Syrian born, Osama, moved to the United States in 1995. In his native country he was a tailor and later a photographer, a profession he continues to this day, but felt he needed to expand his “cultural borders, living in France, Spain and the U.S.” He is fluent in Arabic, English, French, Persian and Spanish.
Osama likens the Mississippi River to the Euphrates and Jordan River, having taken a road trip from the headwaters in Itasca State Park to the Gulf of Mexico. It is what draws him to Minnesota.
‘Since that decision of leaving Damascus, I keep thinking about it. It really makes me sad that I lost all these years away from my home country, but I found in the state of Minnesota, what I lost in Damascus. It still has that feel.”