Hadrawi

Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame (1943 – 18 August 2022), known by the pseudonym Hadrawi, was a Somali poet, philosopher and songwriter. Having written many notable protest works, Hadrawi has been likened by some to Shakespeare, and his poetry has been translated into various languages.

Hadrawi died in Hargeisa , Somaliland on 18 August 2022, at the age of 79.

In 2012, Hadraawi was awarded the Prince Claus Award for his contributions to peace through poetry.

In 1999, Hadrawi returned once more to his native Somaliland, this time settling in Hargeisa. The following year, the mayor of Chicago invited him to participate in the latter city's Millennium Festival.

Following his release from prison in 1978, Hadrawi became the director of the arts division of the Academy of Science, Arts, and Literature in The Somali Republic. when he joined the opposition Somali National Movement (to liberate the former British Somaliland section from the dictatorship and oppression from the Somali Republic who targeted the Isaaq clan which Hadrawi was a part of), based in Ethiopia. He was a very powerful voice in the ensuing years of the "Isaaq Genocide", war and the repressive military regime on the Isaaq peoples of Somaliland , and continues to be a very important poet commenting on the predicament the Somali speaking people’s face.

In addition to love lyrics, he was a powerful commentator on the political situation and critic of the then military regime in Mogadishu (former Italian Somalia section) who allegedly oppressed the former portion of British Somaliland. Imprisoned between 1973 and 1978.

In 1973, Hadrawi wrote the poem Siinley and the play Tawaawac ('Lament'), both of which were critical of the military government that was then in power. For this dissent, he was subsequently arrested and imprisoned in Qansax Dheere until April 1978.

After British Somaliland gained independence on June 26th 1960 and then formed a union with the Italian Somalia (who gained independence on the 1st July 1960), Hadrawi relocated from Aden to Mogadishu, the newly formed Somali Republic’s capital, and began working for Radio Mogadiscio. In Mogadishu, he both attended and later taught at the Lafoole University (Afgooye). He also worked for the government's Department of Information.

Hadrawi relocated to United Kingdom in 1991 after the liberation of (fr British ) Somaliland and revocation of the union between fr. British Somaliland and fr. Italian Somalia. With Somaliland (Fr. British Somaliland going back to its original borders of June 26th 1960). During this period, he traveled frequently throughout Europe and North America to participate in folklore and poetry festivals.

Hadrawi was born in Burao, situated in the Togdheer region of Somaliland, then part of British Somaliland. Hadrawi hails from the Ahmed Farah sub-division of the Habr Je'lo Isaaq. His family consisted of one girl and eight boys. In 1953, at the age of nine, he went to live with an uncle in the Yemeni port city of Aden. There Warsame began attending a local school, where he received the nickname "Hadrawi" (Abu Hadra), a pseudonym by which he is now popularly known. In 1963, he became a primary school teacher.