Once we used to have diplomatic warriorsβ¦. This is Part VII of the reflections of a former diplomat and a friend of mine who after many years decided to share with me some of the interesting experiences he encountered while working for the Somali Foreign Affairs Ministry FAM and during his diplomatic career.
In the age of fake news and the dominance of social media as a source of reliable news for many, especially in countries where the level of education is low or governments control the media. In the case of Somalia, while the former is true, the latter is not as the role of government in this sector or any other sector for that matter is insignificant. The following is a recent discussion between my friend Hussein, the former Somali diplomat, and I as a part of the different perspectives on the Somalia series.
What Mr. Hussein shared with me clearly demonstrates the level of professionalism, attention to detail, competency, and the serious approach of the then Somali public service when discharging their responsibilities. As usual, the first news item in those days most likely was about what the President was doing, for example receiving newly appointed Ambassadors. That of course I knew. But my ear clearly caught something I did not expect when I heard the name of a country attributed to being one of the Ambassadors who presented the credential letters that morning.
Shocked and dismayed, I wondered where that mistake came from. Ismail Jirdeh. I knew he was a talented, dedicated, and reliable journalist who knew his job well. Prior to his appointment at the Presidency, he worked for radio Mogadishu for a long time and was a famous personality in Somali journalism.
Almost all the old generation remember his name and I for one recall vividly when I used to listen to him reading the main news bulletin in Somali in the lates and early s. So, returning to the subject at hand, just imagine what could really have happened if the concerned non-resident Ambassador heard the evening news in English or French which radio Mogadishu used to broadcast in.
