The sudden death of Mohamed Bashe Hassan ( 1963-2020) left a vacuum in the promotion of Somali language and literature. Born in 1963 at Maygaagle village in Togdheer, Mohammed Bashe was enrolled at a Koranic school before his family moved to Hargeisa where he started his primary schooling at Biyodha’ay Primary School and Farah Omaar Secondary School, both in Hargeisa.
Early eighties before he turned twenty he had joined Somali National Movement, an armed opposition front against the former military regime. His budding journalistic talent landed him a job with Halgan, a Somali language radio for Somali opposition forces, then based in Addis Ababa.
In 1987 Bashe was awarded a scholarship to study journalism at Charles University in Prague. In 1992 he graduated with a Masters in Journalism and Mass Communication.
Mid 1990s Mohammed settled in London where, in 1999, he had become a well-regarded columnist for the Hargeisa-based Jamhuriya, the first Somali language newspaper to launch a weekly edition in London. His columns touched on current political issues and were fun to read not only for salience of issues but also for Bashe’s flair for using Somali language for political commentary or literary criticism.
Bashe was a Somali language wordsmith who graduated from writing columns to writing books and presenting TV programmes. Early 2000s Bashe wrote his first book, Hal Ka Haleel, a critical study of the literary works of the Somali poet and playright Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame ( aka Hadrawi). The book paved the way for the other works by different writers who had written critical works on Somali poets and playwrights. More importantly, Bashe blazed the trail in Somali diaspora publishing when publishers and distributors of Somali language books were non-existent.
Mohamed ventured into business but had not lost sight of his obligation to promote the Somali language publishing. He wrote four other books that constitute a remarkable oeuvre that generations of Somalis will read with interest. Guri Waa Haween ( Home means Women ) on the central role of women in the Somalia society; Hal Aan Tabayay ( One I Have been missing ), an anthology and commentary on the poems of the late Haji Adan Afqallo’; Hal Tisqaaday ( Poetry that has caught on) on the poetry and plays of the Ali Sugulle, and Afka Hooyo Waa Hodan: Hodantinimada af Soomaaliga ( Somali Language is Rich ).
The legacy of Mohammed Bashe Hassan will continue to inspire Somali writers whose work sustains the vitality of the Somali language at a time the Somali nation is still grappling with the effects of state collapse and its impact on all aspects of the Somali culture.
© Puntland Post Monthly, 2020
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