At the age of 21, while the country was under the control of dictator Yahya Jammeh, Bah sought to become a human rights lawyer to fight political corruption and injustice.
14 Facts About Omar Bah
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From 2002 to 2006, Omar Bah wrote a column for The Daily Observer, the largest Gambian newspaper at the time.
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In May 2006, Freedom Newspaper's website and emails were hacked by the government and Omar Bah's identity was exposed, which led to The Gambia Police Force declaring a national manhunt to find him, as they circulated his name and photograph in the media.
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On May 29,2006, at the age of 26, Omar Bah undertook the dangerous journey to escape the country, first passing through Senegal with the help of human rights activists from the Media Foundation for West Africa to arrive at a refugee camp in Ghana, where he was accepted to be resettled in the United States.
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From 2010 to 2015, Omar Bah was invited to serve on the board of the Childhood Lead Action Project to strengthen safe housing for the refugee community.
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From 2011 to 2019, Omar Bah was invited to represent Rhode Island in the Refugee Congress hosted by the UNHCR in Washington, DC.
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In 2017, Omar Bah was able to return to The Gambia after a decade-long exile.
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Omar Bah spoke out against Donald Trump's muslim ban in 2018.
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Omar Bah received a national diploma in law from The Gambia Technical Training Institute in 2001.
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Omar Bah earned a certificate in journalism at The Gambia Media Training Center in 2004.
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In 2010, Omar Bah earned a bachelor's degree in communication studies with a minor in political science from The University of Rhode Island and a certificate in community economic development from Roger Williams University.
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Omar Bah received a master's in public administration from Roger Williams University in 2014 and a master's degree in counseling psychology in global mental health from William James College in 2016.
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Omar Bah completed trauma treatment certification from Harvard Medical School through the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma in 2013, after which he started practicing trauma-based therapy.
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Omar Bah attained a doctoral degree in organizational leadership and psychology with an emphasis in neuropsychology from William James College in 2020.