In 2006, 23-year-old Ahmed Ali fled his country Somalia, following the senseless and endless two-decade old war, which also caused the loss of his three siblings; one died after a grenade was thrown into their former house, while another died after accidentally stepping on a landmine while playing. “Many Somali immigrants come to Kenya in search of a normal life, education and business.

I came here to find peace,” says Ali who at first wanted to pursue his education but instead got introduced to the world of business by his father.He now owns and manages a textiles shop located at the grand Bangkok business plaza alongside his father (based in Dubai) who is responsible for shipping in the textiles from Dubai and China.

Ali is a fairly successful businessman with considerable income and resources. Despite his economic freedom, he remains isolated in Eastleigh. His isolation is not only determined by his own perception of himself as an outsider but also by the animosity he has met when venturing outside of his “own community”. For Ali, “the atmosphere outside is intimidating.”

One example he provides is a time when he accompanied a friend to Thika, he was met with a group of people who started calling him a runaway from Somalia. According to Human Rights Watch, the stigmatization of Somalis is a common problem in Kenya—one that is often bolstered by the Kenyan police force. In 2012, Human Rights Watch documented 300 cases of police harassing Somali refugees. Ali says, “Most Kenyan people are good to us; they’re also good customers and friends. The police don’t enter our business, but harass us a lot outside.

Sometimes they wait for us outside the mosque and ask for money, at times up to KES 80,000. I have encountered police at least five times now. Once at night, when leaving the gym and even in the morning when going to work, they always demand money saying, ‘you are refugees and were not born here. If you don’t cooperate, you risk getting jailed’.”

Ali is smartly dressed in a perfectly ironed blue shirt and black trousers. He is friendly to his customers whom he also offers sewing services. He’s either sewing or looking away while speaking, coming off as a shy or private guy. He also requests not to be recorded or photographed. Ali represents thousands of Somali immigrants-turned traders who live and work in Eastleigh, where they run successful businesses that bolster Nairobi’s trade sector. According to a 2011 study by the UK think tank Chatham House, Eastleigh’s shopping malls make about $ 7M a year.

His typical day starts at 8 a.m. when he opens business till about 7 p.m., after which he hits the gym before retiring back home. “I have no time for dating because I work all day all week—to me that’s normal.” Ali says good business, especially over holidays and weekends makes him happy. On a good day, his small-sized shop half-filled with fabrics mainly for making curtains and sheets can collect between kes 30,000- 45,000 . “The competition here is stiff, so how you communicate with your customers is important. Most Somalis are rude, it’s an attitude I believe adapted from the Italians who colonized our country. But I am not like that, people tell me I am good because I talk to my customers well.”

While other Somalis may make time off to interact with other people outside Eastleigh, Ali is busy working and saving for a better future. “Anything can happen so I don’t want to waste time or money. This isn’t our country, anytime the government may tell us to leave Kenya,” he says, adding that he’s still not ready to leave, as it would all depend on his family. His surviving nine brothers and sisters live between Somalia and USA. Their mother fled to Ethiopia and has since been trying to get herself to the US to reunite with some of her children. “I lost so many relatives and friends in the war, but I still dream of going back to Somalia just to see those who survived and play where I used to.”

Ali doesn’t know many places in the city mainly because of his tight work schedule, and the experiences of stigmatization. Apart from the police harassment and his refugee status there is the other obvious prejudice towards a Somali living in Nairobi—being labeled a terrorist from Al-Shabaab. Being a die-hard Gor Mahia fan, also best friends with Rama Salim of the team, Ali enjoys watching football matches at Nyayo stadium and Kasarani stadium, that is, until recently. Last time he went out to a match, he was verbally attacked by two Kenyans calling him an Al-Shabaab terrorist. “I felt bad and I still feel very bad. They don’t know how to talk to people. I didn’t bomb the matatu they were talking about and I don’t know who did that. I will never go to watch a game again. That’s why I avoid public places in the city because I am afraid that if I go elsewhere people will say that of me,” he says.

The peaceful life and booming business in Eastleigh makes Ali yearn the same for Somalia. “I left joy in our former house in Somalia. My dream is to have peace in Somalia. Wherever you go home is best and where your heart is. Even if I get a citizen ID wherever I go, I’ll still be a foreigner.”And after everything he’s been through, he still remains patriotic and optimistic. “I am proud of my country because I love it. Peaceful or not, your country is yours,” he concludes.