Somalis in the UK: Our Everyday Heroes

My name is Amal Ahmed,
I work as a TV producer.

My name is Omar Deria,
I'm a head teacher.

My name's Mariam.

I work for Evolve
as a liberal practitioner.

My name is Awale Olad.

I'm a local counsellor in
the London Borough of Camden.

My name is Dr. Mohamed Abdi.

I'm a GP working in South London.

[Inquisitive piano music]

I was at the Guardian.

It was the time where, uh, piracy...the
Somali piracy broke actually in Somalia.

And as I remember, I was the only
Somali person

at the whole organization,
though I was completely in

a different department, it was in IT,

I felt like I had a burning passion
to tell the story of the community here

in UK, and what they feel about what

they've been seeing in the news
all the time.

-There's almost half a million Somalis

in the UK, and that's still growing, and

it's critical that people
of African descent, in particular,

have somewhere they can call a home.

And if we have a place we can call a home,

It means that we have to be able to decide
what happens to our local area.

I feel that anybody from
every walk of life can be susceptible

and is exposed to exploitation.

It doesn't matter your socio-economic
background, your religion,

your faith, your location –

It's something that's prevalent
in many communities.

And I feel that my work is prevalent
in supporting young people

and decreasing the risk of
exploitation

and in theory, creating a safer world.

I've always loved education. I've always
loved supporting and helping children.

I was told when I was a kid
that I wasn't bright enough...

to go to university, so I should
get a job in a warehouse.

- Having come here as a Somali
refugee to the UK,

that I had to learn the language, we
had to learn the culture,

we had to integrate.

I had to go through the struggle through
high school, A levels, being told that

you can't make it as a doctor.

- I made a promise that when
I become a teacher,

I will accept the positive influence
on children

which I didn't get
when I was in school.

- To me, it's always been a dream of mine
to be a healthcare professional.

Especially coming from a culture
where helping a community,

helping a society is so important.

I decided that I really wanted to be
a doctor.

I want to give back to the community.

[Piano fades into soft synth music]

- From my experience,

a lot of people don't actually
understand the Somali community.

They don't understand our needs.

I got into this role because it
was critical

that people like me, and
the family I come from,

and the community I come from,

have a voice, locally.

And having someone like me in a room
where ideas and policies can be discussed

with means that a different perspective
comes along.

- I know my cultures and I know my people,

I don't know what's happening, it was so
interesting to see

what does the Somali community here in the UK
feel about how the news

is portraying their own country?

especially for the young generations who

are trying to find their identity

they're trying to find who they are they

feel they're british but at the same

time you know they are somali and

they're embarrassed be in somali because

of what's happening in the news as a

somali person i feel i think

representation is important and merging

the gap in somali culture there is a lot

of taboo and shame with regards to being

in care or social services exploitation

gangs and i feel like there needs to be

more somalis involved in social services

and exploitation to help bridge the gap

and help those who are in need

as a somali teacher i really feel that

i'm a role model for for the younger

generation i speak to parents i speak to

children

i often engage in dialogue with parents

and i give them the information than

they need in somalia which is extremely

important for their for their well-being

you know i'm very fortunate every day

when i go to work i meet people from

different communities especially my

community

the somali community because having

worked as a doctor for many years

i've seen that often people from the

somali community don't get the same care

and it's because of language barriers

stigma we need doctors from our

communities to give back to the

communities that we serve

i believe is so important to tell your

own stories to be that access gate to

your community where you will be the

voice

of your people in every story there is

two sides and that as well we're gonna

bring the link between you and the other

communities people will understand you

more and they will know exactly what's

happening

it's really

really an interesting challenging

intriguing role being a local councillor

you try and transform the council from

being a closed off body to one that

actually

wants to listen and learn and

become a better place

and become a

a positive place for local people and i

think it's very important to be part of

the change that you want to see in the

world and be involved from the inside

and sit at the table to make decisions

teachers play a crucial role in

developing the next generation

if you believe in

children and you nurture them the right

way

the sky is the limit for them growing up

here

and contributing to the society to tell

the people you know are more than what

you see on tv

as a somali person there is more into us

you just need to

give us a chance and listen

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