 One shit professional athletes feel morally obligated to put their careers, their personal safety and their own freedom on the line to speak out about political injustice. Raised in Turkey, Anas Kantor Freedom decided to use his fame to speak out about the issues that matter most. He moved to the US when he was 17 for college and was drafted by the Utah Jazz in 2011. It was a chance encounter with a fan that inspired him to take his activism to the next level. While we are dribbling a ball on the other side of the world, people are losing their loved ones in their lives and losing their hopes. Freedom made headlines earlier this year for criticizing the National Basketball Association and its biggest stars for their business relationships with China, which has been accused of violating the civil rights of ethnic Muslims known as the Uyghurs and forcing them into re-education camps. In 2022, he was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Houston Rockets and then waived four days later. Reason caught up with Freedom to talk about his early childhood, growing up in Turkey as a basketball prodigy, calls for his arrest and what's driving his activism. Anas Kantor Freedom, thank you so much for talking to Reason. Thank you for having me. I appreciate that. I want to start out a little bit about your background. I know you were born in Zorak and then you spent most of your early childhood teen in Turkey and then you moved to the US. So we'll just start with that. Tell me the whole story, as far as you remember, and then… Well, the reason I was born in Switzerland because my dad was doing his master in Zorak. So I was born there. I literally stayed there for nine months. I wish I stayed there longer than I moved back to Turkey. And I lived in the east side of Turkey, the city called Van. And there were many Armenians, many Kurds, many Turkish people. It was a city that people were from all over the world. You know, I stayed there until I was like 13, 14 years old. And just because of basketball, I moved to the capital of Ankara. And I played basketball there for two years. And it was an amazing, amazing experience. And I literally just… The reason I started playing basketball very late because I wanted to be a soccer player, but I was too tall for it, too slow for it. So that's why it didn't really work. So I moved to Ankara to play basketball. Then I moved to Istanbul, the biggest, I guess, most famous city in Istanbul. I don't want to say the biggest. But then, you know, I played basketball professionally for two and a half years. And just because of my dad wanted me to play basketball and go to school same time. And when I started playing basketball, my dad promised me that I wanted to be a good student for me to go basketball player. You know, he literally sent me to America so I can go to school and play basketball at the same time. So you said you played basketball when you were 14 years old, how did that happen? How did basketball come into play? Well, it's not the first most famous sport in Turkey, obviously. If you're in Europe or especially Middle East, soccer is like number one sport. But, you know, I was, like I said again, I was like, well, I'm the tallest one in my classroom. And, you know, all my friends were telling me to play basketball and stuff. So I was like, you know what, OK, I'll just give it a shot. And I actually was better than everyone else in my class and in my school. And that year we won a championship in Ankara. And I was like, I think this is going to be my path from now on. And since then I've been playing basketball. So how did your family feel about you playing basketball as a career? Oh, they hated that. They literally, especially my mom, because my dad is a scientist and my mom was a nurse. And so they were all about education. They wanted me to go to school and focus on nothing else, just studying all day till I made my first check. And after that, they're like, OK, you've played basketball from now on. I was the funniest thing. But, you know, they obviously in the beginning, they were not supportive at all. And but I was like, well, that's my dream, you know, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to go to school, you know. But I always like, OK, school is number one education because my dad was always telling me is like, it's not guaranteed that you're going to make it to MBA. Even if you do, then you're only going to play this game till maybe like 34, 35, which I had to quit at, you know, 30. So they're like, well, once you retire, you want to be able to have a job, you know, you don't you don't want to just go home and watch TV all day. So that's why the school was always so important. So you said you came to the US to study. Where did you? So I went to a prep school in Simi Valley, California. You know, I went there for one year. Then I took my SAT and then I signed with the University of Kentucky. You know, I went there for one year. Then I got drafted in 2011 by Utah Jazz, the third pick. So you played for multiple teams, right? Do you have a favorite team? Oh, that's a tough one. When you say obviously all of them was an NBA team. But if I had to pick one, I guess I'd go with the next because of the city, because of Madison Square Garden, because of the fans. But I mean, fans have been nice to me everywhere I go. But I will say because of the city, I guess I'm going with New York. OK. So I'm going to kind of go back to your visit to the US. You said in one of your interviews that, you know, your the name Freedom was inspired with was inspired by a visit that you made to the US in 2009, where you were criticizing a presidential candidate at the time and your friend warned you that it was actually the other way. OK. So in 2009, I was I was going to prep school for the first time. And I remember we had a really like tough practice. And after the practice, we are all sitting around in the locker room and we're all just checking our phone and stuff. Obviously, back then we all had like Facebook, you know. So I saw one of my teammates criticize the president. And I was like, very scared for him. I was like, dude, what are you doing? I immediately turn around like, dude, like, what are you doing? And he's like, what happened? I was like, I saw your post. And he's like, OK. And I was like, well, you might be in jail tomorrow. And he started to laugh and he was like, this is not Turkey. This is America. And I was very confused. I'm like, what do you mean? And he he started to like explain to me about like freedom of speech, religion, expression, protest. And I still didn't get it. I was like, what is this guy talking about? Because if you do if you did that in Turkey, you'll be in jail the next day. So I was very confused. And in the later on, the more people I met and started to talk and about all this stuff, they explained to me about you are not going to be thrown in jails or your family won't be tortured just because of you. Talk about some of the problems are happening in America. And I was like, wow, this is so beautiful. I think, you know, after, I guess, water and food, I think the freedom is like the most important thing that human being can have. So I was like, I want to make this part of me. I want to make that work part of me and put my put behind my jersey and make literally just just inspire millions of kids out there. So you changed your name. Did you change it? Because you you get an option during your citizenship to change your name. And that's it was literally like four or five months ago. You know, they they show me a paper and they're like, would you like to change your name? Would you want to add another, you know, name or stuff? I was like, yeah, I do. So and I made freedom my last name. What was your reaction? It was amazing, especially in our locker room, you know, especially whenever I walk on the street now, not just in America, but like Europe and everywhere else, Canada or, you know, even even in my city, you know, that I play basketball for. So I was like, whenever I walk outside, people started to, you know, freedom, even when I play basketball, you know, when I changed my, you know, last name, people were chanting freedom, freedom, literally every every night go. So it was like to me, it was just very emotional. At the same time, I was like, well, this is working. So this is you became a U.S. citizen. Is it I think it was like I'm trying to think I think it was in November. November. OK. And you had a problem in the past with your application. Do you want to talk about why it was so hard for you to become a U.S. citizen? Oh, well, so. I started to talk about I'll tell you the whole story. I started to talk about some of the problems are happening in Turkey because, unfortunately, because of Erdogan's regime took over the office. Since then, there is no freedom of speech, no freedom of religion, no freedom of expression, no freedom of protest. And my hope is from Turkey and Turkish government is that, first of all, the free all the political prisoners, free all the innocent women, because you look at the numbers that are 17,000 innocent women with their babies, with their kids in the jail right now are getting tortured. I remember back in 2013, that was a big corruption scandal happened. And President Erdogan and his some of his family members was involved in it. And that was like the end after that scandal, after he got exposed, he started to go around and put an innocent people in jail, prosecutors, lawyers, judges and police and some innocent people. And after that, he started to go around and started to shut down media outlets, magazines, newspaper, TV channels. And I was like, this is unacceptable. And I'm going to say something about it. And as an uneducated media player, you know, I literally put a tweet out there. And because of them being a platform, it became a conversation. And I was like, wow, even one single tweet can affect this much from now. And I'm going to start to pay attention about what's going on in my country more and more. So I was like, I remember my teammates or my friends were going out, going out to bars or clubs or hanging out. I was going back to my house and started a study about, you know, what's going on in my country, in America, the relationship between America and Turkey, that the things are happening in Middle East. And I started to talk more and because they'd be a platform, many of the media outlets and newspapers want them to give an interview and write op-ed for them. And every time I say something, it was becoming a conversation. And so the things I talk about really bothered the Turkish government. And the things that I talk about affected me and my family. You know, my, I remember, you know, my dad, you know, got fired from his job. My sister went to medical school for six years. Till this day, she still cannot find a job. I think the saddest one was my little brother because he wanted to be an NBA player, like his big brother. But because of the same last name, he was getting kicked out in every team. He was so young, I couldn't explain him because he was telling me is like, I'm the tallest one in my team and or I'm the best player in our team. Why am I getting kicked out? They were getting affected so much, you had to put a statement out there and saying, we are disordered in us. And I remember going to practice that day was definitely one of the toughest day in my life. And Turkish government didn't believe that they sent police to my house in Turkey. And they raided the whole house and they took every electronics away because they wanted to see if I am still in contact with my family or not. So phones, computers, laptops, iPads, they took all of them. And they couldn't find no evidence, but they still took my dad in jail for a while. But we put so much pressure from here, Turkey with politicians and media, they had to let him go. And then after that, they revoked my passport and put my name on Interpol list. So till this day, I'm still counted as like an international criminal, you know. And then when they revoked my passport, obviously I didn't have any passport. And I wasn't American citizen. So I just had a green card. So that's why, because of my name was Interpol list, I couldn't really travel anywhere outside of America. So I had to wait five, six years to become a citizen. So when I got my passport, I started to travel. So the name freedom kind of carries, you know, a dual meaning. You're actually, you did gain. Big meaning. So it's just, it's not just that name. It's, there are lots of emotions and, you know, meanings behind that name. How about your family back in Turkey? How would? Do you talk, you still talk, you don't talk to your family? Good question. Well, I mean, just because of my dad was in jail, they're really scared that he's going to come out there because they listen everything. All the phones, they tracked down IP numbers and they try to see if they're still in contact with me or not. So if there is any kind of communication, they'll be all in jail. So last time I saw my family, it was back in 2015. But my brother plays basketball in Poland. And so I asked him, how's my family doing? How's my mom? How's my dad? He's having pictures sometimes of them and stuff. So that's the situation. What was the last time you talked to them? Do you remember? Oh, good question. So to be honest, I can't remember. It's been that long. So I want to talk a little bit, you know, kind of switch gears and talk about the NBA. You are very passionate about variety of human rights, civil liberties. I watch you talk about, you know, multiple tyrannies in the world. But you did focus for a while on the Uyghur issue in China and the treatment that the Chinese government is carrying towards millions of people in China. And that, you know, costs you a lot. Do you want to talk a little bit about how did that all come about? It's actually a very crazy story. So I remember just last summer I was in a basketball camp in New York and we had an amazing basketball camp. And after the basketball camp, all the kids and parents were lined up and they were getting pictures and autographs one by one. I remember I took a picture with this kid and while I was taking a picture, his parents called me out front of everybody and said, how can you call yourself a human right activist when your Muslim brothers and sisters are getting tortured and raped every day in concentration camps in China? And I'm still smiling for the picture. And I heard that I was so I was I was just shocked. I took a picture, I turn around and I was like, I promise I'm going to get back to you. So I cancel everything that day. I went back to my hotel and I started to study about what's going on, not just Uyghurs. You know, I started with Uyghurs. But first of all, the things I have read, I was like, I cannot believe that I have not or no one has said anything about this issue before. So I was like, I'm going to do whatever I can to speak up, whatever it takes. So while I was studying for the Uyghurs, I called my manager. I was like, I need you to find me a concentration camp survivor. And he was obviously he was very shocked. He's like, what are you talking about? Because on the incident, you can find all kinds of news. Good news, bad news, fake news, because you don't know which one is true. So I sit down, he found me one. Actually, the woman that he found, you just interviewed with. Yeah, Tirsten and I, we interviewed her here. So I sit down on a Zoom and start to have a conversation with her. And I was like, she was telling me about all the tortures and gang graves. She was telling me about forced sterilization, abortion, and how many people were actually inside, the numbers, and how many people are getting killed inside. How are they brainwashed? She told me about the organ harvesting and, you know, the cameras, surveillance cameras and stuff. So I was like, if a human being carries a heart, like you have to talk about it. It doesn't matter what it costs. So then while I was studying, at the end of our conversation, I asked her, okay, what can I do for you? She said, nothing. I was like, what do you mean? I said, I don't know. I was like, what do you mean? Nothing. She said, well, I'm in America. I'm here. I'm safe. But there are millions of people in concentration camps right now are waiting for your help. Help those people, not me. I was like, whoa. And obviously, if you look at the numbers, just last year, more people watched NBA games in China than American population, over 400 million. And because of the Jersey sales and shoe sales and endorsement deals that NBA get and all the players get from China is the most important market. You see all the players before the COVID, whenever the season over, before they go to vacation, they were going to China to organize some kind of a friendly game or organize basketball camp or doing some kind of thing with China. And obviously, they were getting so much attention. They were getting so much money and they were doing, I guess, lots of business in that country. So it's huge. It's a billion dollars of deals every year, just because just from the TV deals and endorsement deals, it's the craziest amount of money that I have heard. They don't want to lose that. What made me so angry was two years ago when we were all at NBA bubble. NBA was the first organization went out there and said, we are a social justice organization. And all the players went out there and said we are more than an athlete. We are a social justice warrior or we are freedom fighters. We are a human rights activist. And NBA was put in all these logos, Bialam logos on the floor and put in all these phrases which was controlled by the NBA. We couldn't pick anything else behind our jersey. And we went out there and played and every interview was about social justice. I was like, this is amazing, right? This is finally NBA standing up for something bigger than basketball. Two years later, this happened. I was like, someone has to expose this. Someone from the inside has to expose this because they will only care about the things until it affects their money and it affects their business. So I was like, okay. Because two years ago, when Daryl Murray tweeted about Free Hong Kong, the Boston Celtics made me media unavailable for two weeks. I was like, okay, that happened. And then two years later, I have seen that not one official from the NBA did not stand next to me. I was like, I'm going to expose this. And I went a lot there. Not one person stand right next to me. What was the most controversial tweet you put out there? The ones that you got the most pushback on? I don't want to say controversial, but the most attention tweet that I had was about Nike. Because it was the first time ever and a player and an athlete called a company, Nike. It is the biggest sponsor of NBA. And I literally said that when Nike was in his modern day slavery. They stand up for Black Lives Matter in America, Latino community, no Asian hate, LGBTQ community. But when it comes to China, they remain silent. And I was like, we have to expose this. And I wanted to do it in a very unique way. Because when I was a kid, whenever I watched the NBA game, the first thing that I was watching was the shoes. What color they are, what brand it is. If it's comfortable then I was going out there and buying it. So I wanted to do it in a very unique way where I can put all these designs, all these abuses on a shoe, and go out there and play. Because I looked at it, there is no rule against it in NBA. A lot of people were putting Black Lives Matter, Brianna Taylor, I can't breathe and all these phrases. I was like, so there is no rule against it. So we work with this, you know, artists who have been oppressed by their governments. And you know, he created the shoes. Free Tibet, free Uyghur, free China, and, you know, stop organ harvesting and surveillance games. So it was getting so much attention. I remember my first game, it was on ESPN, Madison Square Garden, first game. The whole world was watching that game. So I was like, I put the shoes on, I went out there, and I started to warm up. And all the players were like, looking at my shoes, they're like, this is very interesting. I've never seen this color, because it was so colorful and it was like flag on it, it was saying free Tibet. So right before the game, we sang the National Anthem, we came in a huddle, and there was two gentlemen from the Celtics came to me and said, you have to take your shoes off. I was very confused. I'm like, what are you talking about? He said, your shoes have been getting so much attention. We've been getting so many calls, you have to take your shoes off. I was like, I cannot believe they're telling me to take my shoes off. It was a perfect moment because I was just getting ready for my citizenship test. I closed my eyes. I was like, okay, there are 27 amendment, my first amendment, freedom of speech. I was like, no, I'm not taking my shoes off. I was like, I don't care even if I get fined. They said, we're not talking about a fine. We're talking about getting banned. Literally, they were threatening me to get banned just because I was wearing no shoes. At halftime, I went back to my locker room. I had thousands of notifications in my phone. I clicked on my manager's text message. He said, every Celtics game is banned in China the rest of the year. I was like, that shows my point. Literally, and I had one halftime, there's 12 minutes and 12 minutes, 24 minutes and one halftime. Literally, in 24 minutes, it took China to ban every Celtics game on television. That's literally censorship and dictatorship that I was talking about. After the game, obviously, there was a huge media storm. And I was like, I told my manager, I'm not going to do any media. Because I didn't want my teammate to think I'm doing this for attention. So that the next one or two months, we did not do any kind of media. So right after that, after the game, obviously, I was getting called from obviously, NBA, NBA, the player association. They told me to take your shoes off. You're not going to wear this every game. They were harassing me so much. I talk about the problems that happened in Turkey the last 10 years. I did not get one phone call. I talk about the things that happened here in China. My phone was ringing once every hour, me and my managers. It got to a point, they were harassing us so much. I was like, okay, I promise you, I'm not going to wear free Tibet shoes every game. So the next game, I wore free Uyghursh shoes. They called me after the game. They're like, you're a liar. You lied to us. You said, you're never going to wear free Tibet shoes. I was like, I did not wear free Tibet shoes. I wore free Uyghursh shoes. At that point, they understand that they're not going to handle me because they're not going to make me apologize or take my tweet down or they're not going to make me say, oh, I didn't know enough. I was not educated enough. I was like, I'm going all in. What happened after that? What happened after that, we continue to talk about the problems are happening. I started to, you know, I wore a Winnie the Pooh shoes. I don't know if you know about Winnie the Pooh. So the cartoon of Winnie the Pooh is banned in China. The reason is people were making fun of the president of China, Xi Jinping. They were telling him that you look like Winnie the Pooh. So he literally banned the whole cartoon in the whole country. And I was like, okay, let's do something crazy. And then the next one we talk about, you know, Nike. And the next one we talk about Hong Kong and Taiwan and stop organ harvesting and stuff. And then I was like, well, this is becoming a trend. And everyone was asking me, okay, where can I buy these shoes? Where can I do this? I was like, I'm not going to even sell them because I'm literally doing this just for human rights. Did you receive any criticism that you mentioned earlier that you were concerned that some people might view this as you just doing it for attention? Was there any indication to you that some people thought that? Well, the reason I didn't want to do any kind of interview. I didn't want to put the shoes out there for sale or anything like that because I didn't want anyone to think that I'm doing this for attention, especially my teammates because I didn't care about anyone because I knew I was talking about the right things. I was talking about very uncomfortable situations that I never wanted to talk about. And I was like, I don't want to say criticism, but I remember my teammates were coming to me one by one in a locker room and saying, you know, this is your last year, right? You are not going to be able to get any contract after this. They were telling me, listen, you attack Nike, you attack, you know, China, you won't get, you won't play another minute on this league ever again. I was like, wow, they were literally telling me this is it just because I talk about the situation happening in China. I talk, I expose Nike and some other companies and stuff. I was calling out IOC, Olympic committees. I was like, well, this is the right thing to do. I'm just going to continue to keep doing what I'm doing. So was there any truth to what they were telling you? Of course. I mean, obviously, NBA is not going to come out there and say, we're going to release them because of that. And February, you know, trade that line. I got traded to not any team but Houston Rockets. That was the Houston Rockets was the first time that general manager tweeted something about Hong Kong and he put his tweet down and apologized. Houston Rockets was China's team because of Yao Ming. And it was the first team that went to China and played a friendly game. I believe it was against the Lakers. So and later on, there was an article came out which we learned that the Houston Rockets owner got tied up over 165 million dollars with China. I was like, well, that clearly shows my point. So you stopped playing and when was the last time you played? February. February. Where are you with the NBA now? Where am I? Yeah. Good question. I mean, I'm still working out. I'm still obviously, before everything, I'm a basketball player and I'm very thankful for NBA because they give me the platform that I need it and I want it. So I am very thankful for NBA for giving me this huge platform worldwide. But if they're going to do something wrong, I'm going to expose them. Where am I with the NBA right now? Good question. I don't even know. I'm just waiting to hear from them. And I told every team, I told my agent to tell every general manager in NBA, every owner, every coach, I'm ready to play and I want to play. Were you released from your contract? What happened the last time? So it's not released. It's being traded, then released. Yeah. So I got traded first, then I got released. People say, some people say that, you know, athletes shouldn't get into politics. Well, this is not politics. There's a difference between politics and human rights. I have never in my life, we can watch every interview with all my op-eds or, you know, just search on every, you know, search page on internet that I have never said we should, you know, vote for this guy or not vote for this guy. We should cheer for this party, but not that party. I am right or I'm not left. You know, I've never said anything like that. Because human rights is about politics. I don't care which side or whoever you cheer on for, whichever party you're part of, you have to care about human rights, you know? So if you're talking about human rights, yes. Because I believe now these days, I mean, you have, you know, the media, you have the social apps, smartphones, and all this, you know, everything that combines, it gives you a huge platform to talk about, whatever you want to talk about. It's an amazing responsibility on your shoulder, you know? So you are literally a teacher. You can literally teach and educate our young generation because these kids are idolizing you and following your social media every hour maybe. So I believe athletes or celebrities plays a very important role in our time and we have to put the right things out there for our world, for our country. So obviously playing basketball is very important to you. I'm pretty sure that, you know, making it to the NBA is a huge deal. Do you have any regrets? A lot of people ask me that question if I have any regrets. I have no regrets because I mean, obviously, I played 11 years in this league and I want to continue to play another five, six, whatever years because I'm healthy, I'm 30, I can't play, you know, with all this technology and the trainers we have right now can't play another six, seven years. But this is bigger than basketball. This is bigger than myself and this is bigger than NBA. While we are dribbling the ball on the other side of the ocean or other side of the world, people are losing their loved ones, losing their lives and losing their hopes. So how can you tell me or how can anyone tell me that, hey, you know, just stop talking about the problems that are happening around the world, just focus on your game, you know. I'm coming from a country where, you know, if you say anything against the government, you'll be in jail the next day. If you say you don't even like the president, you know, your family might be tortured. I remember my manager's wife's dad, like one of my posts on Twitter, he was in jail for 13 days, for 13 days. So I have seen the pain, you know, I experienced it from the first hand, my family. So no one can tell me that just stop talking about all the problems and focus on your game. So this is bigger than basketball and I have no regrets. What's the future is like for you? You know, you're starting a, I don't know if you want to talk about your foundation. Well, I mean, right now, well, right now we are still not clear if I'm going to play basketball or not. So, but if not, then I have to be ready and prepared for it, you know. So that's why I created my foundation and it's Cancer Freedom Foundation. You know, if we are focusing on freedom, human rights, democracy, poverty, elevation and social harmony around the globe. So I think with that, we will are going to reach so many other people around the world. And I have seen, you know, the last six months have been very lonely. Obviously after I got released, all my teammates and coaches and the people I played basketball with for 11 years, they're even scared to even send me a text message and say, good luck with your next career because, or good luck with your future because they're scared that if I'm going to do an interview or write something that I might say this guy or that guy was said, he was supportive of me. So they were, they're really scared. But I think other than that, I'm just going to continue to do what I'm doing. You know, just bring awareness about all the dictatorships around the world. So what was the most memorable thing from your trip to the US when you contrasted it to live in Turkey? Well, obviously when I was in Turkey, you know, my family and my mom was taking care of everything. She wasn't even making my bed. You know, all the, you know, breakfast lunches or everything was ready. And I didn't have to really worry about anything. Well, I come to America when I was 17. It was definitely a cultural shock because everything was different. The food is different. The culture is different. The religion is different. People are different. The language is different. So I was like the first two months, I really had a hard time because all I ate was just burger and fries. I just didn't know what to eat out there. You know, I was eating a lot of fast food. And that was the one thing that, you know, as a Middle Eastern, the first thing, if you know, if you were not educated enough, the first thing that was come to your mind is like America was burger and fries. So my mom was really worried about that I was just going to get fat, be out of shape and won't be able to walk. But then after two months, I started to, you know, learn about, I was like, I better get used to this. This is going to be my life from now. But I think what made me, what amazed me about America was the respect I've seen. I'll tell you a story. You know, when I was eight years old, I still remember. I went downstairs to play with my, you know, friends. And it was a very difficult time for Turkey. And I remember I went downstairs and my friends were burning American and Israeli flags. I was like, oh my God, this is crazy. And they were telling me to hate America. They were telling me that American people are evil. They were telling me Jewish people are devils. I should hate them no matter what. And I got so scared. I immediately run upstairs to my mom. I was like, mom, my friends are burning flags, calling them devils and bad people. I should never talk to them and stuff. And I was like, what should I do? And my mom is like, I'm not going to tell you what to do. But don't hate anyone before you meet with those people. And so that day I promised my mom. And then nine years later, nine years later when I was 17, I came to America and I was very nervous because of the things that I have heard in Turkey. The reason is because of Erdogan, whenever he holds a rally, because of he want to get more votes, he attacks America. He attacks West. He attacks Israel and Jewish people. So there are so many young generation in Turkey have grown up anti-West, anti-Semitic, anti-America, anti-Israel, anti-West. So I came to America for the first time I landed. I was so scared to even talk to anyone. But then people started to respect me. People literally took my hand and went to... We went out to the Halal restaurants. They took me to a mosque and they asked me questions about my culture so they can learn so they can help me better. I was like, this is so beautiful. And the more people I met, I was like, well, this is just because of one group of people, you cannot blame the whole country or whole religion. So that's what I've learned. But America gave me my home. America gave me everything I had. When I lost my family, when I lost my home, when I lost my country, when they were calling me a terrorist or any of the state, America opened her arm and gave me a warm welcome from day one. So that was the one story that I've never, you know, forgot. Anas, thank you so much for talking to me. Thank you for having me. I appreciate that. Awesome.