A Glimpse of Somalia

When Waubgeshig Rice was discussing Human Rights and Canada's First Nations peoples at Lisgar Library on Monday, he made reference to the fact that many Canadian First Nations communities have struggled with the transition to a sedentary existence from the traditional nomadic hunting and gathering way of life that is still a part of their recent history.  Coincidentally, my bus commute reading this week has been Nuruddin Farah's novel From a Crooked Rib (1970) in which he tells the story of an illiterate young woman from a pastoral encampment in the Somalian countryside who flees from an arranged marriage to an old man to a town and then to a city in search of some sort of freedom and choice.  The story is set at the time of Somalian independence from Italy and Britain and it portrays the parallel existences and the interchanges between the traditional and modern worlds. It puts a human face on the struggle for women's rights and reveals the strength and determination that is necessary to bridge the gap between the old and new worlds.  It is interesting to compare Farah's portrayal of Somalia as it moves towards independence with that provided by Margaret Laurence in The Prophet's Camel Bell (1963).

Last month I read one of Farah's more recent novels, Links (2003), which tells the story of a Somalian expat, a former political prisoner, who returns to Mogadishu under the control of warlords.  He paints a vivid picture of the struggle for survival in that "Twilight Zone" kind of world.

Farah is one of the  politicians, academics, journalists and aid workers to whom Hassan Ghedi Santur speaks in the CBC Ideas program Things We Lost in the War about what has happened in Somalia.

International Human Rights Day

The author of Midnight Sweatlodge, Waubgeshig Rice, spoke about Canadian First Nations, the Media and Human Rights at Lisgar Collegiate Institute to help mark International Human Rights Day. In highlighting the role of "digital smoke signals" he pointed to increasing frustration with unresponsiveness of the Federal Government especially with regard to complaints about Bill C-45 and how talking about how social media is helping to mobilize opposition. He made specific reference to #IdleNoMore on Twitter.

Interestingly, many of issues mentioned in his IHRD discussion are also mentioned in his short novel, Midnight Sweatlodge where stories touching upon every issue from substance abuse and traditional healing to land rights and political corruption emerge from the sweatlodge.

Returning to the Project

Between my work as a teacher-librarian, my work as an editorial board member for the OSLA's Teaching Librarian and my work as editor of the Voices for School Library Network's School Libraries in Canada, I got side-tracked from my vocation as a blogger.

Now with the prospect of my school day starting 90 minutes later than usual and ending an hour earlier than usual as a consequence of the dispute with the Government of Ontario, I think I may have some time for blogging about some interesting books for engaging young adult readers.

One book you probably won't find unless you go out of your way is How to Make a Golem and Terrify People. Written by Alette J. Willis, an alumnus of the high school where I teach (who now works at Edinburgh University), this novel won a book of the year award for Scottish Children's fiction.

Although it is aimed at a slightly younger audience, this book would be engaging for many Grade Nine readers and this fictional examination of the dynamics of fear, bullying and friendship has entertainment value for a much broader audience.