# Fatima Ahmed (Faadumo Axmed)

> Fatima Ahmed (born 1949): Cambodian-born Italian-Somali writer of Shanti and Aukuí.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/people/fatima-ahmed/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Who is she?

Fatima Ahmed is an Italian-Somali writer born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 1949 ([Wikipedia, Fatima Ahmed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatima_Ahmed)). Her father was a Somali sailor and her mother was of Vietnamese Cham descent (same source). Her family left Cambodia because of the war and went to Somalia, where she took part in radio programmes, including on Radio Mogadishu (same source).

## Italy

The family later moved to Italy, where she worked mainly as a cultural mediator and Vietnamese interpreter ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatima_Ahmed)). She has lived near Lake Maggiore since 1989 (same source). See [Somalis in Italy](/en/diaspora/italy/).

## Writing

Her writing deals mostly with post-colonial experience ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatima_Ahmed)). Her books include *Il Ritorno*, *Shanti*, for which she received a medal from the Presidency of the Italian Republic, and *Gocce di ricordi*, which won literary prizes (same source). *Aukuí* was her first novel (same source).

## In short

A writer of Somali and Cham heritage whose Italian-language books explore post-colonial identity.

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