NATIONAL MEDIA
5 September – Source: Halbeeg – 176 Words
According to a survey, more than 14000 students graduated from universities in Somalia last year. The study presented in Mogadishu by Iftin Foundation indicates there are more universities and colleges that produce an overwhelming number of graduates every year amid limited employment opportunities in the country. The survey, which was conducted across 16 cities in the states of Puntland, Galmudug, HirShabelle, Southwest, Jubaland and the administration of Banadir, shows 14,971 students from 54 different universities graduated in 2018. The data also shows that almost two-thirds (65%) of graduates were male while female counterparts accounted for 35 %. The most preferred course includes Public Administration, Business Administration, Public Health, Computer Science/IT, and Nursing & Midwifery, Journalism, and Marine Science. On the other hand, the survey revealed that more than 40,000 students sat for their final high school exams in the 2017/18 academic year. Speaking during the release of the research the Minister for Education and Culture, Abdullahi Godah Barre, said the survey will help his ministry closely monitor the sector while developing policies for job opportunities in various relevant government agencies.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
5 September – Source: Anadolu Agency – 101 Words
At least five people were killed on Thursday when al-Shabaab fighters attacked a military convoy in Somalia, police and local media said. The attack took place in the outskirts of the agriculture town of Afgoye in Lower Shabelle region, Radio Shabelle said. The fatalities include security officials and al-Shabaab fighters. Hussien Abdi, a police officer in the town of Afgoye, also confirmed the attack to Anadolu Agency over the phone without giving any other details. The attack comes as Somali National Army (SNA), backed by African Union peacekeeping forces in Somalia (AMISOM), gains significant ground against al-Shabaab in the region.
5 September – Source: Standard Media – 143 Words
A man suspected of having links with the Al Shabaab will be held for two more weeks as police conclude investigations, a court has ruled. The man, who has been in custody since Wednesday last week, was arrested during a police crackdown in Mutwangombe area along the Garissa–Nairobi highway. He was found with Sh3 million cash, which was stashed in a suitcase. Police said they suspected the money was meant to fund Al Shabaab terror activities in Kenya. Police yesterday sought orders from Mwingi Principal Magistrate A Onkoba that would allow them to hold the suspect for two more weeks, so as to check any links the suspect might have had with the Somalia-based terror group. “He claims he was born in Daadab but his identity card shows he comes from Isiolo. We must investigate him further,” said Mwingi Central OCPD Peter Mutuma.
5 September – Source: MPR – 827 Words
Somali life in Minnesota got a national audience Thursday when the NPR program 1A highlighted the community and its stories. 1A was recently at the Safari Restaurant and Event Center in south Minneapolis, interviewing people on a variety of issues related to the Somali experience in Minnesota. That included Nadia Mohamed, a candidate for St. Louis Park City Council. She recalled coming to the United States as a girl, ignorant of the way people couch race in this country. “I knew I was a practising Muslim,” she said. “I knew I was a woman. But I didn’t know I was black.” She learned quickly, and by high school went through a time where she denied to her peers that she’d lived in Somalia as a way to assimilate.
Eventually, Mohamed said she felt empowered when she chose to regularly wear a hijab. “This is a shield for me,” she said. “When I walk into Target or Cub Foods, people know right away I am a Muslim. I don’t have to explain anymore of it.” Mohamed also recalled getting a noticeable response from her peers when she chose not to wear her hijab during high school prom. “I remember people saying, ‘You look so pretty! Oh, your hair is so nice!’” she said. “Wasn’t I pretty before?”
Halima Ahmed, a Hamline University student and co-leader of the campus Muslim Student Association, also said she felt pressure to assimilate with the white majority of students growing up. That would change as she matured and became more comfortable with who she was, she said. “For me, my hijab is part of my identity,” Ahmed said. “For those of us who choose to wear it regardless of the challenges we face, it just makes that feeling all the more strong.”
Haji Yussuf, who came to the U.S. in 1999 and moved to St. Cloud, spoke about how his knowledge of the U.S. before then amounted to rap videos, Rambo films and Chuck Norris movies that he saw growing up. That’s not exactly what he got when he came here. “Our biggest wow moment was how cold it got in Minnesota,” Yussuf said. He recalled appreciating the public service announcements on public transportation in the early 2000s, notifying the Minneapolis community how Somalis were relocating to the city and were welcomed. Yussuf also paid homage to the American civil rights movement that he said paved the way for Somalis like himself to immigrate to the country decades later.
Tension from the national level
President Donald Trump and his attacks against Ilhan Omar and immigrants overall came up during the discussion. Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Minnesota, explained how right now is a very unique time in history where the concept of what is American is being challenged and attacked by Trump. “I argue what is happening to Minnesota U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar is what is happening to Muslims across the country,” he said…….
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“A number of pastoralists have moved away from the village to the town seeking water. According to the chief, the village authorities contacted Puntland’s water ministry and were told that Puntland State Agency for Water Energy and Natural Resources would replace the pump.”
5 September – Source: Radio Ergo – 429 Words
Nadifo Muhyadin Hassan’s family survives on the roughly five litres of water a day that she manages to beg from neighbours. She asks those who can afford to buy water from the commercial tankers visiting their village of Seemere in central Somalia’s Mudug region to spare a few drops. “If you have to beg for water you can never get enough. The small amount I get doesn’t last long. If you use it to cook, there’s nothing left,” Nadifo told Radio Ergo. Sometimes the children cry and I go begging for water to prepare tea but come back with nothing.”
WarsameElmi Omar, chief of Seemere, told Radio Ergo that villagers have been facing water shortages since the borehole pump broke down three weeks ago. “The borehole was the only one in the village. There is no water, the pump developed mechanical problems and fell inside the borehole. There is no water for both people and livestock,” the chief said. The village, 37 km west of Jariban, hosts over 1,300 families including pastoralists and small scale traders. The price of water is high. “One barrel of water costs $15, whilst a water tanker with a capacity of 50 barrels from Jariban town costs $300 because the road is rough at the moment,” Warsame said.
A number of pastoralists have moved away from the village to the town seeking water. According to the chief, the village authorities contacted Puntland’s water ministry and were told that Puntland State Agency for Water Energy and Natural Resources would replace the pump. Nadifa has five goats left from the family’s original herd of 100. She makes 40 Somali shillings ($1.6) from the sale of the goats’ milk, but fears they will die soon if they don’t get more water.
Meanwhile, in Ba’adweyn village, 200 km from Galkayo, villagers are suffering similarly severe water shortages after the boreholes and reservoirs dried up. Ali Hassan Farah, a father of nine, struggles to get water for his family and 100 goats. He said the locals have dug the borehole deeper and deeper, trying to access water, but the earth is dry. “You can’t get enough water for 100 goats. It takes a long time to get any water at all because the boreholes are hand-dug and sand has blocked them up, so we have to remove the sand to get even a very small amount of water out,” said Ali. Ba’adwayn chief, Ahmed DahirAbdullahi, told Radio Ergo that the water crisis in the village has affected many families, forcing them to flee in search of water elsewhere. |
