In a time when anti-immigrant sentiments are spreading through the western world, we don’t often get hear about good news. But here’s some: Ali Sonko is a Gambian immigrant who spent 14 years working as a dishwasher in the Michelin-starred restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, and he was just named co-owner. He will take on new duties as a host and own stakes in the company; he will share 10 percent with two other managers. The star chef and co-owner René Redzepi owns about 20 percent and the rest is divided over four business partners. But Sonko says he will still spend time by the sink and wash plates, like he is used to. “I am so happy,” he said.

Heartwarming #Gambia story as dishwasher, and Gambian immigrant, becomes part owner of Michelin star restaurant. https://t.co/zxjQ8unv9u

— Jim Wormington (@jwormington) March 3, 2017

Redzepi said he had a special connection with Sonko, as he shares a first name with Redzepi’s father, who also was a Muslim immigrant–an Albanian born in Yugoslavia. He also worked as a dishwasher when he came to Denmark in the 1970s. Of Sonko, Redzepi said: “He has spent every hour of his life at that restaurant, works hard and hardly takes a day off. He is a great example of an immigrant done good.” The restaurant recently closed its original location and is rebranding itself as an urban farm. It plans to open again in December.

Sonko is 62, has 12 children, and used to be a farmer in Gambia. He fell in love with a Danish woman when on vacation in Denmark, and moved there 34 years ago. When asked about immigration in Denmark, he said, “Everybody does their best.”

Denmark, along with many other countries in Europe, has seen a rise in far-right ideology.  The right-wing Danish People’s Party has seen new success. In the middle of February, the party was criticized for handing out flyers with fake one-way tickets for immigrants to go “home,” to a destination that translates to “far away-istan.”

Ali takes down the sign pic.twitter.com/VRyL77yV0q

— Rene Redzepi (@ReneRedzepiNoma) February 26, 2017

Denmark recently passed a law that requires immigrants to hand over any jewelry or expensive personal belongings as they enter the country, to help pay for their stay. Earlier this week, right-wing politician Inger Stojberg published an opinion piece in a newspaper in which she called a Syrian immigrant family “greedy” and accused them of abusing the Danish welfare system.

When the Noma staff traveled to Britain in 2010 to receive a prize for being the world’s best restaurant, Sonko couldn’t join the team since he couldn’t go to Britain without a visa, despite having lived in Denmark for 34 years. So to show their appreciation of him, everyone from the restaurant wore a t-shirt with his portrait during the ceremony. And by the time Noma received that prize for the third time in 2012, Sonko could come along.

“Ali is the heart and soul of Noma. I don’t think people appreciate what it means to have a person like Ali in the house. He is all smiles, no matter how his 12 children fare,” Redzepi said in a recent speech to his staff.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Noma: Famous Restaurant Just Named its Immigrant Dishwasher a Co-Owner appeared first on Law Street.

There’s only one day left before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. The other day it was confirmed that the Girl Scouts will be there and the announcement led to some backlash for the group. But hopefully, things will run smoothly.

Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Obama’s Last Press Conference

Yesterday, President Barack Obama held his last White House press conference as POTUS. He said that he’s willing to openly oppose Donald Trump if there is any “systematic discrimination,” and he’ll speak up if he feels that America’s core values are at stake. Obama also defended his decision to commute Chelsea Manning’s sentence and said he’s proud to have contributed to advances in LGBT rights. He elected not to comment on the Democratic politicians who are boycotting Trump’s inauguration.

Obama spoke about diversity and said he thinks the U.S. will see more presidents of color, as well as a female president, Latino president, Jewish president, Hindu president, you name it. “Who knows who we are going to have. I suspect we will have a whole bunch of mixed up presidents at some point that nobody really knows what to call them,” he said.

“You’re not supposed to be sycophants — you’re supposed to be skeptics,” said Obama https://t.co/B1of0UBbGP

— New York Magazine (@NYMag) January 18, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: January 19, 2017 appeared first on Law Street.