Omar Bah

State: Rhode Island

City of Residence: Providence, Rhode Island

Country of origin: Gambia

Arrival in the U.S.: 2007

Mr. Omah Bah is a journalist from the Gambia who resettled in the United States as a refugee in 2007. Mr. Bah was arrested several times and tortured by the dictatorial regime of the Gambia as a result of his reporting, and he eventually fled to avoid further persecution. He was able to reunite with his wife, and the two now live in Providence, Rhode Island with their two sons. Mr. Bah has accomplished a great deal since his resettlement to the United States, including completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies and Political Science from the University of Rhode Island, and graduating with a certificate from the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma. He has also founded the Center for Refugee Advocacy and Support (CenRAS), an organization through which former refugees support and serve newly-arriving refugees. Mr. Bah also authored a book entitled, Africa’s Hell on Earth: The Ordeal of An African Journalist, chronicling his escape journey from the Gambian regime in 2006.