At the Northeast Refugee Congress, Ekhlas was amongst several delegates to advocate for refugee rights and empowerment. More than 100 people attended the conference, which focused on tackling the challenges that refugees face after being resettled, such as health care and education. Read more about the conference here.
“It shouldn’t matter that they are 10,000 miles away. It shouldn’t matter that they speak a different language or that they are of a different race. It shouldn’t matter that their governments might be to blame. It shouldn’t matter that they practice a different religion. We welcome Syrian refugees.”
State: Maine City of Residence: Portland, Maine Country of origin: Sudan Arrival in the U.S.: 2005 Ms. Ekhlas Ahmed was forced to flee the outbreak of civil war in Sudan with her mother, father, and three younger brothers in 2003. Her family was resettled to Portland, Maine, where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and Sociology from the […]