People died in so many ways; in minefields, artillery shells, shotguns, ear bombardment and chemicals which cause painful deaths.

The war separated all those people who lived in the same place. They were lost to each other when the war came. l lost my whole family on the first day of the war. Everyone went off in a different direction. For three days I met no-one and had nothing to eat or drink.

When I returned to our home there was nothing left. It was flat like a car park. There were the bodies of women and children lying all over the floor. Many of them were my neighbours.

l left the ruins of my home with nowhere to go. I did not see my family for two months. l lived on the land of the nomads.

At last I met my family who were living in a very small village inside the Somali-Ethiopia border. Today they still live there. I have had to leave them. I moved to England in November 1990.

Now the war is over but there is nothing left inside the country. There are shortages of food, medicines, water and even houses.

The biggest problem I have is that l cannot help anyone back in Somalia because I do not have any money. But l hope one day to do the best possible things I can to help my people. Thank you for listening to my story.