If you want a pair of shoes made, you don’t begin by studying the leather. You look first at the shoes the shoemaker is wearing. We measure character by example, not by words. That is how I learned to understand integrity, by watching how people walk through the world. Their history. Their conduct. Somalis carry that understanding quietly. We have lived through war, or we were raised by parents who did. We watched the road at dusk. We have learned to sense danger without letting panic spread. We know what to grab when we must leave quickly; and most importantly, we take a child’s hand before fear reaches their eyes. Some of my relatives boarded overloaded boats heading toward refugee camps in neighboring countries with the hope that the journey would not swallow them. Many did not survive this journey. Still, Rajo la’aan Waa Rafaad—without hope, there is suffering. My father carried that instinct differently. He was trained in law and had an undeterred conviction to advocate for justice.…