By Saeed furaa

“What people need is not new and better curriculum but access to more and more of the real world; plenty of time and space to think over their experiences, and to use ideas and make meaning out of them”

I had the pleasure of meeting one such person whom this statement speaks much of and about. Universities produce a number of graduates each year with all the promises of life. University of Hargeysa in Somaliland is such university which produced a student currently in South Africa studying for his master’s degree in legal field at the University of Pretoria, which isn’t very easy given my observation. He encountered a lot of problems to finally be here. But the human quest for self discovery and triumph is what kept him alive. He is a sign that as an emerging nation we can make it through various obstacles. I believe that through education, Somaliland can stand on its own feet and rise against the mounting pressure from the world particularly that it can’t be recognised for some strange reasons.

We are a nation known for violence and creed but with young man like Mohamed we can give Somaliland voice to speak against brutality and speak for humanity and give content to the kind of nation we want to build. I pray for my friend that his dreams could be achieved. History has opened my eyes to many issues that affect our people and I realised that these issues could better be resolved if we have an integrated frame work with other world universities especially South African universities. In that manner we would be giving exposure not only to Somaliland but also our idea of justice and constructive society. We have nothing to loose in demanding a place in the community of nations.

Mohamed Farah Hersi, the son of late former mayor of Berber is a goal-oriented, enthusiastic, self-motivated and hardworking Youngman. He has a passion for scholarship, originality and the ability to make creative decisions and is currently specialising in human rights which is a sensitive subject given our deep wounded human history. We need justice and answers about lot of things that happened to our people in the past. We need to forgive but who and how? These are questions that I think requires human rights as an instrument to give us justice and sense of restoration and candidates like him could be useful in transforming and restructuring our lives. Sad historical fact is that our mothers, sisters and fathers have been killed inexplicably and the law could seek the truth and find solutions to those past unanswered questions. We have moved from that in bit to finding a stable land for our people and now perhaps its time to solve by questioning and resolving and we can use academic people like Mohamed Hersi for uplifting our new society in this information age era.

It goes without saying that special thanks and gratitude goes to those who have helped him. By so doing they were renewing their commitment to the motherland.

As published on the University of Pretoria’s website, “the LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa is a unique programme to which 30 individuals from African countries with a good law degree and preferably experience in the field of human rights are admitted. During an intensive one-year course, they are taught by eminent lecturers in the field of human rights and gain invaluable practical exposure. It is the only course of its kind in Africa.”(TUKS website)

“This year, students from Somaliland,Niger, and the United States of America for the first time joined the LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation) programme at the University of Pretoria. The programme, which is presented by the Centre for Human Rights at the Faculty of Law, has been in existence for nine years. Over this period, 227 students from 32 countries around Africa have completed this degree course” Justice Kate O’Regan

The Centre for Human Rights of the Faculty of Law of the University of Pretoria focuses primarily on human rights law in Africa. Highlights in its history since the Centre was established in 1986 include the involvement of members of the Centre in the writing of the South African Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the contribution the Centre has made to legal education in respect of human rights on the continent through its academic programmes and research outputs. Members of the Centre have served as consultants on human rights issues to a range of institutions, including the Organisation of African Unity/African Union, NEPAD, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the South African Human Rights Commission. The Centre has been awarded the 2006 UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education. (Source: http://www.chr.up.ac.za/about/introduction.html)

“A note from a zealot fellow countryman”
Saeed furaa,
Freelance Journalist,
Pretoria ,

South Africa “Where the sun never sets”.

E-mail: somalilandjournalist@yahoo.com