Somalis returning to land in turmoil

[Faranacab]

Central Ohioans eye key leadership jobs, understand risks

Saturday, December 11, 2010 02:57 AM

By Mark Ferenchik

When Abdinur Mohamud returns to war-torn Somalia for the first time in 28 years, he'll take over the jobs of two men killed by a suicide bomber last year.

Why would Mohamud give up a comfortable home in Westerville and a good job at the Ohio Department of Education for a risky position in a government hanging on by a thread?

"My country is dying," said Mohamud, who has lived in central Ohio since 1985. "(I'm) trying to help a nation in dire straits."

There are others in the local Somali community who feel the same pull.

Abdulkadir Ali is embarking on a quest to become Somalia's next president. He's holding a kickoff event Saturday night at a North Side hotel and expects 200 supporters.

Like Mohamud, Ali is a long-time area resident. He said he is tired of the chaos caused by two decades of strife, al-Qaida-

linked extremists and an ineffective transitional government.

Some friends question his judgment.

"They know what I'm facing. I'm facing a community and county where violence has been the norm," said Ali, the former chairman of the Somali American Chamber of Commerce who now runs a job-training center for young people.

"Everybody's waiting to get perfect conditions. I'm not waiting for perfect conditions. I don't want to be indifferent anymore and sit idle."

The two men are following others who want to fix a desperately broken country.

Mohamud was contacted in November by the country's new prime minister, a Buffalo, N.Y., Somali-American. He asked Mohamud to become Somalia's new minister of education, culture and higher education.

The new prime minister, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, had worked for Buffalo's municipal housing authority and hadn't been back to Somalia in 25 years. Since his return, he has appointed seven cabinet ministers from the Somali diaspora in the U.S., Mohamud said.

Mohamud, a language consultant for the state Education Department, is taking over duties that were handled by two men killed Dec. 3, 2009, by a man who detonated a bomb during a graduation ceremony for physicians in Mogadishu.

One of the men, Ibrahim Addou, the minister of higher education, once taught at American University in Washington, D.C., and had been Mohamud's college roommate.

"They were trying to do a good job for the nation," he said.

Now it's Mohamud's turn. He's leaving behind his wife and seven children, including a 1-month-old son.

Read more

[The_Patriot]

Warye Farancab warka ino tur tur

Are you Hanqaadh by any chance?

[Faranacab]

Ba'aa! Boowe ma aanad hanqadh igu khaldaysaa?

Waa nabad, Patriot. Suu xaal yahay?

[Advo]

Good luck to the brother we have too many cowards with only hope and alot less brave countryman.

[Faranacab]

Good luck to the brother we have too many cowards with only hope and alot less brave countryman.

Any plans to return soon and rebuild your country, Advo?

[greenday]

This is what we need. Alhamdulilah that we still have men like them. There is hope for Somalia.

[SummerRain]

Is it realistic for someone like him who has been away for so long ti make any difference? The situation in somalia is so complicated and someone like him is unlikely to grasp the reality to get anything done

[Faranacab]

This is what we need. Alhamdulilah that we still have men like them. There is hope for Somalia.

There is a bright hope, indeed. But we have a long way to go!