From Somalia to south Oregon – how basketball reunites civil war survivors

In 1991, the Somalia national basketball team found themselves in exile. Decades later, they reunite annually in a small US town.

Ashland, Oregon – Inside the gymnasium at Ashland Middle School, basketballs are bouncing off the backboards and freshly waxed floors, footballs are being kicked between clumsily erected goalposts, and a group of girls is playing ping-pong in the corner.

But it is not a usual school day. Somali music blares from the sound system, and the crowd on the benches sings along. The gym’s double doors are propped open, letting in the morning sunshine and a steady stream of people with coffee cups in hand from the neighbouring hotel, where most of them have stayed the night.

Despite it being Memorial Day, this group of Somali athletes and their family members have gathered to commemorate their sacrifices. The blue and white of their national flag serves as a powerful backdrop for the long weekend, its five-point star a symbol of the unity the Somali people have fought so hard for.

Many of these people have not returned to their ancestral homes in decades.

Known for its scenic mountain ranges and Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, a small town with a vibrant art scene 26km (16 miles) north of the California border, there is this unlikely setting for one of the longest-running gatherings of the Somali diaspora in North America.