Last Saturday we went to Man of Good Hope at BAM, a musical about a Somali refugee traveling down east Africa to end up in South Africa and eventually America. You witness his life through four different characters played by the same man, through different stages of his life. What struck us was how much discrimination, stereotyping and violence he experienced within his own continent as well as abroad. The play had contemporary political relevance, and there were moments of satirising the American immigration process, showing how hard it is to enter the US as a refugee. The show was not so much about getting to the US as about all the struggles he faces while in Africa, that give us the background to the person seeking refuge in America. We stayed at the theater discussing the play for so long that they had to kick us out.
By Gunnar Rice ’17 and Lulu Chen ’17, dictated to Alicia over Friday morning breakfast