August 2, 2018 | Morning Headlines
UK Defence Secretary Makes Surprise Trip To Mogadishu
01 August – Source: Garowe Online – 171 Words
In a rare trip, the UK Defence Secretary, Gavin Williamson arrived in Mogadishu on Tuesday, on an unannounced tour of Somalia. The Defence Secretary was received at the seaside Mogadishu International Airport by UK’s Ambassador to Somalia, David Concar, and other British diplomats, and escorted to the British Embassy in Halane.
The UK Secretary of Defence held talks with Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo at the Presidential Palace where the two discussed issues relating to bilateral relations between the two countries and the security situation in the country. During the meeting, Mr. Williamson reaffirmed the UK’s commitment in supporting Somalia with regard to security, governance and economy. The Horn of Africa nation is just recovering from decades of conflict.
The Defence Secretary also met his Somalia counterpart, Hassan Ali Mohamed, and the country’s Army chief, General Gorod. The talks focused on rebuilding accountable and capable security forces. Britain has hosted several international conferences in London on Somalia in the past few years, as part of its efforts to help the war-torn country.
Key Headlines
- UK Defence Secretary Makes Surprise Trip To Mogadishu (Garowe Online)
- IED Explosion Reported In Bulo-Burde Town (Shabelle Media)
- Heads Of Somaliland Private Schools Oppose Change Of School Calendar (Halbeeg News)
- Djibouti ‘Shocked’ By Somalia’s Position On Eritrea Sanctions (Africa News)
- 160 Ugandan Police Officers Leave Mogadishu (Dispatch Uganda)
- A Taste Of Home: How A Somali Supper Club Explores Identity Through Food (Deutsche Welle)
NATIONAL MEDIA
IED Explosion Reported In Bulo-Burde Town
01 August – Source: Shabelle Media – 88 Words
A loud explosion believed to be of a landmine was reported outside the central Somali town of Bulo-Burde on Wednesday morning. Abdi Dahir, the District Commissioner confirmed the incident to Radio Shabelle, adding that the blast caused no casualties.
He nonetheless blamed the Al-Shabaab militia group for being behind the attack near near the city’s airstrip. The airport houses Djibouti peacekeepers serving under African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The town has been blockaded by militants since it fell to the Somali National Army (SNA) and AU troops.
Heads Of Private Schools In Somaliland Oppose Change Of School Calendar
01 August – Source: Halbeeg News – 210 Words
Headteachers of private schools in Somaliland have criticised the Education ministry’s decision to change the school calendar. Somaliland Ministry for Education recently released 2018-2019 term dates for schools. According to Ministry’s circular, the period of the first term has been shortened. The released circular also indicates that learning in primary and secondary schools will kick off on 1st September instead of August. This communication has already been delivered to education directors, principals of secondary schools and headteachers of primary schools.
Addressing the media in Hargeisa town, Egal Raabi, who is a headteacher of a private school in Hargeisa faulted the move, saying the move shortens the first term and will negatively impact on the learning process: “But we must admit that the genuine issues are yet to be addressed. There are no quick fixes to the problems. The shortened period will interrupt the learning process,”
He observed the education system was ailing and required a total overhaul for current challenges to be addressed: “The real problem is the education system. There is too much to cover within a short time and we were initially struggling to cover the syllabus. But now the situation has just gotten worse,” he lamented. Somaliland’s Education ministry is yet to comment on the headteachers’ concerns.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Djibouti ‘Shocked’ By Somalia’s Position On Eritrea Sanctions
01 August – Source: Africa News – 222 Words
Djibouti has formally responded to a recent call by Somalia that United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions on Eritrea be lifted. According to Djibouti it was ‘deeply shocked’ by that position. Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on a three-day official visit to Asmara said the sanctions imposed since 2009 had to be lifted given the current political and diplomatic developments in the Horn of Africa region.
But in a statement in reaction to the Somali president’s view, the Djiboutian Embassy in Somalia wrote in an August 1, 2018 statement: “As a sovereign state, there is no doubt that Somalia has the right to establish diplomatic relations with the countries of the region, however, it is unacceptable to see our brotherly Somalia supporting Eritrea which is occupying part of our territory and still denying having Djiboutian prisoners.”
It continued that the wiser line of action would have been for President Mohamed to call for peaceful resolution of the border crisis that has strained relations between the two neighbours. The statement accused Somalia of historic less support of Djibouti which it said had led to blinded supported for Eritrea plus an advocacy that Eritrea be free despite its stubborn nature. “We will not tolerate with ruthless talks while our young men and women are yet here defending Somalia’s peace and stability,” the statement concluded.
160 Ugandan Police Officers Leave Mogadishu
01 August – Source: Dispatch Uganda – 420 Words
A contingent of 160 Uganda Police officers will this weekend return from Somalia after completing a year tour of duty in the war torn Horn of Africa country. The team from Uganda’s Formed Police Unit, is part of a multi-national police force under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which is training and mentoring Somali police officers.
Unlike Uganda People Defence Forces (UPDF) which operates in the interior of Somalia, Uganda police operates in Mogadishu. Specifically, Uganda police is part of the Mogadishu airport security detail. Uganda first deployed officers of the Formed Police Unit in 2012. Since then, they have played a critical role in the Mission’s operations and provided professional support to Somali Police Force.
The outgoing contingent is the sixth deployment. Simon Mulongo, the Deputy AU Special Representative for Somalia lauded the Uganda police team for their contribution towards pacifying Somalia during a medal awards ceremony held in their honour, in the capital Mogadishu on Wednesday.
“Because of your contribution and support to the Somali Police Force, we have been able to have a spell of stability and peace in Mogadishu. Businesses flourish as we speak. Investment is growing at a very fast rate. The flights to Mogadishu have increased. In fact, Mogadishu International Airport is now one of the busiest in the whole of eastern Africa. And this is simply because of your contribution to this kind of environment as the police component,” he said. The AMISOM police Chief Rex Dundun said they are proud of the Uganda Formed Police and grateful for the service they have provided in Somalia. The outgoing contingent which was deployed in Somalia on 4 August 2017, will be replaced by a new police contingent, under the command of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Richard Onyait.
Grace Turyagumanawe, the Director Peace Support Operations in Uganda Police Force, who is on a working visit to Somalia said during the award ceremony that the returning contingent will be received with honour. “Uganda Police Force receives you with high salutations for the contributions and well representation you made on behalf of Uganda, to AMISOM.
This is a Pan-African spirit which should be emulated by all police officers here and at home,” he said. Officers from the Formed Police Unit provide oversight to patrols in the city and the Federal Member States, to ensure maintenance of law and order, train their Somali counterparts and contribute to public order management; participate in cordon and search operations; and provide VIP protection services, among other tasks.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Somali food and Somali identity bear the marks of centuries of trade, colonization and spheres of influence. From pasta, which they call “Basta,” dating from the Italian presence, to trade with India resulting in samosa style parcels called “sambusa” and middle eastern influences”
A Taste Of Home: How A Somali Supper Club Explores Identity Through Food
01 August – Source: Deutsche Welle – 1,249 Words
It’s summer and the sun is slowly setting over the hilly green space near Fozia Ismail’s house in Bristol. Her husband Andy opens the door as Foz, as she likes to be called, makes final preparations in the kitchen. Fourteen people are arriving tonight to sample Foz’s take on Somali food as part of her monthly supper club “Arawelo Eats.” Fozia was born in Kuwait but moved to the UK whilst she was still young and grew up in London.
The name Arawelo Eats comes from stories of an ancient Somali Queen who was known for female empowerment. In some stories she is portrayed as having castrated men but for Foz it’s the fact that she forged her own path which is important. Fozia studied social anthropology at Cambridge University and started off working with young people before she became interested in exploring her roots through food.
“With the EU vote, with all this kind of hostile environment, I was just really wanting to reconnect with my culture through the food.” She laughingly admits that her mother was the main cook in her house and moving to Bristol meant that she missed the Somali food she was used to eating. So she had to learn to cook it herself.
Her mother, Foz explains, grew up as a nomad on the Ethiopia-Somaliland border. She is illiterate and didn’t get the chance of an education. In the kitchen, cooking with her five brothers and four sisters for the crowds of visitors who visited over Ramadan and other big festivals, was where she really connected with her mother through food.
Foz loves her poster showing that one of the staples of British cuisine, the potato, was originally an ‘immigrant’ too!:”You’re just feeding so many people, so you have bags of onions and you are just cutting through again again and again and again,” to make the Somali style samosas or sambusa, Foz explains.
Foz thinks that her mother’s intelligence and love was expressed through food despite the lack of her formal education; she still regrets not having learnt how to make all the specialties. “I didn’t really learn any of the stuff. I would love to learn Lahoh. Lahoh is the sorghum based pancake, She [my mother] makes great Lahoh. Certain skills, I think, I still need to practice. That’s why it matters to me, because I feel like she shone through her food and she really taught us through food.”
Now Foz is teaching her guests through food. She introduces each dish to the 14 people who have arrived for the supper club and are congregating in the kitchen accompanied by the sounds of sizzling, chopping and frenetic activity.
As a welcome, Foz stirs big jugs of vodka and lime cocktails and pours them into glasses graced with a cinnamon stick twizzled in honey. “This is rocket fuel,” she jokes, admitting that most Somalis, being Muslims, don’t tend to drink but this cocktail comes from Kenya where many Somalis live in the diaspora.