Thank you Mr. Chairman, Ali Muse. Before my remarks, I would like to begin with the most prized word, the name of Allah and Asalamu Caleykum.
I am glad to welcome you in the city of Utrecht in Holland for you attend the conference which I believe it has a great deal of interest for everyone involving media.
I would like to pass special thanks to those of you who have crossed thousands of miles from Africa and Europe to attend and show their commitment of being part of the development of media and human rights.
And special thanks as well to our guests from EJC, Press Now, NOVIB, African Journalists in Europe, UAF, WN and all other organisations of the Somali community in Holland who always support the media, and specially assisted us on hosting this historic conference.
On behalf of Hayaan Media Development Center, I would send special gratitude to Novib for recognising the importance of this meeting which is a forum brining together journalists who have fled their country and scattered across Europe, a new continent that pose challenges including reintegrating into systems and societies that are strange to them.
As many of you are well aware, the year 2006 was not a pleasant year for everyone as we had seen new waves of violence against journalists and the media in Somalia. And the years that followed were worse than previous one. We did not end 12 months without killing, wounding or arresting journalists, with only this year three of our colleagues killed, and yet we have a quarter of the year left. In 2007 and 2009, the death toll could reach 9 which is a shocking figure for a small country like this.
One last incident, Puntland authorities have detained Abdifatah Mire of Horseed media accusing him being a threat to a national security by interviewing rebel leader. He was handed six years in prison and a fine of 500 U.S dollar.
Continuous abuses, like those I mentioned, have forced the Somali journalists to escape the country taking refuge in neighbouring states, Europe and as far as Australia and the United States, but the new life in the adopted countries has prevented journalists from practicing their profession. Somali journalists in Europe, including the Netherlands are more than 100, but less than 20 are still practicing their careers.
It is very hard for every human whatever his or her profession is, to simply change his or her way of life and career in a single day, and it has never been our desire to do so, but the situation in our adopted nations has pushed us to face the new life and come up with away that we can be part of the people and benefit from available opportunities.
Knowing there is no security risk in these countries, there are other reasons that prevented journalists from practicing their profession in this continent.
1- Lack of the integration with the people in hosting nations.
2- There is no or limited Somali media houses, online print or television in this continent,
3- The agencies that support media and human right in Europe and governments did not put more efforts in establishing media houses where the journalists can continue with their career so that journalists could take part the solution for their country while they are in diaspora.
4- It has also been very difficult for the journalists themselves to establish a committed institution that can fulfil their needs, and research on how other organisations can assist them in their hosting nations.
However, with all those hardships going together along parallel line, we found Hayaan media Development Centre to lobby against violations, document the abuses and to help journalists get higher trainings.
It is reasonable that newcomers in this continent, especially, Netherlands to seek their rights and more assistance. Nonetheless, taking into account on our experience in the media sector in the last 10 years, and the short period that Hayaan media service has existed, we met different organisation that were attracted by our mission, and some of them, like Novib have practically supported us to hold this conference.
Hayaan media has attended meeting in late August representing Somali journalists in Europe, and joined the umbrella for the African Journalists in Europe, and we have two members of a committee that will work in the next one year.
Today, we believe that Somali journalists are the eyes of the people, locked by the civil war in an open prison, and reconnecting our people back to the world is our priority. Reporting the plight of our people who experience the daily carnage in the country has desperately been the intention of our members so that we can inform the public and the international community from what is going in that part of the world.
We are up against anything that can distract that mission from the right path, and give our people back home the wrong impression that we had been working to using the media as bridge to cross to western world in search of better life and personal interests, and do not care about a country and people who count on us.
Therefore, it is necessary to ask for your assistance on holding seminars regularly to address all these issue.
On the other hand, I am strongly recommend to Somali journalists to be united, follow up what is going on here and back home, and be aware of the media transformation in both your adopted and home countries.
Finally, I am here to welcome you, and looking forward that this conference will underline the hardships face by journalists in the country and those in the Diaspora.
Thank you
Chairman of HMDC
Ali Dahir Eid
