Ilhan Omar’s ‘war survivor’ tale falls short, omits critical details about her family

Social media added some key context to a recent statement from “war survivor” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota.

The lawmaker was weighing in on the war with Iran “through the lens of someone who survived one,” but it didn’t go the way she likely hoped.

Watch:

“I mean, I do think of war through the lens of someone who survived one,” she said. “And I understand that the lasting impacts of war. It’s the displacement, it’s the trauma you can’t get rid of. I mean, I still have PTSD, you know, there’s certain environments that trigger it, and its, I think for a lot of people, especially a lot of people in the United States, unless you’ve been a service member and been in combat zone, like people can’t fully comprehend, so they’re just like, oh, there’s war and things get back to normal and everybody’s fine. And nobody accounts for the destruction that happens, nobody accounts for the missed years of education that instability brings. The loss of jobs, the loss of infrastructure, the loss of your memories, the connection to family, to your history.”

“I get a lot of people who are like, ‘You should be grateful that you have this beautiful life. I am grateful, enormously, that I have this beautiful life, but it comes with a cost,” she continued. “I think that a lot of people, because we are in America, a lot of people just see people who come here seeking a new life and just are like, why aren’t you really excited? Like, yeah, they are excited, but they also have the human capacity to miss what was lost.”

Social media users were quick to point out the tiny detail that Omar left out:

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“She ‘survived’ a war her genocidal father helped create, which means she was never on the side at-risk. Then she came to the U.S. under another person’s father’s name, positioning herself as a victim of that same war. Our government isn’t just corrupt, it’s elevating some of the most bad actors on earth,” Sarah Adams wrote.

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Sierra Marlee

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