NEWS
Hodan Naleye: Her story, dashed dreams and last words before she was killed by Shabab
BY: Abdikadir Ukash
NAIROBI—-Hodan Naleye was a person known to many Somalis—both in Somalia and abroad—for her series of videos on adventures and merrymaking all in bid to showcase the beauty of a country the media only mentions for all the wrong reasons.
She was killed on Friday evening by Shabab militants in blast attack on Hotel Madina, Kismayu.
Hodan was born in 1976 at Las Caanod, a contentious town that serves as the capital of the Sool region of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland. The city is also claimed by Puntland, a member state of Somalia. Hodan’s parent were among the first Somali families to relocate to Canada in 1984 while she was six.
They initially settled in Edmonton, Alberta before eventually moving to Toronto in 1992.
Hodan attended the West Humber Collegiate Institute, a high school in Etobicoke. For her post-secondary education, she studied at the University of Windsor, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications.
Additionally, she earned a postgraduate certificate in broadcast journalism from Seneca College.
Hodan is a well known figure in the Somali social media space. She is among the mostly followed figures and that thanks to her online television—Integration TV.
“I started this platform to educated the Somalis and the people interested about Somalia about the beauty of it and the heritage and history it stores,” Naleye told BBC Somali in 2015 when she was named among the leading women influential figures in Somalia.
She was referring to Inspiration TV, an online English medium outlet and the first in Somalia. It’s main aim, she said, is to enlighten her countrymen in the diapora about their history, opportunities and what the future holds.
“Most news items (from Somalia) are about violence, despair, destruction and so on. So, who will tell the story of hope?” The Somali-Canadian scribe asked.
“That’s where I came in and that is how the Integration Tv was born,” she added.
Hodan was a single mother of two boys. She recently re-married to Jama’a Fariid and was expectant by the time of her death.
In recent years, she travelled to remote areas in Somalia to see how drought is affecting people there and to raise awareness of the situation.
Nalayeh appeared on a podcast in June called “Meaningful Work, Meaningful Life.”
In the podcast, hosted by Francine Beleyi, Nalayeh said the started her television program to tell stories about the Somali community that no one was doing on the Internet and to give voice to the Somali diaspora.
“If we don’t have more storytellers from our communities, especially in the African diaspora communities, who’s going to continue the tradition of storytelling?” Nalayeh said.
“Social media has changed the game for how people learn about culture. So, if we don’t become the creators of our own content, we are going to be at the mercy of other people telling the stories of Africa.”
MY LAST WORD
In a video seen by Kulan Post and widely shared across social media outlets, Hodan talked of her achievements and challenges since she relocated to Somalia. She also said that fame and fortune was not her intended endgame.
“There’s is nothing in me that seeks wealth and fame, but I always ask myself: “What impact have I had on others and my community,” Hodan said in what is believed to be her last public appearance besides her TV series.
I want to be remembered, she said, for the positive images and moving videos that portray Somalia as a country with potential to spring back from the abyss and despair to its pre-civil war prosperity.
Additional report by CBC and Wikipedia.
