Global News Podcast - The Global Story: Abdi’s American Dream

Episode Date: July 3, 2026

As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, The Global Story podcast is exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the US has shaped the modern world. One of the most powerful and enduring American ideas is that of the American Dream. In this episode, Asma Khalid hears the story of one extraordinary American Dream seeker. The BBC first spoke to Abdi Nor Iftin in 2014, when he was living in one of Kenya's toughest neighbourhoods after fleeing conflict in Somalia. When he won the US green card lottery his problems seemed to be solved – but it turned out to be the start of a whole new struggle. The Global Story tells in-depth stories from where the world and America meet. For more episodes, just search 'The Global Story' wherever you get your BBC Podcasts.

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How has America shaped the world? I'm Asma Khalid, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. As the United States marks its 250 year anniversary, we've been exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the U.S. has shaped the modern world. And today on the show, we answer your questions about this moment and what to expect in the years to come. From the BBC, it's The United States at 250. Listen to The Global Story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, it's Tristan Redmond, one of the hosts of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. The United States is marking 250 years since its founding.

And since the Global Story is a show about where the world in America meet, we're dedicating a whole week of podcasts to some surprising tales of American influence on the world stage. We've had some very special guests like Roald's. Roman Mars, host of the hit podcast, 99% Invisible. We've delved into the shadow world of the CIA. And we've heard how the United States helped the rise of a rival superpower. Today, as a bonus for your feed, we're bringing you an episode from the series. So, for this episode, we look at the American Dream.

It's one of the most successful exports the United States has ever sold the world. That tantalizing promise of a better, freer, richer life. In this episode, we tell one incredible story of the journey of an American dream seeker and ask whether that dream is still attainable. To hear more of the series, search the global story wherever you get your podcast. Now, enjoy the show. Millions of people have moved to America's shores with the belief that if you work hard, anything is possible.

I did not see America as a place. I saw it as an idea. the idea of freedom. But is the American dream fading? I feel like the American dream is alive but not well. For more than a decade, the BBC has been following the extraordinary story of one dream seeker, someone who grew up loving America, who literally won a lottery, a golden ticket to come to the United States,

and believed deeply in the promise of America. But now has somewhat complicated feelings. From the BBC, I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. And today on the global story, Abdi's American Dream. Abdi Noor Efton grew up in Somalia in the 1990s during a civil war. I don't remember peace, all I remember is war. I have had so many bullets flying, droughts and all that stuff. So there are many situations where I almost died.

He experienced a life that no child should have to. When the war led to a famine, he and his siblings ate sand and tree bark to try to relieve their hunger. And when his baby sister died, Ubdi remembers helping to dig her grave. It was in the middle of this crisis when Ubdi had his first encounter with Americans. I was in Mogadishu. It was really one night. I think I was like seven or something. My father was talking to my mother.

Americans are landing tonight. I was like, what do the Americans look like? Who are they? And I was thinking like giant people, you know. But then that was the night, United States forces were landing in Mogadishu. There was a smile on their faces, you know what I'm saying? And I went around these white people and every one of them looks like ramble. I shouted, ramble, ramble, and all of them turned back and just looking at me, smiling.

And they were just talking. They were feeding us with jam. They gave us butter, bread. They give us sweets. It's the tastiest food that I've ever eaten. Wow. Abdi began dreaming of America. He would go to the one house in the neighborhood with the television and watch Arnold Schwarzenegger movies,

taking a paper and pencil with him to jot down words so he could teach himself English, minus the Austrian accent, of course. I'm in love with the American culture. I'm in love with the American education. I'm in love with their beautiful roads and streets. I'm in love with the American language. I'm in love with everything. everything in the United States. These clips of UBD come from a documentary the BBC made with him back in 2014.

Back then, he was just about to move to America to begin his American dream. So with the 250th anniversary coming up this Saturday, we thought, who better to talk to? And I gave UBD a call. Abdi, it's a pleasure to meet you and a pleasure to have you on the global story. I've heard about your life. I've listened to some of the reporting. I know the BBC had been following your life going back more than a decade. That's right.

It's a real pleasure to meet you, albeit virtually, but still a pleasure. Indeed. You are also famous, asthma, so... I'm famous. That's very kind of you to say. And you're joining us now. You live in Maine? Yes, absolutely.

It's nothing like where I grew up. Nothing like that. And so you might be wondering what is this guy from 110 degrees Somalia doing in Maine. Maine's been home for a long time now. And this weekend, Abdi will be celebrating July 4th just like everyone else. But one part of the celebration triggers memories. Fireworks. This is one of the shocking things about America to me.

You know, fireworks. Because I have a trauma about gun sounds and stuff like that. And I remember the 1st July 4th in 2015. I said, whoa, what two groups are fighting in our neighborhood? Because the fireworks are so left. the entire town, you know, lit up. I mentioned already that Abdi had a really, really hard childhood in war-torn Somalia. That was the 1990s.

But then in 2006, when he was in his early 20s, Somalia was overtaken by the Islamist group Al-Shabaab. Abdi told me that life in Somalia went from hard to unbearable. Al-Shabaab imposed strict rules. And that was the first time in my life that I lost freedom. freedom to have a haircut the way I wanted, freedom to play soccer the way I wanted, freedom to go to movies and everything collapsed. And that is what I lost.

Once again, he faced war and his house was destroyed by a bomb. I went where it used to be in my bedroom, which was now gone. I took a shovel and I dig out of dirt like you're digging a graveyard. And I basically lived six feet hole because that was the best way to survive. the nightly bullets, the nightly shellings. Hold on. Abdi, you, you dug a hole in the dirt and you slept in that concave area. Yes. I did. Oh, wow.

Yeah, I lived in there for quite a while within all those years. And I was growing taller. I was becoming basically from a boy to a man. And that's a very dangerous time. Abdi worried that now that he was a grown man, al-Shabaab or another. armed group would force him to join them. So he fled his home country and smuggled himself into neighboring Kenya. He had escaped the bloodshed of Somalia, but he could not entirely escape al-Shabaab. The group had carried out several attacks in Kenya, and shortly after Abdi moved there, the Kenyan government began a crackdown on the Somali immigrant community. Abdi remembers experiencing

a lot of violence and discrimination during those days, being chased, for example, by men with machetes who would come to associate all Somalis with al-Shabaab. Abdi was terrified of being deported back to Somalia and he dreamed of a way to make it to the safest place he could imagine, America.

But the only possible route seemed like a moonshot. The Versa the lottery, obviously, is something everyone knows about, unless you're American. Americans don't know anything about it. The lottery program was the last desperate thing I had to try.

The diversity visa program is an initiative the U.S. government launched in the 1990s to increase the cultural diversity of U.S. immigration. Now, maybe you all don't know about this because, frankly, I did not. But in countries all over the world, this program has been a really big deal. In some years, for example, there were over 20 million applicants. Winners are randomly selected for only around 55,000 visas. So it's like the lottery of a lifetime, if you win. UBD applied in 2013, and six months later, he went to an internet cafe to check the results. Here's how he described that moment back then to the BBC. I put my confirmation number, I put my data berth, and then clicked. And I was thinking like, this the day, please. God help me. I was serious.

So there was a few seconds of silence. You have been randomly selected for file processing and that's it. I realized that one. I walked out with these friends all, you know, shouting behind me, in front of me, you know, holding my hands, shaking me. And the guy who belongs to the internet cafe also came out. And he'll say, you won, man, you got it, you got it, you're very young. Welcome to America.

Man, America's a beautiful country. He was telling me all about America. And that was really a very beautiful day for me. Abdi was 29 when he moved to the United States. He is now 41. And when we spoke recently, I could not resist playing him a clip of a video. his first impressions. So you win that visa lottery, Abdi. And in 2014, you arrive in Maine. I think it's fair to say, as a pretty bright-eyed young man. And I want to play you a clip of yourself from that time

when you first arrived. It was shortly after you came. You were speaking with the BBC reporter who made this documentary, Leo Hornack. So can I tell you some of the surprises that strikes me must. I'm the only black on this road. But the good thing about it is that there's no racism at all. They're friendly. I love them. There's something

called a washing machine, a machine that washes the dishes. It was a surprise to me, and it's still a surprise to me. I still don't believe something is washing the dishes. Okay, there's this place that we put the bread in

and the bread gets heated. Oh my God, that's it. And you know what I just love more than everything else? What? It's an ice cream. I never liked it. I thought like it's a baby kind of thing. It's a woman kind of thing. But then now I act like a baby. But then, and I was like, they make me fat. I want to be fat. Come with me.

I was very skinny in my whole life. I don't care. Abdi? Oh, boy. What do you think as you listen back to that of the... A little embarrassing, I guess. But yeah, it was quite a surprise. But now that I know how everything works... The appliances.

The appliances. You know, I'm glad I listened to that because it brings back some memories. Everything was brand new. But I'm not embarrassed. Come on. You know, everybody has a place to start, and I started right there. At the very beginning, you began by saying some of the things that surprised you. And it was not just about the technological appliances.

You say, I'm the only black on this road. The good thing about it is that there's no racism at all. So I still have a lot of respect for the neighbors who are actually very protective with everything else that's going on. They call me, they text me. They want to make sure that I'm okay and saving this. So there's a reason why I'm still in the neighborhood. So nobody has so far, now many years later, has actually discriminated me based on my race. Nobody has called the police on me yet.

Racism, I'm glad I said that. Honestly, I'm very glad I said that because I just came from Kenya, where I knew discrimination, I knew hate. Living is a Somali in Kenya, you're saying. Right, right. But now that I have my own car, I've lived here for over 10 years, I have experienced racism, not necessarily in my neighborhood, but across the state. I'm going to say, yes, absolutely there's racism now. Upti, what were those early days like in Maine? Whereabouts were you living in Maine, by the way?

Yeah. So Maine is kind of wild. It's wilderness. If you look at up on the map, you see so many trees. I live in a town called Yarmouth. A lot of people know Portland. Portland is the biggest city. And it's just 15 minutes from here if I drive. The early days, it depends on the weather. What time of year was it when you moved? August. The grass was still green. I thought wilderness. Oh, I've never seen anything like this in Somalia. It feels great. You know, deer and Turkey and all the weird animals that America has. And then all of a sudden, the trees change colors. Nothing like I've seen ever anywhere in Somalia in Kenya. And it was amazing watching that.

And snow has started. I did not know how to explain what I was feeling, the cold, the snow, the fluffiness of it to my mother. She has never had a refrigerator. She has no idea what the freezer looks like. So I remember telling her, Mom, it's like your own breath. You can see it because how cold it is. You might be tossing water up in the air and it freezes. And my mother said, you're describing heaven.

So one day, hopefully, my brother and I are actually trying our best to get her over here for her to at least experience snow before she dies. So your first job was construction. You were living in this kind of small town outside of Portland, Maine. What was life like? Construction in Somalia and Kenya means different things. Here, the material is weird. It's different. The most interesting thing to me was insulation, this little itchy staff.

That was my job, loading up bags full of that stuff. And then here are skeletons of Maine houses, just wood, nothing else. To me, it's just amazing. And then the other part is basement. Nobody has a basement in Somalia. Nobody has a basement in Kenya. And I remember asking people in Maine, like, is that if a war breaks out, you're running to the basement? They laughed hard and they said, no.

basement is part of the house, you know. And it was funny that I brought that up. So, Upti, did you intend to continue doing construction or were you saving your money during that time period for something else? I was saving money for something else, which was school. I really wanted to go to school. College. College. I went to community college and I walked hard. So from community college, I graduated to a four-year college. And that's how I got my bachelor's degree without ever finishing high school. What did you study, Ubty? I studied political science or international relations is my major. So, Abdi, you came to the U.S., much like many, many people come to the U.S., millions of people have come to America for opportunity, for, as we say, the American dream. And a core part of that American dream is the belief that you can reinvent yourself, that here in America you can be anything you want to be.

When you came, did you change from the abdi you were in Africa? No. I actually think I became more connected to the abdi I was back home. I say that because one thing that's carried me the most when I moved into the U.S. is I saw young Somalis born in the U.S. unable to speak good Somali and identity-wise feeling identity crisis going on in in their minds. And it made me think I should be glad that I speak English, but I'm also, I should be more grateful that I'm attached to where I come from, to who I was.

So, Abdi, did you always feel when you first came? Did you instantly feel that connection with Somalia? Because you mentioned you loved watching the movies and you were so into American culture. And so when you came, did you instantly feel like you want to reconnect with your Somali culture did that happen over time? So, first of all, I take the courage to try to integrate, let's say that word, going out skiing, even though my friends here, Somali friends here in Maine keep telling me that's a white thing. Stop going skiing. What do you mean hiking? What do you mean you went out to?

And I understand where they're coming from. But I'm not scared, mostly because I don't think integration steals anything from me. I know how to bake pies now. America love pies. Apple pie, can make that one. Apple pie, exactly. Yes. Even though pecan pie is my favorite.

Oh, yeah, fair enough. Fair enough, yeah. But after all, I'm American because I'm voting. I don't know if so many Americans would agree with me when I say I'm American. Because I've been told go back to your country. I've been told, you know, deport. I hear that word a lot, even though they have no idea who I am. And that I'm a American, I'm a voter as a naturalized American citizen now.

But there's two sides of America. There's a side that's respectful, wants to listen, wants to hear our stories, wants to eat our food. And then there's the other side that really feels we're poisoning them, right? I'm not using that word lightly. I've been told that before, you know, bringing Sharia law into our neighborhood. It's like, what do you mean?

I've never mentioned that word anywhere. I don't carry a microphone or run around and talk about Sharia. And so, yeah, it's sad. We started talking about this earlier, how much the American dream is connected with people's idea of economic opportunity, right? That I'll have a life and that my children will have a life that is better than mine,

that there's this idea of social mobility. And a key part of the American dream, I think for many people, has been wrapped up in money and economic opportunity. In the early days, when you were getting your first jobs in Maine, did you feel like you were living that economic American dream? No, because I don't own a house. Housing, you know, it's considered a crisis in the United States.

It's one of the difficult things. It's a very messed up system, obviously, with who can own a house, who can buy a house, who can live this dream. But that doesn't make me upset because now my mother has a house. And she's living with my sister. and they're living in Somalia. You sent her money all these years? Because of the money I sent.

You know, when I say a house, it's a Somali house. No refrigerator, no 24-hour electricity. Some guy delivers water once every week. But they think that's actually joy. They're really happy. Obviously, owning a house in the United States is tough. It requires wealth. And most immigrants invest with their families.

families. And that's what I have done. Just make mom happy year and make her leave a happy life. How has America shaped the world? I'm Asma Khalid, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. As the United States marks its 250 year anniversary, we've been exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the U.S. has shaped the modern world. And today on the show, we answer your questions about this moment and what to expect in the years to come. From the BBC, it's the United States at 2.50. Listen to the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. The 26 World Cup started with 48 teams and we've now reached the knockout stage. Records have been broken the way that Messi has been able to score all these goals late in his career.

He's happy to play football and broken records is the consequence for him. And new heroes have emerged. This country's caught the fever. Casual fans are now diehard fans. And the More Than the Score podcast is bringing you the stories beyond the score lines. More than the score from the BBC World Service. Listen now, wherever you get your BBC podcasts. The United States is about to mark its 250th anniversary.

And so on the Global Story podcast from the BBC, we're telling surprising tales of American influence on the world stage and in ordinary people's lives all across the globe. We have this ability to export our story and a lot of people have bought it. I feel like the American dream is alive but not well. From the BBC, it's the United States at 250. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Abdi, a few years after you arrived, Donald Trump first entered the White House.

He won the presidency. And he directed quite a bit of ire towards Somali immigrants. He instituted a travel ban that put restrictions on people coming in from Somalia during his campaign. I think Islam hates us. He had a lot of negative comments directed towards Muslims writ large during that campaign cycle. There's something there that's a tremendous hatred there. And spoke about them as a threat to American life, American society. And we have to be very vigilant.

We have to be very careful. And we can't allow people coming into this. country who have this hatred. What was that time like for you? Gosh, yeah. You know, not only did he say those things, but he also came to Maine. And he made this speech. He has directly attacked the Somalis directly.

I remember feeling the same scare trauma that I felt in Kenya and the Canadian president's ordering smiles be deported, and how shaky and scary and completely devastated I was, sort of feeling like, I never felt in America I would feel that way. Never. I thought I escaped when I left Kenya. I escaped that fear. Did you feel at that time that people treated you any differently as a Somali immigrant? There were a few events that I went to when someone said, are you happy with the American way of life or something like that. And I said, well, clarify, what do we, what are we talking about here? Like, are you happy to see church or do you want to see more mosques? Someone said that at one point.

And I said, no, if you're really thinking, I want church to go down on mosques built up. If you're thinking that way, no. But I love diversity. I want to see a church, a tumble, mosque, everything else. So people, people did begin to say things to you differently. Oh, yeah. You would say during that time period. Oh, yeah. I think it's a Trump narrative that makes people feel scared because Trump said something like, they don't integrate. You know, I feel like people who listen to him immediately felt, oh, okay, so the Somalis are actually moving in to take over. So, they were talking to you now at a moment in which Donald Trump is back in the White House for this second term. and one of the policy changes he has made around immigration is that he has paused the visa lottery program.

Yeah, nobody's coming through the visa lottery, which is the same program I came into the U.S. So I am lucky that I'm here because if it was now when I was going through my interview and, you know, everything else, I'm, you know, 100% sure that I would be locked out right now. I feel really bad for all the other immigrants overseas who still dreamed of America and the American ideas the same way I did, who got completely locked out now because of the Trump administration's immigration process. How has your life felt different in the United States in this second term of the Trump. I lost my full-time job. I had this amazing job at a nonprofit that supports immigrants. And I personally helped Ukrainians, refugees from Ukraine when the war broke out. And I was working with

the organization at the time. It's called Church World Service. And Afghanistan, when the withdrawal happened and so a lot of people were stranded, I was enjoying doing that job quite a lot. And so So what have I lost since Trump was elected? I lost my job. I lost my health insurance. Oh, wow. So you lost your job because this was a refugee resettlement agency? Yeah. So President Trump cut funding from the organization. The organization lost funding, federal funding. Oh, wow. What exactly was your job? What did you do? I was a communication specialist. I trained clients on storytelling. It was quite an interesting and amazing job that I was doing. When did that happen, by the way, I should ask, when was that?

I received the layoff email as early as February. So it's been a few months now. Yeah. How are you doing? Well, you know, fine, I guess. I miss my job. I miss my friends. But I speak. I do speaking engagements as well. I work with local small nonprofits as I train young folks to tell their stories, start writing, storytelling. So I stay busy. Luckily, I stay pretty busy. Losing his job is not the only significant thing that has changed for Abdi during President Trump's second term. Last December, the Somali community in Minnesota became headline news after a series of fraud allegations. Minnesota is reeling from a fraud scandal involving $1 billion siphoned from multiple federal programs during the COVID pandemic.

Theft of federal funds and corruption by individuals, particularly within the Somali community, This has put those from that community in the spotlight. A number of people have now pled guilty in relation to the scandal, and it became a national political issue, in part because President Trump weighed in. I don't want them in our country. Their country's no good for a reason. Their country stakes. Uppedi had strong views on this story, so he decided to do several media interviews,

and he was critical of the actions of some Somali Americans. Here he is on Fox News. It makes me think, why don't we look at ourselves, right, and say, okay, whether the president is right or wrong, it's that time that we have to think of welfare fraud, you know, Section 8 fraud, autism fraud, that my community is heavily involved. Nobody's talking about it. Updi says he did these interviews because the fraud upset him and he wanted to hear someone in his community call it out as a problem. But that fraud story is not how to do that. happening in isolation. It's happening in the context of a live, active political debate about what it means to be an American and who gets to be an American. And so I wanted to know what

Abdi specifically thought about President Trump's criticism of Somalis. So I pulled up a video of the president at a cabinet meeting in December and we listened to him together. He's no good for a reason. Their country stakes and we don't want them in our country. I could say that about other countries too. I can say it about other countries too. We don't want them to help. We have to rebuild our country. You know, our country's at a tipping point. We could go bad. We're at a tipping point. I don't know if people mind me saying that, but I'm saying it we could go one way or the other. And we're going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country. When you hear that, do you still feel like the American dream is alive?

for someone like you? I think what I just heard is a betrayal to my American dream. Being called garbage. You know, after all I've been through is clearly a betrayal to my American dream, the way I see America. But I'm also aware that not money Americans agree with him on that, some problem, maybe money agree with him,

but also money more, doesn't agree with him on that. Do you feel welcome? Under Trump, no. At Trump's house, no. And Trump's leadership, no. But I feel welcome in some parts of America. I've asked you a lot of different ways, I guess, about the American dream,

because it's a shorthand for the allure of the United States. Do you feel like the American dream is alive and well? I feel like the American dream is alive and well. I feel like the American dream is alive, but not well. Okay. Seriously, that's how I feel. I feel like it's alive because all of those people overseas who cannot come into the U.S. right now are all actually expecting that at some point, Trump is going to get out of the way. And we will have another leadership.

And that leadership will be open-minded and friendly, right? It is alive, but it's not well. It's not well because I'm worried that that we might not recover from this, that we become more hateful as a nation, that Trump is feeding a narrative that might sound normal because that's what he's trying to do. There's no other president that just says what he just said, right, insulting an entire nation. A lot of Somali Americans have become Americans. A lot of Somalis were born in this country. And so insulting them, Americans born in this nation. Yeah, so it's alive, but it's not well.

You have a brother, Hassan. You all were living together in Kenya. I understand he has since left Kenya. And he's now living in Canada. Correct. I was told one of our producers was telling me that. He's Canadian. Is he living the Canadian dream?

Is he Canadian? He's become a Canadian citizen. He's got a Canadian citizenship. So, yeah, he and I are joking brothers from the same country, from the same household, two different countries now, two different nationalities. Not that far from Maine, I suppose. Can drive up. It's about nine hours, yeah. I've driven up.

It's a little further than I thought. Yeah, he's in Toronto. Canada is massive. Yeah, yeah, it's a dream come true for half of our family. But our sister and mother are still stuck in Somalia and we're not giving up. In the near future, we're hoping to start processing. to get them to Canada. I think I've given up on America,

bringing them to America. So you think it's more realistic they could move to Canada? It's not a piece of cake. Obviously, Canada has a pretty tough immigration system as well, but now that my brother just became a citizen, is definitely going to make it happen. What do you think of you about Canada

and the dream it offers? Well, my brother says they have a better health care and that's worthy. I love Canada. It's a beautiful country. Very, very pretty. But if I had the choice, a second choice, I was in Kenya and I had to choose between the two, I would choose America. I don't know why.

I mean, I guess it's my first love. On that note, I just want to say thank you for joining us. I really appreciate you taking the time and just sharing your reflections and your story with us. Thank you so much for having me. an honor. That was Uddi Nour Eftin joining us from Maine. This week, to mark the United States big 250th anniversary,

we here at the global story, are looking at the surprising ways America has shaped the world. Tomorrow, the story of the man who shaped the CIA. Covert action is supposed to stay secret. We are still feeling the effects of this coup, 70 years

after the fact. And just a reminder that later this week, we're doing an episode based off of your listener questions about what's next for the U.S. It's power and the world order. As always, you can email us at The Global Story at BBC.com. We'll be joined by the BBC's

international correspondent Jeremy Bowen to help answer your questions. Today's episode was produced by Viv Jones and Aaron Keller. It was edited by James Shield and mixed by Travis Evans. Our digital producer is Matt Pintas. Our senior news editor is China Collins. And I'm

Asma Khalid. Thanks as always for tuning in and we'll talk to you again tomorrow. How has America shaped the world? I'm Asma Khalid, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. As the United States marks its 250 year anniversary, we've been exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the U.S. has shaped the modern world. And today on the show, we answer your questions about this moment

and what to expect in the years to come. From the BBC, it's the United States at 250. Listen to the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.