Short Documentary
Director & Producer
Jul 2019
They thought they'd find a peaceful country, work, education for their children - a place to call home, finally.
They are returnees, Somalis who spent most of their lives in refugee camps such "Dadaab" in neighbouring Kenya, who opted into a resettlement scheme by the United Nations.
Many of them are single mothers who had hoped to raise their children outside a camp back in their country of origin which has been ravaged by one of the longest on-going civil wars in modern history.
But Kismayo, a city in the south of the country isn't quite what they expected it to be. It's relatively peaceful, with al-Shabaab having been driven 50km outside the city (two weeks after our visit, an attack by al-Shabaab killed at least 26), some returnees have been lucky enough to have been offered a roof over their heads, but apart from that, they say "there's nothing".
All they have is their resilience, and hope.