Before he was a fully grown blight on humanity, Donald Trump was born and raised in the Jamaica Queens section of New York City. In March, Trump’s childhood home was auctioned off for $2.14 million and the new owners turned the place into an Airbnb with a $700-$800 a night listing. Over the weekend, in concert with Oxfam America, a small group of refugees convened at the home in protest.
The home was made available for rent earlier this year. Oxfam rented the house during an unprecedented moment in recent US history when all three branches of the US government will soon be making critical decisions that will impact the lives of millions of refugees. The choices made in the coming weeks by President Trump, Congress, and the Supreme Court could determine whether the US lives up to its historical values and continues to be a haven for people facing oppression and crisis.
According to ABC News refugees from Somalia, Syria, and Vietnam met up and told their stories inside of the same spaces where Donald Trump’s father likely yelled racial epithets at the local news when Donnie was a wee lad.
In an upstairs bedroom, Eiman Ali, 22, looked around at the dark wood floors and a copy of the book "Trump: The Art of the Deal" on a nearby table and wondered about the home's previous resident.
"Knowing Donald Trump was here at the age of four makes me think about where I was at the age of four," said Ali, her smiling face framed by a dark gray hijab. "We're all kids who are raised to be productive citizens, who have all these dreams and hopes."
Ali was three when she arrived in the United States from Yemen, where her parents had fled when war broke out in their native Somalia. Ali said she remembered Trump as an entertaining character on "The Celebrity Apprentice," but has since changed her opinion.
You can watch Oxfam’s short video on the event below: