Growing up is a daunting call for all of us. Realising that duty and responsibility are just around the corner is enough to freak anyone out, especially when you're only just in your twenties, have sky-rocketed in the modelling world, & left your homeland of Somalia as a refugee during its violent civil war.
When it comes to top models, I'll be honest, I can't name many of them. Yet, when I heard about Samira Hashi, I took notice instantly.
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| {Via Ikran} |
In the recent BBC documentary, 'Escape from the World's Most Dangerous Place', Hashi is accompanied by a team of cameramen as she travels back to her homeland to get closer to her roots, and witness the atrocities of the Somali civil war, which is now entering it's third decade. In it's opening few minutes, we see a spirited twenty something in her mother's London home, preparing herself for her departure. She's apprehensive, and aware of the brevity of the situation. Not only is she about to travel to 'the World's most dangerous place', she'll be reunited with her father, who she hasn't seen for eighteen years, after he left Samira, her mother, &her sisters in their London home to travel back to Somalia.
Her father's home with his new family is Samira's first stop, and she is greeted by him, his three sons, &their mother, a young Somali woman. The reunion is brief, and Hashi is hardened, but resigns herself to the fact that her father remarried to ensure a male progeny. Sons, we are told, are considered a blessing in Somali culture. Daughters, however, are not regarded as equal fortunes. Astonishingly, Samira doesn't seem phased by the encounter, and her discovery of her father's motives to remarry. As she put it: 'My sisters and I are more than blessed in London. My mum is my mum and dad.'
She then continues her journey to the UN refugee camp at Dolo- Ado, a refuge outside a region dominated by the extremist Islamic group, Al- Shabaab. It is here that the stark reality of the refugee camp she lived in with her mother and sisters hits her. Going back to your roots, and realising that your family lived in abject poverty just so they could escape from a terrorist group must be no easy realisation, and, from our comfortable side of the camera, we can see how hard the experience hits Samira. This is growing up at its hardest. Despite her tender years, Samira demonstrates a hardened maturity that keeps her going through her journey, and her affection for her motherland becomes increasingly tinged with anger, sadness, and fervent loyalty to its people.
In the final leg of her journey, Hashi travels to Somaliland- the de facto sovereign state in north-western Somalia. It has become a haven and refuge from the bitterly violent civil war raging on outside. Yet, it is here that Samira learns of another abuse. FGM, or female genital mutilation is widely practised in Somalia, and is still legal in Somaliland, despite international pressure. Frighteningly, culture dictates that young girls must be 'cut' in order to ensure their purity and virginity. Hashi comes across a six year old girl who is circumcised by her mother, who, after the procedure, rests assured that she will die in peace, knowing that she performed the act on her daughter. After witnessing the aftermath of FGM herself, Hashi has returned to England as a fervent campaigner against the mutilation of women, and has cut back on her modelling career in order to devote more time to work for the relief of Somalia from the violence of Al- Shabaab.
It's always refreshing to see people using their fame and influence as a platform to do good in the world, and this is why Samira Hashi has cemented her position as the coolest of the month.
Miss Dx
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