Somali PEN News
Somali PEN Issues its 2006 Annual Report
The Annual report
of the Somali-speaking PEN has recently been issued. The numerous
activities carried out in various locations throughout the year, as well
as the assessment of the achievements and challenges are reported in
this document, the original Somali version of which will be available
shortly on our website. The English translation of the Annual Report is
in progress and will be available online in a few weeks time. The events
and activities reported in this issue of the Newsletter are only meant
to provide a general picture of what the work of the Centre is like.
The 3rd Congress of Somali PEN Sets off a
Week-long Cultural Festival in Djibouti
The 3rd
Congress of the Somali-speaking Centre of International PEN was held
at the People’s Palace, Djibouti, on 26th February 2006. The
Congress coincided with and was boosted by a broader, week-long cultural
and linguistic festival of regional dimension initiated by the
Somali-speaking PEN in commemoration of the International Mother
Language Day, 21 February, proclaimed by UNESCO in 1999.
The week-long events were
implemented in partnership with the Djibouti Ministry of Culture and
Communication. The festival or the Mother Language Week as it was
entitled, was inaugurated by the President of Djibouti, His Excellency
Ismail Omar Guelleh, in a high profile opening ceremony addressed by
several dignitaries including the President, the Djibouti Minister of
Culture, the Ethiopian Minister of Culture and UNESCO Regional Director
for the Horn of Africa based in Addis Ababa.
The Somali PEN Congress was one of
five major components around which the activities of the Mother Language
Week had centred. The other components included a three-day conference
on the challenges facing the Somali and Afar languages, a regional book
fair meant to promote writing in mother tongue and week-long creative
presentations of art and literature.
This was the
first time the celebration for the Mother Language Day was introduced in
the Republic of Djibouti, and the Somali-peaking PEN is proud to be the
initiator of this important would-be tradition; the annual celebration
for the Mother Language Day and the organization of this year’s Mother
Language Week were both proposed by Somali PEN represented by its
President who prepared and submitted the proposal to the Djibouti
President who readily embraced the idea, financially supported it and
pushed for its implementation.
The 3rd
Congress of the Somali-speaking PEN was thus a historical landmark in
the journey of the Centre’s activities in the Horn of Africa. The
participants of the Congress, who also played a leading role in the
other activities of the week, came from several countries within the
Horn of Africa as well as from the Diaspora, including Djibouti,
Somalia, Ethiopia, United Kingdom and Sweden.
The Congress began its deliberations
with tributes to the late members of the PEN family who passed away
since the last Congress; these include the great poets, Adbulkadir Hersi
Yamyam and Ibrahim Suleiman Gadhle, the noted dramatist Ilyas Hassan,
the gifted poetess, Maka Shirdon and the young journalist, Aden Nur
Mohamed. The Congress then proceeded to its usual business: adoption of
the agenda, presentation of various reports, review of past work,
setting a plan for future activities and so forth. In the concluding
session, a new executive committee was elected and a final Communiqué
issued in which a number of resolutions have been highlighted (for the
full details of both the Congress and the Mother Language Week visit our
website).
In the evening a refreshing closing
ceremony/party was organized where the Somali PEN had the honour to
have, as guests of honour, the Djibouti Minister of Culture and
Communication, H.E. Ali Abdi Farah; the Ethiopian Minister of Culture
and Tourism, H.E. Mohamoud Dirir (who himself is a Somali-speaking
writer); the UNESCO Regional Director for the Horn of Africa, Dr. Awad
El-Hassan and Board members of the new borne Afar-speaking PEN. Taking
this opportunity the organizers introduced the Afar-speaking PEN to the
members of the Somali-speaking Centre who warmly welcomed their new
colleagues and offered their collaboration and support.
Somali PEN Receives ‘Les Palmes de la Culture’
Presidential Medal
As part of the
Closing ceremony of the above event, the Mother Language Week in
Djibouti, the President of the Republic of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh,
awarded the Somali-speaking Centre of International PEN as well as
UNESCO the highest national medal for culture, 27 June National Medal
‘les Palmes de la Culture’ for the important role they have played in
the protection and promotion of mother languages and literature. The
President has also awarded the same National Medal for Culture three
leading figures in the Somali-speaking PEN, namely, Maxamed Ibraahim
Hadraawi, poet and patron of Somali PEN, Maxamed Daahir Afrax, author
and President of Somali PEN, and Aw Jaamac Cumar Ciise, author and
founding honorary PEN member, for their personal contributions in the
enrichment and promotion of the Somali language.
New Action Plan and Task Forces approved at the last
Seasonal Meeting of Somali PEN Executive Committee
The Seasonal
Meeting of the Somali PEN Executive Committee was held in Djibouti on 3
November 2006 to review past accomplishments and to plan and prioritize
for the future. The Somali PEN President, Maxamed D. Afrax, opened the
Meeting with a report on the progress made since the last Seasonal
Meeting and the challenges facing the organization. Other secretariat
members also reported on their specific functions while highlighting
their suggestions for overall organizational improvements.
After much
deliberation on secretariat reports, the Meeting agreed on a detailed
Action Plan for 2007 and the appointment of task forces that would work
on the realization of the plan. In addition to a six-member secretariat
based in Djibouti, the Centre has appointed four task forces whose
members are spread around the world. Each task force will have specific
responsibilities, including 1) internal and external communications;
2) literary
events and activities; 3) protection and promotion of free expression;
and 4) preservation of Somali literary and artistic heritage.
The priority
activities included in the Action Plan (available in Somali) include
organizing regular literary evenings on monthly basis aired by the
Djibouti national television; conducting creative writing workshops for
young and aspirant writers; organizing literary competitions for
students in schools and colleges; more active fundraising efforts for
the activities of the Centre; and participating in PEN International
events, especially the upcoming International Congress to be held in
Africa for the first time.
A PEN symposium in Mogadishu Expresses Concern over the
Current State of the Somali Language
A symposium on
the current state of the Somali language was organized in Mogadishu on
21 December 2007. The Symposium, which was organized by the Southern
Somalia Chapter of the Somali-speaking PEN, was meant to assess the
state of the Somali language since the introduction of its official
script 34 years ago. The participants
expressed a deep
concern over issues threatening the Somali language. One of the main
threats is that most decision makers within the current educational
institutions, including schools, have tended to remove the Somali
language as the medium of instruction replacing it by foreign languages,
predominantly Arabic.
Among those in
attendance was the Coordinator of the Southern Somalia Chapter of the
Somali-speaking PEN, Poet/Playwright Abdi Muhumad Amin. In his opening
speech, Mr. Amin described the introduction of a writing system for the
Somali language 34 years ago as a great accomplishment, but he decried
the fact that today most of the educational institutions in Mogadishu
and elsewhere in southern Somalia have turned away from the use of
Somali, the country’s national language, shifting to use of foreign
languages as medium of instruction. He warned that if the current state
of affairs continues, the Somali language may soon join the list of
extinct languages.
Other speakers at
the Symposium included the Chairman of Mogadishu University, Professor
Farah Qare, and other notables like Sharif Mohamed Abdullahi, Professor
Isse Mohamed Siyad, Abdirahman Abu Hamza, Yusuf Ali Moallim, and
Abdiqadir Nur Hussein. They have all stressed the importance of using
Somali as the main language of instruction in the country’s schools and
universities in order to preserve and further develop the mother tongue.
At the end of the
Symposium, 16-point communiqué on how the Somali language can be
strengthened was issued. Recommendations included the establishment of a
national commission for the Somali language, the standardization of its
use, the translation of new scientific and technological terms into
Somali, making Somali language and literature compulsory courses within
the schools that choose to use foreign languages as medium of
instruction, raising the professional and living standards of Somali
language teachers, and encouraging the proper use of the language in
modern commerce and the media.
Somali PEN’s Sweden Chapter Co-hosts a Seminar for Somali
Language Teachers in Northern Europe
The Sweden
Chapter of the Somali-speaking PEN and the Association of Somali
Language Teachers in Northern Europe co-organized a seminar on language
and literature for Somali language teachers in Helsinki, Finland on
September 11, 2006. The seminar was facilitated by Mohamed Abdillahi
Riiraash, author, broadcaster, and leading member of the Somali PEN
Secretariat in Djibouti.
The seminar,
which is organized at least once a year, has covered a number of
teaching-related topics. It has also served as a sharefest where Somali
teachers from different cities in Northern Europe have exchanged their
views and ideas on teaching methods and resources for the classroom.
In 2006 the
Sweden Branch, which is considered as one of the most active chapters of
the Somali-peaking PEN organized a number of important events, including
a cultural exchange in February for the Somali community in Tensta, a
launch event in April for Somali author Mohamed Hirsi Guled’s book on
Islamic teachings (‘Caqiidada Islaamka’), and a public debate in
September on community action for publishing more books in the Somali
language.
Somali Heritage Project Launched in Leicester, UK to
Promote Cultural Understanding
A Somali Heritage
Project was launched on November 11, 2006 at the main public library in
Leicester, UK. The project, managed by the Danish Somali Community in
the UK and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), is intended to
encourage integration by promoting a better understanding between the
Somali community and other communities in Leicester.
The launch event
was attended by Gary Hund, Deputy Mayor of Leicester, Sir Peter Soulsby,
British MP, Sarah Levitt, chairwomen of the Leicester library, Hamza
Vayani of the HLF, Chris Eyre from the Leicester Police, and many
leading members of the Somali community in Leicester, including Ahmed
Bile Rafle and Hussein Suleiman. All those who spoke at the launch event
have underlined the importance of the project for the Somali community.
The Somali
Heritage Project plans to organize, in the coming weeks and months, a
touring cultural exhibits and exchanges at local schools that have a
high percentage of Somali-speaking students.
A Somali Theatre Group Tours U.S. Towns to Promote Human
Connection
A Somali Theatre
Group called “Ilays” (meaning ‘light’) has been touring a number of
central and western states of the United States of America to perform a
play written by Somali PEN member and playwright Said Salah.
The play, titled
“Cultural Approach for Human Connection,” aims to raise awareness of
diverse cultures among Americans living in small and semi-rural towns.
It has been performed 36 times in five states since October, 2006.
Performance venues include public schools, colleges, universities, as
well as local theatres.
Playwright Said
Salah is the 2005 winner of the Virginia McKnight Binger Awards in Human
Service established by the McKnight Foundation. The award recognizes
dedicated contributions to human development. Said Salah is the first
immigrant to win that award since it was created in 1985.
Somali PEN Members Play Key Roles at a Conference on
Combating Discrimination
Somali PEN
members, author and playwright Said Salah, and author Anwar Mohamed
Dirie, have played key roles at a conference on combating discrimination
among Somali clans -- the two having taken on the roles of,
respectively, conference chair and secretary. A statement of support
from Somali PEN President, Maxamed Daahir Afrax, was also read at the
opening of the conference.
The conference,
which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA) from December 23 - 24,
2006 focused on the plight of some Somali clans who are discriminated
based NOT on their race, ethnicity, religion, language or culture (for
which they share with other Somalis), but on inexplicable perceptions.
A number of
Somali scholars and social activists took part in the conference, some
linking up through teleconferencing methods from Mogadishu, Bossasso,
Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Sweden. The conference was also graced by the
presence of Garaad Ahmed Dirie Geylan, the Chief of one of the clans
that have traditionally been discriminated.
Participants of
the conference agreed to create a public awareness campaign to combat
discrimination among Somali clans, an education fund for the children of
discriminated Somalis, and an indigenously-based research unit that
would study the phenomenon in more detail. Conference deliberations were
reported live by some of the U.S.-based Somali community media.
Kor/Up
