‘Africa’s Hell on Earth:The Ordeal of An African Journalist’
Omar Bah, a Gambian journalist who was tortured, declared ‘WANTED’ and eventually forced into exile for speaking up against injustices in his native Gambia, has written about his experiences in a memoir, ‘Africa’s Hell on Earth: The Ordeal of An African Journalist.’ The book chronicles Bah’s escape journey from the Gambian regime in 2006 with compelling anecdotes about the repressive environment in his native country, descriptions of African village life and traditional narratives that make the book a powerful read. The book takes the reader through Bah’s journey from Senegal to Ghana before eventually receiving assistance from the U.S. government and non-governmental organizations to resettle as a refugee in the State of Rhode Island in May 2007.
In Rhode Island, Bah reunited with his wife two years later and they now have two sons and live in their home in Providence. Omar is the UNHCR Refugee Congress representative of the State of Rhode Island in which he is also a member of its governing board, Refugee Congress Advisory Board (RCAB). He has worked in housing and finance corporations and spearheaded local advocacies on refugee and immigration issues both at state and national level. He regularly joins the Refugee Congress delegates in Washington, D.C. to lobby Congress on important policy issues. Together with fellow Rhode Island-based refugees, Omar founded the Center for Refugee Advocacy and Support (CenRAS), a Rhode Island based organization through which former refugees support newly arriving refugees.
Omar holds a BA in Communication Studies with a minor in Political Science from the University of Rhode Island, before proceeding to pursue a master of Public Administration from Roger Williams University, and further graduate school at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (MSPP). In May 2013, he graduated with a certificate from the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma.
Omar’s book is set for official launch early in 2014 but readers can pre-order advanced copies from the Publisher’s website: https://www.tatepublishing.