Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Chefs from Denmark's world famous Noma restaurant have launched an
appeal to support a colleague in war-torn Somalia after his
establishment was targeted again by Al-Qaeda inspired insurgents.
The Village, set up in 2008 by restaurateur Ahmed Jama in Somalia's
dangerous capital Mogadishu, was last week attacked for the third time
by Islamist Shebab insurgents, with a suicide attacker and then a car
bomb killing at least 18 people.
Copenhagen-based Noma, three times ranked top of the World's 50 Best
Restaurant list, helped launch the appeal on Monday to support Jama,
kick starting donations on an Internet crowd sourcing site.
"Guys, lets help out chef Ahmed in Somalia rebuild," Noma founder Rene Redzepi wrote in a message on Twitter.
The opening of Jama's restaurant challenged perceptions of a city
infamous as a byword for anarchy, and fought over by multiple warlords
since the collapse of government in 1991.
Noma founder Rene Redzepi poses for photographers ahead of the
World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards ceremony at London's Guildhall on
April 29, 2013. Chefs from Denmark's world famous Noma restaurant have
launched an appeal to support a colleague in war-torn Somalia after his
establishment was targeted again by Al-Qaeda inspired insurgents.
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Jama's restaurant provided the tiniest taste of the elegant seaside capital that Mogadishu once was.
In two days, more than half the 12,000 euro (16,000 dollars) goal has been raised.
"As a community of chefs, we just wanted to show our support for what
he (Jama) has been doing," said Mark Emil Tholstrup Hermansen, one of
organisers of the appeal.
Jama had spoken in August in Copenhagen at the MAD Symposium, a community of chefs, cooks and farmers Redzepi helped set up.
He spoke of how after fleeing the war in Somalia, finally training as
a chef in London, he returned home to Mogadishu to open his restaurant
to create jobs and bring communities together over food.
Several of Jama's employees have been killed by Shebab suicide bombers in previous attacks.
"I promote peace and they promote violence," Jama said, speaking in August.
People ente the world-famous Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, on
April 27, 2010. Chefs from Noma have launched an appeal to support a
colleague in war-torn Somalia after his establishment was targeted again
by Al-Qaeda inspired insurgents.
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Somalia's Shebab extremists are battling to overthrow the
internationally-backed government, launching attacks in the heart of the
capital despite losing a series of towns to African Union and
government forces.
UN Monitoring Group reports in July estimated the Shebab are still
some 5,000 strong, and remain the "principal threat to peace and
security to Somalia".
"Ahmed Jama, because the sound of a falling tree is always larger
than that of a thousand growing trees, may your tree start to grow
again, in silence, to provide shade and comfort and prove there are
other ways in which to prove a point besides violence," one person wrote
as they submitted their donation.