Safia Otokoré’s parents came from Somalia when they took refuge in Djibouti in the mid sixties. She grew up in Djibouti and became a track and field athlete, representing her Country. A scholarship gave her the opportunity to further her studies in Dakar and Abidjan. She later married the well-known soccer player Didier Otokoré and moved to France where she became involved with grassroots African organisations and subsequently embarked on a very successful political career with the French Socialist Party.–Taken from her book: Safia, un conte de fées républicain