Original subtitles

I could see the rocket launcher being fired at them.

We were ecstatic!

They bombed us and killed my relatives.

We were very angry.

We only wanted a chance to get to them.

Americans get out, move, move!

We Somalis need to resolve our own issues, without foreign involvement!

A helicopter dropped soldiers just over there.

And another one dropped more right here.

As a child, I grew up in a poor family.

We didn't have three meals a day.

But I was happy, and I was always playing.

I was the only girl on the team.

I liked to play just like the boys.

They would push me off the ball and I would go after them and play rough,

and that would lead to a fight.

One day at around 11:00 a.m.,

some of the children who lived in the neighborhood came to us.

The children were carrying a lot of sweets and chocolates.

So, I asked them where they got them from.

They told me the people they got them from were not Somalis,

they were white men in a vehicle.

I was not aware of the existence of people called Americans.

As children we were told Americans are civilized and advanced people.

When the UN came,

I got a good job from them and made good money.

I was a driver of technical vehicles and other luxury vehicles.

I was the breadwinner for 22 people.

I used to pay their bills from that car during the famine.

But the work we were doing in and around Mogadishu was very difficult.

There were people who wanted to take our lives, wealth, and the car.

So, we had to carry guns and protect ourselves.

One day, I went to the airport with my brother.

The Americans stopped me on the road.

They searched the car.

They took our only gun and asked, "What is this gun?"

We said this car is hired by an NGO. We are security and protecting it.

He said, "You are part of Aidid's army,

that's why you are carrying guns."

My brother tried to raise his hand to them.

They kicked his hand and hit him with the back of the gun.

Crunch, crunch!

He ran around to the window next to me and opened it.

Then he slapped me hard and threw me to the ground.

Another man also put my brother on the ground in the same way.

My nose and mouth were swollen from the slap, my nose was bleeding.

I have not hurt or harmed anyone.

I was treated badly, harassed and humiliated.

This is international aggression. This is a colonial occupation.

God is great!

The Americans had us by the throat, and they were strangling us.

I was there watching.

That day I decided that as long as I live,

I won't rest.

I will fight America with all my might!

That day we went and joined up with Aidid.

We are not afraid of Americans!

With this gun, I'm going to bring down their helicopters.

America no!

Hey, bring some tea.

We were veterans who participated in many battles.

We burned vehicles and killed people.

Back then, my men and I had a place where we used to drink tea and chewed khat.

We were hardened fighters for 20 years.

When we were bombarded by helicopters, that enraged us.

We saw it as a sign of weakness.

A coward or weak person will attack you from afar.

We wanted to fight them face-to-face.

We were saying, "How can we get to them?"

We wanted to teach them what Mogadishu really is.

As usual, my mom headed to the market to sell vegetables.

On our way to school, my brother and I were joking and teasing each other.

I'd get frustrated and fight him on the way.

I woke up late and performed a prayer.

While I was sitting, I heard a scream and loud noise and then I stepped out,

and I saw hovering helicopters.

I looped back to my house, took my jacket, gun, and ran.

The teacher arrived and the students were preparing to read the assignment aloud.

My rifle was already loaded with bullets.

Victory or death.

My friend started shooting at the soldiers hanging on the rope.

I stood beside him and started firing too.

All of it was very loud and the dust was everywhere

and the noise from the helicopter's rotor was everywhere.

The firefight was overwhelming!

There were bullets coming from the Somali side.

There were bullets from the helicopters.

And bullets from the Americans on the ground.

The people were streaming down the street.

Behind me, more fighters were coming to reinforce us.

But I could see the smoke that was coming out after it was fired.

The fall of the helicopter was the happiest moment I ever had.

This is our land.

If you touch a man's balls,

he will fight you off with his hands and legs.

We were ready to either kill them or be killed.

Subtitle translation by: Anu Akiyode