Fatuma Ahmed
Somali
BiographySomalia has experienced a complex and continuous civil war among rival clans since 1991, leading to violence, famine, and dislocation for hundreds of thousands of Somalis and Somali Bantus. Fatuma Ahmed, along with her farmer husband and their children, belonged to the Ashraf, a Somali minority group often targeted by larger armed clans. With thousands of others, the family fled across country on donkeys and camels to a large refugee camp in Kenya in 1992. After thirteen years in the camp, Fatuma and her eight children received asylum in the United States, arriving in 2005. Although she had not gone to school in Somalia, Fatuma was skilled at handwork with intricate twined designs, making woven sisal mats and baskets that brought some income in the camps. In her new home in Connecticut she continued her basket-making with the Sewing Circle Project. Practicing her craft reminds Fatuma of Somali cultural practices, and provides a way to contribute her personal skills to American cultural life. Fatuma moved to Minneapolis in 2014 and went back to live in Somalia in 2018.
Person TypeIndividual
