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Amano Dube, a leader in the Minneapolis community, is one of five recipients receiving The Advocates for Human Rights Volunteer Award. Dube is the Director of Public Sector Programs at Pillsbury United Communities' Brian Coyle Center, a social service center that supports the local immigrant community. Prior to working at the Center, Dube was the Executive Director of the Oromo Community of Minnesota, a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of the Oromo in Minnesota. For the last five years, Dube has volunteered with The Advocates, connecting immigrants and refugees who are seeking asylum with volunteer attorneys and helping to interpret asylees' testimonies. This past month, I had the opportunity to speak with Dube about his work with The Advocates and to learn about the impact he has made in his community.

Dube, an asylee from the Oromo community in Ethiopia, came to the United States in 1994:

"Knowing how I came to this country, what kind of help I got - by the way, when I came to this country, I did not have a language program interpreting for me - [ motivated me to help others] … I have seen so many clients who come to this country with nothing in terms of education and they fully rely on somebody who is bilingual and who speaks their language and understands English."

Dube has worked for over twenty years with community organizations connecting refugees and immigrants to assistance, including to asylum help. "I stepped up to bridge that gap and there are people that rely on me as a person who knows them and knows the atrocities in their country."

Dube learned about The Advocates while working at the Oromo Community of Minnesota trying to connect members of the community with necessary resources. During this process, Dube discovered The Advocates and the work that they do in helping asylees. As a volunteer with The Advocates, Dube connects those that come to him for asylum help with The Advocates' services. "From the day they come to me, I first call The Advocates for Human Rights. I connect that client with staff there so that they can schedule interviews and appointments... and then my role during this time is basically helping with language interpretation and document interpretation sometimes." 

When I asked Dube to describe an impactful moment that he had while volunteering with The Advocates, he took a moment to think and then began to tell me about the experiences of a young Oromo adult with medical complications from Ethiopia who sought asylum. "I received a call from the Mayo Clinic about somebody who came to the country because of a traumatic injury, who was also a victim of political prosecution. He had a disease that partially paralyzed his body." The man was sick, could not speak English, did not know the country, and could no longer afford treatment. Dube called the man to see what he could do to help. The next day, Dube drove an hour and a half to visit the young man at the Mayo Clinic. "I saw him in the hospital, and he said 'get me out of here. Do whatever you can do for me.' He was really desperate to meet someone who could understand him and comfort him." Dube then remembered the work of The Advocates and believed that this young Oromo man was the type of person that could benefit from their help in the asylum process. "So, I decided to bring him to my home and give him a bedroom. My wife and I decided that if God can help him and the American system can help him, then we will do our part by helping to feed him and dress him." Two days later, Dube called The Advocates and explained the situation and they scheduled an interview for the man. "I drove him to The Advocates' office. They interviewed him, they took his case, asylum was filed, and he was connected to the Center for Victims of Torture which got him insurance - which he needed for treatment. He then got the asylum and got the most needed treatment." Dube went silent for a moment. He continued, "now he has gone back to college, majored in micro information systems and accounting, he got married, and he is a husband now living right here close to us." Dube paused again and then added "and that, I would say, is the most memorable part of the work that The Advocates do. They completely turn around the life of people."

After clients seek asylum, Dube's work does not end. Through his work at the Brian Coyle Center, he helps asylees to obtain housing, find jobs, and receive health care. "All of this we do behind the scenes," he told me: "We live in the community we know what they need… We take this as our responsibility. I am not doing this for The Advocates, I am not doing this for recognition… I do it because it is my role as an Oromo to help another Oromo or Ethiopian. Because I know the language, I am better positioned to help them and to connect them with systems including The Advocates."

Thank you, Amano. You are a kind, hardworking, and passionate advocate. You lead by example and your work inspires others to become better advocates for social change. It is with great honor that The Advocates for Human Rights presents to you a 2020 Volunteer Award.

By Jenna Schulman, University of Pennsylvania sophomore and active volunteer for The Advocates For Human Rights.