(man singing in foreign language) (soft music) - If I wasn't a Muslim, and I saw stuff on TV, I would also not be quite positive about Islam and Muslims.

For us, America is a place where my family and I could flourish, live in peace, and ultimately keep our identity as Black African Muslims, and have neighbors that could be white, blue, or red, and live with them, and interact with them with respect and honor, but keep our identity, and stay loyal and truthful to God.

(bright inspiring music) Now there are differences in our beliefs.

But that's fine, because in the human sense, we're all the same.

(soft music) - [Monty Voiceover] I remember the first time I ever flew in an airplane.

As we flew across the country, I remember looking out the window the whole time, my nose just pressed against the glass, sort of surveying the land below me.

I remember having this strange sense of duty to dedicate myself in some way to helping.

- [Newscaster] Opioid addiction reaching epidemic levels-- - [Newscaster] Moving fires in parts of California-- - [Newscaster] Breaking news, at least nine people killed overnight-- (tense music) - [Monty Voiceover] As I grew older, I ended up raising a family and becoming a lawyer, and ultimately becoming CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill.

- It's a vision to change food culture.

- [Monty Voiceover] One of the things I liked best was interacting with thousands and thousands of people over the years, and really getting to know them.

Loads of different people, from very different walks of life.

The more I got to know, the more convinced I was that man, we're all very much the same in so many ways.

And you wouldn't know that from what we see on TV or hear on the radio.

All that stuff suggests that we're very divided, that we're not united at all, that we're all about disagreement, that we're all about arguing, that we're all about fighting.

But I think the truth is just the opposite.

There's a great deal more that unites us.

What I want to do with this docuseries is to tell the stories of people who might never be seen or heard, and to help bring the wisdom from many people, from many different walks of life, so that everyone has access to it.

In some ways, I'm still just that small boy with my nose pressed against the glass, looking down at this beautiful place we all live, and wanting to do some good, wanting to demonstrate that there's a lot more that unites us than divides us.

(airplane engine whooshing) (soft atmospheric music) Flying over the heartland of the United States and the rolling hills of southern Ohio, the skyline at Columbus appears in the distance.

This welcoming city of nearly a million people was my home for many nights during my life as a CEO, and as I arrive and walk down its streets, I'm again reminded how this growing city has kept its small town feel.

It's home to people who are quick to look you in the eye and offer you a warm welcome.

Perhaps the warmth of its people is why Columbus has long been welcoming refugees and immigrants from around the world.

Columbus now has one of the largest populations of immigrants from the country of Somalia.

I arrive here with curiosity as to what drove so many Somali immigrants to travel thousands of miles to arrive at this city, so far from any coast.

Why bypass so many closer cities to make their way to Columbus?

What's it like for Muslim immigrants when they arrive in America, with its different language, customs, and culture?

Do they experience the racism and Islamophobia, which I so often hear about in the media?

As a lawyer, I know of many legal hurdles immigrants face in coming here, but I'm also curious about the challenges they confront as they begin their new life as Americans.

(bright inspiring music) Having never visited a mosque, I wasn't sure what to expect.

But right away, I was struck by its elegant simplicity.

Instead of the lofty ceilings and rows of pews I grew up with in Christian churches, I saw instead a large room, wide open, nearly free of furniture, where hundreds of people remove their shoes, float in at their own pace, and bowed together, joining the calming prayers being sung in Arabic by their pastor, Imam Asad Ahmed.

(singing in foreign language) - Thank you very much for inviting us into the mosque today, and for letting us hear your sermon.

- Yeah, pleasure.

- [Monty] Is sermon the right word, or is there a better-- - Yes.

That would be, in Islamic terminology we would say the Khutbah.

- Okay.

- But sermon.

Yeah, sermon, Khutbah, same thing.

- [Monty] There's the best translation for it?

- Yeah.

- So this is my first time ever being in a mosque in my whole life.

- Wow.

- Today.

- Wow.

- But it's not your first time.

You grew up in the mosque, didn't you?

- Yeah, I grew up attending mosques and prayer services at mosques.

My father was a preacher, my grandfather was a junior preacher.

Most of my brothers are preachers or callers to Islam.

- Is a caller something different than a preacher?

- No, no.

A caller is someone who invites people to the fold of Islam, and to the message of Islam, so you could call it a Sheik, an Imam, a preacher.

- Okay.

- A cleric.

Your choice.

- So is this typical of a mosque?

Just a floor, and everyone is on the floor kneeling or sitting or standing?

- Correct.

- And I noticed that people during the sermon, sometimes they'd stand up, and then go back down again.

Why is that?

- The prophetic tradition is that when you come into a mosque, you should pray first two sets of bowing and prostrating before you sit.

So you may have seen someone that came and was doing that, and then somebody else came a minute later and was doing that, so.

- [Monty] And there was people who were coming in the whole time.

- That's right.

This is just one of many maybe 12, 13 mosques in the Columbus area.

And they're all full.

They're all full.

It tells you how much religion is a big deal in the Muslim Somali community.

- I think that there's a thought amongst maybe a lot of people who grew up in America who don't know many Muslims, that Muslims are quite different.

Do you feel that Muslims are very different than everyone else in the country?

- No, I don't.

There's a difference of opinion.

There's a difference in God's creation, the different colors, the different classes, the different cultures.

This is all part of the might and the power of God.

And to respect what God chose for the world to look like is to respect God.

- What are your thoughts about the Taliban, and so forth?

You hear about them disrespecting women, or abusing women.

What do you know about all that?

- I've heard the Taliban did not let women go to school.

That's very un-Islamic.

That's ungodly.

- But is there some way in which women occupy a lesser role?

- The rules and the roles of men are clear, and those of the women are clear.

Women can go to school, just like men can go to school.

They can work just like men can work.

They deserve respect just like sons and men deserve respect.

Now look, I can't speak for every Muslim just like you can't speak for every white person.

- Right, of course.

- I'm sure there are some people that do terrible things to their women, or their daughters, but I'm talking about Islam as a faith, and the system of Islam, absolutely not.

This notion that Muslim women are lower, or are denied some basic rights, I only hear that in some Western media.

- Yeah.

- And I think that comes from a place of extreme colonial arrogance, that only looks at people that does what they think-- - What they're used to?

- Exactly.

And anyone who does other than that is somehow inferior, oppressed force.

That's pure nonsense.

When you speak to real people, in real places, with real faces, you'll see the truth.

(soft music) - I was born and grew up in Somalia.

I left at the age of 19.

- Oh, okay.

So you spent, most of your life has been there?

- Yes, I did.

- And why did you leave?

- I was a journalist, and there was extremists that didn't want a journalist, especially a woman, to be a journalist.

They didn't want us to tell the truth, what they were doing, and have other people's opinion, and they just wanted to shut everybody off.

And we didn't follow the rules.

We just being a journalist, and that's what they know how to do it.

They didn't agree, and they killed two of our colleagues in the same day.

- At that time, did you start thinking I better leave?

- I wanted to leave, but I was young.

So my colleagues went to the neighboring country, Kenya.

And for me, I couldn't go.

We were in Mogadishu, the capital city.

So I went back home to visit my mom, my family, to live with them, and just figured out what to do next, and luckily I was offered a job in the northern side of the country.

It was a little bit safer.

It was good.

And unfortunately while I was there, about a year and a half, those group reached there again, and the same issues started.

(tense music) This time I knew I had to leave the whole country, otherwise I would have risked myself to being killed.

- Were they actually targeting you in particular?

- No, they were targeting all the journalist.

- Did they have a list of names or something?

- I think they did, yeah.

- [Monty] And you might have been on that list?

- Well, they called my number, so definitely.

(birds chirping) - Do you remember a time growing up in Somalia where it was stable, where it was peaceful?

- Oh yes.

When I was just children, when I was young, was peaceful.

Everybody doing his own job, and peaceful, you can go out anytime, you can sleep anywhere.

Was peaceful.

Was a nice place.

I could say that it was the safest place on the earth at that time.

- Wow.

- Yes.

(dark tense music) In '88, civilian was fighting to the government.

- What were they fighting over?

- Power.

- Yeah.

- Power share.

That's the main thing.

- People call the former president of the country as a dictator, and there was the three generals, and they wanted to take over, but they couldn't agree who was gonna be the president.

So in between them, the civil war started.

(tense atmospheric music) - A father went to work in the morning, and mother goes to the grocery store, and civil war broke out.

(people shouting) - Was it real fighting, like guns and everything?

- It was actually what you see in the movies.

- [Monty] Like a full-blown war?

- A full-blown war.

- You can see soldiers with uniform.

Again, it's the civilians.

It really was.

(dark music) (gunshots firing) - Everybody run, and nobody even can go back to their kids.

It was chaos.

- [Monty] Did you leave?

- Yeah, I left.

- How?

- By car.

- You had a car, and you just drove out of the country?

- Out to Kenya.

- And who was with you?

Your wife?

- No, friends.

Sometimes you don't have time to talk to nobody.

Fights have been, you cannot go even where you live.

So you go anywhere you can go.

- So you just ran, and you didn't even have the ability to-- - No.

- Couldn't even talk to them?

- [Asad] Nobody, talk to nobody.

Some family, they were together.

Some family, they were not.

- [Monty] And you were separated?

- Yeah.

(soft atmospheric music) - [Monty] When was the next time you talked to your wife and your son?

- Couple of months later, they came.

- Where'd you stay?

- Refugee camp.

- [Monty] What was it like living there?

- Imagine if you are here in Columbus, and suddenly war is starting.

You've never been out of the Columbus, you've never been out of the country.

You don't have enough money, or enough transportation.

Imagine, if that happened to you, and you go somewhere you don't even speak the language.

What do you think, when that happen to you?

- It'd be scary.

- Yeah.

Most of them, that's the way they're facing that time.

- A lot of people left everything they had behind because of the war in Somalia.

And I could imagine it was particularly painful for people like my parents, and my older siblings, because they had a life going on when they literally just ran away from everything.

- They had a home, and some of the comforts of-- - Of course, they had cars.

They were driving.

They were about to get married or something.

Some of them were in university.

So that must have been extra painful.

Much more painful than for someone like me who was when we left Somalia, seven.

Which I could probably care less where we were going, as long as we were going somewhere.

- Did you miss Somalia?

Did you miss your-- - Of course.

Wherever you grow up, you know, you cannot forget it.

Or born, or raised.

Steady family, friends, neighborhoods.

Sure, you're gonna miss.

- Do you find that your faith has helped you get through very hard times?

- Of course.

Because whatever come to you is from God.

Either bad thing or good thing.

So you have to be happy, whatever happens.

- So you trust that whatever it is-- - Yes, it is.

- It's the right thing.

- Right thing.

- For that time.

- Absolutely.

I know it was hard time, but I believe nothing happened to me, bad thing.

- No bad thing has happened to you?

- No bad thing.

Yes.

- It was all given to you by God?

- Yeah, by God.

- So it's okay?

- Yes, it's okay.

(soft atmospheric music) - [Monty Voiceover] Hearing firsthand what so many have gone through to reach the United States of America is truly humbling.

It's hard to imagine what these courageous people have so bravely endured.

Almost overnight, they lost all of the security that they worked their whole lives for.

They've had to endure a life of nearly constant uncertainty.

And have often had nothing to guarantee a reunion with their family members, other than hope, prayer, and faith.

- [Monty] So you left?

You left Somalia?

- I went to Kenya, yeah.

- It seems like that's where many Somalians that were refugees-- - Because it is the border country, it's easier to get there.

We have a better relationship.

And there was a lot of opportunity than going to Ethiopia, or other places.

And when I get there, I didn't go the proper channels, so I crossed the border illegally.

Because if I had to request refugee status, they would send me to the refugee camp.

But I didn't want to-- - You didn't want to go to the refugee camp?

- [Sowdo] No.

- Why not?

- Safety-wise, I didn't hear good things about refugee camps, and there was a lot of colleague of mine in Nairobi who were already in the system with the UNHCR figuring out way to support the journalists that come into the countries.

So there was other things going on at the same time.

But when I came to Kenya, I lost that sense of purpose.

I felt like there was a gap.

There was something missing.

I didn't speak the language, and I wanted to do more.

I wanted to be part of the community, involved in a lot of things.

And right away, I enrolled as some sort of ESL program to study Swahili.

And right away, I start picking up is this distant relatives that I was staying at their home, and the auntie decided to go back to Somalia.

And when she told me, I was devastated, because I was just getting to, getting used to life in Kenya.

And when she said she's leaving, I didn't want to stay there without her.

(soft music) I remember one day, I was watching English Premiere League and the commentator said something South Africa just won to host the soccer World Cup in 2010 for the first time in African country.

And when he said that, I start thinking about it, and I had a few friends in South Africa, so I called them, and I told them my story, and I asked them, is there a way to get there?

And they gave me some suggestions.

And I tried to apply South African visa, I couldn't get it, because the process was longer, and the Somalia passport is not powerful, so nobody would give you a visa.

So I end up applying Mozambican visa, because it's the neighboring country.

- Oh okay, yeah.

- [Sowdo] With the help of smugglers to make a way to get there.

- [Monty] The smugglers put you on a plane?

- [Sowdo] Yes.

- [Monty] Well, how?

- [Sowdo] Well they get the visa and everything.

They have, they don't go the proper channels, but they do something.

I don't know what they did.

- [Monty] But they get you a fake visa or something?

- [Sowdo] No, they get you real.

But they have better connections than we do.

- [Monty] Pay somebody, huh?

- Exactly.

- Yeah.

- Yes, it would have cost me if I travel from Nairobi to Johannesburg, maybe $1000.

But instead I had to pay almost $3000.

- To go to Mozambique?

- To get to South Africa.

So they did everything.

- Oh, I thought you said you went to Mozambique.

- Yes, but then they help you cross the border.

- [Monty] Back into South Africa?

- Yes.

- Oh, I see.

So it's just a circuitous way down.

- Yes.

The idea seemed much better in my head than reality, because when I get there, I didn't know a lot of people.

It was different atmosphere.

It was, at some point I was like, what am I doing?

(soft music) Along the way, I met an American lady from Ohio State that was doing a research PhD.

- [Monty] Really?

- And she was comparing lifestyles Somalis in Columbus and Johannesburg.

- That's an interesting study, isn't it?

- Yes.

And when I met her, I thought she was just gonna interview me, and she's like no, no, I want you to help me.

I want you to be my research assistant.

And it was like, I don't speak good English.

I don't think I'd be able to help you.

And she said no, no.

Whatever you have is enough.

So she was like, I'll pay you.

And I said don't pay me, but here is what you can do for me.

Teach me English, and I'll help you in your interviews, and bring people for you.

That's the deal we made.

The World Cup came.

It was the most beautiful, magic moment in my life that I will always cherish.

I was able to go couple of the games.

I was reporting live of the games everyday.

- [Monty] For what station?

- [Sowdo] For Voice of America.

- [Monty] Wow.

- For the Somali service.

At the end of that year, then some problems started.

And there's certain people that had a relationship with the extremist group, and they would see me doing this job, and they would always tell me yeah, you can't do this.

You can't talk to white people, you can't explain to our culture.

My friend kind of suggested that I should change my life, and maybe talk to the UN Refugee High Commission.

- Uh-huh.

- So they're the one who do the resettlement program.

So she said go talk to them, tell your story.

They might offer you resettlement.

So I went there.

I told them my story, and I told them, the only place that I want to go was the US.

(bright music) But to prove who I am, and everything, is still the process of resettlement took a year and a half.

- Here?

- No, before I even came.

- [Monty] Oh.

- Because I can't go and apply American visa, and right away get it and going.

Doesn't work that way.

Just coming here in itself.

You can't even dream about it.

(soft music) - So when you came here to America, your wife and your son were already here?

- Yeah.

They came first.

- They came first?

- They came first.

- How many weeks or months before you?

- About two and a half years, almost.

- Two and a half years?

- Two and a half years.

- I mean, isn't that hard to see them, and say goodbye?

- No, it wasn't hard, because they are going safe place.

- So you were relieved?

- Yeah.

- You were relieved that they were going somewhere safe.

- Mm-hmm.

- But at the time you said goodbye to them, you didn't think you were gonna go in a week?

You didn't think you were gonna go in two weeks, did you?

- No, no.

- You knew it would be a while.

- Yeah, I knew it was like two months, three months.

That's what I-- - Two or three months?

- Yeah, that was-- - Oh okay.

So maybe that was why it's not hard.

Because you think I'll be there soon.

- Mm-hmm.

- But three months comes, and your papers aren't there?

- Yes.

It's not there, it's not ready.

Something happened, go back.

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

- Wait, wait, wait, three years?

- Three years.

Two and a half years.

Almost three years.

- Wasn't that hard?

- But you don't have a choice.

Either hard or easy.

(laughing) - But what did it feel like?

Like I don't know anyone in this country who's been separated from their family for almost three years.

I don't know anybody.

- Some people are separated 10 years or more.

- More than 10 years?

- More than 10 years.

Living in Columbus, living in Minneapolis.

- [Monty] Waiting to see their sons, daughters, wives, husbands.

- Yes.

Husband, wives, kids.

Mother, father.

- I came to America in 2000 to find a better life.

I left my children and husband, and everything I know behind.

- Wow.

- Yeah, I left a four-month-old.

- [Monty] Wow.

- Baby behind to come to America.

- Wow, so you sacrificed a great deal.

- It was probably one of the hardest things that I have ever done.

- [Monty] And your husband was over there?

- [Maryan] With them, yes.

- [Monty] And he was taking care of them?

- [Maryan] Yeah.

- [Monty] But you had an opportunity to come?

- [Maryan] Yes.

- [Monty] You got documents?

- Yes, I used to work with international NGOs and things like that, and I got an opportunity through that to come, and we just really had to take it.

It was a hard decision, but what was the alternative at that time?

Life was difficult.

It was back in 2000.

We were living outside Somalia in neighboring country.

And the politicians were getting together to see if there was way out, but there wasn't at that time.

It was completely divided.

People were still fighting in some parts.

- And it didn't look like it was gonna get better anytime soon?

- It didn't.

It didn't, yeah.

- Was it your belief that if you came over here, that you could establish a life, and then bring them over?

- Yes, definitely.

That's why we made that decision.

He was like, if you go, you can establish yourself, and then we can all join you.

- And did that happen?

Did they all come over?

- They did, they did.

They're all here.

- [Monty] How long did it take?

- It took a while.

Unfortunately-- - A year?

- No, it took a while.

It took like five years.

- So almost five years, you didn't see any of your children?

Five children?

- [Maryan] Five children, husband, yeah.

- Or your husband?

- Yeah.

So what had happened is that I came in, my process took a year.

After I was accepted, I had to file for them, and then after I filed for them, and everything moved swiftly, I was expecting them in less than a year at that point.

Till September 11.

(soft music) (sirens wailing) This guy hired me in two weeks.

Not even two weeks, like week ahead of September 11.

And September 11 hits.

I had to walk 40 minutes to get to where I worked, and so this all happened while I was on foot, going to work, I didn't know what was happening.

I come to work, and everyone is upset, and my manager's really upset.

And he tells me what's going on, and we all cry, and we're all scared.

And I was new, I was here less than a year.

But I've really, this was home for me.

I had no plans of any other place.

I want to bring my kids here, and we were just bombed.

So we cry, and we closed up, and I start walking home.

Mind you, I wore more clothes than this.

- Uh-huh.

- At that time.

I looked traditional.

Traditional Muslim.

Traditional Somali.

So I tried to cross the road, but it was red, so I stopped.

And all of a sudden, a whole bucket, like huge glass of McDonald's drink just someone from their car threw this at me.

And I was hit.

- Oh my god.

- Right in the chest, and I really didn't know what happened.

- Oh, how horrible.

- And the next thing was, he was honking, and he was like, go back to where you came from.

A lot of other people honk at the guy, and yelled-- - At him?

- At him.

And then the light opened, and then they all just like-- - Drove away?

- I lived with friends at that time.

I was Somali, and I was like this is what happened.

And they were like, you crazy fool.

Everyone is watching TV, and it says Muslim people did this, so everyone tells me, you can't walk to work again.

So I got a ride to work next morning.

And I come to work.

And my manager calls me in, and he says I got a call from headquarters, and we have to let you go.

It's not safe for you.

We talked and I'm like, you think that's fair?

I just got this job.

I don't know what happened.

Why am I losing my job?

He's like, it's not us.

The management, they just don't feel comfortable.

They don't know what to do.

And I'm like, I'll stay behind.

I'll try to be at the back.

But if you let me go, you'll be hurting me too.

He was like, I see your point.

I'll call them, I will talk to them.

And he talked to some people and convinced them, and I just had to stay behind, and work at the back room for a little bit.

But they didn't let me go, luckily.

- Oh, thank goodness.

- [Maryan] Yeah, thank goodness.

- What a terrifying time.

- Yeah, and the thing is, I wasn't safe at this street, but also at my job.

I almost lost my job.

Because I was Muslim.

(tense atmospheric music) - [Monty Voiceover] Imagine finally arriving in this land of seemingly endless opportunities, and after idealizing it, and struggling for years to reach it, you fall into the turmoil of 9/11.

Worse still, you realize that those claiming responsibility for the attack share your Muslim heritage.

You're afraid that you'll be seen as part of the problem, the enemy.

You fear losing your job because of your religion.

In this place where you've sought refuge from a terrifying background, you suddenly find yourself in fear of being an outcast.

Yet somehow, these incredible people keep a bright attitude, and maintain strong faith that God is by their side.

Will their patience, sacrifice, and hard work be rewarded?

- [Monty] So tell me about yourself.

Where are you from?

- I am from Somalia.

- What's it like there?

- In Som, I've never been there.

- Oh, you've never been there?

- I don't, I was raised in Sweden.

- Oh, okay.

- So I have no memory whatsoever about Mogadishu, I was just born there.

- You were born there?

- Just born there.

- But then your parents left when you were pretty young?

- Yup.

Yes, the war happened.

- Yeah.

- The civil war.

And we ended up in Sweden.

- [Monty] And how long did you live there?

- All the way up to 2003.

And then me and my family, when my oldest sister Sarah got married, we moved to England.

- So you don't remember Somalia at all?

- I don't even, I have no clue of my own country.

- Do you feel a sense of Somalia's home, in any way though?

- Absolutely.

- You do?

- Absolutely.

I speak very well Somali because of my mother.

That was the rule.

The minute you enter the home, it's Somali.

Automatically.

Whether, she understands Swedish, but-- - [Monty] What about Swedish?

- [Fay] She wouldn't allow it.

- [Monty] Oh because you were learning that in school.

- We were learning that in school.

She did not want us to forget.

So that was not an option.

She said, quote, step through my doors, and it's Somali.

And if you try to speak a little bit of Swedish with her, it wouldn't be like, you would start Somali, and then move along to Swedish.

She would act like she wouldn't understand you, the last part of it.

- Oh wow.

- And that would be her thing.

Hence why we speak very well.

All my sisters.

- [Monty] What was it like growing up in Sweden?

- The best.

- Yeah?

- The best.

- [Monty] Did you know a lot of Somalis in Sweden?

- [Fay] We were one of the first few ones to enter it right after the civil war, so it was not a lot of us at the time, but it was a group enough to have a little mini community.

- [Monty] But you lived there for a long time, then?

- Yeah.

All the way up to 2003.

- 2003.

- Yeah, that's when, if you remember, that's around the time the European Union happened.

- Okay, yeah.

- So you could live anywhere if you were a citizen in Norway, Holland, Sweden.

You could live anywhere, Spain, you know?

- [Monty] So where'd you go?

- [Fay] My mom.

I did not go anywhere.

She took us all to London.

- [Monty] Why?

- Because she said better opportunities, business.

- Uh-huh.

Was your mother a businesswoman?

- My mom was a businesswoman.

Yes, she was.

She was a teacher in Sweden.

- Uh-huh.

- But she was entrepreneur.

- And how did she know that she could go to London and open a store?

- Community.

- Oh, okay.

- Word of mouth.

Of course, other people moved there, and then they told her, that's the great opportunity to open up a business, and she had to open up a little, little store inside a mall.

(soft atmospheric music) - What caused you to leave England?

- First for vacation.

First for vacation with my friend.

She's like, let's go to America.

I'm like, America?

Really?

Where?

She's like, Atlanta.

And in 2007 July, we ended up in Decatur.

And we had the best vacation.

- [Monty] So you loved America?

- I love everything about it.

I love the fact that everybody will wake up in the morning, whether they go to school, go to work, they will, everybody has something to do.

We were just shocked about the whole lifestyle of America.

- [Monty Voiceover] Fay loved her vacation in America so much that she decided to move here.

Initially traveling to Minnesota, she started a family, and later moved to Columbus Ohio.

While pregnant with her third child, she saw an opportunity that would change her life.

- So I'm on maternity leave, and I'm trying to figure out, okay.

Ohio, what is there to do here?

And there was literally no way to snack, like, cravings.

- [Monty] Yeah?

- [Fay] Yeah, there was nothing besides ice cream.

And I couldn't believe there was no dessert options.

- [Monty] Just ice cream places?

- [Fay] Just ice creams everywhere.

- [Monty] Uh-huh.

- [Fay] I go to the Somali mall.

One of the cafes.

And the issue is females don't go inside, which was different from Minnesota.

- [Monty] They didn't go inside where?

- They don't go inside the cafe.

You go at the back and you order by phone.

As a female.

- You don't walk into the front?

- You can.

But it's very, very intimidating.

Too many men.

- [Monty] Yeah?

- Yeah.

- [Monty] Too many men?

- Too many men.

It's awkward.

I couldn't believe it.

That's when I started speaking to people, and everybody, all the girls that I spoke with, said yeah, we're used to it.

What can we do?

- So was it like, they just didn't care about the women as much?

- I wouldn't say care.

It was the fact that, why is it like that?

Why do females have to go outside and order?

Why is it so awkward that a woman cannot go inside and order?

They were basically forgotten, not purposely, but because they're outside.

Customers that's outside, that you spoke to, and of course the cafe was hectic and everything, but my initial issue was why outside?

So I was like, what if I open a cafe where females could come in, or order whatever they wanted?

So I opened Yaa Salaam cafe.

Hi LBN, hi!

(speaking foreign language) (bright music) It was female-owned.

- [Monty] What was it called?

- [Fay] Yaa Salaam cafe.

- [Monty] Yaa Salaam?

- [Fay] Yaa Salaam.

- [Monty] What does that mean?

- [Fay] Great, amazing.

I would say.

- Yeah.

- If I'm corrected, yes.

Yes, it means yaa salaam means amazing.

- Yeah.

It's a cafe?

- It's a cafe.

- So you had pastries.

- Yeah.

- Tea, coffee.

- Tea, coffee.

Sweets, crepes.

- Yeah?

- Everything.

- Juice - Yeah, juice.

- [Monty] Did you make it yourself?

- Yeah.

And I had distributors, too.

- And did it do well?

- It did so well, because it was a female-owned.

- [Monty] And so lots of women came?

- A lot of girls came, and now they didn't have to worry about whether they wore pants, or they wore their school scrubs, or work scrubs, or nurses.

They all kept coming in because it's female-owned.

It's not awkward no more.

(bright uplifting music) - How long have you been in the United States now?

- Almost nine years.

- Nine years?

- Yes.

- And what do you think of the United States?

- So, there's two United States.

One when you live in the country, and one when you're outside.

- [Monty] Okay.

- So, one you live in the country, it's like everybody mind their own business.

This is your life.

You gotta do what you gotta do.

That's it.

But when you're outside of the US, everybody believes that if you must live, if you're a woman, if you're Somali, that you're not allowed to do a lot of things, that you're not allowed to be successful.

That's what some of my family members tell me.

- Oh, they thought the United States was a place where you couldn't be successful as a Somali, or as a woman?

- I think they listen too much of the news.

- So, outside of the United States, it's seen as very unfriendly to immigrants?

- [Maryan] Yeah.

Yeah.

- Or unfriendly to Muslims?

- Because when I tell who I am, they don't believe, they're like, you dress like this?

And I say yeah.

You drive a car?

Yeah.

You have a job?

Yeah.

No.

(bright music) - Now, you're saying that outside the country, there's an impression of America that's not correct.

- Yeah.

- Likewise, I think here in America, there is an impression of Muslim countries that's not correct.

Some of those stereotypes, that Muslims are disrespectful to women, or don't care about women, or women are not allowed to be educated, or aren't allowed to go outside, or vote, how much truth is there to all of that?

- Well, first of all, every country is different.

And a lot of things has to do with culture.

And that's the problem.

That I feel like Americans sometimes don't understand.

It's not faith, it's culture.

- Right.

So it's not the religion at all.

- It's not.

- It's the culture?

- But to them, it's just, everything has to do with faith.

Kind of like, well I'm from Somalia.

And 100% people are all Muslim.

- [Monty] Yeah.

- And women drive.

Women are part of parliament.

Women have business.

Women, I don't know, do everything.

- [Monty] Do they have all the rights that men have?

- Exactly.

Probably even more.

If I'm married, I don't have to work.

- The man's job to support you?

- The man is job to support.

And if I work, guess what?

It's my own money.

I don't have to support the family.

It's not 50-50.

And what have I contributed, it's definitely what you call, charity.

- [Monty] Yeah, volunteering.

Charity.

- Exactly.

So that's worked for me.

If I work, if I don't work, it doesn't matter.

At the end of the day, it's his job to support.

- So, a woman has the right to work, or the right not to work.

- Yeah.

- But the man, he doesn't really have the right not to work.

- No.

- [Monty] He has to work.

- Yeah, yeah.

- [Monty] Okay.

(bright music) - [Monty] While we are all aware of the terrible oppression of women happening in some Muslim countries, I'm reminded that countries differ widely in their culture and oppression has more to do with a country's culture than it does a country's religion.

- Our culture, you cannot oppress a female.

There's no such thing.

And then when it comes to the Muslim, that's not even an option.

So again, we've gotta depreciate cultures, and the religion.

Religion is one, but it's thousands of cultures.

- The older I got, the more I learned the religion, the more it made sense, that this is the right thing to do.

It's to cover up.

- And that was your choice.

- [Woman] That was absolutely my choice.

- That wasn't because you got married to some man who demanded it.

- No, absolutely not.

- When I go out in public, I actually feel proud of wearing my hijab, because I'm doing it for God, so if anyone even has questions for me, I don't feel ashamed and stuff.

I'm happy that they're even asking me.

I would answer them, I wear it solely for my religion.

- I myself even though I might not know all the reasons why, although I do see many benefits to being modest, I know that God is the all knowing, so that is enough for me.

And to be Muslim, we say that you have to have faith, so even if you don't know all the answers, you go off of your faith.

- [Monty] When you got here, did you get a job right away?

- Yes.

I start schoolteacher job.

Then I move to Easton Block's warehouse.

- A warehouse?

- Yeah, a warehouse.

- For how long did you work in the warehouse?

- About two years.

Then I open my own store.

- How?

- I collected some money and I saved some money.

Cost of living was cheap.

I was doing good job for that warehouse.

Then I opened small meat store.

The meat was cost here little bit expensive.

I go Detroit, which is a lot of meats.

- Uh-huh.

- Delivered here, twice a week.

- Did you drive to Detroit?

- Yeah, oh yeah.

- Yourself?

- Mm-hmm.

- And you just filled the car with meat?

- Yeah.

I leave at three o'clock in the morning.

Go six o'clock in Detroit.

Come back 8:30, 9:00.

Open the store.

Every Monday and every Thursday.

- And what kind of meat?

- Lamb, goat, chicken, the halal meat, the culture meat.

- How did your store do?

- Was doing great.

Used to sell almost $10,000 a day sometimes.

- $10,000 a day?

- A day.

That time.

- Were you the only store?

- Yeah, only Somali store at that time.

- And everyone found you?

- Yeah.

- You had the market cornered?

- Yes.

- Wow.

So that's great.

So $10,000 a day sometimes.

That's enormous.

So there was like a line.

- Yeah.

Oh, always line.

Always line.

- And how long did you run your grocery store?

- About eight years.

(soft music) $10,000 become like $300 a day.

- 300?

- Yeah, because they open too many store, too many, too many.

- Do you remember when your first competitor opened?

- Yeah I remember.

- Was it nearby?

- Yes.

Very close.

Couple of hundred of feet.

- Couple hundred feet?

- Feet.

Only not that the second one is also less than 100 feet.

- Another one?

A third one?

- Yes, third one.

Same year.

- Did it upset you?

- No.

- Didn't upset you?

- No, never.

- Why?

- Because wherever he got it is from Allah, give it to him.

Anything coming to you, nobody can change.

Anything coming to me, nobody change.

- So the competition didn't bother you?

- No.

Competition built the business.

- What do you mean, it built the business?

- Competition makes you make yourself better, cheaper.

You know?

- But you know what you're describing right now?

You're describing, I think, an undying belief in capitalism.

- Absolutely.

(Monty laughing) Absolutely.

- Yeah.

You believe in it?

- Yes.

(soft music) - Because it became such a hit, I was like, let me take this to the mainstream.

Let me take this to the mall.

Then I looked in, and I'm like, okay, let me take this to Polaris.

Did a whole proposal.

Took it to Polaris.

And I took the concept, and they loved it.

And I started a little kiosk.

We were doing so great.

I got so excited.

The numbers was great.

The pandemic happened.

Now I'm completely, utterly devastated.

Mid January, news was happening, the talks was happening, and we were starting-- - But you were killing it.

You were still doing good?

- We were still killing it.

- Yeah.

- But then we felt the decline.

And then the mall shut down.

Corporate companies, restaurant, that was there operating for 50 years, 30 years, 20 years was shutting down.

I said okay, that's it.

It was a great run.

There's no way I would make it.

I mentally, physically prepared myself to have my dream completely vanished.

I knew because of the pandemic the inside mall dynamic has changed.

Nobody was physically coming in, because everybody was ordering online.

So I'm like okay, my concept is working.

People like it.

So that's important, right?

- Yeah.

- Now I have to fix the location.

How can I fix the location?

Well, Easton.

It looks like an outlet.

They have a lot of outdoor.

So I reached out to Easton and said I have this concept, I want a brick and mortar outside.

And this is what I want to do.

(exciting music) Any special flavors, or are we gonna freestyle today?

- [Monty] Well, I think you should, I need to know what you like best.

What's your favorite?

- Strawberries and cream.

- I like the strawberry and cream.

- Strawberry cream?

- Oh strawberry and cream, that sounds really good.

Now, it's the same batter for all of them, right?

- [Fay] Yes.

- Oh wow.

Oh, very nicely done.

- My mom said it's not a crepe if it's not gold.

The more strawberries, the better.

You cannot be greedy with the fresh strawberries.

That's what you get taught in Sweden.

- [Monty] Yeah?

Beautiful.

- Voila.

Take a bite.

Let me know exactly what you think.

- Mm.

Oh wow.

Really good.

- That's what I like to hear.

He can't talk.

That's a good sign.

When they don't talk, he's tasting the magic.

- So as part of the Somalian community, they know about you here.

They come and see it, right?

- So proud.

- Yeah?

- They are so proud.

- Yeah, I bet they are.

- Yeah.

- And because Easton Town Center, this is a very, this is a very good mall.

- Yes, it's upper.

- Yeah, so to be in here is, yeah, this is - Upper class mall.

- This is a prestigious accomplishment.

- To represent my community, they were so proud.

At the grand opening, we had a traditional dance right at the front of the door.

(upbeat music) They were so proud, and they were waving the flag, and it put almost tears in my eyes, how well they came through that day.

(all singing in foreign language) - Were you nervous before you opened up?

- Oh, absolutely.

- You must have been so nervous.

- Absolutely.

- Like, oh I hope this works.

- I hope it works, but again, having the support of my community, they were with me from day one, right?

They were with me when I first opened up in the Somali mall.

They saw me grow.

They saw me mature, while I'm going to the business, and the bigger the business gets, they saw me grow with it.

- You know, from what I've seen, the Somali people are very entrepreneurial.

- Yeah.

- [Monty] They like their own boss.

- [Aden] Yes.

- You have your own business.

You have your own business.

Everyone seems to have their own business.

- [Aden] Yeah.

- We thrive on that.

- [Monty] Yeah?

- We have no problem, is what I've noticed in my Somali community, is everywhere we go, we have no fear of starting from scratch and building something.

- Yeah.

Do you think the fact that you both have your own businesses is something from your heritage?

Something from being Somalian?

Or is it just because you're American entrepreneurs?

- Yeah, well for me it was my mother.

I saw it from my mother.

My mom, she went into the education field first.

But then she transitioned to what she loves the most as a businesswoman.

So did my sisters.

So I think for me, I grew up in that lifestyle.

And Aden.

- Yeah, you know.

This is the land of the free.

This is the land of opportunities.

So you gotta just take it and grab it, run with it.

- [Monty] Yeah.

(bright music) - Come on.

We are in the global mall.

This is clothing store.

Both sides are clothing store.

- We've got this computer there.

- Oh wow.

- There's a computer, money transfer, yes.

- [Monty] Little of everything?

- [Monty Voiceover] The Somali people seem to thrive in a capitalist society.

They have the desire and motivation to build their own businesses, to be their own boss.

They seem to courageously take advantage of everything the United States has to offer.

They understand the availability of the American dream almost more palpably than many who were born here.

It's hard to imagine people more courageous and business minded than the Somali people I was so fortunate to meet.

(soft atmospheric music) - People do a lot of things just to come to America.

- So America's a big deal?

- It's a big deal-- - When you live in Somalia?

- Everyone knows America.

- What do people think about America?

In Somalia, what do they think about it?

- Back then, it was heaven, I guess.

Close to heaven.

It was where you can go and get better education, be safe, make money.

Make yourself.

That is the mentality that I came in with.

That's what I told the processing officer.

He asked me why, why do you want to stay here?

And I'm like, I want to make something out of myself.

- I noticed that there's all these very famous foundational American documents on the wall.

The Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, all these things.

So why?

Why are these things on the wall of a restaurant that's a Somalian restaurant, right?

- Yeah, that's a great question.

I really like it, first of all.

And I think it's just a message to show that we're American as well.

Somalians are Americans.

And we believe in this Constitution like everyone else.

And we want to remind the people, this is the land of the free.

And we're part of that free.

(soft atmospheric music) - If I have to choose somewhere to live other than back home, Columbus is.

The US is.

And I'm not just saying because I'm on tape, I just genuinely believe this.

I've never stayed somewhere for nine years my entire life.

- [Monty] What do you love about it?

- I love everything.

I'm a true Buckeye, first of all.

Secondly, I love the atmosphere.

Columbus is not that chaotic, like New York City or LA.

I have friends all over the city.

Somalis, not Somalis, mostly not Somali, it doesn't matter.

There's this beautiful verse in the Quran that it resonates with me.

Let me say it in Arabic first.

(speaking foreign language) Basically God is saying all people, I created you.

Man and woman.

And I created you.

Tribes, nations, difference, so you get to know one another.

For me, I like it because imagine if God just created us one look.

- Boring.

- One this, one that.

So, it just, I tell this.

I say let's impress our differences.

(speaking foreign language) - Which one you like?

- Rice?

- I'll take some rice.

Yes, thank you.

That looks nice.

- [Asad] I think they call it Somali chicken.

- That looks really good.

So what would you like to change about the United States?

- The way we want to see the change is through education, and understanding.

I think the Muslim community, they should strive and continue in educating the American society, and tell them exactly the Muslim origin is of peace.

It is not hostile.

- Right.

- That kind of hysteria should go out, it happens, you know.

And it happens on September 11th.

And that's what the Muslims are suffering.

Time after time, because the politicians are using it.

The Muslim community, they have to have resilience, they have to educate their American brothers and sisters.

And make sure they understand what Islam stands for.

It's peace, and you can see it, you have seen in front of, you have seen all the way you travel everywhere.

- Yeah.

- It is a peaceful religion.

It's not hostile.

- We are different, so we are melting pot, the United States.

We are different religion, different faces, and everything is different.

And we respect it each one about his faith.

And talking about the unity, and how to tolerate each other.

That's what I want to be changed in America, and it takes long, long time.

- [Monty] What do you think, Asad?

What do you think needs to be done to change country, make it a better country?

- I think it's good the way they are, if they keep that way.

Not falling down.

- [Monty] So it's a good country?

- Yes, it is.

Yeah.

- Well, I think that you've all expressed that you really love the country?

That you feel like American?

- This is our second home.

We live here half of our age.

We-- - To some people, they forget the first, to enlist the first.

- [Monty] This is the first, yeah.

- And supporting our family, we're making business here.

We're buying houses in here.

Our kid is growing up in America, and they don't know about different-- - [Monty] Well, you're an American, right?

- Yes.

- You're an American?

- Yes.

- [Monty] You're an American?

- We are all American.

- [Monty] And you identify as being American?

- Yes.

- Yes.

- Naturalized, everybody in here.

- [Monty] Yeah.

I don't even mean whether you're naturalized or not.

I know you're all citizens.

- Yes.

- [Monty] I know that.

But that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about-- - From the heart, yes.

- [Monty] If you're American in the heart?

- It honestly is a great country.

To welcome us, give us an opportunity.

We haven't got, we have got everything we shouldn't get anywhere else in this world.

It's the greatest country in this world.

- You think so?

- [Asad] All of us.

(bright inspiring music) - [Monty Voiceover] Nearly all of the Somalis I interviewed, these amazing men and women, without any prompting from me, declared that the United States is the greatest country in the world.

This is the place where they can be themselves, the fullest, safest, freest, most complete version of themselves.

Where they can be an individual.

A family member.

A friend.

An entrepreneur.

An American in the fullest sense of the word.

I can't help but believe that just by spending some time getting to know our Somali-American neighbors, each of us who calls ourselves American might feel a little more gratitude and pride.

We can contribute more to this amazing country for ourselves, the good of those around us, and the betterment of the United States of America.

(upbeat exciting music)