Somalilandsun – An emotional journey narrated by Hayat Ismail – Hayat was born in Mogadishu (Somalia) in 1989, but had to flee from the country before she was even two years old to avoid the beginning of an armed conflict that is still going on today.
While fleeing the country, she passed through Dadaab (Kenya), which is now the largest refugee camp in the world. She continued living in Kenya and Tanzania until 12 years ago, when destiny brought her to Spain and from where she has followed, with sorrow, the distinct phases of the never-ending Somali war
More than 20 years later, Hayat prepared herself to travel to a northern region of ancient Somalia, of which her mother had always told her family stories: Somaliland. Although it is not recognized throughout the international community as a sovereign country, Somaliland declared independence from the rest of 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, a democratically elected president (elections are monitored by international observers) and its own currency. Contrary to Somalia, which is still suffering from a dramatic armed struggle with tinges of Islamic extremism and anarchy, Somaliland enjoys stability and peace, something which is quite unusual in this region of the Horn of Africa.
The documentary is the narration Hayat’s emotional journey, excited to complete her dream of getting back in touch with her roots, and with an autonomously functioning unknown country that is fighting for international recognition. Hayat will visit the President and the principal ministers of the country in order to learn the political functionings of an unofficial country and without international support. Furthermore, she will meet the directors of the leading businesses in the country and learn about, with her own eyes, the materials necessary for sanitation and education, as well as the emerging interest of foreign investors in the country. Hayat will also deepen the role of the Somaliland Diaspora and its key contribution from abroad to the reconstruction of the country and survival of its families. The project purports to have the viewer discover the workings of the country along with Hayat through her very own perspective, and converse with her protagonists.
Watch the documentary here : Somaliland, the peaceful neighbour
