Ilhan Omar claims her father was some kind of "teacher" back home in Somalia, but he was actually a colonel in the army of genocidal dictator Siad Barre, which may have something to do with why they became refugees: their victims wanting vengeance. Some refugees aren't exactly "innocents."
One common reason why they have to flee from their neighbors is the vicious things they've done back in the old country.....Omar's father and grandfather were high-ranking officials in Barre's dictatorship.
Although Omar tells reporters her father was "a teacher of teachers" back home, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported his nickname among Somalis in the Twin Cities was "Colonel." Shades of the long-running scandal over whether Omar's ex-husband is her brother (yup). She claims her father was a teacher named "Nur Omar Mohamed" but he was more likely "Colonel Nur Said Elmi." Omar's late father is reported to have served as a colonel in Somalia's war of aggression in 1977 and war of defense in 1982, both against Ethiopia. Whether or not he engaged in internal war crimes, such as the Isaaq Genocide of 1987-1989, is unknown. Omar recounts that when her family's mentor, the genocidal dictator Siad Barre, fell in 1991, 20 armed men shot up their compound, causing them to flee Somalia. Evidently, the family had done enough things that lots neighbors wanted to kill them......sometimes refugees were bully boys and girls back home who had to flee when they lost the whip hand and the loved ones of their victims came for some sweet vengeance.