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Abdishakur Mohamed, who was only 16 years old, confidently presented his latest work at the Hargeisa Book Fair, an event that has transformed Somaliland's literary scene over the last decade.
Abdishakur spent four years writing "Ab-ka haleel" the footprints of our ancestors "), intended to refute friends who, he said," did not embrace their culture ".
"Instead, they see this as insignificant, and their Somali identity is in danger" AFP.
At the first annual event in 2008, the organizers only exhibited a handful of books borrowed from friends and attracted only 200 visitors.
Ten years later, literature occupies a preponderant place.
New writers have appeared, volumes are being published, reading clubs have been formed and public libraries have been opened
The Book Fair, which is holds from Saturday, July 21 to Thursday, July 26 key factor in the adoption of literature in Somaliland.
The fair now has international appeal and attracts exhibitors from around the world, while helping to raise awareness of the relative stability of the self-proclaimed country in relation to Somalia.
Somaliland separated from the rest of the troubled Horn of Africa country in 1991 – but without international recognition ever since.
– "Here to Encourage the Young" –
"I come because it's a space that really allows people from all walks of life, from ambassadors, to politicians, artists, thinkers, different people come right here and share ideas about the future of Somaliland – in addition to looking back in the past, "said filmmaker Khadra Ali
" We are here to encourage young people and tell them the, "said author and playwright Yasmin Mohamed Kahin, whose work was exhibited at this year's fair.
Somaliland and Somalia have a long tradition of oral tales that celebrates poets like Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame, said Hadraawi, considered by some as Somali Shakespeare
It was only in 1972 that the Somali language was codified by the government Siad Barre military in order to strengthen [1 9459009]
But armed resistance to Barre's increasingly authoritarian rule has slowed down the dynamics of language formalization
The Somali army then bombed Hargeisa, pushing Somalilandese island in Europe and in the Gulf as well as in refugee camps in Ethiopia.
The activist Edna Adan, the former 80-year-old foreign minister and the wife of the second president of Somaliland, Mohamed Ibrahim, is a visitor. Equal
Adan, who enjoys celebrity status among young people for his activism, recalled his visit in the late 1990s on the site where is currently the Hargeisa cultural center that hosts the fair.
including a library, a gallery and a theater, opened in 2014.
"I could not walk the streets here because the Somali soldiers had laid mines", did she say. She said that the promotion of books and reading had received a "very lukewarm" response.
"But then it took off extraordinarily."
Adan adds that every year, more and more young people are inspired. to write in Somali, as well as foreign languages, including Arabic and English. 59008]
"She introduced young people to the value of books – something they did not know before," she said.
Jama Musse Jama, a researcher at the University of Pisa, returned from Italy in 2008 and founded the fair.
He had previously assumed that his compatriots do not read because of their strong oral tradition.
"But then I came here and I realized that this was not the reason.What was missing was the raw material.There were no books in circulation, "said Jama.
"We have forgotten who we are.We have forgotten the art, the culture, the music.You know, in the 40s, 50s, 60s, Somali music was one of the best scenes Today, perhaps, young people have no idea what is Somali music. "
But Jama insists that" the things have completely changed. "
Photographer Huda Ali, who published in 2017 an anthology of images representing Somaliland, is in agreement.
"Ten years ago, they were sometimes surprised to see a girl with a camera on the street – it was something very strange to accept." But over time they have changed. "19459008
A Rwandan delegation was the honored guest of this year's event.
The Rwandan artist Carole Karemera said that Somaliland , like his own country, had been supported by a new artistic "self-confidence" after coming close to total destruction.
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