Abdul’s Life Journey

Abdul Sheikh was born in 1984 in Somalia, a land of great beauty and promise that attracted tourists from around the world, who came to enjoy the friendly people and peaceful country. Now, however, Somalia is overwhelmed by famine, war, and violence; leaving no person unaffected.

When he was seven years old, his father and mother divorced. As a result, his three siblings and he lived with his father, while two of his other siblings lived with his mother. He has not seen them in over 10 years, and has no knowledge as to their whereabouts or if they are still alive. His father, a religious leader in Mogadishu, the capital, was shot and killed during the civil war (1992), due to his association with a specific tribe. His father was a great man who loved his children – he misses him dearly.

After his death, he lived with his father’s immediate family for a few years, then moved with some of his friends to Ague, a small rural town outside Mogadishu. Here, he and his friends lived a “dark life,” a term in Somalia usually associated with a life of a nomad. Due to the tribal warfare that had overtaken the country at the time, he was afraid that a rival tribe would try to kill him, like his father. Therefore, it was essential that he keep on the move, constantly running away from people that he thought would do him harm. Everyday he prayed that his life would change for the better, and one day soon it did. He and his friends fled across the Somalia/Kenya border in the town of Mandera, Kenya.

Thanks to the generosity of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, they were provided with food and assistance in Mandera for two and a half years. Several months later, they moved to the Eastleigh section of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. Shortly after their arrival in Nairobi, the friends that he was traveling with were subsequently reunited with their family in the United States, while he on the other hand, had become desperate and homeless, scavenging for food to survive.

Fortunately, while he was in Mandera, he was befriended by a gentle old man from Kenya who helped him significantly. People called him “Mzee,” though Abdul did not know his formal name. He will always remember his generosity. He provided Abdul with food, shelter, clothing, and hope and enrolled him in a school that was operated by a Canadian and American church. He always encouraged Abdul to study hard and pushed him to get an education and not to waste time doing things that would distract Abdul from his studies.

Abdul studied English at the school until November of 2000. Shortly thereafter, the refugee coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Kenya, along with two other U.S. citizens helped him move to the United States in December of 2000. Because he was an unaccompanied minor and had no immediate family members, he was granted asylum by the United States Government. He can never forget their compassion and help. Living in the United States was very different than Somalia. Abdul currently lives in Virginia, and enjoys the everyday freedom, free public education, abundance of food, religious toleration, and security that the United States provides.

Abdul recently graduated from high school and has begun to pursue a degree in international studies and political science. With his education, he intends to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than himself. Although he will never forget the hardships he once faced as a refugee, he also feels that it is essential that he return to Somalia, his homeland. “Ultimately, I believe that it is important to reach out and provide support to others who have had similar life experiences and to share my story so that Americans, will become aware of the persecution and injustices that I and other refugees have experienced.”