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8/16/03
Dear Edna,
I saw the BBC feature on you recently in which you were calling for more African Women in leadership roles. Bravo! It is so important for women to be equal participants in the political arena, not just in Africa but in all the world. I am proud to have met you and I feel we are friends, with the same noble goals for a more healthy and peaceful world. I also saw an article praising the Human Rights efforts in Somaliland, and supporting greater consideration for recognizing Somaliland's sovereignty and democracy. But I am concerned that such recognition could be jepoardized, when the rhetoric does not match the deeds.
I got word that Abdi and Mohamed Hasan had been arrested and told not to return to work at the University of Hargeisa, and that personal grudges had played a part in their arrests. I am worried about the outcome, as I haven't heard form them for some time now. I was told that they where fighting for the right to work and teach at the University.
I see this action as a violation of Human Rights. It raises the question whether the University of Hargeisa is a public institution under a democratic administration or a private and exclusive institution for only the privileged.
I think the BBC and the world community would be interested in this story.
Abdi Hasan, Mohammed Hasan and Mohamud Hasan are three American citizens who have returned to their country of origin to bring their expertise and apply it for the benefit of all the people of Somaliland. These three gentlemen, as I am sure you are aware of, have been the greatest advocates for Somaliland. They not only spoke out for their own people but for all of Africa. Here in Portland, Oregon, USA, they were in the leadership for the Anti-apartheid movement. They led Civil and Human Rights movements and organizations. All have been highly recognized teachers, program and curriculum innovators.
Their efforts in exposing the racist cause of the murder of an Ethiopian man at the hands of neo-nazi skinheads, culminated in an internationally headlined trial of Tom Metzger. If Somaliland cannot recognize their talent, nor the benefits they will bring the country, they are in great demand here, and we miss their creative energy and commitment to justice and Human Rights.
It is through them that I have learned to love your country and its people. It has been their integrity, their unquestionable pride in their countrymen, their belief that Somaliland could become the flagship for all of Africa, an example of how to pick oneself up by one's own bootstraps and rebuild one's country in one's own image. They called themselves Somalilanders when others from the North continued to call the country Somalia. The Hassans not only taught the general public the difference between Somaliland and Somalia, but also advocated for Somaliland's independence, without demeaning Somalia and its own struggles to find peaceful resolutions.
Please check into their safety for me, make sure that they communicate with me. They may call me anytime collect or send me e-mails. I need to know that they are safe. If I do not hear from them soon, I will put out and open letter to the world community, to USA congressional representatives, to the BBC, to all the world Human Rights Organizations.
In Solidarity with the Human and Democratic Rights of all the Peoples of the World.
Peace.
Daniel J. Shea
Executive Director
Education WithOut Borders
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