A hope that ended nowhere: True story of a Somali migrant

In my country, Somalia, youth migration is an epidemic problem. It could be a legacy or cause of the youth that randomly reached Europe and America encouraging their friends to migrate while sending them good-looking pictures that they took in some parking places of the countries they live in that can't even show the reality of their living standard.

Youth migration causes many factors including unemployment and economic difficulties; the unbalanced, privatized, and under-regulated education system; peer pressure; strong smuggling networks; lack of reliable security; and the overall fragile state institutions that have failed to create hope for the citizens. All these factors contributed to the massively growing illegal migration of Somali youth.

Once upon a time, there was a friend of mine that we used to be village kids in a town. My ambition was to one day be an intellectual and to give back my knowledge to society. At the time, the people of the town who finished higher education were scarce. My brother's dream was to one day be a citizen of a country in Europe or America that can give him dignity and wealth and also can raise the quality of living standard for him and his family.

My friend and I completed the Holy Quran and also an intermediate level of the school. Then, I started finding a way to get further education. I got a contact from some relatives living in the urban cities to seek help for my education journey. At the same time, my friend was planning to leave the town and contacted local strangers to facilitate his journey to Libya.

A few days later, while I was still in the town, I got a phone call. Once I saw the number, I realized that it was from "Tukow". He told me that he was Taleh and was ready to travel to Tripoli in the upcoming days. I told him to come back to the town, and we can make a better living there. I also reminded him of the risk of migration to Europe, but he didn't listen to my advice anymore and ended the call.

Seven months later, my phone rang. After I saw the country code of that number, I knew it was from Libya; it was my friend`s call to share with me his struggle to reach Tripoli that took seven months. He told me that his health condition is not well and his life is in a gamble. He told me that strangers handed him over to Libyan horror, and they would detain him if he didn't pay a ransom of $10,000. They took him from the phone, and they told me what my friend told me. They also added that if I didn't pay the ransom within 10 days, they would kill him.

I and the smugglers (magafayaal) were communicating for a while. After a long time of negotiation, they told me to pay $7,777 for the ransom fee with their last warning. After that, I shared it with some elders of the community and my friend`s relatives. They collected the money for my friend`s freedom. After two days, I called the strangers and transferred the money; they set him free. Due to the difficulties in the road and the prison, he was very sick. After a checkup, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis.

Ten days later, I called a contact person close to my friend, and he told me that my friend boarded a boat on Tuesday the same week he was released with 70 people from different nationalities. I cut the call shocking my friend's suicide. After seven days, my friend called me and told me that he and 9 others survived after police survivors reached them in Malta Island, and at that moment he was in severe health condition in Malta Refugee Camp.

On the next Tuesday, my friend called me from another country. He told me that he traveled from Italy and reached Zürich Switzerland, and that he got an Asylum; he had been hospitalized to get proper treatment while his situation was abnormal. After 14 days in the hospital, my friend died due to tuberculosis that killed his immunity.

After we celebrated that my friend reached his destination, and we were waiting for his recovery, the town and his family faced a tragedy to hear of his death. It was one of the saddest moments in the town to hear the death of their loved one and his body can`t be found to bury that could be contempt and patience for his relatives.

That was the legacy inherited from the adulthood decision made by my lovely friend. May his soul rest in peace. I was in my educational path. 10 years later, I became a university graduate, and I volunteered for some students in the town to complete their primary education there for the first time. Currently, some of those are in their undergraduate studies while others are in secondary school in the same town. This is a path that many Somali youths went through to reach Europe or America while others are dreaming about it. 

The One month of Blog Training, that changed my career

 Blog writing was one of my passions and always dreamed to be a blogger; I created my first BlogSpot 2017 to post my personal view about the situations in the community particular those on my interest include education, politics, economics, and youth empowerment activities, but due to lack of basic skills and guidelines that necessary for every blogger  I quit it.

Mahad and Sadik Left to right

In November 2021, one of my friends who knew that I used to be a blogger asked me one day "how is the blogging site" I told him that I quit it because of my insufficient knowledge to deal with writings. He told me that there is a training opportunity that the Somali Public Agenda organizes for the youth who wants to be a blogger every year and recommended me to look for that opportunity.

From that day I followed all the social media platforms of t Somali Public Agenda and its Centers. I also got the contacts of some SPA’s team, fortunately, in December 2021 I searched for SPA on social media and saw the advertisement.I immediately registered for the training. 

After a few days on 21 December 2021 I got an Email from SPA`s Center for Learning and Development that Says due to a high number of applications there is a screening process that every person to write a one-page Statement of Purpose (SoP) for why I am  applying and how I am going to plan to make use of the training at that moment I wrote the statement and sent it.

SPA team and My fellow Bloggers

After nine days of the screening process, I was selected. I received the application decision email from the Center for Learning and Development with their warm congratulations that I am being selected for the blog training.

January 8th, 2022 was the first day to kick off the training and it was an amazing day to interact with a team that was full of energy and committed to help. It was really great to share a room with amazing instructors and bloggers. I can learn a lot. Thanks to Mahad and Sadik.

The training was brainstorming and intended to take 4 weeks each week. We came Saturday and Thursday, in Saturday we took the session of the week while Thursday was for mentoring the Center invites a senior blogger to share his journey, experience, and tricks for blogging between the two days we have to submit an assignment for one blog that based on the topic were discussed on the week's session to publish 4 blog posts each participant during the 4 weeks of the training.

Blogger Abdishakur and Me

It was four weeks that I can't say only 4 weeks but it is equivalent to 4 years at a University level because it was not only guidance to be a blogger indeed it was an English literature course that even taught us to be confident in writing English, the Trainers, Mentors, and SPA gave us the confidence to overcome a taboo that local university graduate can't write English language academically.

This rare opportunity opened the door for me and my fellow junior bloggers out there because it gave us the confidentiality to share and shape  our stories, bloggers that lead to being future researchers. This was an amazing and useful training that I have ever participated in.

After the 4 weeks of the training, Somali Public Agenda and the Center for Learning and Development organized a Ceremony for the certification and closing of the training and they  invited by some of the mentors who gave us testaments to pursue this journey. they also encourage us even to write one blog a month that will allow us the consistency and from that day to Racal ourselves bloggers.

Closing Ceremony Day

In  Conclusion, I would like to share my grateful appreciation to Somali Public Agenda for filling the research gap in the country, and for its role to empower the youth who are keen to be bloggers or even researchers, also I hereby say Thanks Mahad Wasuge the Director of SPA and Hassan Gulled Known as Sadik Anod the director of Center for Learning and Development for their role during the training and their tireless support before and after the training “I can't find words to describe my happiness”.

 

Empowering Somali Youth through civic engagement and soft skills training

In Somalia, youth unemployment is a major issue, but imagine a graduate who lacks basic skills in the labor market. it is such an absence of necessary skills that hugely contributes to the unemployment rate in the country. However, in response to the growing demand for skills in the labour market for their contribution to the reduction of youth unemployment, USAID's Growth Enterprises Employment and Livelihood (GEEL) project organized a soft skills training and civic engagement, which was facilitated by the Mustqabal Center for vocational training skills and economic development in Mogadishu.

Civic Engagement day

It was a program intended to empower the fresh graduates to have deep knowledge about their civic rights and engage them to participate in activities related to politics, Environment, and volunteerism. During the training, we found out that all issues on youth and Civic Engagement were very limited and the pre-evaluation survey indicated that their knowledge of the matter was not enough.

Soft skills are the most dominant skills that any workforce needs to work in most jobs, those skills include job Research, Communication, teamwork, time management, decision making, and so on.

Opening day of the training

Most of our fresh Graduates in Mogadishu don't have those skills and to acquire is very limited. Most of our universities are not focusing on the needs of the labor market while the students don't try to make Further readings and extracurricular activities to be fit in soft skills.

In my perception and limited experience, I have seen many of our youth including graduates and undergraduates who do not even know how to write Emails, and I volunteer some of the training that teaches youth the basic knowledge of how to write professional emails and communicate efficiently.

Civic Engagement Panelists

During the program, the trainees gained self-confidence that allowed them to make the discussion as groups and individuals.  The Training of Trainers (TOTs) was concluded. At the end of each session group, activities inspired all the trainees to participate in the discussions and each one of the group to present their ideas about the issue.  

Due to the dramatic increase of University graduates, each year and the limited job opportunities and nepotism that exists in the labor market finding a job is one of the most difficult things in Somalia.

Training days

Despite the increase in the number of graduates and the limited job opportunities, there's another challenge facing our youth because most do not have the basic skills to search the jobs and to have clear career goals.

This program solved the anxiety of the trainees because it was not only to present the ToTs but to discuss the topics and brainstorming session that every person has access to add comments and suggestions, the session include Public speaking that made everybody out there to speak with his colleagues and the guest with confidence and to covey his/her message without anxiety.

The last day of the Program was discussion and certification day and it was very different from the first day because everyone was ready to suggest or add comments without feeling fear and the guest were inspired by the differences.

Discussions and asking questions

That day the trainees were also told their inspiring stories and the difference between before and after the training as the Post-evaluation survey indicated that the training made a positive Impact and fully equipped for their career development.

In February 2021 at midnight one of the beneficiaries of the training phoned me and said “ I got a training opportunity for six months” at SOS Somalia, he added “ before the soft skills training I didn’t know how to write a CV and Application” but Alhamdulillah now I can and this opportunity I got is evidence.

 After days later, another one called and told me that he got the same training and three of those trainees had gotten internships from different organizations in Mogadishu after three months of the internship they were hired as full-time employees.

Training days

The Civic Engagement and soft skills training gave me the space to add my contributions to the community and hereby to thanks GEEL USAID for making such a youth empowering that make a positive impact on youth in the labor market.  And lastly, I appreciate Mustqabal and the CEO Ayub for giving me and the youth such an opportunity that allowed us to do good things,

Closing and Certification day