Maxamed Daahir Afrax: Xusuus Toolmoon iyo Raad aan Tirmayn

It is a world that does not last, on October 9, 2022, Dr. Maxamed Daahir Afrax passed away in a hospital located in London.

Dr. Afrax, may Allah have mercy on him, was born in 1952 in the Jarriiban district of the Mudug region.

He was a prominent Somali writer, writing in Somali, Arabic, and English, with a particular emphasis on the Somali language. The author received his education at a Quranic school in the same district where he was born, Jarriiban.

He then moved to the capital, Mogadishu, where he completed his primary, secondary, and higher education. He later pursued higher education at the University of Aden, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Arts.

Dr. Afrax was a writer and a deep analyst who was confident in his talent and artistic ability, and when you read his writings, you feel that he is adept at understanding the nuances of writing and what he possesses, using words and phrases appropriately, especially when he draws examples from the Somali Oral Tradition.

Dr. Afrax's writing talent emerged while he was still in high school in Mogadishu. At that time, he laid the foundation for the first monthly newspaper published in Somali and Arabic, called “Codka Jubba,” which was published between 1972 and 1975. It is clear that the emergence of his literary creativity coincided with the writing of the Somali language in 1972.

In the five years between 1975 and 1980, referred to as the golden age of writing, Dr. Afrax wrote three long stories that were greatly appreciated and attracted the youth: the first story is Guur-ku-sheeg which was published in 1975, the second is Maana-faay which became the 1979 highlight of Somali literary storytelling, and the third story is Galti-macruuf which began in 1980 as a series published in the daily newspaper Xiddigta Oktoobar, later stopped at the 37th part after the military government censored the messages conveyed by the story.

This led the author to abandon that story shortly after and in 1981 he left Somalia and lived abroad.

As can be seen when reading his book and his essays, Dr. Afrax was fighting against cultural decay and the disorientation of the rising generation, while emphasizing the recent cultural practices and the crucial role of the leadership generation in guiding the public.

Dr. Afrax did not only write fictional storybooks and short stories like Talaseeg , but he also conducted extensive research on the development of the language, culture, and its various literary aspects. Afrax, may Allah have mercy on him, is particularly noted for being a deep analyst and critic, as seen in his work “ Fan-Masraxeedka Soomaalida: Raad-raac Taariikheed iyo Faaqidaad Riwaayado Caan-baxay (1987) . ’’ and his later analysis in the book “ Gaso, Ganuun iyo Gasiin ” which is a narrative written by Dr. Cali Jimcaale Axmed who is also a writer and senior lecturer.

Dr. Afrax, in terms of creating narratives, nurturing, enriching, and advancing the Somali language, is comparable to the likes of George Orwell in English, Chinua Achebe in Nigeria, and Ngugi Thiong’o in Kenya.

When the Somali people expressed their feelings against the colonial acts of foreign oppression, they sang the verses from the play “Xoriyo”:

“Ma duugoobo dhaqankay,

Ma doorsoomo midabkay,

Ma bakhtiyo dabkaygu …”

They believed that the writers led by Dr. Maxamed Daahir Afrax and others like him would carry the torch to ignite and continue the fire of the language, culture, and heritage of the Somali people.

In the same way in Somali, Dr. Afrax wrote in Arabic various writings and other books such as the historical book ‘ Nidaa ul – Xorriyaha’’ which he authored in 1976. Also, it is noted that he had a talent for writing plays, including the play “Durbaan Been ah” which was presented in 1979 and the production of a cultural program named ‘Kulmis’ that aired on Radio Muqdisho.

Afrax is considered one of the foremost Somali writers who write in their mother tongue, especially when looking at his storybooks such as “ Maanafaay ”, “ Galti-macruuf ” and his collection of stories titled “ Dal Dad Waayey iyo Duni Damiir Beeshay ” which stirs the conscience of the Somali reader.

Dr. Maxamed Daahir Afrax, while mourning the late professor Bogumil Witalis Andrzejewski, who was known as “Macalin Guush” and was a scholar of the Somali language and its literature, quoted the verses of the poet Cali Jaamac Haabiil, to highlight the role that Macalin Guush played. I too am mourning my friend in the same way:

“God was a protector, the guardian of the family

His name was known among the infidels and the noble

From the west and the east, known for his long shadow

He was a shield of iron, not to be shaken”

In 1990, Dr. Afrax moved to London, where he completed his PhD at SOAS, producing a thesis titled “ Literature in Transition: Continuity and Innovation in Post-independence Somali Drama and Poetry .

Dr. Afrax, during the civil wars, was not only busy promoting and analyzing various aspects of literature, but he was also engaged in establishing resources and becoming part of organizations dedicated to the preservation and development of the Somali language.

Among those resources and organizations was the cultural and literary magazine Hal-abuur, which he founded in London in 1993 and served as editor, the Somali PEN club for writers and Somali creators, which he also established in London in 1996 and was a founding chairman of the Academy of the Somali Language (AGA), which he currently led.

The history of Dr. Afrax includes participation in politics, having been a member of the 6th parliament of Somalia established in Carta, Djibouti in the year 2000, and then he became the Minister of International Cooperation in the government led by President Cabdiqaasim Salaad Xasan from October 2000 to July 2003.

His last participation in the efforts to rebuild the Somali state was on June 4, 2015, when he was appointed as a member of the Independent Committee for the Review and Implementation of the Provisional Constitution, after which the members of that committee elected him as the Chairman of the Committee.

Dr. Maxamed Afrax, may Allah have mercy on him, was focused before his death on producing various books, written in the three languages he used: Somali, Arabic, and English, most of which he had only left for editing. Some of his writings he had completed earlier, some only required minor corrections, while others were still in the printing process.

The late Dr. Maxamed Daahir Afrax was a short-spoken, gentle man with an open heart and keen insight, possessing a noble character and a natural elegance. He took with him and was buried with the legacy he had for the Somali language, both his poetry and his prose, and it is enough honor and recognition that he has preserved a "lasting memory" and an "enduring legacy," and for us, he has earned gratitude, praise, and prayers: O God, grant him mercy and paradise. Ameen!

Abshir Maxamed Axmad (Bukhaari)

Minister of the Presidency of the Republic