Somali community to host memorials for attack victims
Journalist and husband two of 26 killed in Friday’s militant assault on African hotel
Edmonton’s Somali community is grieving after an extremist attack in the African country killed at least 26 people, including several with family connections in Canada.
Somali-canadian journalist Hodan Nalayeh and her husband Farid Jama Suleiman were two of the victims identified in Friday’s attack at the Asasey Hotel in the port city of Kismayo.
Nalayeh was raised in Edmonton after her family immigrated to Canada when she was six years old. Her family moved to Toronto when she was 16, but the journalist maintained a connection to her first Canadian home.
Jibril Ibrahim was inspired by Nalayeh’s desire to highlight successes of Somali-canadians when they met during their studies at the University of Windsor in the 1990s.
Now the president of the Somali Canadian Cultural Society of Edmonton, Ibrahim said it is the community’s turn to honour Nalayeh.
“She was the kind of person that wanted to showcase positive aspects of our community,” he said. “How working people help families and kids be better.”
Nalayeh founded the Youtube channel Integration TV in 2014, focusing on sharing “uplifting and inspiring Somali stories.” Her work brought her back to Edmonton in 2016 to report on the graduation of 300 Somali high school students. She also hosted a segment with Edmonton’s former poet laureate Ahmed “Knowmadic” Ali.
Ibrahim said that two weeks ago he invited Nalayeh to attend this year’s graduation ceremony, but she was tied up working on a documentary project across Somalia.
“It is devastating for all of us, it’s a senseless killing,” Ibrahim said.
The attack started with a suicide car bomb blast, after which gunmen stormed the hotel, a Somali official said. Somalia’s al-shabab Islamic rebels have claimed responsibility for the attack.
Nalayeh isn’t the only victim with roots in Canada.
Edmontonian Dunia Nur said families are holding their breath as bodies are identified.
“For the Somali community, this is the toughest time we’re going through right now. We’ve experienced the loss of a lot of our families, natural leaders and also people that were community builders,” she said. “Everyone is scared, waiting to hear if their family is OK.”
After the news spread of Nalayeh’s death, Nur said she was informed her uncle was also killed in the attack.
Mahad Abdullahi Gargurte was a well-known businessman and community leader in sub-saharan Africa, Nur said.
In the wake of the tragedy, Nur said it is important for the community to heal together. Several residents are organizing a candlelight vigil to be held on the legislature grounds Monday or Tuesday evening.
“We’re hosting a gathering that honours, celebrates and acknowledges the lives of those that were taken away ... to ensure that their legacies live on,” she said.
The Somali Canadian Cultural Society of Edmonton will also be hosting a memorial Friday at 6 p.m. at the Bosco Foundation, 6770 129 Ave., to honour Nalayeh and the other victims.
— With files from The Canadian Press