71' - Documentary full HD
English, French & Suajili (Spanish subtitles available)
Ébano Media & Genial Media
Hayat was born in Mogadishu (Somalia) in 1989, but had to flee from the country before she was two years old to avoid the armed conflict that is still going on today. More than 20 years later, Hayat prepares herself to travel to a northern region of ancient Somalia, of which her mother has always told her family stories: Somaliland. Although it is not recognized throughout the international community as a sovereign country, Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991, at the beginning of the war. From then on, it has resurged from the ashes, to construct a state with its own political institutions, currency and a democratically elected president.
The documentary tells the story of Hayat’s exciting and emotional journey to discover Somaliland. From the moment she boards the plane and travels into the unknown, Hayat is considering her life in Spain and contemplating how different it would have been had she grown up in Africa. This huge culture shock — the status of women, the veil that she does not know how to wear correctly, the Somali language that is completely unknown to her, despite the fact that, ethnically speaking, she belongs to this community, all make her journey a way to better understand where she comes from.