The Moth

Podbit · The Moth

American Dreams: The Moth Radio Hour

Explore episode Jun 23, 2026
Society & Culture
A 10-Year-Old in a Courtroom

American Dreams: The Moth Radio Hour · Jun 23, 2026 Society & Culture

At age 10, wearing a rhinestone velour tracksuit, Ofia Begum Ali took the E train to Queens Criminal Court to translate for their mother at their brother's bail hearing. Unable to find the Sylheti word for 'payment,' they told the lawyer: 'Look, lady, I am only 10 years old, and my mother doesn't understand what you're saying.' The rule learned that day — if I don't stand up for my parents, no one will — defined the rest of their life.

Where this was said

Host Interstitial: Heather Angell Outro & Introducing Ofia Begum Ali

At 25:57 · chapter starts 23:23

Jon Goode is visibly moved by Heather Angell's closing line, describing being left in 'the most reverential and joyous of tears.' He provides biographical context: Heather is a high school teacher and healthcare chaplain in Massachusetts, still in touch with the old man's family, and lives across the street from a farm. He then pivots to introduce Ofia Begum Ali — a Queens-born law student discovered through the Moth Education Program, whose story was so compelling that The Moth invited them to perform on the main stage at Charlottesville's Paramount Theater.

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