RWANDA / SOMALI REFUGEE

STORY: RWANDA / SOMALI REFUGEE
TRT: 2:10
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: KISWAHILI /NATS

DATELINE: NOVEMBER 2018, KIGALI, RWANDA

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide shot, Somali refugee, Ali Abdi with his family
2. Close up, Ali smiling
3. Close up, Ali’s daughters
4. SOUNDBITE (Kiswahili) Ali Abdi, Somali Refugee:
“When I came, I didn’t know the language and my wife lived close by.”
5. Various shots, Ali and his daughters walking and holding hands
6. Med shot, Ali and his wife, Jasmine Mukagashagaza
7. Close up, Mukagashagaza smiling
8. SOUNDBITE (Kiswahili) Ali Abdi, Somali Refugee:
“She is from this country, she taught me a lot and now I can be independent.”
9. Various shots, Ali arranging shelves at his shop
10. Med shot, Ali selling items to a customer
11. SOUNDBITE (Kiswahili) Ali Abdi, Somali Refugee:
“Sometimes I forget I am a refugee. I only remember when I see my refugee card or when people call me that.”
12. Med shot, Ali talking to friends
13. SOUNDBITE (Kiswahili) Ali Abdi, Somali Refugee:
“I live like any other citizen of this country. I speak the language and my friends for the last 17 years are from this country.”
14. Wide shot, aerial view of Kigali
15. Wide shot, busy street
16. SOUNDBITE (Kiswahili) Ali Abdi, Somali Ref ugee:
“Some people think that refugees should only live in camps, that a refugee cannot build a house, a refugee cannot work.”
17. Med shot, Mukagashagaza with her daughters on a couch
18. Close up, Ali and his wife seated on couch
19. SOUNDBITE (Kiswahili) Ali Abdi, Somali Refugee:
“I want them to learn and work hard, so they do not have to face the same problems I did. That’s all I dream about.”
20. Close up, Ali’s sons
21. Close up, Ali’s daughters

STORYLINE:

Ali Abdi fled conflict in Somalia two decades ago. He found refuge in Kigali, where he also found love – getting married and starting a family with Jasmine Mukagashagaza, a Rwandan woman.

Ali Abdi fled Mogadishu 20 years ago, as war raged in Somalia and found refuge in Rwanda. Like many newly displaced refugees, he was unsure of where to start. He found an enabling environment in the capital, Kigali where he became an entrepreneur. He also met Jasmine Mukagashagaza, a Rwandan who became his wife.

SOUNDBITE (Kiswahili) Ali Abdi, Somali Refugee:
“When I came, I didn’t know the language and my wife lived close by.”


Ali said Mukagashagaza helped him learn to navigate the new environment and adapt to his new life in exile.

SOUNDBITE (Kiswahili) Ali Abdi, Somali Refugee:
“She is from this country, she taught me a lot and now I can be independent.”

Ali runs a retail shop in Kigali, where refugees have a right to work.

SOUNDBITE (Kiswahili) Ali Abdi, Somali Refugee:
“Sometimes I forget I am a refugee. I only remember when I see my refugee card or when people call me that.”

After two decades in Rwanda, Ali feels very much at home here.

SOUNDBITE (Kiswahili) Ali Abdi, Somali Refugee:
“I live like any other citizen of this country. I speak the language and my friends for the last 17 years are from this country.”

He also proves wrong those who think refugees are only a burden to a society.

SOUNDBITE (Kiswahili) Ali Abdi, Somali Ref ugee:
“Some people think that refugees should only live in camps, that a refugee cannot build a house, a refugee cannot work.”

Years of hard work have paid off and the couple have built a home here for their family. The couple are focused on giving their five children the best life.

SOUNDBITE (Kiswahili) Ali Abdi, Somali Refugee:
“I want them to learn and work hard, so they do not have to face the same problems I did. That’s all I dream about.”

Rwanda currently hosts over 150, 000 refugees, with about 12,000 of them living in urban cities like Kigali.