Every now and then a nomad with a magic pen appears and leaves a legacy on the global literature. Nuruddin Farah is one such nomad who has written numerous short stories, novels and essays and has been nominated many times for the Nobel Prize for literature.
An aspiring Somali novelist has written her first novel. Yasmeen Mohamud is a prolific and intelligently humorous writer. Her first novel Nomad Diaries depicting the ups and downs of the Somali diaspora as they wade through life in their new land has won accolades.
Perhaps the best summary of the novel is in the product description of the Amazon which follows:
Nomad Diaries is an endearing, heartbreaking story of loss, despair, and family bonds tested by the destruction of a country.Nomad Diaries examines the human condition at its weakest. The corridors of Cedar Springs Luxury Apartments hold
many secrets. If you were to peek into the lives of Somali refugees who call various run-down high-rise home, you will find all that eighteen years of civil war has produced. Strong-willed women dealing with language barriers, hardships, and a new country called America where everything is vastly different from what they were used to, Americanized children and polygamous husbands. Come and eavesdrop on the lives of these colorful refugees to get a slice of American immigrant life with strong willed women, rebellious teens and a rare taste of American immigrant life with a twist.
By now piracy is on every John’s own TV show and every Jane’s one liner. Some even made pirate blogs and web pages. This is all the intrigue surrounding piracy since the struggling Somalis made it famous, bleeding the insurance companies, making fortunes for some and bankruptcy for others.
For us Somalis this is an issue about life and death. To us the pirates are not one-eyed ‘land ahoy!’ hardened sea-farers but rag tag Somali fishermen.
Poor Somali fishermen who were driven to despair as their fishing life was turned upside down. Their small boats were run down by large ships that water hosed them at sight to keep them off fishing. Their seaside villages were contaminated by toxic waste dumped by mysterious ships contracted by west European multinational companies. These fishermen were left to scavenge for themselves with no government to help, no banks to loan them, no one to see them through life’s cruel treatment.
They snapped and like a cornered cat started to fight. Piracy was thus born.
For 2 years the world was treated to lies about the dangers of the pirates, powerful navies were dispatched to fight the dangerous tech savvy modern pirates with the James Bond speed boats. The media had a field day.
But truth always prevails. Somalis were vindicated for they knew the truth. Because the pirates were their kinsmen and they knew how their country is being robbed, how their shores are used as toxic dump sites, how their insecurity and civil war is used to steal their fish, grab their continental shelf, deplete their marine riches and dub them pirates of the 21st century as an excuse to continue and legalize the robbery and the dumping.
Somalis wrote, e-journalled, skyped, talked, lobbied, face booked, twitted and blogged. They all had one cause. Listen to us. This is not about Somali piracy but fishing piracy. Toxic waste dumping. And the world is taking notice.
The UN is now acknowledging that as far back as 2001, over USD200m worth of tuna was being illegally fished from Somalia's waters. European fish industry sources have revealed that most European countries headed by Spain and France were hauling between 4000 to 6000 tons of fish illegally from Somali shores keeping base at Seychelles. Yemeni, Chinese, Philippine, Iranian, Korean and many other nations were stealthily enriching themselves while the poor Somalis were side-lined by force.
Don't be skeptical. Otherwise what common interest would unite arch enemies USA and Iran to send warships to Somalia? Why would poor Philippinedispatch its only seafaring warship to Somalia when it can count on the USA warships already in the region? Why would communist China and its rival Taiwan send in their own ships? What big enemy would almost over 30 warships from a dozen countries from 4 continents fight? Simple. Each country is protecting its share of the pie. Each country is keeping watch over its fishing fleet while they steal and rob.
And if still skeptical, how the captured pirates look like? Muscular with a patch eye? Crooked nose and daggers that will pale those artificial characters in the Pirates of the Caribean?
The world was shocked when the long awaited pirates were brought shackled to courts in New York, Paris and Netherlands. You (that is if you are skeptical still) will be more shocked when you see what the world has seen. Poor barely 16 year old kids skeletal dehydrated and giving that innocent smile of awe at the celebrity style they were being treated camera action click click!
These kids made the swashbuckling myths that was hyped and the world made to believe crumple like the dying whimper of a bled lion. Exit the myth of the Pirates of the Caribean. Enter the reality of the fishermen 'pirates'.
Then New York Times screamed. The Washington Post roared. Newsweek and Time thundered. The Herald Tribune, the Economist, you name it, blared with headlines of the theft, stealing , dumping and evils Somalia is being subjected to and that these toothless ragged kids were nothing but simple fishermen turned into 'pirates' by the very counters now crying 'pirates!'.
Somalia's story is being told now by journalists and scribes.
The nomads were vindicated. The fishermen were vindicated.
And the message was loud and clear.
Sea Piracy will stop when fish piracy stops. Fish piracy will stop when Anarchy stops in mainland Somalia. Anarchy will stop when there is law and order in Somalia. Law and order will prevail in Somalia when the world supports not the stealing fleets in the seas of Somalia but the government of Somalia. That government will then provide help to the fishermen and keep at bay the fish stealers.
Then both types of piracy will stop in the real world and their stories will only exist in Hollywood films.
" Don't let it hold you back but come at it another way" - Rageh Omar.
Rageh Omar - Somali journalist who turned the British into coach potatoes with his 9 o'clock dispatch from a burning Baghdad during the Iraqi war.
Rageh is a true nomad from a prominent Northern Somali family from Hargeisa. He was born in Mogadishu in 1967 and moved to Britain when he was 2 years old.
A graduate of Oxford, he graduated in history. When he finished his university, he started work at the black newspaper The Voice in London and then joined the BBC. He was then posted to Jordan prior to moving into Iraq.
It was here that he become an instant war celebrity where his dispatches moved the markets, circulated throughout the news world and ordinary people were glued to this flak-jacketed golden boy. The New York Post dubbed him the Scud Stud in reference to the Scud missiles that were criss-crossing a region devastated by both crude and sophisticated weaponry so graphically reported by Rageh.
One never to shun his roots, Rageh never misses a chance to talk about the crisis in his country of origin, the fact that some of his relatives suffered during the civil war, his Islamic faith and his frustration with the West that it has marginalized the Middle East and Africa and is losing its influence with the people.
After the war, he declined to be an anchor at the BBC and moved to Aljazira where his programs gained international acclaim. These included reports on Iran, Islam in America, Darfur, Somali children gangs in the UK and other programs on Asia, Africa and Latin America. He also airs a weekday documentary called Witness.
Rageh recently published a book - Only Half of Me: Being a Muslim in Britain. According to one book review, it is the profoundly moving account of being a Muslim in Britain: the author's own childhood and his attempt to straddle the world of his parents and that of his own, Western generation. Before that, he published Revolution about the Iraqi war.
Rageh is a family man, married to the daughter of a British baron. They have 3 children.
He is a true Nomad. And his advise to all nomads is - Let nothing hold you back!
She is smart, daring and at 18 has already made history at Duke Student Government:
Awa Nur is the First female president in a decade, second black president in DSG's entire history and of course the first Somali student to win that position as well.
No wonder the entire Somali Web portals picked up the story to let loose the Somali pride which has been wanting for most of the past 19 years.
Even Awa talks poetic. She promises her team will be able, capable and available. Let my people in Somalia hear Awa and talk like her. And after talking, walk the walk and deliver.
Kudos to you sister. We salute you for bringing a confident smile on our face, make us choke saying - 'she is one of us' - and pushing us to the motivation platform.
Read more of Awa here at the Duke's The Chronicle Online (picture and link courtesy of the Chronicle)
One of the Somali diaspora, Maryan Fahen Samatar represented her country of Somalia which has been wracked by civil war for over 2 decades. The contest was the annual Miss East Africa 2008.
Maryan is 21 years and works for the Cypres clubs in the UK taking care of events, customer needs and other management tasks.
She sounded her hopes for women and Africa when she was answering the contest questions. If Africans don’t stand for their own rights, Africa shall remain the same if not get worse.
What if she had all the riches in the world? Enjoy my wealth, campaign for human rights and organize riots against the greedy African governments.
She had more to say still : Prosecute war criminals, help those who are less privileged and rebuild glamorous mosques and cities in Africa. Wow!
Even she had this to say for East Africa : Investigate natural resources in East Africa, listen to the needs of our people and work closely with them to get it.
She summed it all - AFRICA NEEDS HOPE.
Strong and caring. But Maryan is also smashingly gorgeous and charismatic. Don't you agree? The answer is in the picture!
Maryam Mursal born in 1950 is a Somali icon. Composer, vocalist and a socialite, she is a beloved of all Somalis with some of the most moving and biographical songs in the history of the nation that depict her own ups and downs, the struggle for freedom, unity, the military era, the opposition and the refugee exploision on the eve of the civil war.
She grew up in a family with four daughters and had to struggle early in her career against tradition, male domination of the music industry and a clan system that discriminated against people belonging to minority tribes.
But by 1966 she was a star across the country, introduced her own Somali jazz and broke the taboo of performing in night clubs and yet remaining an idol of the traditional population.
Like free minded Somalis, she soon fell out with the military regime who banned her from singing for 2 years forcing her to become the first Somali female taxi driver.
During the civil war, she and her 5 children joined the Somali exodus into neighbouring countries and ended up in Djibouti before finding refuge in Europe. This journey through 5 east African countries is depicted in her famous song "Qax" (refugee).
In a 2002 interview with the BBC, she said of this song: "Because so many Somalis are refugees, when they listen to that song they cry. They weep because we all have the same story."
Maryam Mursal has many Somali firsts. First young singer, night clubber, first Somali jazz singer, first star, first woman taxi driver, first woman lorry driver and the first woman with an international record.
In 2005 Maryan was invited at the Eden Project in the south-west of England to take part in Africa Calling, one of the Live 8 concerts which aimed at making poverty, especially in Africa, a thing of the past. She was invited by the organizers Bob Geldof and Peter Gabriel.
When will she go back? This is what this incredible lady says:
"I will be the first person to go back. At the moment my song Qax (Refugee) isn't finished yet. It's only when we come back to Somalia that the song will be finished."
An incredible super lady indeed! Watch here one of her videos where she admonishes her fellow Somalis to make peace:
HawaAbdi is an incredible lady. At around 62, she is one of the few Somali doctors who have not deserted their country and struggled to help fellow Somalis in their direst need for over 2 decades without pay or other consideration.
A selfless doctor, she is a model of the good mother, tireless professional, philanthropist and a humane.
She had her training in the ex Soviet Union and opened her humble clinic near Mogadishu on the road to Afgooye in the early 80s and has since been helping her fellow Somalis.
She has seen death and destruction particularly in the last 5 years where the situation has deteriorated. Supported by a meagre lifeline from some NGOs, she and her two daughters Amina and Deqa had been a lifeline to thousands of Somalis who have fled from inter clan civil wars, inter faction fighting or government, Ethiopian or warlord oppression.
Both Somalis inside the country and in the diaspora have immense respect for Dr
Hawa moving many to contribute to her cause. Many Somalian sites have written about her with a popular website choosing her as the Somali Person of the Year in 2007.
We pay tribute to her and her daughters and wish them peace, love and health. God bless you.
There is more to Somalia than the mayhem people read. It is not only about a failed state or starving humans or killing fields or draught or recently piracy.
Somalia is where the Somalis dwell and before the current prolonged civil war, there was full bloom.
It had the first democracy in Africa. This was brought by one of the longest freedom struggle in Africa where the mighty British were forced to us planes for the first time in Africa to fight Sayid Mohamed AbdullahHassan or Mad Mullah as they called him.
Dubbed the Irish of Africa, Somalis are mostly nomads and therefore hold dear all those lofty ideals of liberty, truth, dignity and honour until the crooks increased and started two decades of death and destruction that Somalia is still reeling from.
Even down, this nation of nomads produced Iman, Waris, Raghe and many others that at one time or the other were role models for the world.
Amid the gloom and doom, this is an attempt by a nomad to showcase the many nomads who made through, made a difference and were noticed by their fellow nomads, community and the world.
This is a tribute to them.
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