Moving stories: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
BBC World Service's The World Today programme is asking migrants who have
been successful in their adopted countries how they got to the top of
their field.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is an MP for the Liberal Party in the Netherlands, with a
brief on immigration. Originally from Somalia, she fled to Holland after
her father attempted to arrange a marriage for her.
"I left Somalia when I six-years-old. I lived in Saudi Arabia for one
year, in Ethiopia for one and a half years, in Kenya for 11 years, and I
live in the Netherlands now.
If I were to say the things that I say now in the Dutch Parliament in
Somalia, I would be killed
I left Kenya because my father had chosen someone for me to marry.
He wanted me to go to Canada, where this man lived.
On my way to Canada I made a stop in Germany. I didn't agree with this
marriage, so I didn't take the plane - I took the train to Holland.
You can say I ran away.
When I had finished learning the Dutch language, I thought I would like to
go and study.
I came from a continent which is torn apart by civil war, and I wanted to
understand that.
I took political science in college, and that's how I got involved with
learning about power, about governments, about institutions, about
citizenship - what makes Europe Europe, and what makes developing
countries what they are now.
I wanted to understand - I came from a country in civil war, and I really
wanted to understand why we had civil war and why it was peaceful and
prosperous here.
I am now a member of parliament for the Liberal Party. My subjects - my
portfolio - include the migration of non-Western migrants to the
Netherlands, the emancipation of women, and development aid to developing
countries.
Unfortunately I cannot do this line of work in my country of birth.
Somalia is made up of a population which is 100% Muslim. The radical
leanings of a huge number of the population is unfortunately growing, and
the position of the Somali woman has never been worse than it is now.
If I were to say the things that I say now in the Dutch Parliament in
Somalia, I would be killed.
I wish I could go back, and I would love to go back, even if it's just to
see my parents and brother.
But I can't go back, because the situation is that I have said things
about the Islamic religion, I have said things about my past, I have said
things about the Prophet Mohammed and his message about women.
By saying these things, I think I would be seeking danger if I went back
to Somalia.
I'm not intimidated by the threats and the attempts to make me shut my
mouth, because living in a rich western European country like this one, I
have protection that I otherwise would not have in Somalia or in Africa or
in any other Islamic country.
So I am going to make use of this huge opportunity - that I am protected
and I can say what I want, that it gets published and spread, and that I
am a voice in parliament for these women.
That's something that people forget, because that means you change the
rights of women here. They have these rights, but you make sure they are
implemented.
I would not change that. I think I wouldn't be able to do that in another
country, and I'm not going to allow people to intimidate me.
I have memories - my parents lived there, and I have good memories of the
weather, of food, of how as a child I played.
In a way I identify my childhood with my place of birth. I think that's
just about it."
The World Today programme would like your comments, to be broadcast on
air. If you would like to comment on this story, please use the form on
the right.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/3322399.stm
Published: 2003/12/23 10:04:37 GMT
© BBC MMIII
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