2 Where do I fit in?

Information about the University of Cambridge

2026-08-12T16:38:15+03:00

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a concise presentation of the university

Somalia country profile

2025-08-07T21:47:21+03:00

Somalia country profile

Published 2 January 2024 on bbc.com

Created in 1960 from a former British protectorate and an Italian colony, Somalia collapsed into anarchy following the overthrow of the military regime of President Siad Barre in 1991.

As rival warlords tore the country apart into clan-based fiefdoms, an internationally-backed unity government formed in 2000 struggled to establish control, with separatist movements in the two relatively peaceful northern regions of Somaliland and Puntland.

However, unlike Somaliland, Puntland is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation, but is part of the federal Somali state.

The seizure of the capital Mogadishu and much of the country's south by a coalition of Islamist shariah courts in 2006 prompted an intervention by Ethiopian, and later, African Union, forces.

Since 2012, when a new internationally-backed government was installed, Somalia has been inching towards stability, but the new authorities still face a challenge from al-Qaeda-aligned Al-Shabab insurgents.

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF SOMALIA: FACTS

Capital: Mogadishu
Area: 637,657 sq km
Population: 17 million
Languages: Somali, Arabic
Life expectancy: 55 years (men) 59 years (women)

LEADERS

President: Hassan Sheikh Mohamud

(Getty Images)

Hassam Sheikh Mohamud was elected by parliament in May 2022, defeating incumbent President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo.

Mohamud had served a previous term as president in 2012-2017, which was dominated by the struggle against al-Shabab jihadists, and he still faces a strong challenge by the insurgency.

MEDIA

TV is still a minor medium in Somalia (Image source,Getty Images)

Somalia's disintegration is reflected in its fragmented and partisan media, which operates in a hostile environment.

Journalists and media outlets complain about intimidation at the hands of state security agencies. Nevertheless, professionally-run media outlets have emerged - in particular, FM radios with no explicit factional links.

The TV and press sectors are weak and radio is the dominant medium. Domestic web access is held back by poor infrastructure, but social media use is on the rise.

TIMELINE

More than one million people lost their homes as a result of the civil war (Image source,Getty Images)

7th-19th Centuries - From the 7th-Century arrival of Islam onwards, modern-day Somalia is ruled by a series of at times competing sultanates.

19th Century - European colonial powers gradually make inroads into Somalia's rival regional states, with the bulk of the area coming under Italian rule and the British establishing control of the northwest.

1960 - Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland become independent, merge and form the United Republic of Somalia.

1969 - Mohamed Siad Barre assumes power in coup after the assassination of the elected president; he goes on to declare Somalia a socialist state and nationalises most of the economy.

1991 - The ousting of Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 sparks a decades-long civil war between rival clan warlords and the disintegration of central authority. Former British Somaliland declares unilateral independence.

1990s- US-spearheaded UN peacekeeping mission fails to restore peace.

2006 - Militias loyal to the Islamist Union of Islamic Courts capture Mogadishu and other parts of south after defeating clan warlords, before being driven out by Ethiopian forces.

2007-11 - An African Union peacekeeping force, Amisom, begins to deploy and Ethiopian troops withdraw in 2009. Al-Shabab - a jihadist breakaway from the Islamic Courts - advance into southern and central Somalia, prompting an armed intervention by Kenya.

2012 - Efforts to restore a central authority since 2000 finally make substantial progress, with the swearing in of the first formal parliament in more than 20 years, and the holding of the first presidential election since 1967.

2022 - Somali government forces, aided by US air strikes and African Union troops carry out major offensives against al-Shabab, retaking control of significant areas that had previously been under the group's control.

2024 - Ethiopia and Somaliland sign a memorandum of understanding for landlocked Ethiopia to use one of Somaliland's ports. Somalia describes the agreement as an act of "aggression".

The scars of civil war are visible in Mogadishu's historic port city (Image source,Getty Images)

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14094503 BBC Somalia country profile, retrieved 8.7.2025

KEY

2024-08-12T13:57:00+03:00

1. What two feelings does Miske have about being at Cambridge? (00:35)	Miske feels elated and (a) huge pressure about being at Cambridge.
2. Why did Hafsa eat so many vegetables in Cambridge? (1:24)	Hafsa ate a lot of vegetables because she had trouble finding halal food in Cambridge.
3. What do Black students do when they see each other at Cambridge? (1:44)	Sometimes students nod and smile when they see another Black student.
4. How did the paintings and statues make Awa feel? (2:55)	The paintings and statues of white men made Awa feel like she doesn’t belong there.
5. How did Hafsa feel about being Somali as she grew up in the UK? (3:53)	Hafsa felt like being a Somali was not portrayed as a positive thing.
6. What do their parents say about Somalia? (4:14)	Their parents speak about the beauty of Somalia.

2B
1. c. why she wanted to live on her own
2. b. you need to be true to who you really are
3. a. she has more sympathy for her parents
4. c. to get away from violence
5. a. idealised
6. c. conflicted
7. b. They don’t fully belong in the UK or Somalia.

2E

“I think that without 1. Islam, a lot of the time my experiences with things would be quite difficult.”

“I just took that for 2. granted. Walking down the street [in London] and seeing people like myself, and just 3. blending in. But when I got to Cambridge, it's this real contrast of just feeling highly 4. visible.”

“When I came to Cambridge and I realised there are some people who have never met this Black and Muslim 5. combination, I felt that maybe there is a need to 6. educate people and sort of show people that Somali women exist and we are 7. determined to make change in a positive and
8. progressive way.”

“Surprisingly, being at Cambridge has made me more Somali. Having to like sort of, talk to other people about Somalia and our 9. culture ... And that in itself has made me very proud and 10. appreciate who I am.“

“I feel very proud of being British, and I feel really, really proud of being Somali. They are both like an intrinsic part of me and an intrinsic part of my 11. identity. And I wouldn't want to 12. separate the two.”