Remembering journalist Hodan Nalayeh killed in Kismayo terror attack

Hodan Nalayeh Kismayo Al-Shabaab attack Farid Jama Suleiman
Somali-Canadian journalist Hodan Nalayeh who was killed in an Al-Shabaab attack in Kismayo, Somalia. [Courtesy]

She has been known for her devotion to unmask the unknown positives of war-tone country, Somalia, but now Hodan Nalayeh is no more.

Hodan was killed on Friday in an Al-Shabaab attack outside Asasey Hotel in Kismayo, Somalia, together with her husband Farid Jama Suleiman.

The Somali-Canadian journalist dedicated her life to telling stories of a country and a people rarely depicted by the West.

Amidst an upsurge of civil war, poverty and military rule, stood a 43-year-old journalist who relentlessly shared the beauty of Somaliland with the world via her social media pages.

In one such post, she wrote, “It is an incredible day to witness #Somalia’s beauty.”

In 2014, Hodan launched Integration TV, an online platform aimed at positive stories of the Somali community in Canada and the diaspora.

She wanted to tell positive stories about her people and ‘change the narrative.’

In 2018, the mother of two moved back to Somalia where she continued to highlight stories about a people so often overlooked in news outlets after decades of war.

Recent episodes had focused on Somalia's female entrepreneurs. She also used her social media pages to highlight local life and culture.

Hodan was scheduled to speak at the African Women in Media Conference this month taking place at the University of Nairobi, Kenya.

In an earlier interview with Founder of African Women in Media, Yemisi Akinbobola, Hodan posed, “Why do we always have to tell the poverty stories from Africa? We need to celebrate our successes like any other country so that we can empower young people.”

The death toll from the Kismayo hotel attack in Somalia has since risen to 26, with three Kenyans, one Briton, two Americans and three Tanzanians among those killed.