Part 4: The Strange Life of Salim the Refugee – Finally, Citizenship!

I FIRST wrote about our neighbourhood besi karat (scrap metal) collector, Salim, a Rohingya refugee, in May 2015 (read here).

Last week (Sept 20, 2024), Salim video-called our family, looking dapper in a blue suit and striped tie; he wore the widest grin I had ever seen. My mother knew. “Waaah! You look like that film star... Denzel Washington!” she said. Salim giggled, boyishly pleased.