Q&A in Columbus Dispatch

Researcher Maryam Sy and “Broken Hope” authors Suma Setty and Lynn Tramonte were interviewed about the project by the Columbus Dispatch. Read the article here (behind the paywall here).

Maryam Sy: We started with 75 people. And then at the end, we had over 255 people that I interviewed. … The interviews were 100% by phone and WhatsApp.

The majority were Muslim men, Black men, and they're not used to talking about emotions. At the beginning, it was hard for them to open up and tell me their stories. … But little by little, they opened up to me. I think it helped that I'm speaking their language and the fact my husband is Mauritanian, the fact that I'm a Black woman, and I'm an immigrant in America. (Excerpt from “New book shares experiences of over 250 Mauritanians, others deported from Ohio,” Columbus Dispatch, January 2024.)