Somalia: Information on whether the Ministry of Information employed singers, specifically a troupe called "Hobalaada Waberi", during the 1970s and 1980s
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 October 1995 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SOM21970.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Somalia: Information on whether the Ministry of Information employed singers, specifically a troupe called "Hobalaada Waberi", during the 1970s and 1980s, 1 October 1995, SOM21970.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac8f60.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The following information was obtained in a telephone interview with a professor specializing in the structure of Somali society at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis on 17 October 1995.
According to the professor, Hobalaada Waberi was a Mogadishu-based, national musical and theatrical group dating from the early 1970s and funded by the Ministry of Information. It consisted of singers, playwrights, poets and instrumentalists among other performers. Most people in Somalia considered it the pre-eminent cultural group in the country.
The professor explained the group was funded by the government as a cultural endeavour to represent the best in Somali culture and performance art. Although members were employees of the government, the group was not necessarily seen as the mouthpiece of the government. Individual members may have taken the message of the Barre government to heart as a way of securing government patronage, but this was not a requirement for belonging to the group. Generally, membership in the group was based on the artist's ability at his or her particular art, and not on whether participants in the group supported or did not support the government. The professor explained that the public would have been aware of individual members' attitude to the government and known who embraced the revolutionary message of the Siad Barre government and saw the group as a vehicle for its expression.
The professor stated that the Somali public would have more likely considered the bands operating out of the Ministry of Defence as opposed to the Hobalaada Waberi performers, to be propagandizing agents for the government.
According to the source, the group would have disintegrated along with the rest of the Somali government in 1991.
For additional information on Hobalaada Waberi, please consult the attached documents. The articles by The Ethnic NewsWatch and Reuters describe Waberi members participating in a BBC-organized performance in 1994. The BBC Summary of World Broadcasts summarizes a speech of the Minister of Information praising the Waberi troupe in 1982, and the article from Xinhua General Overseas News Service gives an example of the work of one member of the group.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
Reference
Professor of Geography specializing in Somali affairs, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 17 October 1995. Telephone interview.
Attachments
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 15 March 1982. "Somalia: In Brief; Somali Minister's Praise for Waberi Performers." (NEXIS)
The Ethnic NewsWatch. 27 October 1994. June Campbell. "Taking Refuge on the Airwaves." (NEXIS)
Reuters. 13 October 1994. BC Cycle. "BBC Somali Refugee Drama Tries to Promote Peace." (NEXIS)
Xinhua General Overseas News Service. 11 December 1977. "Feature Story from Somalia: Songs Against Soviet Hegemonists." (NEXIS)