Ibrahim Ibn Ibrahim has a passion for translating his feelings and emotions into writing — whether it’s joy from a day spent with his friends, or sorrow from homesickness. Regardless if he’s at his highest or his lowest, Ibrahim puts pencil to paper to vividly describe what he feels.
It’s that attachment to writing that inspired the WSU criminal justice student to document his journey and to reflect on the struggles that everyone — regardless of identity or background — deals with. His recently released book, “The Bravest American,” is Ibrahim’s testament to “the daily battles, triumphs, and the unyielding spirit” of ordinary individuals.
Ibrahim is originally from Nigeria, a country which he described growing up in as a “pit of survival.” When Ibrahim had the opportunity to come to the United States in 2011, the experience was initially everything he dreamed it would be.
It was during his time that he began to hone in on his writing and journaling skills. Ibrahim said it not only gave him the opportunity to healthily deal with his emotions, but also helped him increase his phonetics and speaking skills while he took intensive English courses.
In 2015, Ibrahim was “blessed” by the birth of his daughter. And, while he would become a single father, he took pride in raising her while doing everything within his power to serve as a positive role model.
But the fruition of Ibrahim’s “American dream” wouldn’t be without suffering and hardship. On Nov. 24, 2017 — a date Ibrahim said he will never forget — his daughter died in a house fire. From the same blaze, Ibrahim was sent to the hospital in critical condition after sustaining life-threatening injuries in his attempts to rescue his daughter.
With no family to aid in his recovery, Ibrahim recalled feeling absolutely and utterly alone.
“The trial, the turmoil that I went through then, which is something that I’m still (dealing with) … the PTSD of that incident alone, is something unforgettable,” Ibrahim said.
But when Ibrahim arrived at the hospital, he wasn’t by himself. He said firefighters and first responders from the incident regularly came to see him and ensured that he had “the best care possible.” When the firefighters left, it was the nurses, who had to change his bandages and check on him every half hour, that kept him company and reaffirmed that everyone — regardless of what they’ve been through — has the capacity to be kind, be brave and be part of a family, even in the worst circumstances.
“Imagine me being in the United States. I have no father, no mother, no brother, no relative. I have nobody,” Ibrahim said. “But the family — I need it when I need it — it’s something that I have to have. Because without them (the firemen and nurses), I wouldn’t know how to go on.”
Ibrahim said The American Red Cross “came out of nowhere” to help him post-recovery, and social workers at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis helped him every step of the way, even once he was out of hospital care. Members of the local Islamic community stepped up to handle his daughter’s funeral arrangements, collecting her body from the morgue and ensuring that Ibrahim wouldn’t have to pay a cent to lay his daughter to rest.
“I felt like … I had nobody to turn to. But then I felt like the family I needed most, without judgment, took care of me,” Ibrahim said. There’s good people all over the world — you just have to find them.”
The care that the firefighters and police officers showed Ibrahim inspired him to return to school — this time at Wichita State — to pursue a criminal justice degree. He attended Butler Community College, obtaining his associates in criminal justice, before transferring to Wichita State.
During his time at Butler, Ibrahim sought to bring forth as much “positive change” as possible. He worked as a corrections officer to act as a “salve for the community.” He soon realized that he wasn’t reaching as many people as he wanted to, though.
“All those jobs were good, but I felt like I’m only reaching … fewer people,” Ibrahim said. “And I wanted to impact, if not the whole state, it should be the whole nation.”
Ibrahim then decided to use his “obsession” for writing to enact the change he wanted to see. He began writing “The Bravest American” to document “the unspoken sacrifice that I’m seeing daily.”
“I said to myself, ‘I’m going to write about the struggles and challenges of everyday individuals because nobody’s speaking about it,’” Ibrahim said.
While the book first took an autobiographical turn, Ibrahim eventually decided to base the book on the “relentless preservation of the indomitable human spirit” and what people are capable of, regardless of tragedy or obstacles.
“(This book is about) ordinary problems and extraordinary resilience,” Ibrahim said. “It captured the essence of a daily struggle. Life is a struggle, but it’s also a success.”
As part of Ibrahim’s promise to himself to make his book accessible, “The Bravest American” can be bought at Barnes & Noble or Amazon for $12.99.
“The bravest American isn’t found in the headline of history,” Ibrahim said, “But in the unspoken sacrifice and unyielding determination of the everyday citizen.”
