Students from Columbus Alternative High School rallied in front of the Statehouse today to protest what’s been widely referred to as the Muslim Ban. President Donald Trump’s executive order barring immigrants and refugees from seven majority-Muslim nations has caused confusion at international airports, split up families and received mass public backlash, including a protest on Monday that gathered thousands of Columbusites calling on the city to become a sanctuary, where refugees and undocumented immigrants are safe from federal immigration laws.
“Being Muslim myself, I have to live with the realization of the risk I am taking by exercising my right of practicing my religion freely,” said Ramy Hassan, an 11th grade Columbus Alternative High School student and rally organizer. “My mother and sister should not be afraid of having their hijab pulled off every time they are in public. My family should not have been told ‘f*****g Arabs’ by our own neighbors as we left to visit my aunts and uncles on Eid last September.”
The small youth-led rally, held from 12 to 2 p.m., gathered a few dozen participants.