Desert Flower Quotes
"I guess I’m not going to do what you tell me," I murmured sadly.
"Well, I guess I’m the one who’ll have to live with it, won’t I?"
"You’ve got to trust me—I know a good man when I see one."
"I had grown into a rebel, a tomboy, sassy and fearless."
"My father loved him like a son, and thought Jamah was a good son to his own father."
"I tried to think of a plan to persuade my father to let me remain at home."
"I don’t want to marry that man—I’m going to run away."
"I’m afraid this is as far as I’m going."
"I just want you to take me…take me to Galcaio."
"I can help you, but you’ve got to be careful."
"I can’t marry that man—I’m going to run away."
"Your aunt, the mistress, runs this household with an iron fist."
"I can clean! Tell him to take me to London, Auntie! I want to GO!"
"I’m going to London! I’m going to London!"
"Do you have anything to declare?" I held up my one sandal.
"I’m going to live with my uncle, the ambassador."
"Whenever I saw Haji in the hallway, he no longer gazed at me with longing. That expression had been replaced by one of naked hatred."
"In a poor country like my homeland, people are constantly searching for a way out."
"What could I say I’d accomplished when I went back? Would I tell my mother I’d learned how to cook pasta?"
"By the time my aunt and uncle were ready to return to Somalia, I had saved a pittance from my maid’s wages."
"I’ll never, ever, forgive you. Look, Auntie, just leave me here. I’ll be fine."
"I stood on the sidewalk and waved good-bye to everyone, then walked into the street, watching the car until it was out of sight."
"As I stood in the middle of Harley Street, I was exactly that—all alone."
"For the next several hours, I set to work trying on outfits in the dressing room."
"I tried to get a room at the YMCA, but it was full with a waiting list."
"My whole life stretched before me with nowhere to go, and no one to answer to."
"But as I watched, a woman gradually emerged from the sheet of film as if by magic."
"I had never had a boyfriend, or even the attention of any male other than some weirdo like my cousin Haji."
"Here I needed to learn English, and how to communicate with all sorts of people."
"I had no idea what she was doing but sat quietly all the same, watching her perform these strange maneuvers."
"The thought that for the first time in my history, I was in charge of my own life was intoxicating."
"I’ll never forget the look on Marilyn's face. Tears poured down her cheeks as she turned away."
"I felt so desperate, because I thought, Oh, my God, is it really that bad?"
"We’ll just tie you up, put you in a bag, and smuggle you on board the plane!"
"I was just grateful to have the job, and besides, I knew I wouldn’t be there for long."
"I walked through the empty rooms, thinking of all the good and bad times here, wondering where my next home would be."
"I can’t deal with this shit. I want to go back to Africa, be happy; my family’s there, and everything I know."
"I shook my head. 'Oh, no. No. I’ve been through all that. And that’s what got me into this mess. I’m not going through that again.'"
"I stared at him with my eyes open wide, thinking, Who is this crazy motherfucker?"
"Everything here is just madness and confusion. I’m going home."
"When I looked at your face, I saw you crying and I knew you needed help."
"I’m in a position to do something about it."
"They’re referring to the scars caused by stepping on hundreds of thorns and rocks in the Somalian desert; a reminder of my childhood, when I walked for fourteen years with no shoes."
"After going through the cycle of womanhood that began prematurely with my circumcision at age five, and came full circle with my baby’s birth when I was about thirty, I had even more respect for my own mother."
"Life—the gift of life—is what matters, and that’s what giving birth to my son made me remember."
"Who is going to help the woman in the desert—like my mother—with no money and no power? Somebody must speak out for the little girl with no voice."
"God saved me from a lion in the desert when I ran away from home, and from that moment on, I felt he had a plan for me."
"Lose your dignity if that’s what it takes. So I did. I removed my dignity, as if I were taking off my clothes."
"I feel incomplete, crippled, and knowing that there’s nothing I can do to change that is the most hopeless feeling of all."
"I needed to talk about my secret because I kept it bottled up inside me all my life."
"Female circumcision, or as it is more aptly referred to today, female genital mutilation (FGM), occurs predominantly in twenty-eight countries in Africa."
"I’m especially worried now that I have a little boy to take care of. But my faith tells me to be strong, that God led me down this path for a reason."
"I’m very proud to be Somali, and proud of my country."
"The most treasured time in my life was back when my family and I were all together."
"I don’t need a diamond ring to make me happy."
"The most valuable asset in life—other than life itself—is health."
"My goal is to help the women of Africa. I want to see them get stronger, not weaker."
"I feel that God made my body perfect the way I was born. Then man robbed me, took away my power, and left me a cripple."
"In’shallah, if God is willing, it will happen."