by Ahmed I. Hassan

The following is a chapter from a book titled “Somaliland: The legacy of Non-Recognition” that I am currently writing. The daily indignities which Somalis suffer almost uniquely in Kenya have impelled me to preempt the book’s publication by offering this chapter for early release. It chronicles the untold misery the Kenyans inflict on the Somalis in their country on ordinary basis.

—Ahmed I. Hassan

By Ibrahim Hashi Jama

The Mourning Tree - An Autobiography and A Prison Memoir
Mohamed Barud Ali, February 2010
Published by Ponte Invisible, available from www.redsea-online.com/books

In 1993, as a Minister of the Republic of Somaliland, “I was given the same office that the National Security Service interrogated me in the first night I was arrested [in 1982]. What can I say? All the demons have been exorcised from my life”. So ends, in characteristic modesty and generosity of spirit, the memoirs of Mohamed Barud Ali. The memoirs titled “The Mourning Tree – An Autobiography and Prison Memoirs” were launched on 20th February – an eventful date for the author and one which has since been commemorated in the Republic of Somaliland. The memoirs which have been published as the well chosen first book in a series titled “men and women” of Somaliland, is not just the story of a man, but also reflect the tale of a nation.

Born, in British Somaliland of the 1950s, under a tree (the Mourning Tree of the title) which was steeped in clan folklore, Barud attended one of the few elementary schools in Somaliland and joined the successive generations which left nomadic life. After independence, Barud attended the prestigious Sheikh Secondary School which was still staffed by redoubtable British teachers, and then, as one of the brightest pupils, he came to the United Kingdom for university education. With a keen eye for detail, Barud narrates amusing vignettes about the inevitable but innocent culture clashes and about the invidious racism of the 1970s seaside town “skinheads” who had never faced before young Somalis jealously guarding their honour. I can attest to the fact that the curious incident of the “black magic” (hot pepper) powder which reduced the tough Brighton “bovver boys” into sopping jellies has gone down in the annals of UK Somaliland students’ folklore!

by Sahra-Samerah Mohammed

Black Mamba Boy (Paperback)
Nadifa Mohamed, 2010
ISBN: 9780007315741
HarperCollins Publishers, United Kingdom

The launch took place 12th Feb ’10 and was attended mainly by young people, young female students like Nadifa who’ve found their voices and are eager to share their stories, they questioned her on various aspects of her journey to writing; publishers, inspiration for the story, what she’d hope the novel would say about Somalis in Britain ect.

She patiently answered their queries, as it happened it only took her a year to find a publicist. Writing was something she stumbled upon and discovered she had a talent for. Her message was clear; keep writing and things will eventually fall into place. A good philosophy to live by or in this case to write by!

The Mourning Tree: an autobiography and a prison memoir, Mohamed Barud Ali
Ponte Invisibile Ed (redsea-online), February 2010, 214 pp - 13x20cm (soft cover)

Kayd Somali Arts and Culture in collaboration with redsea-online.com is proudly inviting you to the presentation of new book: 'Weerane' (The Mourning Tree), autobiography by Mohamed Barud Ali. Join us to discuss this new autobiography with the author and also mark and commemorate with us, the students protest, 20 Feb 1982, erupted 28 years ago in Hargeysa demanding justice and the release of UFFO members. We expect you on Saturday, 20 Feb. 2010 at 4pm at Oxford House, Derby Shire Street, E2 6GH .

This prison memoir will not only give first-hand information of the experience of the brutalities of Siyad Barre’s Somalia but also of the life of a nomad child who is brought to the city to live with his aunt because there was no work for him due to the fact that his father did not own any camels to be looked after. In the city while growing up, hunger was never far away. That motivated Mahamed to perform well at school which gave him the opportunity to go to the United Kingdom. After he earned his university degree, he went back to his home town Hargeysa where he met young professionals’ like him. They decided to volunteer for their community, what became to be known by the international community as Hargeysa Self-help group and locally as UFFO. For their noble acts, Mahamed and his colleagues were imprisoned and what followed were eight long lonely years, where the studying of insects was the main entertainment of the day. The reasons why they were freed, while at the same time the rest of their community had been destroyed, were as strange and surprising as the reasons why they were jailed in the first place were bizarre. There was no time in Mohamed’s life to get depressed or discouraged when he and his group were freed as the reconstruction of the country had to start immediately.

Somaliland: An African Struggle for Nationhood and International Recognition,
by Iqbal D Jhazbhay, Institute for Global Dialogue & South African Institute of International Affairs, Johannesburg, 2009, 243 pp., $25.00 ISBN 978-1-920216-20-7

Success rooted in its bottom-up approach that embraces local norms, structures.

Any reader may wonder if anything other than piracy, warlords tussle and the sound of bombs can ever come from Somalia. Such negative perception of Somalia is understandable if one is to refuse the de facto break-up of Somalia into two disparate parts that have had paradoxically different trajectories since 1990.

Prof Iqbal Jhazbay’s recent book, Somaliland: An African Struggle for Nationhood and International Recognition, deals with that part that has attracted huge academic interest but little media attention.

Waxa tiriyey Yuusuf Cismaan Cabdille "Shaacir"

Maasandi Badhax-tira waxay soo baxday 18/01/2010

Qarnigan dhamaaday bilawgiisii ilaa badhtamihiisii waxa isa soo tarayay aqoonta maadiga ah ee debedaha inagaga imanaysay, taasoo aad mooddo inay maanta marayso meelihii ugu sarreysay. Haddaba waxa muuqata in aanay wali la fal gelin waxyaabihii sooyaalka ahaa ee ay bulshadu aaminsanayd sida diinta iyo dhaqanka. Maansadan koobani waxay igaga dhalatay dood-cilmiyeed loo qabtay aqoonyahannada dalka, anigase waxa shirkaa iiga bidhaamay in aanay aqoonyahannadu wali fahmin waddooyinkii loo mari lahaa bulsha weynta.

Farriintaydani waa talo ku waajahan aqoonta maadiga ah in lagu saleeyo diinta iyo hab dhaqanka bulshada si ay isula jaan qaadaan.

Naadiga Akhristayaasha Hargeysa waxa uu kugu martiqaadayaa inaad kala soo qayb gasho munaasibad loogu magac daray “U HIILINTA AF-SOOMAALIGA” oo lagu falanqayn doono qodobada: Afka Soomaaliga, Taariikhdiisa, Dhismihiisa, Qabyo Tirkiisa, Xasillooni Darrada Afka Soomaaliga Haysta, Weeraka Luqadaha Ajnabiga Ah Ay Ku Hayaan Afka Soomaaliga, Erey Bixinta Kelmadaha Cusub Ee Afka Ku Soo Biira & Kaalinta Aqoonyahanka.

Waxa qortey Sahra-Kiin Cabdiraxmaan Axmed

Waxay ahayd markii labaad ee muddo bil u dhaxayso ay marlabaad ay madal noocaan oo kale ah ay ku kulmaan abwaanno waaweyn oo sumcad, maamuus iyo karaamo ku dhex leh ummadda Soomaaliyeed gaar ahaana ummadda Somaliland. Madashu waa faraxal iyo foolaadka murtida, goobtu waa hotel imperial oo ku yaalla jidka wadnaha Hargeysa. Madal si weyn oo gobannimo iyo qiiro iyo qiimayn shakhsiyaadka martida loo yahay loo cammiray bay ahayd oo marka aad irridda ka soo gasho aanad helaynba meel aad aad fadhiisato oo dadka qaar markii xataa madashu buuxsantay ay ka soo qaybgalayaasha qaar ku qancsanaayeen in ay codka iyo sanqadha madasha ka socota dhagaha ay la raacaan haddii ay nasiib u yeelan waayeen in ay indhaha ka dhawraan. Akhriste madasha intaas oo dhan laga helay waxa marti loo yahay oo caawa barnaamijka hoggaaminaya oo talantaalli isku waydaarsnayey abwaannada kala ah Maxamed Ibraahim Warsame “Hadraawi”, Xasan X. Cabdillaahi “Geney” iyo Axmed aw Geeddi “Dheeraad”.

Kayd Somali Arts and Culture is pleased to invite you to the presentation of new book: 'Black Mamba Boy' by Nadifa Mohamed. Join us to discuss this new novel with the author on Friday, 12 Feb. 2010 at 6:30pm -9:00pm, Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, Bethnal Green, London E2 6HG.

The story begins in Aden,1935; a city vibrant, alive, and full of hidden dangers. And home to Jama, a ten year-old street boy. When his mother dies unexpectedly, and he finds himself alone in the world, Jama is forced home to his native Somalia, the land of his nomadic ancestors. War is on the horizon and the fascist Italian forces who control parts of east Africa are preparing for battle.

Yet Jama cannot rest until he discovers whether his father, who has been absent from his life since he was a baby, is alive somewhere. And so begins an epic journey which will take Jama north through Djibouti, war-torn Eritrea and Sudan, to Egypt. And from there, aboard a ship transporting Jewish refugees just released from German concentration camp, across the seas to Britain and freedom. It is a unique tale, based on the experiences and life of the author’s father, which also tells us the story of the many people of his generation who did not survive.