HARGEISA, 1 April 2010 (Somalilandpress) – Kayd Somali Arts and Culture in collaboration with Birmingham Central library is inviting you to the presentation of The Mourning Tree, autobiography by Mohamed Barud Ali. Join us to discuss with the author; Saturday, 10 April 2010 at 1pm at Birmingham Central Library, Library Theatre, Paradise Place, BE 3HQ
In his autobiography, Mahamed Barud Ali shares with the reader his childhood, being born under a tree named Weerane which is symbolic for Mahamed’s life; painful at the times but noble and optimistic. Weerane is a Somali word for a piece of cloth wrapped around one’s head to show that a grievance was been committed. At the same time, it is a sign of courage. It is the name of the tree that Mahamed Barud Ali was born under into a pastoral nomadic community. In this nomadic society, dignity is the single most important state of being.
This publication will give Somali and non-Somali readers the opportunity to learn about the suffering of people under brutal regime of Somalia during the 1980s. The story of Mahamed Barud Ali, a prisoner of conscience jailed for eight years, will also show us how quickly the migration from nomadic life to the city happened, how communities were politicized and their innocence robbed from them.
This prison memoir will not only give first-hand information of the experience of the brutalities of the regime of Somalia but also of the life of a nomad child who is brought to the city to live with his aunt because there was no work for him due to the fact that his father did not own any camels to be looked after. Mahamed became a bright student in Shiekh School, which gave him the opportunity go abroad to study. In the United Kingdom, he was to experience student life in Brighton and Somerset.
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After he earned his university degree in the United Kingdom, Mahamed went back to his home town Hargeysa, now the capital of Somaliland, where he meets young professionals’ like him and they decide to volunteer for their community. For their noble act, Mahamed and his colleagues were imprisoned in Labaatan jirow, maximum security prison/ What followed for the members of UFFO was long lonely eight years; where studying insects was the main entertainment of the day. Anyone, who assumes that Friday or Ramadan, the Islamic holy days held any good news for Mahamed and his friends will be betrayed.
The other speakers are Omar Isse and Adan Warsame Said; both the author’s friends and fellow prisoners, Khalid Hassan; contributor to Somaliland tourist guide, Sa’id Jama; writer and expert on Somali culture, Ali Seenyo, poet and playwright, Faysal Aw-abdi Canbalaash; from Halabuur and Aisha Luul both poets and many more. The Mourning Tree: an autobiography and a memoir of prison, by Mohamed Barud Ali is the first of “Rag & Dumar” series, which is a selected list of biography books, published and distributed by Ponte Invisibile Ed. (redsea-online.com)
Join us to discuss this new autobiography with the author Birmingham central Library, Library Theatre, Paradise Place, Birmingham, B3 3HQ, Saturday, 10 April at 1pm For more information call Ahmed Mire 07984140957 or Ayan Mahamoud 07903712949 Email: ayan_mahamoud@kayd.org Website: www.kayd.org
