BREAKING THE CEILING: Ilhan Omar’s march to Congress as polls open in US

Ilhan Omar, the once little Somali girl in a refugee camp in Kenya will be leading four other Somali-Americans in the race to elective offices in the US as she trains her eyes in the US Congress where she will be breaking the ceiling as the first hijab wearing Congress Woman in US history.

Ms. Omar will be contesting on a democratic ticket for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district after winning in the primaries August 14. But she will not be the only Somali in the race; four other candidates of her origin will be battling out for a seat in tonight’s elections.

Hodan Hassan will be running for House of Representatives in District in Minnesota while Mohamed Noor is a candidate for 60B House of Representatives in Minnesota. Fardousa Jama is running for City Council in Mankato in Minnesota.

Fadumo Hassan will be contesting to be a board member at Eden Prairie School also in Minnesota. Siad Ali will be seeking re-election in Minneapolis School Board.

Omar who will be contesting against Republican Jennifer Zielinski has weathered the stomp amid accusations of falsifying documents when she sought US citizenship to alt-right mockery of her religion and origins. But her nomination during the primaries in August proved many a naysayer wrong as she trampled opponents to set clear the race for Congress.

“When people ask me who my biggest opponent is, I don’t give a name— I tell them the truth— it’s Islamophobia, Racism, Patriarchy, Xenophobia and Misogyny. We can’t let them win,” has said.

Speaking at the close of campaigns Monday, Omar sounded up beat noting democracy gave her hope even when living in a refugee camp. “This democracy really gave us hope in those refugee camps and the opportunity to be here to participate in this democracy makes me wanna dance and go out and talk to people and invite people to the joy of what it means to participate in a democracy only a way that people can recognise it who have experienced the absence of it.”

She calls for end to deportation and detention, no border wall, affordable and quality healthcare and tax cuts.