By Mark Brunswick
Saado Ali Warsame, a member of the Somali parliament and a well-known figure in Minnesota, was mourned Thursday after drive-by shooting.
Saado Ali Warsame
Photo: Farah Abdi Warsameh, Associated Press
Saado Ali Warsame’s songs and poems urged unity in a country known for its tumult and division. Between the lines, they also reflected a political activism for change that propelled her to become one of the first woman members of the Somalian parliament.
Warsame, who for decades was one of the top singing stars in Somalia, bridged the communities of her home country with her adopted home in Minnesota. She lived in Minneapolis and St. Cloud from 2007 to 2012. Somali-Americans here often found it remarkable that they could mingle and chat so easily in local coffee shops and stores with a celebrity of such status.
She had just returned to Somalia for the end of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan when she and her driver were killed Wednesday in a drive-by shooting in the capital of Mogadishu.
The militant group Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s shooting outside the Ambassador Hotel. Warsame, who is believed to have been in her 70s, was the fourth member of the Somali parliament killed by Al-Shabab this year and the latest of seven member of parliament to be assassinated.
For Somali-Americans in Minnesota, home to the largest Somali population in the United States, the news of her death struck hard, raising concerns about the stability of the fledgling government in the restive east African nation. But it was also a time for reflection about Warsame’s contributions to the idea of unity, both in Somalia and the Somali community here. She was elected to the Somali parliament in 2012. Warsame, who held duel citizenship, was most recently back in Minnesota a week or so ago.
“Saado was a passionate advocate for Somali nationalism, for human rights, and she was a symbol that we can have one Somalia that is at peace with itself,” said local Somali political activist Sadik Warfa.
Warfa said he was with her son and daughter in Elk River on Wednesday as the family struggled with the news. Her body apparently already has been buried in Mogadishu in a prominent national memorial.
A rally and fundraiser for Warsame’s family will be held Thursday evening at the park next to the Brian Coyle Community Center in Minneapolis.
‘It really sets things back’
Warfa urged the U.S. government to insist Somalia conduct a full investigation into her death, particularly since she was an American citizen.
“The pattern is not good,” he said. “They [the U.S. government] send condolences to the family. They condemn and that’s it. The killing of these parliamentarian members, it really sets things back for all of us.”
Warsame’s status as a celebrity was huge, and she was often described as Somalia’s Aretha Franklin. As a boy growing up in Mogadishu in the 1980s, Ahmed Ali Said would listen to Warsame’s songs, which often had undertones urging political change. At the time, she was as big a pop star in Somalia as Michael Jackson was in the United States, he said.
Said met Warsame several times for coffee in St. Cloud, where he moved in 2001. He said her story in part was the inspiration for his own current campaign for a seat on the St. Cloud City Council.
“She had two flags. She felt that if Somalis could come together and unite they could rebuild Somalia with the help of the United States,” he said.
Local Somali community activist Abdirizak Bihi said Warsame was well aware of the dangers of her political involvement, at one point early in the process even acknowledging that becoming a member of parliament could be a death sentence for her. Bihi said he recalled watching a video of when she arrived back in Somalia.
“Right at the airport she said she was there to help rebuild at any cost, even until she dies,” Bihi said. “She died for that.”
Source: StarTribune
