By Dr Abdisalam Issa-Salwe, PhD

Dr. Mohamed Dahir Afrah, who passed away  on 09 October 2021 in London, was a scholar, wirter and literary critic who did extraordinary work to preserve the Somali language by helping form Somali PEN in and AGA-Academy of Somali Language.  Afrah was versed in three languages: English, Arabic and Somali as he used to write in all three languages.

Afrah started his literary work in Mogadishu in the late 1970s by publishing weekly papers and short novels on the national journal Xiddigta Oktober (October Star). In 1972, he started publishing his own journal in Somali where he used to write about the social changes and their impact on Somali society. According to Afrah, despite social change being a way of human interactions, he was worried that the new cultural and social transformation would have a negative impact on society.

Afrah helped also form in the early 1990s Somali PEN in London. I was lucky enough to be part of the PEN formation as the technical skilled person at that time. In the group were also Lidwien Kapteijns, and Sadia Ahmed Muse. There, we started publishing a few volumes of Hal-Abuur Journal.  Later, the group were enlarged by having representatives in many places.

However, after some time, we could not afford financially to continue publishing Hal-Abuur. Consequently, Afrah contacted the Djibouti authority if they could help with Hal-Abuur. With positive response from Djibouti, Afrah moved to Djibouti. Djibouti was serious honest in helping Hal-Abuur and the effort of the revival of the Somali language.

The support of Djibouti led Afrah to expand the Somali revival task to Somalia and Jigjiga where he found some relentless support from well know literary Somalis in the Horn of Africa and around the world.

With the help of Djibouti, the Akadeemi Goboleedka Af-Soomaaliga (Regional Somali Language Academy) was formed in 2012. AGA has been also set in Mogadishu where currently is going to have a new building.

Despite Afrah being involved in literary arts, he was indirectly the initiator of the 2000 Somali Reconciliation Conference held in Arta town in Djibouti. In the year 1999, UNESCO sponsored research projects entitled called “The Social Integration and Development through Building Culture for Peace”. UNESCO commissioned the survey to find out the potential of Somali culture and art in dealing with the Somali civil strife. The survey was carried over by two researchers: Abdullahi Shirwa and Mohamed Dahir Afrah. Shirwa was to look into the socio-political transformations taking place in Somalia following the breakdown of government institutions while Afrah was to identify cultural means and elements which could help change the culture of violence to that of peace. Both men gave an inside analysis of the Somali situation.

Afrah in his report proposed the use of literature and culture as the medium to solve the communication breakdown among Somalis. The main problem was seen here as communication breakdown within the Somali society. Afrah’s recommendations comprised two goals:

1. The first proposed the promotion of non-formal education for peace by the use of the media. The aim was to use education and mass media in the process of disseminating information pertinent to a Culture of Peace. Here, in Afrah’s view, mass media was supposed to be used as Somali cultural material which would help mass enlightenment and hence, behavioural change within Somali society.
2. The second goal was “to seek appropriate Somali partners who could help to bridge between international organisations and the Somali public at large”. It was an approach where the notion of civil society appears in the proposal. Afrah reiterates that “working with the Somali civil society structures could be a key element in the success of projects carried out by international agencies”.

The Djibouti government was closely following UNESCO’s Somali Culture of Peace activity took Afrah’s advice seriously and it promised to implement the recommendations that were to culminate in a “Festival of Somali Art and Literature for Peace Symposium” in March 2000 in Djibouti. However, things were moving in this direction until suddenly President Ismail Omar Guelleh was elected to the office of the president of Djibouti in 1999. With the coming of President Guelleh, Somali peace-oriented events accelerated by changing the ‘cultural project’ to ‘political conference’. In another word, according to the president, his action simply was accelerating the events. The action resulted in the formation of Somali National Peace (SNP) and as a result ended up with the formation of a Transitional National Assembly, a Transitional Constitution and the election of an Interim President.  

The Somali language lost its Somali language champion with the sad death of Dr Mohamed Dahir Afrah. However, his efforts will not go to waste as well as the work and institutions he created.  

Despite Afrah having passed away he will remain in the heart and mind of Somali history as the man whose effort has inspired generations of Somalis.

Dr Abdisalam Issa-Salwe, PhD
Email: abdisalamm@eau.edu.so