Hassan Sheikh Muumin has died [16 January 2008], and for the Somali community in Norway , as well as all other Somalis, it is a great loss.

Hassan, like thousand of others, was a victim of the cruelty that has become Somalia. Like thousands of others he had to flee, to a country not his own, with an unfriendly climate and people who didn't know him. Old and sick, he had to start afresh, at first without his family, whom he never stopped thinking about, until one day they finally arrived. By now he had undergone two operations, and suffered much pain and loneliness, even though many Somalis sought his company , eager to listen to him and benefit from his wisdom. He was not like the thousands of others, he was unique. And yet he had to suffer the humiliation of being a refugee, even this king of words had to be part of the flotsam and jetsam which has had to drift to all parts of the world from Somalia.

As a Norwegian I had the good fortune to get to know him and am proud to call him a friend. We arranged meetings with him and young Somalis, they  needed him and knew it,  He read his poetry to them, and encouraged them to show him theirs. When a few people here became aware of his writing and philosophy, they wanted him translated to Norwegian.May be it is still possible.

He took part in the campaign against guudninka, sharing his thoughts on the ancient practice. he was steeped in Somali tradition, and yet a modern man, a kind and gentle man, but with firm views and the courage to express them.

I shall always be grateful for having known him, and remember what he meant to this community.

His wife and children followed him to Norway, it was what he  thought best for them, and they were a comfort to him in his last years. May God comfort them in their great loss.

With greatest respect,
Ingeborg Vardoen, Oslo, Norway