A uniquely Somali love story - Part 1

The life stories of Somali refugees are the most complicated, tragic, but hopeful stories you'll ever come across. I've heard Somalis describe just about every route possible in their journey to the U.S., and the risk and ingenuity involved is astounding. I've never come across a Somali family that didn't have stops in at least one or two countries, some stopping in as many as four or five nations, before reaching their destination in the U.S. or elsewhere.

But today I heard a story unlike the others in that it was one that had a highly improbably and lovely twist at the end. I met a man named Hussein who lives in Virginia. He came to the U.S. at the start of this year, so he's still adjusting to life here. The other day he asked me what daylight savings was, and I had a surprisingly hard time trying to explain it. Hussein is a really smart man, tall, very thin and attractive. He has a very calm and peaceful demeanor about him, so much so that you'd never guess the struggles he's had to overcome.

In 1990, the situation in Somalia deteriorated dramatically, and Hussein began working for the U.N. as an interpreter. The UNISOM mission moved in and didnt leave until 1995. He worked closely with a Malaysian UN commander and the two developed a close friendship. Before the UN pulled out (having failed to create peace) the commander encouraged Hussein to leave Somalia for Djibouti, and promised that his brother-in-law at the Malaysian Embassy in Djibouti would give him a visa to Malaysia. The Commander even hand wrote a letter in the Malaysian language and encouraged Hussein to give that letter to his brother-in-law, just to ensure confidence.

Hussein was unsure whether he wanted to make the journey to Djibouti so he just held on the the visa recommendation letter. When the U.N. completely pulled out of Somalia, Hussain was jobless and struggled to make ends meet. That's when he spoke with his family and told them he was going to make the trek to Djibouti and would hopefully reach Malaysia to find work. With their blessing, he traveled alone into Ethiopia and through to Djbouti. All he had on him was a few changes of clothing, $600 and the letter for the Malaysian embassy. In Djibouti, he spent nearly a hundred dollars on his first day just on food and a hotel room. He was down to $500. The next morning he rushed to the Malaysian embassy to seek the visa. After being turned away, he complained and eventually managed to get in and see the Commander's brother-in-law. The man said Hussein could get a visa, but that it would take three months and cost $400 dollars.

This was a huge blow to Hussein. He couldn't afford to wait three months especially since the cost of living in the city was so high. To top it all off, the Djiboutians- although they are ethnically Somali- were hostile to mainland Somalis, so he didn't expect to find a job. He spent that day and night thinking about whether he could wait, asking around for jobs, and thinking about how he could pay for all the costs associated with this prized visa. After drawing the conclusion that he couldn't stay, he got rid of his hopes of moving to Malaysia and caught the first bus out of town. He traveled through Ethiopia to its border with Somalia and Kenya. En route to the town, he slept on a train, using his only travel bag as a pillow. When he woke up at his destination, he discovered he had the bag stolen from right under him. And so he lost all his belongings except the cash he had strapped to his body. By this point he had $300 on him, and said he felt more alone and vulnerable than ever.

(See part 2)