Interview

Coming from two different cultures and trying to manage to learn both values and ways can be tough at times. My family is from a country in Africa called Somalia but I was born and raised here In America, growing up my family taught my siblings and me our language, religion, and culture, but I also had my American ways which were very different than how my parents grew up. Having two different cultures can be very fun and helpful at times. When I have a difficult decision to make I have two different viewpoints to see it from which I find unique. One thing I like about my culture is that Somali people tend to keep their ways, and they don’t forget their language, religion, and where they came from despite being in a different country with different cultural structures and ways, thus far I chose to interview Somalis and see how their lives changed from living in Somalia to migrating to the U.S. because of the horrendous civil war, and how they dealt with war at the time, and still managed to keep up with the American ways in life. My parents have always had a great childhood up until the civil war. They played with their friends, went to amusement parks, went late night dinner eats and had the time of their lives.

Living in a Somali dominant complex I always bump into Somalis. So far, I met many Somalis, but I was pretty intrigued by one particular woman, her name is Ikram. Ikram came to the U.S. at the age of 40 but goes back to visit Somalia every other year. I asked Ikram if she would be accepting of me interviewing her, she felt really excited about it and accepted my request. Ikram invited me over to her house that Saturday afternoon and welcomed me to her home and made me feel like a part of the family. When I walked into her home I smelt the fresh and sweet smell of incenses burning.

“Welcome, welcome,” she said to me

“Take a seat my love.” would you like some Shai (Somali tea)?”  as she offered me some Shai with delight. While I sat on the brown plush sofa.

“Yes, I would love some, since I don’t remember the time that I last had some” I replied. But remembering my mom always makes some in the morning but I don’t like to drink tea as much as I did when I was younger. Growing up in a Somali household Shai is essential on a daily basis.

“Okay let’s get started on my story why living here In the U.S. has affected me and how it was back in Somalia” she silently said.

Ikram told me that she was born in Somalia but she didn’t remember much of the term “peace” growing up. Her family had fled the country due to the ongoing civil war which affected many families and had them leave their country before anything worse had happened since many people were suffering at that time, it wasn’t a safe situation for her and her family to be a part of.

“Living in Africa than living in America was a big change and there were many differences, even though at the time living in America was slightly a safer lifestyle, there are good times here and there,” she explained

The food back in Somalia is very good, she missed all of that because of it’s natural and organic compared to the U.S. since fast-food is a big thing here.

“People’s lives in Somalia are pretty good and stress-free, not as stressful as we are in the U.S.”

“I definitely miss the food most of all!”

“Simple life, simple times!”  she added as the tone of her voice changed to being serious.

As years passed on Ikram realized that,“Most people don’t deserve the good lives that they have because even though they have good lives they take it for granted and aren’t grateful for it, the ways of living here and then in Somalia have very big differences, because back in Somalia they value the small things, but in the U.S. they are attracted to the big things like the fame, money, and power.”

“The fun times I had in Somalia were times that I couldn’t ever forget because there weren’t social media at the time, and there was more human to human socialization, however, we were living their best lives by telling stories, folktales, and having fun in the city!”

“That’s not all macaanto, there are much more adventures we had in Somalia but that would be another story for next time inshallah!” she said

“Even though it wasn’t all fun and glory ever since the war broke out, there was some hardship because there would be gunshots once in a while that came from out of the blue while you would be doing your errands, or even having some tea at your friend’s house. Warzones aren’t fun to be a part of, but we all as humans have to live apart of something that isn’t so great once in a lifetime.”

I asked her “We are all humans so how did some people maintain to get through the day with new problems that occurred from the society each and every day?”

“Honestly what kind of helped is when you have a connection and a belief that the world is the only world and there will be a hereafter, and you need to keep peace and make those prayers because everything happens for a reason, everyone has those times, that’s how we ended up here in America” Ikram responded emotionally.

I had deeply reflected on this beautiful story that was told by her and couldn’t feel any more grateful than I am right now. I wasn’t born in Somalia, but my parents were. I was born In Seattle, WA, so I don’t really know how it felt to actually go through so much pain, but I could only imagine and have empathy for those who did. My parents have once told me their experience migrating from Somalia to America, they also fled from Somalia having sleepless nights to staying home safe because of the civil war that happened during the 1990s, their story was similar to Ikram’s which I did have a little background knowledge while interviewing Ikram.

As I got ready to leave and end the evening. I said to Ikram “ Have you ever imagined yourself in this position and leaving the war? What kind of things keeps you to stay humble until this day on?

She replied saying “ I’ve always imagined living in the U.S. but not in a specific place within the United States, I deeply imagined myself being free from war, disappointment, and being as far away as possible from terror, a lot of things keep me humbled like family, being a citizen, and being able to feel accepted as much as any other American would be.”