Young girls from Somali are working on how to rebuild a nation after suffering war in the Splott Old Library and people in all works are welcomed to join them.
Young refugees and second-generation people in the UK are creating real change in some of the world’s most troubled regions, according to a young Somali activist in Cardiff.
Hamdah Abdulla, who came to the UK last year, was speaking at an event on rebuilding war-torn nations at the Old Library in Splott.
The member from The SM said: “I think that the youth is taking control of the situation today, our parents pay for our education and we need to go back to shoulder the responsibility and taking educated people back is important for rebuilding our nation.”
These young Somali girls set up the organization called The Somali Mindfulness Podcast last year, aspiring to get people together and make a difference around the UK by conquering issues in communities through podcasting.
“We’re working on this topic as our hometown used to be a war field,” Hakima Hersi, a member of The SM Podcast said. “We want to find out how we could rebuild our nation and how other nations could improve their people’s lives.”
The debate was part of Splott’s Cultural Exchange Day and had attracted more than 40 people with different color, religious beliefs, gender, age and class from the community.
“The way of rebuilding has a lot to do with your position. If you live in the nation, you already work with the country,” Anna, Hayes, one of the participants said. “But if you live abroad, it depends on how strong your connection with the country and it’s important to understand the cultural background.
“You send your money back home, that can be a small thing but if you have a good qualification in specific areas, you can physically go back and help in bigger ways.”
The Somali girls said that it was great to see people in all walks providing some healthy perspectives and the event was helpful in making stronger connections with wider communities.
A theatre company, Fio, will collect these ideas from the discussion to support its upcoming production, The Orchard of Lost Souls, which tells the story of the Somali civil war.
The Company is in the hope that this adaptation, together with the event, will inspire people to think more about how to rebuild nations, thus making a better society.