Muslim Immigrants Who Were Welcomed to Dallas Decades Ago Worry for Today’s Refugees

Safia Ismael and Belma Islamovic came to the Dallas area decades ago.One as an immigrant from Djibouti, a country just north of Somalia. The other as a refugee from Bosnia. Their native languages and cultures were different from each other, but both women shared the same anxieties about moving to a country they’d heard so much about growing up.How will I learn English? How will I fit in?North Texas is where they’ve found home again. Although they’ve assimilated by learning English, large parts of their cultural identities remain. Both are citizens now, watching as a new wave of immigrants and refugees faces obstacles both new and familiar. They were sad and shocked when President Donald Trump’s executive order blocked immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries -- a move that’s now on hold because of court rulings.  Continue reading...

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