'For me, growing up Somali in Australia meant confusion. Literally and metaphorically. Identity was a complex puzzle, with several missing pieces. The first was language. It meant a loss of culture, a loss of kin and a loss of country. My advice for first-generation Somalis my age and younger is to learn to take pride in our mother tongue. Language is what connects our people, old and young. It is the basic building blocks upon which culture is built. With it, we can learn about our history, make sense of our present and build our future.' (Introduction)