My Culture : Somali names

Atooraha Bada  “Actor of Ocean"

By Abdikarim Garruun

Osman "Actor of Somalia"

Osman known as "Atooraha bada" was born and raised in Balcad district, middle Shabeele region in 1994. He came from a family whose financial conditions were tight. As a means to support his family’s  income, he took up small jobs in his childhood but never gave up on his education.

His mother died when he was young, but his father worked hard to provide for him and other children. When he was still a boy, Osman wanted a garage and to learn how to drive and maintain cars and motors. When he got older, he became a full driver, and a clever mechanic.

He came a bus driver when he was 16 years old. He drives buses called Hoomey or Caasi, inside Mogadishu districts. Although  he has the skills to fix vehicles, still works as a driver, to gain his commission. In the meantime, he is having fun and waiting  for his career to develop.

Osman has become known as "Atooraha Soomaaliya,"  the “actor of Somalia.” He began in Liido beach entertaining the young generation who visit the beach. Osman and his friends are well known in Liido. He teaches his skills to young boys on the shore. He motivates them to believe in their land, gives advice about how to stop tribalism, illegal immigration, extremism, and drug abuse.

It is so good to see in Mogadishu a young, talented and motivated person do something amazing and interesting. Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, was once the home of warlords and gangsters. It was a place where boys were dying, but now it is a place of peace and reconstruction for many Somalis, including the actor of Somalia.

Osman is a very social person. He smiles and talks every time you see him. He takes his time at Liido beach, especially the afternoons. He trains in an open space, at the center of which is a big tube filled with air, He teaches the young boys swimming, jumping and gymnastics.

He has an effective  way of communicating with people. He also act as a comedian sometimes. When I visited the Liido beach, I would see crowds of people circling his field and young boys doing what he did. I like the way he was interacting with people, he was acting like someone speaking Chinese, and another guy standing beside him was translating. The crowds were laughing and cheering continuously. That day was fantastic. I took some pictures and videos to share my friends in social media.

Osman, who lives in Abdi Azis district with family, always wanted to be an  actor.  At last, a director, Mr. Ccj, advised and pushed him to act in a clip, He accepted and entered a new life of fame.

He became famous acted in that first short clip in Liido  in 2012. In that short clip, he was acting as a man helping innocent people, and gangsters robbing and killing the people at the beach.

Mr.Ccj edited it and then shared it on Facebook and YouTube. Since then, every Somali person who watched that clip praised him and encouraged him to continue his efforts. He continues producing and making short clips and documentaries about the situation in Somalia, and sometimes in Mogadishu.

This month, when I met his director, Mr. CCJ, in Karan District, he told me that he has made more than 25 different clips with Osman about the real situation in Somalia. I asked about his acting in the clips, how good he is, He told me that Osman is perfect and good at everything in the scenes. Osman is talented, active, social and has a mission to be a famous actor in Somalia, he said.

Osman’s first clip gave him confidence and motivation. Many local and diaspora people come to the beach and watch him every day, take with him pictures and interview him and then publish on social media.

Osman and his director Ccj were busy with the actions and shots of a new short film they are making, which is so interesting and I liked it when they briefed me on the concept.

By Abdikarim Garruun