Bah desperately wanted to make his way to the U.S Embassy but in the dead of night offices were closed and Bah feared soldiers would seize him on his way. Searching for sanctuary but finding none Omar made a decision.

 

“I would rather go missing forever than die, so I embarked on an escape journey. If I succeed I am alive.”

 

Bah started carefully making his way to the border in a small van packed with passengers. As the van neared the border Bah could see he the bridge was lined with soldiers searching every car.

 

“There were so many soldiers. One soldier came in banging the car, with the butt of his gun, asking everybody to pull out their identities, saying that he’s looking for somebody.”

 

The soldier waved his gun and flashlight around the van. He ordered Bah to show his I.D. Bah was sweating and shaking all over as he stood up with his hands above his head. Suddenly, the most unexplainable turn of fate occurred. The soldier realized that Bah was an old classmate and school friend. The soldier began to say Bah’s name but stopped himself, a syllable away from exposing his identity at the border.

 

“He didn’t expect to see me, he was so scared his gun was shaking.”

 

The soldier quickly told the van to keep going and miraculously Bah’s life was spared, “he saved my life, that’s how I was able to get out of the country.”

 

Bah was over the border in Senegal but far from safe. President Jammed announced Bah was wanted on radio stations and posted pictures on TV news channels telling people to come forward with information. At this point Bah’s spirit had been spread thin and the stress was weighing on his will to live.

 

“I couldn’t take it, it was just too much. I was scared but I was really ambivalent about life in general”

 

The International Federation of Journalists heard of Bah’s struggle and made efforts to relocate him. Officials accompanied Bah to the airport, where he took off for Ghana, displaced yet again.

 

“I was a young man, 26 years old, wandering somewhere because I didn’t do anything, all I did was write. I’ve never held a gun in my life.”

 

Bah lived in Ghana before officially resettling in Providence, RI, but in his new home Bah now battled nightmares and symptoms of PTSD.

 

“I used to scream at night. I’d be seeing soldiers chasing me with AK-47s and I’d be screaming.”

 

After unintentionally almost overdosing on sleeping pills, desperate for sleep and emotional recovery, Bah embarked on a different journey. Bah read memoir after memoir of people who had similar stories and slowly he became himself again. Omar recently published his own memoir entitled, "Africa’s Hell on Earth: The Ordeal of An African Journalist."

 

Since his arrival in Rhode Island Bah has become increasingly politically involved. The first project he undertook, almost immediately after realizing it was a problem, was better housing for refugees in Providence. Refugees have high infant mortality rates due to lead poisoning and Bah decided to change that.

 

“I walked into the director's office and told them you have to put better policies."

 

Since his interference housing has greatly improved for refugees. Bah joined the Refugee Congress Advisory Board and became the Northeast regional leader and head of its communications committee. He currently represents Rhode Island in the UNHCR Refugee Congress. Bah also co-founded the Center for Refugee Advocacy and Support. Bah meets several times a year with congressmen in D.C to discuss refugee policies.

 

Bah has done a tremendous amount for his new community but still continues to speak out for his native country. In September during a UN meeting Bah assembled with about two dozen Gambians in front of the hotel in New York where The Gambian president was staying.

 

“We made a lot of noise again, screaming freedom, free Gambia,” Bah said with a smile.

 

Because of this small and peaceful protest Bah’s family received direct and public threats from government officials. Due to Bah’s involvement with various UN organizations, The Gambian government didn’t follow through with their threats. Of course he hopes the situation in his country will improve but if the president remains Bah said, “if he doesn’t go, when I finish my doctorate in four years, I am ready, I’ll face him.”

 

In the meantime Bah has fortunately managed to bring his mother to America. For the first time in eight years mother and son will be reuniting this week and Bah will be introducing his two children to their grandmother.

 

Omar Bah will be speaking at The University of Rhode Island on March 27th 2014 in the Swan Hall Auditorium at 7p.m.