Sunday, February 6, 2011

broken dreams documentary

Broken Dreams is documentary film about the Vanishing Somaliyouth of Minneapolis




Elizabeth Flores, Star Tribu
Fathia Absie stood near the Cedar Riverside towers where she did most of the filming
Tracing the roots of radicals
"Somalis need to tell our own stories," says an ex-radio journalist whose documentary about the young men who left Minneapolis to fight in Somalia is showing this week.

Since she was a little girl growing up in Somalia, Fathia Absie dreamed of moving to America and becoming a storyteller.
With equal parts moxie and luck, she has accomplished both goals. She smiles contentedly as she talks about this, just days before the premiere of her first documentary film.

"I'm kind of proud of myself," says Absie, 38.

A former radio journalist for Voice of America's Somali-language news service, she spent two years making "Broken Dreams." The film explores the radicalization of 20 or more young Minneapolis men of Somali descent who left the comforts of the United States to return to their war-torn homeland, where they are believed to have become foot soldiers for the terrorist group Al-Shabab.

Their disappearance sparked one of the largest federal counterterrorism investigations since the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and drew intense media interest worldwide.

We caught up with Absie, who recently moved from Virginia to Minneapolis, to learn more about this bold new voice in the Twin Cities Somali community.

Q What brought you to Minneapolis?

A The No. 1 reason was I wanted to do documentaries. This is what I've always wanted to do ever since I was a little girl. So I wanted to be closer to where the community is. As you know, this is the largest Somali community in the country.

Q Why did you choose this particular story for your first film?

A I left Somalia in 1988. I was 15 years old then. ... I always wanted to come to America. I never wanted to go anywhere else.

That's why it felt so strange -- we had these young people who actually came here as babies and some of them were even born in refugee camps and didn't know anything about Somalia. They would leave all this and go back to a place that is now known to many as "no man's land." It really touched me and became sort of personal for me.

Q Did you ever find out why they chose to go back?

A No. At the beginning, people didn't even want to talk to me. Especially the young people were afraid ... because there was such a huge division between the community. So everybody was afraid that if they say something, they might say something bad about maybe Islam or maybe about another tribe. So everyone was very careful. But at the end of the day, the film is not only about the boys but it's about the entire community and what they went through.

Q How did this case affect the rest of the Somali-American community?

A Things have changed for Somalis. They feel like nothing is as easy as it used to be for them, whether it's getting services or getting certain looks in transit or being interrogated at the airports or their citizenship being put on hold. Not being able to fly out because their names match someone on the no-fly list. A lot of people tell me they feel like they constantly have to apologize for a crime that some lunatic has committed.

Q What challenges, if any, did you face as a woman making this film?

A I am so shocked at how advanced the Somali religious people are, especially the imams and the sheikhs. The hardest part was dealing with the average people. I consider myself westernized. I'm a proud Somali Muslim-American. I like to think of myself as someone who is well-rounded and has the best of both worlds. But I don't wear the hijab. That was a big problem because everyone would say, "Why don't you cover your hair?"

Q You're pretty outspoken. Does that ever get you into trouble?

A Yes, it does. You pretty much look like you're the odd one out. I cannot just be quiet about some things.

Q What's your next project?

A A documentary about Somali women, in general, from the first Somali females who were allowed to go to school. There are three or four who are still alive. I'm planning to go to the refugee camps and to different parts of the diaspora to interview Somali women who made a difference in the lives of Somalis. Because without Somali women, Somalis would not have survived as much as we have. It's the Somali women who send the money, the ones who struggle to maintain a decent life.

Then I have the famous Somali poet, who died of love, which is going to be a movie.
God willing, I'll have a busy but lovely year ahead of me.
Allie Shah • 612-673-4488

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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