"Qoriga
dhig, qalinka qaad - put down the gun, pick up the pen" - The late Elman
Ali Ahmed.
(Picture above: Ilwad Elman at Somali Week Festival.)
When you
hear about a young Somalis deciding to relocate back to Somalia for various
purposes, some may think they're out of their mind, but many young Somali males
and females look up to Ilwad Elman Ali.
Ilwad is
one of the daughters of the late Elman Ali Ahmed, who was assassinated in
Mogadishu in 1996, during the height of the civil war, a passionate peace
activist who tried to keep the young people off the streets and away from the
criminal activities that had become common such as robbery and looting. Elman
Ali left his legacy behind in the form of his daughter and wife.
Alongside
Fartun Adan, her mother, Ilwad runs the Elman Peace and Humans Right Center in
Mogadishu. EPHRC also has a subsidiary, called Sister Somalia. Sister Somalia
is also Somalia's first program of assistance for gender-based violence, which
provides advice, counseling as well as housing support for victims. EPHRC also
provides workshops for young men and women with various training for
professional fields, assisting them for the future and alternative
opportunities, with the key goal to keep them away from various paths such as
criminal activities and extremism.
Whilst
recently in London for the annual Somali Week Festival 2014, hosted by Kayd
Somali Arts and Culture, Ilwad took Q&A's from intrigued audience members,
both young and old, in regards to the documentary called Through the Fire. The
documentary was released in 2013 starring Dr Hawa Abdi, Edna Adan and Ilwad
Elman. It highlighted the work of these
three remarkable women during the dark times of the civil war, as well as
post-civil war progress.
When I
asked some of the young people in the audience about the documentary and what
they had just seen, all of them appreciated what these women do, and hoped to
follow in their footsteps and relocate back to Somalia in the future.
"Ilwad
personally made me feel proud to be a young Somali girl. We get a lot of
criticism for not being inspiring or ambitious, but seeing Ilwad today and the
way she spoke so passionately about things made me realise that we can make a
change in this world." - Hafsa, 19.
"I
always use to read about the Elman organisation on social media, I wondered why
people always gave props to Ilwad, but today, her Q&A made me see how
genuine she is, her father would be proud." - Mohamed, 23
"Ilwad
and Fartun are true inspirations to the Somali community, I hope to make my
mark on this world like them one day." - Samira 16
During a
discussion at SOAS, School of Oriential and African Studies in London, Ilwad
gave a speech about Identity and Culture, addressing many issues that Somali's
face with the identity and culture clashes. Ilwad addressed sexual gender based
violence within the community, and the first hand experience she has had
dealing with the repercussions of it. She explained that the idea of identity
and culture, to her had no specific explanation, as her day-to-day life in
Somalia made her notice many various cultures, through the influence of the
locals and the diaspora. She also expressed the uncommon behaviour of sitting
in various places within the Horn and hearing many different languages. Ilwad
explained the problems victims of gender based violence and what they face, and
described the new culture evolving in Somalia around these issues; "There
is a new culture in Somalia, the culture of silence". After her speech,
she received an ovation from the audience who enjoyed listening to what she had
to say.
We would
like to congratulate the team and Elman Peace Org. for their continuous work in
Somalia and hope they keep it up. You give light to those who were in dark, you
give courage to those who once thought they were weak, but most importantly,
you give a voice to those who once couldn't speak. Keep it up!
By Amina Adan.
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