On December 6, 2004, a well-organized reception took place at 200 West Block, Parliament Hill, and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Invited to this reception were Parliamentarians representing different constituencies of Canada as well as several representatives and Ambassadors from a number of countries including Sweden, Ethiopia, Italy and China. Also, present were some members of the Somali community in Ottawa and Toronto, Ontario. The Canadian Friends of Somalia, an organization based in Ottawa, organized the event.

Highlights:

As the master of ceremony, Shoon Omar with both her colorful attire and her rhythmic voice introduced Safia Hashi, a teenage Somali Canadian who recited a melancholic poem in English. Safia stressed the confusion and dismemberment that seized her homeland, Somalia and the glimmer of hope that she sees in the horizon both in Somalia and Canada.

Following Safia was a brief speech by Adem Esse, head of the Islamic organization and president of the Somali Relief Society who gave a cursory summary of the current state of affairs in Somalia.

The first ambassador to take the podium was that of Italy. His Excellency congratulated the participants of the event and the re-birth of a new Somali government in Kenya. Further, he assured the audience the unwavering support of his government to the newly re-established Somali administration in Kenya. Following the Ambassador was Honorable Mr. Jack Layton, the NDP leader, who encouraged Safia Hashi to run for an office in the House of Commons in Canada. He stressed the importance of pressuring the government to extend help to Somalia. Then the Swedish Ambassador, his Excellency Mr. Lennart Alvin spoke about the financial help his government extended to the Somali reconciliation efforts in Kenya. The Ambassador added that light at the end of the tunnel for Somalia was around the corner and it deserved all the assistance it can get.

Marwo Fowsiya AbdulKarim, representing the Ogaden Human Rights Organization strongly criticized the Clan-based distribution of Somali parliamentary seats, and suggested that a gender-based distribution would have been a preferable alternative.

Dr. Mohammed Kasim, a lecturer at Seneca College, accused the U.S.A. and Canadian administrations of their ‘wait and see” policies towards Somalia. He compared such reserved attitude to their policies towards post World War II reconstruction efforts in Europe. He called for the two countries to establish similar approaches towards Somalia.

“ Somalia must be helped,” said Honorable Marlene Catteral, Roy Cullen and Allan Tonks of the Liberal Party MPs in the Canadian Parliament.

Interesting speeches:

Rahim Jaffer, a son of Ugandan immigrant parents expressed his appreciation of the problems and hardships that Somalis face and said the time has come to help Somalia. He also asked Somalis not to punish Somaliland for its ostensible absence from the Nairobi conference.

Honorable Borys Wreszenewskyj, a parliamentarian of a Ukrainian origin, the only representative to publicly name the heads of the new Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, congratulated President Abdullahi Yusuf for wining the Somali presidency and his subsequent nomination of Professor Ali Gedi for the position of Prime Minister. Honorable Wreszenewskyj recognized the efforts of the Somali nationals in the government and the efforts that they are making to resolve some intractable problems in their country.

He concluded his presentation by recognizing Somalis as the largest Canadian immigrants of African origin and as such called for the Canadian government to do something in Somalia on behalf of this sizable community.

The last elected official to take the podium was honorable Wajid Khan who expressed his solidarity with his Muslim Somali brothers. He promised that he would take all the concerns expressed by Somali Canadians to the country’s Prime Minister, Mr. Paul Martin so that Mr. Martin gives an immediate support to the new administration of Somalia and called for a Canada-Somalia sisterhood status.

Different from his trademark of clan bashing, Professor Mohamoud Togane read several of his poems accentuated by quotations from different writers and intellectuals, including a quote from Somalia’s Adan Abulle Osman, first Somali president after independence. With a big and poignant voice known only to Togane, the audience received him well.

Listen Prof. Togane's speech at the event

He called Canada “the home for the homeless.” He reminded the participants at the reception that today’s refugee in Canada is tomorrow’s president somewhere else, invoking the examples of the current presidents of Greece and Latvia as yesteryear’s refugees here in Canada. He concluded his speech with the prospect that Dr. Kassim would one day become Somalia’s president.

Conclusion

Towards the conclusion of this event, Dahir Osman Dhagaweyne, a member of the founding fathers of the Somali Youth League (SYL), the party that led Somalia to its independence in 1960, called upon the audience to own the SYL motto and move away from clanism and sectarian politics so as to regain the national statehood of Somalia. Mr. Dahir Dhagaweyne ended his speech with a recitation of the Somali National Anthem: Somaliyey Toosoo which roughly translates into “OH! SOMALIS WAKE UP, AND LEND HAND TO YOUR NEEDY ONE.”

Analysis:

Representatives of the Canadian parliament only stayed at the event for a short period and had not had enough time to listen to most of the speakers. Each MP gave his/her speech and departed in haste. As a result, there was no commitment from the Government of Canada in supporting the New Somali Administration. There no representative from the government of Canada that made promises or declaration to support the new government diplomatically or economically.

The other important point to be raised here was the fact that this event has created divisions in the Somali community in Ottawa. The Somali participants of the event were the supporters of the Canadian Friends of Somalia, the organization that organized the reception. In mid November another Somali organization by the name of Canadian-Somali Partnership (CAN-SOM) organized a meeting for Somali community leaders and activists. CAN-SOM held the meeting to mobilize the community to act and hold the above mentioned event. As a result, organizing committees were established and a date to reconvene was set. However, after few days, Canadian Friends of Somalia hijacked the agenda of that community meeting and went SOLO in organizing the event. This action angered the participants of the CAN-SOM organized meeting as well as the CAN-SOM membership. As a result, many Somalis did not participate in the event.

Call for UNITY

This event was a litmus test for all the Somalis engaged in the efforts to promote a better Canada-Somalia partnership. It is incumbent upon all Somali-Canadians to pressure the government of Canada to help Somalia both diplomatically and economically. However, before the Somalis embark upon such a noble cause they need to put their house in order. They need to free themselves from the shackles of clannish distrust, disunity, and hatred. Remember UNITY IS STRENGTH.

Especial thanks goes to Abdulkadir Guled who send us this report and Mr. Aydrus Urdoh of Urdoh Video Production who provided us all the photos on this report.

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