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Refugee to role model: Ramla Ali is fighting to make an impact -- and make history

RAMLA ALI'S FISTS were up as she stared at the sparring dummy in front of her. Next to her was a small girl with long brown hair in a brown sweatshirt with "LOVE" printed across the front. Ali was teaching Shaah how to throw a punch -- a right hand to the face.

When Ali first walked into the Makani center inside the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan in 2019, just miles from the country's border with Syria, she found herself drawn to the girl with the infectious personality. She would show Shaah a move. Shaah would mimic it.