The Real Hero
"Geesigii dhabta ahaa"
He was born without arms, but he can do what you can't do sometimes and he can manage his daily life normally . Elmi was born without arms in a rural area where there is no doctor, but his family were so happy with him and they thanked Allah for their new baby.
Elmi is a smart man and intelligent who lives in Gabiley, a beautiful town 53 km from Hargeisa city. Elmi is wise.If you met him you would not forget your conversation with him. When he was young, he loved to learn the holy kuran. His family moved to Gabiley, where Elmi started his education. He attended primary and intermediate school at Sheik Muhumed Warsame school in Gabiley, where he finished after 8 years of continuous learning. During that time, he not only studied regular school course but also English and Arabic.
Elmi is a man who has a vision, but not near, far from our sight. He is a flower. He is a diamond in the dark. The first time I saw Elmi was Nov 2016, when i was visiting my home in Gabiley. Elmi was studying his secondary education. I wondered how Elmi organized his jobs, and I was really surprised by how Elmi was able to continue his secondary education without his arms. But after I met him, and I remembered a slogan I saw for the first time in Hargeisa University, where I finished my university degree. That slogan was "If you can do it, we can do it too". I nodded while I was sitting in front of him and said never give up, trust that you can do it.
With the Timacade Reading and Writing Club I invited Elmi to join us. I called Elmi by phone and told him that we like to meet him in the library. That afternoon Elimi came to the library. That afternoon was different from other days of the week. It was a good and nice day, an interesting day. Elmi shared his experiences and we all become silent and listened to him as a teacher. I really remember that day. It was unforgettable. How many hard days he met, how many sad days he met, how many good he met. That afternoon we agreed that Elmi would be part of us and join the club. From that day, he would come at any time to the library, because we recognized him as a symbol of Hero.
We ask Elmi how he wrote his lessons during the class. "That is easy," he said and showed that his legs where his arms. He uses his big toe and the toe next to it on his right foot to hold the pen and write the lessons. We put a book on the library table, then he wrote as you see in the picture. Elmi wrote "Naadiga qoraalka iyo Akhriska Timacade," which means: Timacade Reading and Writing Club." He has beautiful handwriting.
Elmi gave advice to all of us. He said "Be proud to who you are. Allah had made you that, don't lose your time and your ability, it is a time to make a change of life, please and please don't stop to reach your target and vision otherwise you will be blind and you can't see anything , like someone died." Elmi has never eaten khat or smoked a cigarette. He prays five times a day and he fasts on Ramadan. If you call him, he can answer you by managing his cell phone with his legs. This is a rare situation in human life, especially for Somalis. Elmi is a symbol of Hero. His target is to finish his university education up to PHD, then go back to his people and teach them. Elmi is a real Hero , isn't he?
Abdikarim Garruun and Farah Binin
Writer and blogger
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