Somali president visits Chicago

Ali Elkin/The Daily Northwestern

CHICAGO - As part of his first ever trip to the United States, Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed spoke downtown about his hopes for a peaceful future in Somalia.
"One of the main reasons for our trip was to enlist the assistance of the American public and the American government to help us in finding a solution for Somalia and to get past previous policies," the president said through a translator. More than 300 guests attended the speech on Monday night at the InterContinental Hotel, 505 N. Michigan Ave. The event was co-hosted by the International Human Rights Law Institute at DePaul University and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The president said he hopes to drum up international support for Somalia, which has been plagued by violence and civil war since 1991. "The longer that this solution is incoming, the more difficult, the more bloodshed and some unexpected problems may come out of it," Ahmed said. "And I believe that for Somalia to continue the way it is now would be a shame on the entire world."A sizeable portion of the audience applauded and reacted to Ahmed's words before they were translated into English. Hussain Bulale said though he now lives in Chicago, much of his attention is focused on the violence in the South of Somalia. "We came here to support the president and bring peace to the South," Bulale said.Many audience members said they had emigrated from Somalia and that word of the president's appearance had spread throughout the Somali community in Chicago.
"We go to the same Somali restaurants, visit the same Somali Web sites," said Abdinasir Yahye, who moved to the U.S. from Somalia for work 27 years ago. "That's how we find out about events in the community." Yahye said almost all of his family is now in the U.S., save for one sister out of 14. He said he attended the event to support the new president and his home country. "All of us wish to go back home, even for a brief visit," Yahye said. "It's cause for hope and we'd like to give the president a chance."
a.elkin@u.northwestern.edu