Ex-leader of Somalia applauds Mainers’ support

LEWISTON – Somalia’s former prime minister told a Bates College audience that he is grateful for Lewiston’s recent show of support for Somali immigrants.

“This weekend has awakened the citizens of this town and Maine,” Ali Khalif Galaydh said Wednesday night.

A visiting professor at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, Galaydh was invited in October to speak about Somalia at Bates College. After a white supremacist group announced plans for a rally in Lewiston on Jan. 11, Galaydh’s appearance became part of a series of lectures, workshops and other events held this week as part of the college’s response to racism.

The 200 people who packed the college’s Muskie Archives applauded as Galaydh opened his talk by thanking the state for Saturday’s pro-diversity rally, which drew about 4,500 people to Bates.

“Thank you very much for coming to the defense of not only the Somalis who have come here but also the core values of America,” he said.

Galaydh, who served as prime minister of Somalia from September 2000 to December 2001, told the crowd about Somalia’s turbulent history, from European colonization to the takeover by a military regime to the collapse of the government.

He described Somalis as “rugged individualists” who are deeply faithful and committed to their families and values. He urged the immigrants living in Lewiston to take advantage of the educational and occupational opportunities around them.

“If you’re looking for a job, try hard,” he said. “The workplace is a college itself.”

Above all, he urged cooperation.

“Let’s be patient with each other,” Galaydh said.