1

I like these bins.
Why?
Because I don't like to throw rubbish on the street.


2


It's water for dogs. And also for me, also for you; if you go jogging, you can drink.
Do you jog?
Not anymore.


3

I just took it 'cos this shop window is beautiful.
What are these things?
Things for the Christmas tree.
Are you a Catholic?
No, I'm Muslim.
So, these are not really muslim things...
Yes, but I like other religions, too.

4


I like to fish.
Where do you go to fish?
Now I don't fish anymore.
Where did you go to fish before?
In Cologne. When I used to live there, I used to fish in the river.

5

The number 18 tram. I always take the 18.
Do you go to work with it?
I don't work now.
Do you live with your parents then?
With my mum.
What about your father?
He's not here. He's in Somalia.
Are your parents divorced?
Yes.


6

These trees remind me of my house in Somalia.
When did you leave Somalia?
In Ô93. First we went to Djibouti, then to Italy. We went to Germany in Ô95, for four years.
Do you still remember Somalia?
Yes. I still remember.
But you were very young at that time?
Yes.


7


It's the lift. In my home, in Somalia, there's no lift. This is Corso Taranto, where I live. The lift is a good thing.


8

That's the tube for the firemen. My house is very old. I don't think it would work. If there was a fire, everything would burn down.

9

It's like the fence at our house in Somalia.
What kind of house did you live in in Somalia?
In a big house. (He draws a house with a wall, trees, a chicken yard and a fence).
How many rooms did you have in that house?
Four.
Why did you leave Somalia?
Because of the war. There's been a war there for 12 years.
Do you remember the war?
I've erased everything (from my memory). Because when I sleep, I always see the war.
Did you see terrible things?
I saw dead bodies and heard machine guns, when I was a child.
And did you manage to erase all these things?
Yes, yes. I've erased everything.

10


This is the gate to our house. It's always open. Night and day, everybody leaves it open and it's cold. In my flat there's no heating, I only have a small electric heater. It's cold as fuck.


11


These are machines to paint the lines on streets.
Why did you take the photo?
Because I just like the machines, the engines.
Do you have a scooter?
Not yet.


12


I took this for the bicycles. I like to cycle.
Do you cycle here?
I don't. I don't have a bicycle here. I used to have one in Cologne. But then someone stole it. But it would be easy to find a bicycle here, too. Yes, but here I don't have friends.
But you have brothers, you said?
Yes, but here I only have a sister and she doesn't live with us, she lives alone. She's older than I am.
How many of you are in the family, brothers, sisters, all together?
There are four of us.


13


I like that you don't put all the rubbish together here, but paper goes separately from the bottles. In Somalia it's not like that.


14


These are the benches, to sit down, in a park.


15


The caravans. Yes, they've got everything inside, just like in a house. When I grow up, I'd like to have one like these. I don't like staying in a house. These are better, you can just go, then stop somewhere, to eat, to sleep.... I took the photo behind my house.


16


Football.
Do you play football? Do you like it?
Yes, yes!
Who do you play with?
I don't play with anyone at the moment. (he laughs). I play when friends come, I don't play alone. But now I don't have friends.
But how come you don't have friends?
I can't speak.
But you did have friends in the past.
Yes, I used to have lots of friends in Cologne, little ones, big ones. We played and hung around together for four years... But here... Here I don't. I can't speak that much here. I'm always silent. I'd like to speak, to have friends, to hang around with them, but I haven't managed it yet.
Don't you know anybody here in the school?
Yes I do, but I have this speech problem. In my mind, I can speak, but then I can't manage to get the words out.
How long have you had this problem?
It started in Cologne.


17


I always buy cigarettes in this tobacco shop.
Do you smoke? At sixteen?
Yes. And when I smoke, I stop thinking.
Is that a good thing?
Yes. I smoke, and don't think of anything, anymore. I go home, switch on the TV, smoke and don't think.
Do you drink?
(laughs) No, I don't drink.
That's good. How many cigarettes you smoke a day?
I don't smoke normal cigarettes, but I smoke this tobacco. A packet is enough for two weeks.
OK, then you don't smoke that much.


18


Newspaper. 'La Stampa'.
Do you read newspapers?
I don't like newspapers that much. I don't buy them, but if I find one at home, I read it.
Why did you take the photo then?
I just took it.


19


I always buy food in GS. It's near where I live.


20


And this is the CTP school.
Is this the only school you go to? Or do you go to a regular high school, too?
I don't anymore. I went to a normal high school in Cologne but not anymore.
Did you finish?
I didn't, I just stopped going there.
Do you want to go back to school?
Yes. Here everything is too easy. Maths is easy, Italian is so-so and that's it, only maths and Italian. That's it. Now I'm doing this, then I want to go to another school. Next year I'm going to go to a school to train for work. A car mechanic school, to work with engines. My father used to be the boss of a car mechanic workshop, he was car mechanic.
Is it possible to work in Somalia, or is difficult because of the war?
There's the war, but you can do small things.
Do you want to go back to Somalia?
Not now, now I don't feel... I feel like a zero. I can't remember where my house is, I've forgotten my father. Now I stay with my mother, with my sister. When I'll be 25 years old, and I'll be a big guy, I'll go there. Now I'm too young. When I'm stronger (laughs)... now I'm not strong. And I can't speak to anybody.