Inter-clan fighting and random banditry were rampant. Following the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1997, anarchy and chaos spread across the country. The political situation in Somalia further aggravated the plight of its people. Harsh as life may have been for these women, they knew no other way to live. Subsistence is the reality of their lives as is the strict adherence to traditional ways. Strange as it may seem, Somali women accepted their fate. There, women had no voice and were condemned to a life of servitude. But she also fled from the injustice and cruelty inflicted on women in her village. She ran away to escape from an arranged marriage. Waris left Somalia at the age of 12 and had been away from home for 18 years. In her recent book, Desert Dawn, she writes about going back to the place that has nurtured her strength and her spirit, to the place she truly calls home. In the worldwide bestseller, Desert Flower, Waris tells of her flight from Somalia to London where she once worked as a cleaner until she was discovered by Terence Donovan and became a top fashion model. Her journey out of Somalia and back has already been the subject of two books. In a sense, she never really left Somalia it remains in her heart. I just didnt know how to do it, it seemed impossible to find my family almost as impossible as a camel girl becoming a fashion model,' writes Waris Dirie of her journey back to Somalia.Īfter having achieved a measure of success in the west, first as the face of Revlon skin-care products then as United Nations special ambassador for womens rights in Africa, Waris Dirie longed to go back home to find her family and return to her roots. I wanted to return to the place where I was born and see it with new eyes. If you were raised in Somalia, then you know what it is to get up and walk when you have no strength.

Desert dawn by waris dirie