Identity crisis: Somalis mistaken as Nigerians

I feel loved and safe in this country... One of my children wants to be a doctor and the other a businessman. I hope both of them are able to realise their dreams in India

Sadio Sheikh, 28, came to India in 2007 when she was 18. She was in Hyderabad and came to Delhi two years back. Sheikh, who completed her post graduation in medical laboratory technology through distant education in Hyderabad, thought the capital would be a better place for her, especially in terms of livelihood opportunities. She applied for jobs at various hospitals, appeared for many interviews, but never got through. “One of the biggest problems we face here is that we are mistaken as Nigerians”.

Sheikh, who lives in India alone, says she has been able to survive in India thanks to her aunt in Kenya, who supported her financially all these years.

“As a single refugee woman, I face a lot of hardships. I would be happy to return to my country once the situation is normal. What I am desperately looking for us right now is financial security and stability,” says Sheikh.

But Shukri Aden, 47, another refugee woman from Somalia, has a positive experience. She came to India two years back after her husband and daughter were killed in the conflict there. She lives in Wazirbad, where most of the city’s 600odd Somali refugees live. Her children go to a government school. “They are quite popular with their teachers and are doing well in studies,” says Aden, who gets Rs 2,000 a month for each child from UNHCR. She earns by doing odd jobs -– cleaning homes, washing dishes for Somalis who visit Delhi for medical treatment.

Aden who heads the community’s women group has learnt to speak quite a bit of Hindi too. “If possible I want to live in India forever. I feel loved and safe in this country,” she says, talking to us through an interpreter. “One of my children wants to be a doctor and the other a businessman. I hope both of them are able to realize their dreams in India.”