Today I’m in conversation with Mustafa Rfat. Mustafa is a graduate student in the Public Administration Program at West Virginia University. He’s also a trainee at Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) at the university. Mustafa came to the U.S. as a refugee from Iraq in 2011. You’ll hear Mustafa talk about his experience as a refugee and his adjustment to life in the United States. Mustafa will also describe the unique challenges and needs of refugees with disabilities.

<figure id="attachment_474107" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-474107" style="width: 480px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-474107" class="wp-caption-text">Photo of three people gathered around a white grand piano. On the left sitting on the piano bench, Nazli Khazirova, a woman with a purple head covering and a navy blue outfit smiling widely. Her arm is extended toward Mustafa Rfat on the right, a man wearing a navy blue business suit with a white shirt and red tie who is also smiling. In the center, laying on top of the piano is Defne Rfat, a little baby girl with a white flower-like headband and a white and pink tulle outfit like a ballerina</figcaption></figure>

Transcript

[Google doc]     [PDF]

Related Links

“Current Disability Laws Are Leaving People Behind,” January 3, 2020, ACUDTalk.

Ep 32: Disabled Refugees with Mansha Mirza, August 27, 2018, Disability Visibility podcast.

Refugees and migrants with disabilities,  Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UN.

Persons with disabilities, UN Refugee Agency.

“7 refugees paving the way on disability rights,” December 2, 2019, UN Refugee Agency.

About

<figure id="attachment_474049" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-474049" style="width: 374px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-474049" class="wp-caption-text">Photo of Mustafa Rfat, a man with short dark brown hair wearing a navy blue blazer with v-neck blue shirt. Behind him is a dark gray background.</figcaption></figure>

Mustafa Rfat is a graduate student in the Public Administration Program and a trainee at Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) at West Virginia University. Mustafa came to the U.S. as a refugee from Iraq in 2011. He is a passionate advocate for equal rights for people with disabilities and refugees/immigrants. He is in the process of applying for Ph.D. programs in Social Work to further his education in research and community work.

 

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Credits

Cheryl Green, Audio Producer and Text Transcript

Alice Wong, Writer, Audio Producer, Host

Lateef McLeod, Introduction

Mike Mort, Artwork

Theme Music (used with permission of artist)

Song: “Dance Off”

Artist: Wheelchair Sports Camp

Music

Music for Manatees by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4102-music-for-manatees.

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Garden Music by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3796-garden-music.

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license.

Sounds

“VOCODER countdown” by Jack_Master. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

“8 Bit Beeping Computer Sounds” by sheepfilms. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.