Jasmin Ahmed

Jasmin Ahmed shares perspectives about living in Hudson, New York as a fifteen year old Bengali, Muslim American.

She describes traveling back and forth throughout her Childhood, and being educated between, Hudson and Bangladesh – recalling memories of school, her mom’s ideas about cultural identity, language and education, missing her dad, the ways her parents and her sisters supported her education in both places, and her sense of herself over time in these communities. Jasmin speaks about how starting out as a talkative, curious but also shy child, the youngest of the family, and growing into the young adult community leader, feminist, and activist that she is now - just weeks before this interview, leading a community discussion about public transportation in Hudson, and helping to create a bus map that better serves the needs of the people who ride the bus.  She identifies organizations and programs in Hudson (Kite’s Nest, Raising Places, We Make Noise, and the Hudson Muslim Youth) that have been important to her finding her own voice, realizing her talents (as a photographer and youth leader), and knowing she can impact the community around her.  She reflects on her love for her sisters, her deep interest in working with children, on those who have most influenced her, and the cultural diversity of her friends. And, she observes how the Bengali community has grown in Hudson, how everyone knows everyone else, and expresses her hope that the growth and change happening now in Hudson doesn’t detrimentally affect the city’s long time residents. This interview took place on the first floor of Drop, Forge and Tool, located at 442 Warren Street.