My mom was a really well-educated woman, and she was an educational system like me. She used to provide families who were in need with clothing, books and donate all that stuff. So when the civil war happened in Somalia, what happened was a tribe against the tribe. And my mom came from really high, well educated tribe because the president of Somalia at that time related to the my mom and everybody was targeting them. So actually my mom was targeted and get killed by one of the other tribes because she belonged to that tribe. And then my dad was military, too. He was a commander in the military. And so my dad passed away after he heard that my mom died. He basically had a heart attack because of the sadness of my mom passing away. Your parent is the wall. They're your wall? They won't criticize you no matter what. They will be patient with you all the time, no matter what. How much hard time you give them, They will love you no matter what. And that person wouldn't understand until they lose their parent. Especially your mother.
--Deka Ali / mother & cultural navigator from East Grand Forks, Minnesota
