Real Talk with BELLA: Dr. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess - Activist + Author

Dr. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess is an activist, author, Muslim refugee and
authority on rebuilding societies and civic institutions that have
fallen into chaos. In fact, she’s a professor who lectures on
radicalization, corruption and elite formation in societies at
Columbia University. Her just-released memoir, THE CAT I NEVER
NAMED: A True Story of Love, War, and Survival, is a harrowing
account of how her family survived the Bosnian war’s ethnic
cleansing campaign in the early 90’s. Amra’s journey has been
described as Anne Frank’s if Frank hadn’t perished during the
Holocaust. Her background and expertise converge with so many of
America’s current cultural touch points: radicalization and the
rise of hate groups, White supremacy, far right activism, BLM,
racism, tribalism, exploding Islamophobia and anti-immigrant
sentiment, civil unrest and social disintegration, and trying to
stay hopeful in a country you don’t recognize. Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess
is an expert because she has firsthand experience and she has since
devoted her life to understanding how and why societies fall apart.
Her advice is sought by US policymakers in the US Dept. of State as
well as leaders of NGO’s and foreign governments.