My whole life I had suffered from identity crisis, didn’t really know where I belonged to, country wise, yes I knew I was born in Canada, but didn’t really feel it was home because we left there early on, and that my parents are Somali, but didn’t really ever visited there or had many relatives around me..... I loved Syria, I still do, Syrian people are the best in the world allah ya5eleliyahom yaa raab, i grew up there and lived there 13 whole years..So practically Syria was my home..I feel sad for what happened there, may Allah (SWT) help them...but still there was a void inside me, something was missing..it didn’t feel right, my culture at home was different from theirs..i wear my Hijab in a different style...we cook different food and so on..

This is a struggle many Somali diaspora kids go through..yes sure you could tell them all you want about Somalia, and that Somalia is their real home, where our families flee from because of the civil war, but it will remain just a name for them that they don’t really connect to, they will adopt to the misconceptions that the media conveys about Somalia just like others, and because the hallowed name of our country become so dirty, they might even sometimes be ashamed of it, yes in many cases they will pretend they don’t belong there, and stick to that other country they feel deep inside they don’t belong too...and the feeling of void inside them just grows...and multiplies

I remember vividly, my feeling when I, for the first time, visited my homeland, that was last year, I felt so happy and relieved as if a big thing was lifted from my heart. From the first moment I landed from the plane in Hergisa, everyone is Somalia speaking Somali, here is Home I told myself.

Though many streets are broken, though there is no traffic lights, though many families still cook with coal, though some people fight here and there.... every night you hear the voices of the Canjeelo/ Canjeero being kneaded from most of the neighbours, everyone knows you and your family and greeted you in the streets, and in the streets if you hear two strange people talking about an interesting topic you could just jump in and join the convo just like that...that was a nice culture..It was my culture, and I love it so dearly.

Yes, our country isn’t perfect, we have so many problems and conflicts, so many divisions..so many new states here and there that aggravates the situation...  .but hey that’s just half of the cup..how about the other half, the beautiful half, our culture, our poems, we are the nation of poems, our children who are best known for how they memorize and recite the holy Qur’an in the whole Muslim world...our mothers and the symbol of our strength and unity...the blue flag..

Today, I have a permanent home, I know where my home is, I know where my destination is... i know what my hopes are..And I hope every child and adult realizes that..Inside and outside of Somali..

We have a beautiful country; we have hard-headed nice people, Daad buuq badan o niyaad fiican, so let’s start with admitting that...

It’s our independence day today, it’s the day we got our freedom from the colonizer but are we really free? ...we won’t be free till there is no foreigner on our land and on our seas..Till there is no demand from western on our leaders..Till we put aside tribalism and replace is with patriotism.

But for today...I wish you

Happyyyyyy happy independence day to every Somali across the globe..... I LOVE SOMALIA