Original subtitles

Early morning that day was peaceful.

Soon after, I felt a slight labor pain.

I was blessed with baby Amina.

She was a beautiful baby girl,

thanks to God.

I was expecting my relatives to visit and bring gifts

but then the shooting began.

Helicopters were hovering above.

There was chaos all over the city.

Then one helicopter was shot down.

It crashed right outside our house…

and I passed out.

We thought it was all over.

There was a plan presented to us by General Aidid.

If you get the chance, capture the US soldiers alive,

if not, kill them.

Somalis were yelling at each other to come out and fight.

This is our land.

If you touch a man's balls,

he will fight you off with his hands and legs.

Even if 1,000 people died, it doesn't matter.

It's no problem.

Our objective was the freedom of Somalia.

When we were in the school,

I had never heard artillery or anything as loud as this before.

The teacher stood up and told the prefects to lock the doors.

We didn't know what was going on outside.

Around 20 children were huddled on top of me.

Some were vomiting and others passed out.

I told myself, this is where I will die.

I'll never see my parents again.

In combat, the layout of Mogadishu is to our advantage.

We use the backstreets so they can't see you.

These men they brought here

had never been in a single battle. They were schoolboys.

I was a fighter with 30 or 40 battles under my belt,

and for four months, we have been defending our territory in Mogadishu.

Everyone was volunteering themselves.

The women who should have been scared,

they were actually pointing out the soldiers, "Over there! Over there!"

When the helicopter crashed, I had passed out.

I woke up, disoriented from the shock.

There were Americans standing over me.

I was more and more scared.

One of them approached us.

He was angry and shouting.

I was worried about my baby girl.

We said, "We have no weapons,

please spare us!"

They said, "Get down on the floor! Hands behind your back!"

And they cuffed me with a cable tie.

I was terrified.

I thought he would be shot.

We lived in Bakara market.

My children were wonderful, and so young.

They had a happy life,

and their father provided all they needed.

That day, I had taken my mother to her brother's house.

He was living in the General Daud neighborhood.

I was told the Americans attacked Bakara and there is constant gunfire.

I screamed, "Wow, that's my neighborhood!"

"That is where my children are!" And I ran.

I ran and ran and ran.

A man said, "What are you looking for?" "My children!" I said.

The helicopters!

We were running away from the gunfire.

It was spraying everywhere.

I saw a fat Somali woman walking in the road.

The helicopter came close to her

and shot her in the head.

She fell and died instantly. She died.

I screamed, "Oh my God! She died! She died! She died!"

People dragged her under a tree

where there were children who had also been shot.

I was certain that my children must be there

so I was checking all the faces

but I couldn't find them.

The Americans were killing everyone in sight.

Dead bodies were scattered like bullet casings in the street.

General Aidid came to us that afternoon.

He was dressed in traditional Somali attire and armed with an AK-47.

He gave us clear instructions.

"Keep fighting, victory is imminent."

So we pressed on.

We were firing at each other 100 meters apart, sometimes even closer.

My comrades fired an RPG towards them.

We were engulfed in smoke and dust.

Even the soldiers were scared and screaming.

We were told that there is a family trapped in the house.

The Americans were holding them as a human shield,

to save their own lives.

We could hear them.

They were arguing, "Should we kill them all, or spare them?"

One group wanted to spare us

and another group wanted to kill us along with the Americans.

I was against the shelling

but some people, who were very angry,

said that we should attack them with more RPGs

so the Americans don't escape.

We thought, "It's over."

We will be killed together with the American soldiers.

If they got hurt, then so would we.

It was in our interest for them to survive.

We were told to stay seated.

"Don't worry, we won't harm you."

"Don't be scared. If you need anything, just ask."

I was surprised for sure.

But then all people, regardless of whether

they are white people or Muslims

have kindness in their hearts.

Passing a nearby road,

we saw a helicopter hit by an RPG.

The helicopter began to emit huge amounts of smoke.

We celebrated, praising God.

"God is great, thanks be to God!"

It went down about 300 to 400 meters away from us

and we ran to it.

I wanted to be the first to get to the crash site.

We were running towards home

and then I reached the house.

My son Abdirahman said, "Mom, I am here with the kids."

My husband was holding the Qur'an,

and tears were flowing down his cheeks.

I told him to stop reading the Qur'an,

and run with the children.

He said "God is everywhere, and there is nowhere to run."

"Let's just stay."

I was shot here. I thought I'd lost my hand, it twisted around.

The room was filled with bullets.

I was crying, "My children! My children! My children!"

"Are they dead or alive?"

The battle raged on all around us.

We said, "Let's fight until we die."

We made that decision.

The gunfire intensified.

We assumed we would die.

We wouldn't make it out.

The teacher said it's time to leave.

I approached the school door.

I decided to try and run home.

I left the school.

And I was barefoot.

It was dark, and I was alone.

I was really scared.

I was so scared.

Subtitle translation by: Anu Akiyode