Whatever it is, it’s probably not Somali — the language of millions of people in the East African country and the Somali diaspora around the globe.

“You can grow up in Seattle, you could be born here, go to K-12 here, go to the UW — you could live a full adult life and you’ve never heard the words ‘Somali’ and ‘class’ together,” says John Compton of the One City Project, a non-profit devoted to connecting people in our region with the languages spoken in their communities.

And while there has been at least one other basic Somali language course on offer in recent years (for service providers working in the Somali community) there are currently no formal courses offered in the Pacific Northwest, despite the fact that our region boasts one of the largest Somali-American populations in the country.

But that’s about to change. A ten week Intermediate and Advance Somali course for heritage speakers (people of Somali background) as well as non-Somali community members will begin next week through the Experimental College — a student organization that offers non-credit courses for University of Washington students as well as community members.

“There’s never been a chance for us to sit down and to learn how to read and write, [how to] write articles, how to translate things, how to communicate in a professional setting,” says Nazmah Hasaan, an Environmental Health major and member of the UW Somali Student Association.
“Even though we’re heritage speakers, when we look at a document it’s like we’re first graders where you have to sound everything out,” agrees Nawal Ahmed a Pre-nursing major at the UW eager to interpret in medical settings.

Hasaan and Ahmed have worked with Compton and the Somali Student Association to help make the non-credit course a reality. Next step: they’re pitching the campus’ Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity on the importance of a for-credit Somali language course at the University.

And while they’re still waiting to hear back on that proposal, they hope the Experimental College class, which currently has 38 enrolled students, will be a first step toward proving the need for such a course.

They say formal Somali language instruction at the UW would help to train teachers and service providers who work with Somali populations, and encourage a new generation of Somali-Americans to keep the language of their parents alive.

“I brought my culture and my language here and I want to leave it for my kids,” says Dualeh Hersi, a program manager at Amazon who has also helped advocate for Somali language instruction on the UW campus and will be teaching the course beginning next week. Hersi says it’s been challenging getting materials together for such an infrequently taught language, but that he’s planning to use what he’s found to build an online database of Somali-language-learning resources.

“It’s going to be a trial run,” says Hersi of the upcoming course, “But hopefully this will be the moment when things start to change.”
A movement to bring Somali language instruction at the UW comes at a moment of larger discussions, and protests, over race, diversity and a representation on campus.

“The Somali population specifically is a population of refugees often settled in low income communities,” says Hasaan. “It’s kind of daunting and new for us to be first generation students from low income backgrounds from uneducated parents… Having this class would make it feel like, ‘You deserve to be here.’”

It’s a lot of pressure for one no-credit class, but it’s that important says Hersi, who mingles the political and cultural implications of such a course alongside a passion for a language he says blends beauty and wisdom.

“The Somali language is poetry,” he says to me in the lobby of the downtown Amazon building where he works.

“Aqoon la’aani waa Iftiin la’aan,” he texted me later, “To be without knowledge is to be without light.”

What university would disagree with that? Read more on Globalist

BY Sarah Stuteville

Sarah Stuteville is a multimedia journalist and co-founder of The Seattle Globalist, www.seattleglobalist.com, a news site covering Seattle’s international connections. Sarah Stuteville: sarah@seattleglobalist.com. Twitter @SeaStute

A survey conducted by the ministries of planning for the two regions and UNICEF found very encouraging figures on young children’s education. In Puntland, the number of students enrolled in primary education went from 26 percent to 43 percent over the last five years. A smaller rise was reported in Somaliland.

Susannah Price, the chief of communications for UNICEF Somalia, says communities are benefiting from an increasing number of schools being built in the region.

“UNICEF, for example, have worked very hard on training enough teachers, working on non-formal education as well as alternative kind of education – for example for the pastoralist children,” she said. “We have also worked with community committees within the community, helping to support them and also help with building classrooms, building schools. Education is absolutely key for the future of Somalia.”

However, challenges remain in convincing parents to send girls to school just like boys.

Price says her organization promotes gender equality in education and is striving to improve girls’ access to education.

“We’ve been focusing on changing attitudes on girls’ education, to talk to parents to explain to them why education of girls is as important as to the education of their brothers, why you shouldn’t keep girls at home to do house work while they need to go to the….,” she said. “We’ve also helped with scholarships for girls to get them to school, to get them to higher education and to change their attitudes as well and to use girls who have succeeded in education to talk to other girls to persuade them to come to school as well.”

UNICEF says education could help the regions improve in other areas of development that are lagging behind, such as health care.

The survey showed no great improvement in health and nutrition in the past five years, while immunization coverage also remains low.

The report only covered the autonomous and semi-autonomous regions of Somalia, as surveyors said it was too dangerous to conduct research in central and southern Somalia. But they are planning to organize a survey for the rest of Somalia when security improves.

Masaajidka waxaa dhismihiisa bilaabay qoyska reer Geedeeye iyagoo la gaashanaya dad badan oo muslimiinta ah kuna kala nool daafaha adduunka

Guddiga dhismaha masaajidku waxay mahad ballaadhan u soo jeedinayaan Jaaliyadda Soomaliyeed ee Kuwait iyo Safiya Saleban Geedeeye oo wacyigelinta iyo qabanqaabinta lacag ururinta masuul ka ahayd. Jaaliyadaa oo qayb weyn ka qaadatay dhismaha masaajidka. Waxayna guddigu ugu ducayanayaan jaaliyaddaa in ajar iyo axsaan ilaahay ka siiyo taageeradaa ay ka geysteen dhismaha gurigaa ilaahay.

Waxaa guddigu jaaliyadaha kale iyo ummadda muslinka ahba meel kasta oo ay joogaan ugu baaqayaa in ay ka soo qayb qaataan dhamaystirka masaajidka ama gurigaa ilaahay ee ajarka iyo khayraadka ay ka kasban donaan.

Daawo Sawiradda

  Cali Dhagjar

Qaydar