Aqoonyahanno iyo xirfadlayaal Soomaaliyeed oo ka socda Afrika, Yurub iyo Waqooyiga Afrika ayaa lagu xushay munaasabad ka dhacday magaalada Edmonton ee gobolka Alberta, Canada, iyadoo hay'adda Soomaalida ee Alberta ay u qabaysay munaasabaddaas.
Munaasabadda iyo hadalada aqoonyahannada
Hay'adda Soomaalida ee Alberta waxay soo bandhigtay abaalmarino aqoonyahanno iyo xirfadlayaal Soomaaliyeed ka socda saddex qaaradood, iyadoo ku dhiirigelinaysa inay sii wadaan shaqada ay u hayaan bulshada. Munaasabaddu waxay aheyd mid aad u weyn, iyadoo saddex aqoonyahan oo kala ah Prof. Hussein Warsame, Prof. Afyare Abdi Elmi iyo Dr. Habiba Mahmoud ay ka hadleen xaaladda Soomaalida Canada.
Aqoonyahannadaas waxay u mahadceliyeen maamulayaasha munaasabadda iyagoo sheegay inay aad u faraxsanyihiin inay isugu yimaadeen tiradaas badan. Waxayna ka warrameen dhibaatooyinka ay soo marayeen iyo fursadaha hadda ka jira, iyagoo diiradda saaray xaqiiqooyinka muhiimka ah ee ku saabsan horumarka Soomaalida Canada.
Maamulaha hay'adda iyo xaqiiqooyinka bulshada
Maamulaha hay'adda, Osman Shire, wuxuu u mahadceliyay qof kasta oo ka qayb galay munaasabadda, isagoo sheegay in hay'addu sii weydo inay qabato kulamo iyo munaasabo oo bulshada Soomaalida isku dhisa. Wuxuu sheegay inay sii weydo inay noqoto mid ka qayb qaadata horumarka bulshada Soomaalida.
Canada waxay leedahay mid ka mid ah bulshada Soomaalida ugu weyn ee ka baxsan Geeska Afrika, iyadoo dadka Soomaalida ay ku dhaqan yihiin gobollada Ontario iyo Alberta. Magaalada Edmonton iyo Calgary waxay ka mid yihiin meelaha bulshada Soomaalida ay ka bilowday xirfadaha iyo aqoontooda.
Xiriirka Soomaalida Canada iyo dowladda Soomaaliya
Munaasabaddan waxay ku sifeysaa xiriirka Soomaalida Canada iyo dowladda Soomaaliya, iyadoo la xusay in dhawaan wafdi Soomaaliyeed uu ku sugnaa Minnesota, Canada, halkaas oo la kulmay xildhibaanka Samakab Hussein. Wafdiyadaas waxaa hogaaminayay wasiirka gaadiidka iyo duulista, isagoo sheegay inuu doonayo inuu u dirayo wakiilo si uu uga faa'iideysto taajirrada Soomaalida.
Dowladda Soomaaliya waxay marar badan ka hadashay xaqiiqooyinka ku saabsan maalgashiga Soomaalida, iyadoo wasiirka gaadiidka iyo duulista uu sheegay in Soomaalidu ay sameysay maalgashi weyn Nairobi, Masar iyo Turkiga, balse dhulka iyo mustaqbalka ay yihiin Soomaaliya. Wasiirro kale oo dowladda Soomaaliya waxay sidoo kale ka hadleen xaqiiqooyinkaas.
Somali academics and professionals from North America, Europe and Africa were recognised at an awards event in Edmonton, Alberta, organised by the Alberta Somali Heritage Association, which presented honours to individuals for their service to the community.
Awards Presented to Academics and Professionals Across Three Continents
The Alberta Somali Heritage Association presented awards to Somali academics and professionals drawn from each of the continents represented, with the organisers encouraging them to continue that work. Three academics addressed the event on the position of Somalis in Canada, the difficulties they have come through and the opportunities now before them.
Prof Hussein Warsame, Prof Afyare Abdi Elmi and Dr Habiba Mahmoud each thanked the organisers for assembling a gathering of that size. The Association did not publish the names of those honoured, but the evening represented a way for a generation that arrived as children to become visible to itself.
Association Chairman Promises Continued Community Convening
The Association's Chairman, Osman Shire, thanked those who attended and said the organisation will continue holding meetings and events that bring the Somali community together, and will keep playing that convening role. Canada has one of the larger Somali populations outside the Horn of Africa, concentrated in Ontario and Alberta.
Edmonton and Calgary are among the cities where Somali communities established themselves from the early 1990s onward. A generation that arrived as children has since moved through Canadian universities and into the professions, and events of this kind are one of the ways that generation has become visible to itself.
Broader Pattern of Somali Diaspora Engagement in North America
Earlier this month a Somali delegation was received at the Minnesota State Capitol by Representative Samakab Hussein, elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives from District 65, who briefed the visitors on the position of the Somali community in the state and its part in politics, health care and business.
The State Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, who led that delegation, said afterwards that he hoped to send parliamentary committees to draw on the experience. Somali government ministers have also spent recent months addressing the diaspora directly on where its money goes.
