Background on A Litle Rebirth

I directed and produced A Little Rebirth, a 30-minute documentary about my Somali community in Phoenix, AZ. I self financed its production and shot it using my Sony PD-170.

A Little Rebirth documents the creation of the Somali Association of Arizona by Somali immigrants and refugees in an effort to help the newest Somali refugees. I profiled two recent arrivals: Mumina, a disabled expectant mother facing economic hardship, and Mohamed, a teenage boy who eagerly explores American culture while using his growing knowledge to help other Somalis.

Background on somalia

Somalia is a small country in the Horn of Africa with an ancient culture and tradition. The Land of Punt traded with the Middle East, China, India, ancient Egypt and the Swahili coast for millennia. The Somali people were traditionally nomadic livestock herders, sedentary farmers and coastal traders.

Somali people were colonized by Italy, France and Great Britain. Due to the arbitrary carving of national borders by these colonialists, the Somali nation was split up into Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. With a harsh climate, under 2% arable land, little infrastructure for industry, and little capital, our nomadic and pastoral tradition has not fit well into the global economy. Our 31 years of freedom after colonialism were marked by poverty and political oppression.

In 1991, civil war broke out in Somalia, leaving Somalia in anarchy ever since. While many without the resources to leave have stayed, thousands have fled. Of the 15 million Somalis in the world, fewer than 8 million remain in Somalia.

Somalis are currently the largest group granted asylum in the United States. There are over 150,000 Somalis in the USA. Large Somali communities exist in Minnesota, Columbus, Atlanta, Maine, San Diego, Seattle and Phoenix.