BY Said Jama Hussein

The Hargeisa International Book Fair (HIBF) takes place almost regularly during the month of July, deliberately to coincide with the school vacation when the high school and university students are on leave.  The weather at this time of the year in Hargeisa is also the mildest and most pleasurable.

As has been the case in the previous five years, this year’s main programme of the Hargeisa International Book Fair (HIBF) was also preceded by what came to be known ‘The Moving Library’, an auxiliary part of the Book Fair.  A procession of motorcade carrying books, documentary photographers, and officials in charge of the library tour, went to all the regions of Somaliland meeting with the ‘Reading Clubs’ established in the main cities as well as a huge number of the general public.  This initial journey was then followed by more spectacular ones where Somali poets, intellectuals, journalists, civil society leaders, youth and women representatives and literary guests from abroad embarked on their respective journeys through their participation in the Book Fair activities.  Here in this cursory account I will attempt to highlight some of the prominent features of the programme enjoyed by the attendees who turned up for this eagerly awaited annual festival.

To mark the opening ceremony, Mohamed Ibrahim Warsama ‘Hadraawi’, arguably the greatest living Somali poet, was called to the stage accompanied by deafening applause from the crowded main hall.  Time was too precious.  So, after a brief cordial greetings to his welcoming audience, he began reciting his favourite masterpiece “Sirta Nolosha” (The Essence of Life).  With his deep, powerful, familiar voice he went on marvelling at how life is full of contradictions and the proper way of dealing with each particular situation, leaving his listeners spellbound.  No sooner had the thunderous clapping faded away, than Bill Herbert, the pre-eminent British poet and renowned world poetry translator, took over the floor.  He relayed to the crowd how extremely difficult yet at the same time self-gratifying it has been to carry out the arduous task of translating Hadraawi into English.  Then in his unique captivating style, he treated his audience to his recitation of the translated poem of “Daalacan” (Clarity) one of Hadraawi’s highly praised poems.  The vast majority who followed the performance with keen attention were struck with a mixture of bewilderment and joy and as soon as Bill came to the final stop, promptly responded by giving him standing ovation.

Delightfully from beautiful neighbouring Kenya, this year’s guest country to the HIBF, came the dear friends and distinguished writers Billy Kahora, Stanley Gazmeba, and the poet Phyllis Muthoni.  Through their literary presentation both prosaic and in verse followed by liberal discussions they engaged with the audience, this cheerful group has indeed been able to display striking glimpses of that country’s rich cultural heritage as well as its alluring beauty.  From the eastern shores of the African continent, the gathered masses moved to the western shores led by the physically towering figure of Chuma Nwokolo, the lawyer, writer and publisher from Nigeria who had been able to capture the attention of the crowds by reading parts of his astonishing short stories from his latest publication entitled “The Ghost of Sani Abacha.”

From continent to continent, this time Muna, the gallant Somali Canadian community worker took the reign of the travelling wagon to the thickets of Toronto in Canada.  From documentary films in her possession she showed the congested crowds in the hall how Somali newcomers to that distant land in the western hemisphere are taken by the hand familiarising them with the social ways of life in Canada; and also how Somalis born, bred and brought up in Canada are taught about their ancestors’ language and beautiful cultural heritage.  To complement Muna’s exploration of Somali life in Canada, Abdilatif Ega , a teacher, novelist and enthusiastic Jazz student and performer from Harlem, in the heart of New York,  entertained his audience by reading parts of his latest novel GUBAN, set in the volcanic mountain ranges in the North western part of Somalia in an ambitious attempt at constructing in their minds a gigantic bridge between New York and Hargeisa.

Still within the Book Fair arena, there were those who, given to their own innovative singular ways, rather chose, instead of bringing a hue of their homeland to the Fair, to relate to their wide readership all over the world their honest appraisal of the Hargeisa Book Fair and their thoughts about the country, Somaliland, that regularly hosts this  commendable festival.  Mary Harper, the writer journalist and BBC correspondent, and Michela Wrong, the outstanding journalist and uncompromising political analyst are the ones referred to above.  The praise they attributed to the Hargeisa Book Fair in the BBC Focus on Africa and the Spectator magazine published in London respectively did indeed mean a great deal to the organisers of the programme who immensely value such tangible support.

To cap up all these excitingly wonderful journeys, the most interesting and longest in time and space had, indeed, been the one so well prepared and meticulously performed by Said Salah Ahmed, the eminent poet, playwright, teaching scientist and magnificent theatre performer.  Said Salah, on the last day of the Fair, invited all the participants to a fantastic half a century world tour of his teaching experience.  Calling all his students, young and old to attend this historical show, he started retracing his career from his first class as a teacher in DAYAXA school, Erigavo district, moving to BEER in Burao, then to SHEEKH BASHIIR in Hargeisa, followed by CAMUUD in Borama, LAFOLE college near Afgoi; then dashing across the Atlantic Ocean to Minnessto in the USA, up North to Tronto in Canada; flying to Copenhagen in Denmark, further East to Culcutta in India, Djakarta in Malaysia. And after that spectacular voyage of circumnavigation back again to the Guriga Shaqaalaha – The Civil Service Employees Headquarters in Hargeisa, to deliver yet another lesson to the anxious crowds; this time on the ‘Skills of Creative Writing’ before their farewell departure.

The last item of the programme, as has been the case in the past five years, was befittingly a Somali drama to mark the climax of the programme, and to entertain the audience, both local and Somali friends from abroad with a play chosen for this particular occasion.  A Play of One Act, entitled in Somali ‘BOOC-BARAR’ (Insatiable Gluttony), and dealing with the heinous practice of bribery and other manifestations of corruption by the officialdom was staged under the directorship of the able theatre producer  Abdirahman Y Artan.  To make it have the desired effect, and to drive a lesson home, the young talented characters of the play enacted the seriousness of this grave issue in a satirically appealing manner.  This celebration was, to the merriment of all, finally closed with the most popular Somali traditional dances accompanied by musical beats of hands and feet.

Thus the Hargeisa International Book Fair (HIBF) came happily to an end, and every one enjoyed themselves in their own way; but of course not before the attending multitude arose as one person chanting in unison ‘Three Cheers’ to the initiators and organisers of this wonderfully splendid cultural undertaking, the great Jama Musse Jama and the indefatigable Ayaan Mohamoud of Red-sea Online and Kayd Cultural Arts respectively.

By Said Jama Hussein

Email: sjx2005@hotmail.co.uk