For Obi Sium, the road to Capital Hill begins with all us
When the Eritrean-American Olympic Silver Medalist and top United States distance runner, Mebrahtu "Meb" Keflezghi put his small and most recent immigrant community on the map, it was a day of pride for all of us. Whenever I see, the MasterCard commercial, I’ve to always point out to my kids that Meb is an Eritrean. Meb can aptly be described as an epitome of the Eritrean experience: perseverance, never kneeling down and fighting against the odds to accomplish a dream. Meb has become a role-model for this small but promising community. As the community learns to unleash its potential and take advantage of the endless opportunities afforded to it, it would undoubtedly highlight its footprints on the American mosaic.
There are many American Eritreans that are excelling in many fields and we need to celebrate their success. Their individual success is our collective success. It is with these individuals that we would broaden and define our identity and consolidate the very being of who we are. We need to encourage ourselves and our youth to dream and dare and explore life in its fullest. We must be rooted in Eritrea but Eritrean should not limit our potential and growth.
One such individual who is trying to soar beyond the self-imposed limits we’ve placed on our selves is Ocbazghi “Obi” Sium. Obi is the Republican nominee for Minnesota’s 4th Congressional District. The fact that Obi is the nominee for one of the two major political parties in the US is in itself a great miles-stone for him and our community. Obi is facing Democratic representative, Betty McCollum of St. Paul. It is usually an uphill battle to run against any incumbent, but it is even particularly harder for Obi. Obi, beside the obvious of being a new immigrant, has never run for office before and he does not have the name recognition that his opponent has. But we can remedy that.
In the next critical weeks and months, Obi has to demonstrate to Republican donors that he has the ability to raise money. In US politics, and I’m sure everywhere, money is the mother’s milk of politics. As they say, charity begins at home, and Obi must then begin at home. He has to come to his Eritrean community and the community has to respond. What has happened in Atlanta must be repeated in every city in the US where Eritreans live. Obi must put up a good fight and win and let’s ensure that he does. We can’t let our son go to battle with his hands tied behind his back. Let’s be generous with our contributions and arm Obi with the money that he needs. Obi will be our face in congress and I’m sure our voice too.
Last but not least many thanks also go to Rezene Tesfazion and Dr. Ahmed Berhan. Rezene is the Social Democrat Member of parliament in Sweden and Dr. Ahmed was the senate candidate for the Australian Greens. In a democracy, citizens must participate as both voters and candidates and these gentlemen are shinning examples of that. Obi is not only opening the door of political participation to Eritrean-Americans but to Africans and all immigrants in general.
For Obi, the road to capital hill begins with all of us
website: www.siumforcongress.com
Comment: weriz@yahoo.com
