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.
Pictures courtesy of Ugpulse.com
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