Hometown Season 7, Episode 8: An Interview with Salemu Alimasi

In this episode, we have the pleasure of talking with Salemu Alimasi, a community organizer and advocate for refugee integration based in Houston, Texas. If his name is familiar, it may be because Salemu is well known as a leader in refugee advocacy circles. You may also have read the three-part feature on Salemu’s journey on the EMM blog.  

Regardless of how much one knows about Salemu Alimasi, it is always eye-opening and inspiring to talk with him. In this conversation, he shares with us some powerful memories from his childhood in the Democratic Republic of Congo: both the joys of becoming “a servant of God” and the terrors of witnessing the massacre of innocent people, as political and ethnic conflicts wreaked havoc across East Africa.  

Like others forced to flee their homes, Salemu and his family sought refuge in a camp for displaced persons in Uganda, where for many years they lived, shared resources, and built community. This was where Salemu learned something profound that guides his life and work today. As he says, “Migration is not a weakness. We bring our whole selves with us. And we are who we are and we do what we do because of our value” – a value rooted for him in his family, faith, and upbringing. 

As Salemu talks about the roles he and his family took on in Uganda and their transition to life in the U.S., we start to see and hear the threads of his emerging advocacy: for youth, for forcibly displaced people, for newcomers of all backgrounds. In teaching and mobilizing others, inspiring them to use their voices and to work together for the common good, Salemu models the inherently collective nature of all effective advocacy. As he observes, “Alone, we may work fast, but together, we can work far.” 

Listen to the wisdom and the generosity of spirit that Salemu brings to this conversation. We think there is much to learn from his advocacy and example, and we hope you will raise your voice and join EMM, as together we welcome our newest neighbors and build communities where all may thrive. 

You can access a transcript of our conversation with Salemu here.