Hodan Nalayeh, a Somali-Canadian journalist who once resided in Vaughan, Ont., was killed in an attack on a hotel in Somalia on Friday, Mogadishu-based Radio Dalsan tells CBC News.
Radio Dalsan, an independent radio station with journalists based in Mogadishu, confirmed to CBC News that Nalayeh, 43, and her husband, Farid Jama Suleiman, were among those who were killed in the attack in Somalia’s port city of Kismayo.
Global Affairs Canada has yet to confirm Nalayeh’s death, but spokesperson Guillaume Bérubé told CBC News they are aware of the bombing.
“Consular officials in Nairobi, Kenya, are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information,” Bérubé wrote in an email.
‘A voice for many’
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen said Nalayeh made immeasurable contributions to the Canadian Somali community.
“Through her work as a journalist, she highlighted the community’s positive stories and contributions in Canada, and became a voice for many,” Hussen told CBC News.
“Her work, particularly in helping women and youth, strengthened the ties between Canada’s Somali community and Somalia, as it continues to go through stabilization and reconstruction. We mourn her loss deeply, and all others killed in the Kismayo attack.”
Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said in a tweet that her “endless positivity and her love for people was inspiring.”
CBC journalist Nazim Baksh says he got to know Nalayeh during Storytelling Somalia, a United Nations Alliance of Civilizations-sponsored workshop. Held in 2014, it was designed to build capacity among Somalis in the diaspora.
At that time, Nalayeh had just launched her weekly television show Integration TV in Toronto on OMNI TV.
“Hodan was always keen to showcase the best aspects of her community, whether in the diaspora or back in Somalia, but she would never shy away from tackling controversial topics that made many in her community uneasy,” Baksh told CBC News.
“Hodan was an amazing journalist who was never afraid to ask the tough questions and she often did it with style and a smile.”
In recent years, she travelled to remote areas in Somalia to see how drought is affecting people there and to raise awareness of the situation.
Nalayeh appeared on a podcast in June called Meaningful Work, Meaningful Life.
