Young, British and Somali at Cambridge University
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- As students return to universities around the world, four British-Somali students talk about navigating one of Britain’s most elite institutions: Cambridge University.
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Their identity is rooted in Somalinimo (‘the essence of being Somali’) and in this love letter to Somali culture, blackness and Islam, they reflect on both belonging and marginalisation. The women discuss conflicts with their parents, the sense of solidarity they have built at Cambridge, and the legacy they are creating for the next generation of British-Somalis. They give new meaning to an old Somali proverb: ‘Clothing that is not yours cannot shelter you from the cold’
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⁸жлш щось 80 00 9
Where can I find meshe Ali? She’s beautiful
Very proud of my people. My beautiful sisters. 🇸🇴
Iam suport.yuo as yuo as yuo yuor religion and yuor culture thankyuo
@@amala1735 1a1
Really proud of you guys. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my beautiful Somali brothers and sisters succeed.
Tnx sis
Yes positive news indeed
Let's support each other instead of working against each other
Somalinimo
@Mangrove Roots Are you purposely being dense?
Exactly
Truth hurts.
Salute to all my Somali sisters around the world from Malaysia🇲🇾❤🙏🏽
Calankaaga ku dar waraa. 🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴
Thank you ❤️
The women are so beautiful and eloquent. Even though I am not from Somalia, I am from India and as a woman of color, I want to appreciate and congratulate my sisters for navigating elitist spaces and leaving a path behind for the rest of us to follow.
♥️♥️
Cambridge University is not an elitist space...pass the A Levels and anyone can apply...
@@roymichaeldeanable Statistics say something a little different.
@@roymichaeldeanable It is absolutely elitist. Stop lying to everyone. The TOSSERS only take quota of ethnic minorities just to ensure they meet the baseline diversity quota requirements.
@vivek kumar 🤣🤣🤣
Most Somalis I have grown up or come across are geniuses.
Thanks and you from where
We not that all genius🙂
Not the ones I’ve met 😂
Debateable
@@1349aegis not really
❤️
This is so inspirational as a young Somali women 😭I won’t give up on my dreams thank you
Please don't
Keep it up sister.
Why would you give up your dreams are you less of a human
please don't 🙏 🙏
I am proud of you my Somali sisters, keep your religion and culture and be proud of your clour. Please stay strong. Love and respect to you. :)
Thank you, you remarkable women, for making this film. I heard about it on NPR this afternoon and could hardly wait to get home and watch it. I am an American woman, a Christian pastor, and the grandmother of a beautiful little Somali-American girl born in the UK. As she approaches 18 months of age, I have started looking for multi-cultural and Somali books and materials for her. I will be so excited to share your stories with her when the time comes, as in her small self she embodies so much of the variety of culture, nationality, and religion in our world. Her life will be full of opportunities and challenges new to us in her extended family, and I am very grateful for this window into your lives.
Your life sounds very interesting, it's so beautiful to hear that you are looking for ways for your granddaughter relate to her culture and her experiences in the UK, I'm sure she will grow up feeling very loved and accepted
Search Somali history & teach her
That's really sweet, I wish nothing but health and happiness for you and your family.
Lovely ayeyo, you are
Love to hear that, welcome to the Somali family
Somali hadii tahay like ii saar.
Waan diiday
@@maxmudxareed1345 anaa yeelay
Lacagna kuma heleyside maxaa ku falee. This is F annoying wlhi. Grow up
Hadaad tahay weeye iska sax wall
Absolutely wonderful! The cinematography is stunning, and the ladies speak so eloquently on their experiences. This is a narrative I didn't know needed to be shared until you shared it. Well done ladies; especially Awa.
Shouldn't be
@@zoolhert3535 wdym
I can understand because being African American in the US has
is challenges but never give up who you are be
Strong 💪 and always love who you are!
Just an incredible piece of film. Fantastic to see these women be so bold, brave & unabashed. Just fantastic to see!! So proud. Thanks for sharing!!
@Killin time Before SHTF what?! Is there something I'm missing here?!
Brayton 1981 you clearly didn’t watch till the end where it said 3% of students are black. Stop with the BAME nonsense.
Brayton 1981 the vast majority of black people in the U.K. are working class and are less likely to be offered a place than white working class students. You can google this information.
Aren't they British though?
Why do they have a Somalian tea set haha? Shouldn't it be a British tea set and they get treated like any white student...
@@imluvinyourmum why do you care what tea set they use? Maybe it looks nicer or do you not use any foreign products? No French fashions, no Chinese technology, no German cars 😂
Salaam girls. Me, my 10 year old son and my 13 year old cousin are watching and we all felt proud. Allahumma baarik fiikim. My son said that he wants to study one of the elite universities in the UK and read technology. Definitely you inspired him and I am sure all Somalis 🇸🇴 are proud of you. I wish you all the success in life and in hereafter. 👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾
'Somalis so are proud of you'. You mean all of us Africans are proud of these beautiful girls! 😘
I’m somali from Djibouti 🇩🇯
Love my somali brothers my second country Somalia 🇸🇴
@Haroon Jama never learned history bro
Which school did you go
@Haroon Jama Djibouti is not part of Somalia neither is Somaliland
@@overtothisside504 Somaliland is a part of Somalia. Somalia is the combination of British and Italian Somaliland
@Haroon Jama Bro ma hawiya tahay kuwasa somali la haray ?
Tan kale Djibouti 🇩🇯 wayba uu wanagsaned inaysan somalia 🇸🇴 wax uu galin manta waayo hawiya Nala dagi laha
@Haroon Jama Anigu intaba midna ma ihi Issa san ahay waxa kaliya an ogahay waa inu hawiye Somalia sharafteda iyo ju cayaray
Firi
Alshabaab waa hawiye
Daadka inta qabyalada leh xamar walagu dhimanaya waa ayaga daadka is qarxinaya waa ayaga mucaradka somalia 100% waa ayaga anigu shaqsiyan iyo asxab bdn reer cali sabih ah an wada fadhino Badankod waa ila ifakir adiga fikirkaga wan so dhawayn
Dear Somali Sisters keep your religion, culture and identity on your right hand.
We are very proud of having you.
From Hargeisa.
I almost cried ..we are so proud of you girls
I really loved how u shared your experience with us ..there are a lot of stories that need to be told
Somali queens, keep making us proud!
Luka Royalty was a big thing in Africa its not to sound superior or anything..
Luka of course but what’s the problem calling each other Kings and Queens??
Luka everyone calls each other Kings and Queens not just Africans..
Luka Yh true but if I have offended you in anyway I’m sorry
@@Bee-it8sx don't apologise walaalo if they don't like it then they can leave the comment section its that simple
Mashaallah. Keep going sisters, and I hope you guys achieve every one of your goals. Somalinimo for life! Represent! 🇸🇴 💗
This girls are inspiring and hope to generations of Somalis who are born western countries or move to west in young age.
They're hopes not only for somali, but for all east africa communities.
Get up Stand up bruh u stoopid
The sky is the limit for these educated young women.
There is a Somali area in Cardiff where taxi drivers do not want to go even in broad day light.
There is a terrible congresswoman from Somalia in the USA who married his own brother to gain immigration to the USA
I love how they carry themselves with grace!
The story, the cinematography is so top notch!
@Killin time Before SHTF Appreciate you taking time to look at my channel. Bless up
Couldnt agree with you more! Absolutely beautiful. Some will be happy to see some people succeeding and others will be hating on this amazing documentary getting recognition.
Killin time Before SHTF What?
@@nxthy6978 its obviously a paranoid troll
@Killin time Before SHTF you are indeed projecting muh dear troll
This was so beautiful to watch in every way!
I'd love to see more short documentaries with similar topics. Great job.
You future children will be well informed insha alah. Thank you and I will show this video to my daughters.
@Mangrove Roots It does, excellent education, chance to network with the next world leaders people who will be making impacts, their children wont grow up in a house where the parents are deaf and mute.
@Mangrove Roots I'd to google who she was, kinda like her except Cambridge more elite.
You can’t run away from what you are a Somali, just because you don’t fit in, in Somalia at first does not mean you are something else.
Your parents had to adapt the British life temporarily, so that you one day could adapt to Somalinimo and help your people.
Don’t ever forget that.
For me it was hard to adopt Somali life at the beginning. People they're abusing each other. You see someone without a hand they give him name gaacme. They see someone who is darker they call him duxuul. Me and my friends we like. This is crazy. Because we felt it's kind of disrespect to call someone gaacme because he doesn't have hand.
Xalimowyin always shining 👸🏾
Suad Ali 😂😭
Do NOT loose your deen my people, many oxford/Cambridge loose their religion in unis where “philosophy” comes before religion. Stay strong and remember who allowed and blessed you to be at these universities
Well done, sisters. Make us proud.
Ruining the Cambridge tradition 🤦♂️
@@SlowZy-yc9to which traditions?? Education is for everyone.
@@SlowZy-yc9to What traditions exactly, we'd like to know.
@@SlowZy-yc9to didn't know education was tradition
Don’t reply to that N guy he is trolling
In general Somali females are incredibly smart, and hard working
And also our Somali boys
@@umimohamed2323 love you our queen's
I can't really imagine how l felt the dignity of having our children studying at overseas 😍
Fantastic idea but this female genital mutilation is what is dragging peaple behind
@Samsam Abdillahi ahahahahahahah
@Samsam Abdillahi 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Waraa, gabdhahaan qaarkood were born in Ingiriiska ee wax 'overseas' la dhaho ma jirto. Dalkee ku dhasheen ayee joogaan.
Thank you all who contributed to this documentary. Very insightful and inspiring.
reema hassan Thank you for thanking the people who helped our girls makes this beautiful documentary
Young Somalis are doing amazingly well academically. Even more amazing when many are first generation born immigrants.
It's mostly the Somali girls that's what I noticed
@@eastafricandoll9308 I have seen plenty men too but its a blessing and alhamdulillah for both case
F. D. Keep your sneaky comments to yourself
Farah Hersi I'm not trying to be sneaky it's just what noticed
Ebestech A your Ethiopian stay out of the affairs of Somali people
Loved this! The girls were so organic and this was so beautifully shot and edited!
I studied college in a majority christian community but because I have the wisdom of my forefathers, culture and religion; from the first day I stood in front of those diverse people I have never been so proud to share an authentic identity. Now, Im doing masters in other country and is still standing proud of who I am. When you dont know yourself, you feel like you dont have identity and you dont belong. Find the wisdom in who you are and stand proud of it.
@Chunkz 2 solomon on what grounds brother?
@Chunkz 2 solomon Yeah I read it but only changed the spelling of standing, cause its standung. But the grammatical I didnt change any. Are there any more errors?
Well done girls, so Inspiring!
Proud of you. Somalia loves you. 💐
Proud of these young ladies. Don’t let your mind worry about the trivial. You belong where you are. The door opens where you should enter. Stay strong and grounded in self truth.
Great to see! I too felt mad out of place when I was at Oxford. Big cultural shock.
I remember seeing a guy eat a baguette with a knife n' fork. I was baffleddd
PS. You dont need to prove JACK to anyone there
Why were you surprised? UK is 86% white and most area will be more white then diverse.
thats just another level of posh
My beautiful Somali sister.. this put a smile on my face thank you and I wish you nothing but success.
Congratulations , you are an exemplar achiever , that every Somali is proud of you, the sky is your limit
I'm so proud of my Somali sisters. For a "small" nation of around 15 million Somalis World wide we strive and do amazing things. Ilhan Omar, Mo Farah and the super Models like Halima Aden we certain do well. The men just need to do more. Very proud of the sisters!!!
We are more than 30m worldwide .
What u talking about the president of international court is somali, somali guys don’t just participate in sports also we are top at education believe me.
@@nasirfadhiyare5060 that’s true
@@nasirfadhiyare5060 30 million 🤣🤣 I doubt were not even 20
Mo Farah is a guy btw lol
الملابس التي ليست لك لا تستطيع أن تحميك من البرد: مع عودة الطلاب إلى الجامعات في جميع أنحاء العالم، تتحدث أربع طالبات بريطانيات صوماليات عن التنقل في واحدة من أكبر مؤسسات النخبة في بريطانيا، جامعة كامبريدج: هويتهم متجذرة في صومالينيمو "جوهر أن تكون صومالي"
Well done girls always remember Somalinimo is In our blood. You are an example to many young aspiring somali teenager's
Firstly I appreciate the Somalian 🇸🇴 sisters ,I can imagine how difficult it is the way you are reaching your future, I hope your dreams will be coming soon but don't forget who you are, I always said we as Somalian left our country but our country will never leave our hearts ❤ 🇸🇴. and we respect those who welcomed us.
The essence of being Somalis with thair true colors shinning like a rainpow.
"Even though I was born and raised in Europe, it almost felt like I was there" emotional words 🙏 👏
Love her bravery and cleverness.
A well informed short and concise documentary. These girls are beautiful, articulate and courageous an inspirational role model for our younger generation.
Somali culture is vibrant and colourful once you experience it. Living in Europe some of our youth have identity crisis I also experienced this myself until I whent to visit Somaliland.
It was truly an amazing trip and learnt the language and culture. Before I had no idea how to read Somali language untill not long ago. Be proud of your culture and people. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
You meant to say "when I visited Somalia", walaal?.
Somaliland is just irrelevant here! You better not try to squeeze it into it.
There's only one Somalia🇸🇴 for all Somalis.
Guuleyso oo guule dhal walaal!
@@proudg9026 Somaliland can never be irrelevant we represent one part of the 5 Somali speaking countries. No offence but Somaliland exists and will continue to. I have never been to Somalia although I am planning next year.
Everyone is Somali and there no issues with that it's just we are sensitive to our sovereignty and statehood apart from that everything is fine.
What an amazing documentary. Proud to be British - Proud to be African. It is just a beautiful mix. 'We are all worthy'. 😘😘😘
Amy Rose you aren’t British. The indigenous brits belong in Britain it’s a ethnicity and not a identity. It’s rooted in genetics not birth.
@@covfefe1787 who are indigenous brit
@@umimohamed2323 the English the Scottish and the welsh those are the indigenous peoples of Britain.
I think you white peoples think that any immigrated white person who born uk is also indigenous brit
@@umimohamed2323 no they arent either native brits sure they fit in more and assimilate quicker but they themselves will never be indigenous brits. They more likely add into British DNA since Europeans moved to the British isles.
So inspiring, absolutely amazing to see this !👩🏾🎓
My brave fellow sisters love this it is truely motivating incredible empowering. Thank you so much. For this experience i truely resonate with your story .
You could belong wherever you want to because you are Somali. you could do anything you decide to do and nobody can say not to you if you really willing to. Being Somali is an honour, an unreachable to be, and having people to rely to when you really need help. I am Somali and I never had any doubt that we are great people, I can say one of the best in the world. Kindness, wit, hard work, and reliability when you are in need where else in the world you can get from. You are great and an inspiration to our beautiful girls to emulate you. Somali women are the backbone of Somali families and as men we appreciate you.
Yessssssirr🤍🤍✨✨✨
This is just incredible. Hats off to these beautiful sisters and hats off to The Guardian for putting this together
Well done Girls! You have already proved yourselves that you can work in both cultures. Just never take your eyes off the main prize - your education in Cambridge!
John Burrett who tf said they’re getting an arranged marriage?? Nice job on the stereotype really shows how uneducated you are, it’s not like you could be on their academic level.
We’re proud of you, I have to pray for your parents, Great
Thank you
We love u sister no matter where we born ,we all are somali 🇸🇴 ☝️
Love this video. Well done to these young women, I am sure you will all be very successful in whatever you choose to do.
Uplifting. Powerful documentary. So happy for these girls and the 100s they will inspire to do the same!
Interesting, and beautifully filmed.
Proud to be SoMali🇩🇯🇸🇴
thanks for this. great to see such confident young women embracing their future with such gusto and verve.
Quite inspirational really. Well done girls 🤗
This was super interesting and beautifully done!
Keep it up. Make us proud. 🇸🇴
Somali women will lead us into a brighter future, we have a lot of Queen Araweelos and Haawa Taakos in the making.
But we are 50 and we cannot lead in the back home right?
One.of the best documentary I ever watch. ..Thank You Guardian
Well done girls.I am proud of you.Everybody in Somalia should watch this video.
masha allh i'm so happy to see my sister's shining Somali excellent
Cambridge University waw, proud to be Somali well done girls.
I love you my Somali queens ❤️🇸🇴❤️
Huno calanka Ethiopia mxa usaratey
Absolutely inspirational to all our youth habo. So proud of you all
Congratulations I thoroughly enjoyed watching this video and thanks for sharing with us viva Somalinimo 🇸🇴🙏🙌❤
2:50 People need to stop thinking that other people who look different can't offer strength and inspiration. As students of a venerable school the girls are inheritors and stewards of its legacy, and the white men in the paintings are their own predecessors. I hope that during their time at the school these girls learn some of the stories and achievements of those old men, and having put themselves in their very different shoes are able to realize that they walk the same path.
@Sofia X I know it's difficult, it'll require at least some personal growth on their part, but that's the burden of being a pioneer. Failing to do so will in effect hand their white male peers even more of an advantage on top of what they already have, and as such make their path to success more difficult, not less.
I agree I don't understand it. These girls don't have an inferior complex and Somalis generally do not but I don't know why they mentioned it. Political perhaps? I wouldn't care. I just see people who were pioneers at an English school I mean it is an English school. If it were in Africa I'd expect to see great African professors. Same with Asia, Arabia, Iran or anywhere else. You can find inspiration in old white men that were geniuses or anyone else regardless of skin colour
I am not crying type but girls you made me cry today. You made me proud n of how you are your selfs and still maintain your identity.
100% understand these girls feelings, I don't feel somali enough or British enough so what am I? Its like we grew up here but our parents still want us to see the motherland as 'home' when all we know is the west 😭😭😭
Absolutely proud of you guys
so powerful ♥️
😂😂😂
Such a well done doc 👏🏽
that means they smart 😄.... I loved how Samiya and Miske carried themselves out well done.....
Wonderful. Thank you for making and thank you to the ladies for sharing.
identity is so important for younger people. we adults and parents need to find a way to explain to the children the affiliation they are struggling with. Hopefully this generation of young Somali scholars will help the older generation, how to deal with the challenges our younger ones are struggling with.
The best film I watched Covid-19 era
Are you serious?
Best*
Home is not where you born, home is where you belong
A very educative insightful and inspirational film
I liked this very much. The lack of belonging is something many people from a multitude of diasporas have in common, not to mention mixed race and multi-ethnic individuals. I especially loved the fact that one of the women featured in this film was involved in its production.
Best ever documentary so far 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼❤️❤️
So grateful that at least in some aspects the world is moving in the right direction. Best of wishes to the women in the documentary.
Sister we proud of you keep winning love you
These are my beautiful Somali sisters...Am very proud of you girls..With hard work anything is possibele..
wonderful truely speaking your real brave somali girls, absolutely your are real our representatives to the world
Alhuma bareek very interesting walahi proud of you all 💜💜💜💜💜
love it, keep going high!
Being part of Somali Diaspora is always endless battle of _"Who Am I, and Where do I really fit in?"_ Does no matter where you go and get to
You cannot escape it, it's in your DNA and in your Name and you cannot embrace either because you don't know what it is and you sure are not part of it.
@The505Guys they can claim they are somali and fit in perfectly they speak somali. More importantly western world is just temporary for all of us until Somalia is going out of the war than we can rebuild.
@@abdirahmanmo7945not in our lifetimes, how can i permanently move somewhere my parents were almost killed for who their parents parents were?
These women wow! How inspiring.
i love somali lide viva somalia i am from muzambeq
Excellent job all the support to all of you ♥️♥️♥️♥️
Keep smile everything will be all right
The happiest path in life is the one you follow yourself
This will trigger a lot of insecure people.
And why will it? I see you've commented a ton on this video
@@dawnsherratt2317 I've made like two or three comments. Hardly "a ton"..
Right lol. I can totally see it happening 😑
Somalinimo Aya dadka kaga SaraYnaH😍👑
Try being half Somali half English lol, at some point you learn that ethnicities don't have to live in antithesis with one another. At least thats what I've learnt. Beautiful documentary, Thank you for sharing Guardian.
Sis they’re british-
@@hk-nm8ox Did I deny that?
@SOM FILMS - REVIEWS BY SUWIEE "Half British you mean". No, you need to figure out what YOU mean. British is a nationality in most cases. English is the specification of ethnicity, just like Welsh. Just like you don't generally say you're half "American" as an ethnicity.
@@Blueocean881 You said "trying to be half english and half somali" they are somalis living in the UK, therefore they are british somalis. They're not trying to be anything.
@@hk-nm8ox You have misinterpreted what I was saying. I know they are British, and I didn't say "trying" I said "try". A suggestion that would make many people think twice about ethnicity and race, and the "divisions" that can come with it.This documentary reflects their feelings on identity, hence my comment.