OUR CANADA , MY STORY, ALI DUAL

By Salima Stanley-Bhanji

"This is my community, this is my country. I’m part of this fabric. I’m not less than anybody and I’m proud of being Canadian.” Ali Duale and his wife fled a brutal civil war in Somalia in 1991, living in a Kenyan refugee camp with three children until they arrived in Canada six years later. Ali became a firefighter and now has eight children, coaches two basketball teams, organized a swimming program, sits on the board of the Maritime Muslim Academy and helped plan a new mosque. He was recently named Diversity and Community Liaison Officer for the Halifax fire department.