Wonder Woman of the Week: Rita Ora

There have been countless cases in human history of refugees fleeing war-torn countries in search of better lives. This week’s spotlight was born in a region where for her ethnicity alone was persecuted from birth. Her family fled in search of better lives- but faced further adversity. This week’s spotlight faced poverty, sexual abuse, and the hardships of starting a new life in a new country. She overcame her life obstacles, became an award winning singer, actress, and fashion designer; and is now an honorary ambassador of her home country. The Wonder Woman of the Week is Rita Ora. Rita Ora was born in Pristina- a city whose governing nation is a controversial topic- to an ethnically Albanian family. At the time, the area was controlled by the tyrannical dictator Slobodan Milosevic who conspired to commit mass genocide against the Albanian People. Ora’s grandfather was a major source of inspiration for young Rita. Besnik Sahatciu- Ora’s grandfather- was a film director with an attitude Ora calls “gangsta.” In 1991, at only a year old, Rita and her family left the war-torn Pristina for the United Kingdom. [1]

Life in the United Kingdom was not much of an improvement for Rita Ora’s family. They first lived in a one-room apartment. At the time; Ora, her parents, and her sister all tried to make ends meet in their new country and in 1998; a new member of the family was born. Ora’s father decided he had to make a change. He moved the family and purchased a pub to change their fates. Rita’s mother worked as a waitress while studying medicine to keep her children fed. [2] When Rita Ora was fourteen, she entered a relationship with a twenty-six year-old man who sexually abused her. Ora reported she would have done anything to have gained his attention, using the relationship as displacement for her difficult childhood. When Ora died her hair and wore red lipstick to please him, her parents were oblivious. Ora looked back on the experience as an adult realizing only then that the man only used the relationship to abuse Rita. [3]

While a teenager, Rita Ora began singing in West London combining the sounds she grew up listening to in her London neighborhood of Notting Hill- calypso, raga, pop, and funk. She set out to record her first album wanting it to be a representation of her life growing up in Notting Hill and her records “opening shots” landed on point. Her rendition of Drake’s “RIP” debuted in London to thunderous praise. In the United States, Ora hit the music scene with her single “How We Do (Party)” in such an infectious way as to categorize the song as true British Invasion. [4] Rita Ora’s fame continued to build in both the United Kingdom and the United States. In the US, Ora went on tour and appeared for radio interviews. In the UK, she became a judge for a televised talent show called the X Factor. While Ora was building her career, another woman was building a nation. Atifete Jahjaga was elected to be the president of the Republic of Kosovo- essentially the city-state nation surrounding Pristina where Ora was born. In July of 2015, President Jahjaga presented Rita Ora with the honor of being an ambassador of Kosovo for because of the musician’s career achievements and personal devotion to philanthropy. In attendance at the ceremony were not only Ora’s family and close friends, but also the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair- who was in office when Kosovo became a nation- and his wife. [5]

In 1991, a refugee family attempting to escape genocide in their home country came to the United Kingdom to start a new life. Both parents worked tirelessly to make ends meet for the family who lived in a one-room apartment. One of their children suffered sexual abuse while in high school in a relationship the girl built around wanting to be noticed. Eventually, the teen grew up to become a successful international musician, actress, and television host. Rita Ora’s story represents a larger picture about what it means to be a refugee and shows that even in the hardest of circumstances, a young girl can overcome serious adversity- including genocide and sexual abuse- to create success. Ora’s story shows that when a nation is willing to embrace refugee families, those families will work their asses off to create a new life in peace and that at least one of those refugee children will become an international success story.

Keegan, Simon. “Rita Ora’s rags to riches story as Voice judge’s family fled oppression in Kosovo.” 11 January 2015. Mirror. Accessed 27 January 2016. http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/rita-oras-rags-riches-story-4958184

London, Bianca. “How Rita Ora’s hard-working family helped her become a superstar: They all slept in one room and worked day and night to make ends meet.” 29 June 2015. DailyMail.com. Accessed 27 January 2016. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3142938/From-rags-riches-slept-one-room-worked-day-night-make-ends-meet-Rita-Ora-s-hard-working-family-helped-superstar.html

Joseph, Anthony. “I was abused when I was 14 says Rita Ora: X Factor judge reveals she was groomed by 26-year-old man… but insists she is not a victim of child abuse.” 24 October 2015. DailyMail.com. Accessed 27 January 2016. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3288177/I-abused-14-says-Rita-Ora.html

“About Rita Ora.” 2016. MTV Artists. Accessed 27 January 2016. http://www.mtv.com/artists/rita-ora/biography/

Adejobi, Alicia. “Rita Ora named honorary ambassador of Kosovo: ‘It was a very emotional day for me’.” 13 July 2015. International Business Times. Accessed 27 January 2016. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/rita-ora-named-honorary-ambassador-kosovo-it-was-very-emotional-day-me-1510553