"I belong to the Hawiye tribe, one of the main tribes in Somalia, and I lived in Mogadishu [the capital] before I left in 1994 because of the fighting. At that time I was only 18 years old and there was no hope or future in my homeland.

"If I stayed there I would have been forced to fight in the civil war by my tribal elders, like many of the other boys in my homeland. I did not want to get involved in the fighting so I decided I must leave my country - and my father, mother, brother and sister - behind.

Read the full article here.

[15 Oct 2008 15:50]

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