Somali men share their experiences of growing up in Ottawa
An Ottawa-based online publication, Muslim Link, has kicked off a new event series highlighting the work of young Muslims they consider change-makers, in partnership with the Ottawa Muslim Association and the Ottawa Youth Centre.
Thursday's inaugural session, titled 'What it's like being young, Somali and male in Ottawa' brought together three young men to share their personal experiences about growing up in the capital.
Discussion topics included education, racism, Islamophobia and the criminal justice system.
Ottawa rapper and poet Kamal Abdulhakim, who goes by the name Cannon2x, was one of the featured speakers at the Muslim Link event.
He told CBC Radio's All in a Day Thursday he hopes his story about serving time in jail will enable participants to learn and grow from his experience.
"It was a test of patience, it was a test of mental stability, it was a test of keeping relations and relationships. And I'm proud of how I handled myself inside and how I've handled myself coming out," said Abdulhakim, speaking with host Alan Neal.
The session's other featured speakers included Mahdi Hassan, a 22-year-old Somali Canadian born and raised in Ottawa studying biomedical sciences at the University of Ottawa, and 19-year-old Khalid Egeh,who survived a life-threatening illness.
