Journalist Hodan Nalayeh killed in Somalia terrorist attack
Somali-Canadian journalist Hodan Nalayeh died in a terrorist attack at the Asasey Hotel in Kismayo, Somalia on July 12. The 43-year-old was pregnant. Her husband, Farid Jama Suleiman was also killed in the 14 hour long siege at the hotel in Somalia’s port city of Kismayo.
Suicide bombers from the terrorist group, Al-Shabaab have claimed responsibility. A car bomb was detonated outside the gates of the hotel and four armed attackers stormed the hotel, killing 26 people and injuring another 56.
Hodan Nalayeh was a fierce advocate for her country. In a cruel twist of fate, Hodan Nalayeh recently moved from Canada back to her homeland to promote the beauty of her country, and to share stories of love, peace, and beauty instead of the too often told stories of war, famine, and terrorist attacks portrayed in news.
Lorna Dueck interviewed Nalayeh after Context’s visit to Somalia in 2017. The program focused on the famine, brought on by severe drought, which left more than six million people in need of humanitarian assistance. Nalayeh appeared on the program to ask why the world wasn’t paying more attention to the severity of Somalia’s famine.
