, he lived in a prisoner of war camp in the Saudi desert. Finally, a United Nations delegation entered the camp and conducted the interviews that would lead to Majid’s release as a political refugee in 1995, and later to his naturalization as an American citizen. There were some difficult years between his arrival in the U.S. and the day he became a citizen in 2000-although politics is his passion, he lay low for fear that his actions might jeopardize his impending naturalization. Today, he works fearlessly to get out the vote in his adopted Seattle, Washington. He is a warm and gracious person whose enthusiasm for American politics is inspirational and infectious. He won his position as delegate in a landslide vote, with 87% in support of his bid to travel to Colorado.
Categories : Campaign Stories, Obama, get out the vote
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