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Oral history interview with Farhia Ibrahim

 Collection
Identifier: SR12307

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Farhia Ibrahim was conducted by Shea Seery and Sankar Raman on February 2, 2019. The interview was recorded for The Immigrant Story, an organization that documents and archives the stories of immigrants and refugees in the United States.

In this interview, Ibrahim discusses her early life in Somalia and in Egypt and speaks about her family's reasons for relocating to Egypt. She talks about life in Cairo, Egypt, and discusses her education, including learning Arabic, bullying she experienced, and transferring to a madrassa. She also talks about experiencing street harassment in Cairo. She shares her memories of the Arab Spring, talks about the process of applying for refugee status in the United States, and describes her living conditions in Egypt. She then discusses adjusting to life in the U.S., her experiences at an American high school, and learning English. She speaks about harassment she experienced for wearing a hijab. She then talks about studying at Portland Community College, about her experiences studying at Portland State University, and about the ethnic diversity of the student body. She closes the interview by sharing her plans for the future, by further describing instances of harassment she experienced for wearing a hijab, and by talking about her interest in photography.

Dates

  • 2019 February 2

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and The Immigrant Story. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/

Biographical note

Farhia Ibrahim was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1995. When she was 7 years old, her family relocated to Egypt, where her father was working. A few years later, her father left to find work in the Netherlands, while the rest of the family remained in Egypt. Her family applied for refugee status in the United States, and in 2010 they were relocated to Oregon. They lived in Portland and Salem before settling in Hillsboro. Ibrahim attended Portland Community College, and in 2021, she earned a bachelor’s degree from Portland State University.

Extent

479 Megabytes (1 audio file (WAV, 1 hr., 35 min., 2 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Oral history interview with Farhia Ibrahim conducted by Shea Seery and Sankar Raman on February 2, 2019, for The Immigrant Story. Ibrahim discusses her experiences as a Muslim refugee from Somalia in Egypt and in Oregon.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of The Immigrant Story, June 2021 (RL2021-057).

Bibliography

An article about Farhia Ibrahim, "Headphones In, Hate Speech Out" by Shea Seery, was based on this interview and published on The Immigrant Story website at https://theimmigrantstory.org/headphones/.

Creator

Title
Guide to the oral history interview with Farhia Ibrahim
Status
Completed
Author
Sarah Stroman
Date
2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository

Contact:
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240