Poets and writers
Naima Qorane (Nacima Qorane)
Naima Qorane is a Somali writer, poet and activist for Somali unity. In January 2018 she was arrested at Hargeisa airport on her return from Mogadishu, and a Somaliland court sentenced her to three years for calling Somaliland a "region" rather than a "country" in her poetry. The Guardian reported the arrest as part of a wider crackdown on writers and activists.
Naima QoraneNacima Qorane · Naciima Qorane
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Who is she?
Naima Qorane is a Somali writer, poet and pan-Somali activist (Wikipedia, Naima Qorane).
Arrest and sentence
In January 2018 Somaliland security officers arrested her at Hargeisa airport on her return from Mogadishu (Wikipedia). A Somaliland court sentenced her to three years; the cause given was that her poetry called Somaliland a "region" rather than a "country" (same source). She had said she had received death threats for her advocacy, and she reportedly received threats of sexual violence if she did not give up her phone password (same source).
The Guardian described the arrest as part of a broader crackdown, with at least 12 writers, bloggers and activists arrested in Somaliland since December 2017 (Wikipedia).
In short
A poet jailed by a Somaliland court in 2018 for writing of Somaliland as a region of Somalia.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Naima Qorane · en.wikipedia.org
Naima QoraneNacima Qorane · Naciima Qorane
- Known as one of
- Poets and writers
- Era
- Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 1 sources
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Where this matters
- Muqdisho (Mogadishu) and BanaadirMogadishu (Muqdisho) is Somalia's capital and makes up the Banadir region, with about 2.97 million people in 20 districts.
- Hargeysa (Hargeisa) and Woqooyi GalbeedWoqooyi Galbeed is the north-western region that holds Hargeisa (Hargeysa) and the port of Berbera, with about 1 to 1.45 million people.
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- Hadraawi (Maxamed Ibraahin Warsame), 1943 to 2022: the master of Somali speechHadraawi, Somali poet (1943 to 2022): his songs and poems, five years in prison from 1973, exile, the 2004 peace march, the Prince Claus Award and his legacy.
- Nuruddin Farah: the Somali novelist who won the Neustadt PrizeNuruddin Farah, Somali novelist born in Baidoa in 1945: his novels and three trilogies, his years of exile, and his 1998 Neustadt Prize.
- Timacadde (Cabdillaahi Suldaan Maxamed)Timacadde (about 1920–1973), poet of Somali independence: his life, the flag poem of 1960 and his message of unity over clan.
- Gaarriye (Maxamed Xaashi Dhamac)Gaarriye (1949–2012): Hargeisa poet, starter of the Deelley poem chain, first to explain Somali metre, and voice of reconciliation.
- Nadifa Mohamed (Nadiifa Maxamed)Nadifa Mohamed, born 1981 in Hargeisa: author of Black Mamba Boy, The Orchard of Lost Souls and the Booker-shortlisted The Fortune Men.
- Warsan Shire (Warsan Shire)Warsan Shire, born 1988: British Somali poet, London's first Young Poet Laureate, Brunel Prize winner, and voice in Beyoncé's Lemonade.