FAISAL AHMED was born with an Indian passport.  Currently a senior at Boston University, Faisal's compelling journey to this point is marked by a profound exploration of self-discovery and a commitment to fostering community bonds. Often times you can find him wearing traditional Indian clothes around campus, watching Bollywood films, or praying with his Muslim friends. "Home" to him has been India, Saudi Arabia, Florida, and now— Massachusetts. Beyond just migrating from physical space to space, his sense of identity has also shifted based on each community in these new environments. 

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" I don't know. Especially when we were in America, like I was the only brown kid in most places." he says. "We [me and my siblings] had to constantly represent brown people. We were going to be the only time these people would meet someone or have the opportunity to be friends with like an Indian person."

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We've all heard of the concept of "racial prejudice," but not many people notice that there are also parallels to this when applied to immigrant thought. Faisal faces the pressure of not only misrepresenting what it means to be an Indian but also what it means to be an immigrant. Today, the stereotypes of immigrant households are established and framed— leaving individuals like Faisal to challenge them. 

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When first adjusting to American culture as a young kid,  it was not easy, especially with the external factors of a foreign environment. "To my parents, I'm American, but to Americans, I'm not American yet" he says. 

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Faisal's close connection and resonation with his immigrant background has naturally pushed him to find his community at BU through immigrant advocacy opportunities and groups. His passion stems from a recognition of the broken immigration system set in place.

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"I feel like the United States makes promises to people and immigrants." he reflects. "They then don't live up to those promises either just straight up because of xenophobia, but also because we don't have people advocating for us as strongly. That lack of advocation, like advocacy happens for so many reasons." 

 

ARISE BU, Assisting Refugees Through Initiative, Service, and Education, is an organization co-founded by Faisal which works with forcibly displaced, shelterless, and at-risk communities in the city of Boston. ARISE's goal is to educate and try to teach people as much as we can, so that they hopefully are like inspired to go and work in these fields as well as just make a community of people that care about helping migrants at BU and find solidarity within that. His organization allows him to be surrounded by a community of people of color, first-generation students, and those who look like him. 

 

Putting education at the forefront of his work, Faisal's advocacy work has inspired his post-grad pursuits. 

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"I feel like everyone's always going through the motions, but like, if you can sit and really be present in front of people, and like, make something that makes a difference in somebody's life, that is like, what I really, like. I'm trying to grasp my head around. It's like, how do I keep doing that? Because if I can make one person, like, if that person goes and becomes an immigration lawyer"