Washington DC (WDN) On July 6, 2015,  the American Turkish Friendship Association along with Rumi Forum hosted a Ramadan Iftar Dinner for the African American and Somali communities of the Washington DC metropolitan area. The Iftar dinner event was held at the American Turkish Friendship Association (ATFA) center in Fairfax, VA.

Members of WardheerNews had the distinguished opportunity of being among the invitees to the annual Iftar event.  There were several speakers at the event most notably, Mr. Emre Celik, the President of Rumi  Forum and Mr. Metin Cetiner, the General Manager of the largest Turkish NGO, Kimse Yok Mu, a non profit humanitarian aid and development organization, renowned for their charitable and philanthropic work in Africa. The Turkish NGO Kimse Yok Mu which means “is anyone there?’ in Turkish has done some remarkable humanitarian work recently in both Darfur and Somalia. It is solely responsible for digging thousands of wells and building hundreds of schools and clinics in the region.

The attendees were  impressed and amazed at the multitude and complexity of the said projects and it really highlights the good work Turkey is delivering to the people of Africa, in particular East Africa.

Dr. Alin Fatah, delivered a brief talk, on behalf of the Somali community, about the historic relationship between Turkey and Somalia commencing in the 16th Century. He also noted that remnants of the historic Turkish influence can still be evidenced today in Berbera. Dr. Alin, on behalf of the Somali Diaspora, was grateful for the kindness and friendship of the Turkish people.

The Iftar event gave the attendees the opportunity to share and exchange ideas and have intercultural dialogue and get the chance to listen to one another. it was truly a great experience.

The event gave true meaning to what Ramadan is all about as it brought Muslim communities from different cultural and social backgrounds together in one place.

WardheerNews