Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad

Through Aman, Dirie meets some of her extended family, including some of her mother’s siblings and her irascible and determined grandmother. She goes to live in Aunt L’uul’s home, the wife of her mother’s brother, Uncle Sayyid.

Dirie struggles to adjust to living indoors, which feels stifling and contained after the openness of the desert. In exchange for living at Aunt L’uul’s home, Dirie cares for her three children—a nine-year-old, a six-year-old, and a baby—as well as cleaning the home and preparing meals. This routine soon begins to wear thin, especially as Aunt L’uul spends her days seeing friends now that she has Dirie to care for her children. One day, Dirie finds her nine-year-old female cousin comparing her genitals with a male friend’s; disgusted, Dirie whips her. Aunt L’uul is furious with Dirie’s physical disciplining of her child. They argue, and Dirie leaves.

Dirie goes to live with her mother’s sister, Aunt Sahru; she helps by cleaning the house. While she’s there, another of Dirie’s mother’s siblings visits. His name is Mohammed Chama Farah, and he is the Somali ambassador in London. Dirie overhears that he is looking for a cleaner and a maid, and she volunteers herself. At first, Uncle Mohammed is reluctant because of Dirie’s poor manners, but he relents and agrees, telling Dirie that he will organize a passport for her.