How the American Dream has survived 250 years, but only just

How the American Dream has survived 250 years, but only justPublished6 minutes agoByAsma KhalidCo-Host, The Global Story PodcastSixteen years ago, Abdi Nor Iftin was a Somali refugee living in one of the roughest slums in Kenya when he found out he had won the lottery of a lifetime. Out of nearly eight million applicants in 2013, he had been one of the lucky 50,000 granted a US visa through a scheme known as the diversity visa scheme that the US government had begun in the 1990s.Abdi had long dreamt of moving to America. He was so obsessed, his childhood friends even nicknamed him "Abdi America" after he learnt to speak English by watching Hollywood movies. "My whole life I have been in love with America - the best country in the world, the dreamland, the land of opportunity," he told the BBC in 2014.That year, Abdi, now 41, arrived in the US, settled in a small town in Maine, got a job installing insulation and became a US citizen. But now, his hopes have run up against reality. He lost his job at a refugee resettlement agency this year, and consequently his health insurance.On the eve of the United States' 250th birthday, Abdi, like many Americans, is feeing uneasy about the future of his country.Image caption, Abdi came to America on a diversity visa scheme"I feel like the American Dream is alive, but not well," he told me.Meanwhile, Luke Mullen, a 24-year-old actor from California, told me he's planning on moving to Canada because of a lack of film opportunities in Hollywood, of all places."Wealth is getting consolidated in this country and as that happens, the opportunities are dwindling," he said.Survey after survey taken ahead of the 250th anniversary of America's founding shows many Americans feel the "American Dream"- the promise that anyone in the United States can create a bright future for themselves - is fading.The Global Story: Abdi’s American DreamOne part of The Global Story's land...