My story of Courage


by Salah Haji Ali


Salah Haji Ali is a landscape artist and poet, and has been involved with community arts in Scotland and Wales since he arrived in the UK, four years ago, from Somalia.


He was born and raised in Somalia’s capital city of Mogadishu, but when the ongoing war and violence that has ravaged the country hit his family, he fled.


‘I was granted refugee status a week after I arrived,’ he says ‘When I first came to Scotland I was attacked in the street, and I lost my teeth. But I’m a survivor. If I survived the war in Somalia, so eventually I can fix my teeth.’


‘For me the place I grew up is long gone and that is the reality. As for now, Scotland is in my heart, my mind and my soul. It’s my home,’ Salah adds. ‘Since I arrived in UK, every day that I wake up is a good day.’


Salah performs poetry with community groups around Glasgow, including Maryhill and Central and West Integration Networks. You can see some of his poems on our Refugee Week blog at www. refugeeweekscotland. com


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