SOMALIA / ZANZIBAR REFUGEES

Driven from home by civil conflict, some lucky families might soon return to Zanzibar after years of exile in Somalia. UNHCR

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Production Date: 30 June 2012
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: REFUGEES; DISPLACED PERSONS
• Geographic Subject: AFRICA; SOMALIA; ZANZIBAR
• MAMS Id: U120630b

Description

STORY: SOMALIA / ZANZIBAR REFUGEES
TRT: 2.43
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: SWAHILI / ENGLISH /NATS

DATEILINE: 3 MAY 2012 MOGADISHU

Shotlist

1. Various shots of Suleiman with his children
2. Med. shot, Suleiman enters his house with his children
3. Med. shot Suleiman with his wife and children
4. Various shots of Suleiman working in the toilet
5. SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Adan Suleiman – Zanzibar Refugee
“We had no intention of staying in Mogadishu. Our aim was to flee to other countries like Ethiopia and Sudan where there was peace, not to stay here.”
6. Med. Shot, Zanzibari woman at her shop
7. Close up, Rice
8. Wide shot, Zanzibari village
9. Wide shot, Suleiman taking his salary
10. Wide shot Suleiman walking down the stairs
11. SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Adan Suleiman – Zanzibar Refugee:
“Life is hard. We don’t have work. No education, no health care, even when our children get sick.”
12. Various shots of Chiwele at his business premises
13. Various shots of Chiwele with his family
14. Med. Shot, Chiwele sharing bread with his children
15. Wide shot Chiwele’s children
16. SOUNDBITE: (English) Amos Ole Chiwele, Zanzibari refugee
“I’m thinking about the future of my children. The future of my children. West and east, home is best. Of course you can even imagine yourself, for a period 28 years even I don’t know the people. I don’t know how I would stay. But that’s my home. Your home is your home. Whether it is a hut.¨
17. Walking shot of both Chiwele and Suleiman and their families
18. Medium shot, Suleiman with his wife and children
19. SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Adan Suleiman - Zanzibari Refugee (Swahili)
“First, I'll see my family, all of them in general, to see if they are fine. Because I’m not sure if they are all alive. First thing I’ll do is to see my family.¨
20. Various shots of Suleiman with his family
21. Various shots Chiwele with his children

Storyline

Adan Suleiman is more than ready to go home.
He has been living in Mogadishu, Somalia for the past 11 years, hundreds of kilometres away from his home in Pemba Island, Zanzibar.

In 2001, Suleiman escaped elections-related violence rocked his country, travelling to Dadaab Refugee Camp. But things were not ideal for him there, and he left again with a few friends. His plan was to go to Mogadishu and then move to a safer country like Ethiopia. A decade later he is still in Somalia.

SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Adan Suleiman – Zanzibar refugee:
“We had no intention of staying in Mogadishu. Our aim was to flee to other countries like Ethiopia and Sudan where there was peace; not to stay here.”

The Zanzibari refugees made a life here. Many married Somali women and started families. This ruined building on the town’s outskirts is home to their community. Some are tailors, others shop keepers Suleiman does odd jobs like clean latrines, making just enough to survive.

SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Adan Suleiman – Zanzibar refugee:
“Life is hard. We don’t have work. No education, no healthcare even when our children get sick.”

Amos Chiwele echoes a similar story. He fled Zanzibar almost thirty years ago and came to Somalia. At first he was a teacher, and then he opened a grocery shop in the city’s market. But when the civil war came to Somalia, Amos lost his business and now struggles to care for his wife and six children. It’s time to leave, he says.

SOUNDBITE (English) Amos Chiwele, Zanzibari refugee:

“I’m thinking about the future of my children. The future of my children. West and east, home is best. Of course you can even imagine yourself, for a period 28 years even I don’t know the people. I don’t know how I would stay. But that’s my home. Your home is your home. Whether it is a hut.¨
.
UNHCR plans to return twelve of these families back home and help them to start over.

.SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Adan Suleiman – Zanzibar refugee

“First, I'll see my family, all of them in general, to see if they are fine. Because I’m not sure if they are all alive. First thing I’ll do is to see my family.¨

Being far from home for decades is not easy. But starting over can be even more challenging. Still for these refugees, all that matters is being home, where they belong.