Opinion/Bah: Defending democracy and freedom is more important now than ever – The Providence Journal

Omar Bah| Guest columnist

Omar Bah is the founder of the Refugee Dream Center in Providence, and a former refugee from The Gambia. He is seeking the Democratic nomination for Rhode Islands 2nd Congressional District.

In The Gambia, where I spent the first 26 years of my life, women who sought and received abortion and other reproductive health services along with their doctors were frequently arrested, tortured, jailed, and sometimes disappeared. Some fled the country out of legitimate fear for their lives simply for seeking to access medical care that should be available to any woman.

This oppression and persecution did not stop at health care. As the authoritarian regime solidified its grip on power, the government even passed executive orders governing how a woman could dress. If you were a member of the LGBTQI+ community, you also lived in daily fear for your safety.

Because this abuse of power evolved over a period of years, the citizenry of our small country failed to act quickly enough to stop the downfall of our fragile democracy.

American democracy is at risk.

I have heard other political candidates also state this fact, butrespectfully, they dont fully understand the riskor how authoritarianism manifests, because they have not lived through it. I have.

In The Gambia (which I fled in 2006), ascension to power of a warlord who would never voluntarily relinquish his position was superseded by deep divisions in society. Through a combination of apathy and complacency, Gambians were lulled into thinking that the already poor economy and limited number of opportunities for jobs and education could not possibly get any worse. They were wrong.

I was one of those who resisted, as I observed the evil and coercive forces overtaking our young democracy, and I nearly paid with my life. I do not by any measure consider myself a radical, because I dont think defending democracy, defending a womans right to have an abortion, and defending the chance for everyone to achieve the American Dream are radical concepts.

However, we need in Congress more leaders who are willing to take a radical approach to defending American democracy and freedom as we have come to know it. It seems that the Republican Party and the U.S. Supreme Court are working in lockstep to take away rights of ordinary people, and to set this country back 50 or 100 years. We are marching, every day, closer and closer toward a society which oppresses its citizens. I have seen it happen, and we are on the same path.

I will not sit by while Justice Clarence Thomas seeks to fulfill all his wildest fantasies, which very likely include rolling back gay marriage, contraception and separations between church and state. I will not remain silent while politicians like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump do everything in their power to suppress the rights of people who look like me (or anyone) through repressive voting laws.

Because of my personal experiences, I have the ability to amplify this message in Congress in a way that very few others can.

In The Gambia, I was arrested on numerous occasions, and tortured. Despite the risks to my personal safety, I continued in my resistance to those who were oppressing my people. I want to urge Rhode Islanders to not be complacent in your views of, and engagement in, our democratic processes including in the 2nd District Congressional race.

The "powers that be"in the Democratic Party would like you to think that the only way to ensure that this seat remains Democratic is to elect the "safest" candidate to face off against Republican Allan Fung. I couldn't disagree more.

This great state needs to elect a leader who has a chance to transcend political divisions and wake up the politicians and those who think America is "too big to fail."

Because, it may not be.

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Opinion/Bah: Defending democracy and freedom is more important now than ever - The Providence Journal