Ismail Osman ⚖️🕊️

This is Colonel Moalin Mohamed, known as Tuute, a veteran Somali Marine. After the Somali government collapsed in 1991, he remained in the abandoned Somali Embassy building 26 Rue Dumont D’Urville in Paris for more than 25 years. He had served as Somalia’s Deputy Military Attaché and later as Military Attaché during the regime of Siyad Barre. Fearing that squatters might take over the building and important embassy documents could be lost, Colonel Tuute chose to stay. He lived in a small room without hot water and received no salary. Through those difficult years, he endured hardship to protect the embassy property and records for the Somali people. His sacrifice deserves recognition. I hope that one day Somali authorities will honor him as one of the Somalis who helped safeguard the nation’s property during one of its most difficult periods. I last met Colonel Tuute in Mogadishu in 2024. Even then, he remained devoted to serving his country with pride. Sadly, he is now ill. He deserves our prayers, respect, and gratitude. AF- SOMALI Kani waa Gaashaanle Sare Moalin Mohamed, oo loo yaqaan Tuute, halyeey ruug-cadaa ee ka tirsan ciidanka Badda ee Somalia. Ka dib markii ay dowladdii Soomaaliya burburtay 1991, wuxuu in ka badan 25 sano ku degana dhismaha Safaaradda Soomaaliya ee ku taal 26 Rue Dumont D’Urville, Paris oo cidla looga tegay. Wuxuu xilligii taliskii Siyaad Barre soo noqday ku-xigeenka u qaabilsanaa arrimaha milatariga ee safaaradda, dabadeedna noqday sarkaalka milatariga ee safaaradda. Isagoo ka baqayay in dadka Homeless-ka oo af ingriisiga loo yaqaano Squatters ay la wareegaan dhismaha, isla markaana ay lumaaan dukumentiyada muhiimka ah ee safaaradda, ayuu Gaashaanle Tuute go’aansaday inuusan ka tegin. Wuxuu ku noolaa qol yar oo aan lahayn biyo kulul, mushaharna ma qaadan jirin. Sannadahaas adag, wuxuu u adkaystay duruufo qallafsan si uu hantida iyo diiwaannada safaaradda ugu ilaaliyo shacabka Soomaaliyeed. Dadaalkiisa iyo naf-hurnimadiisu waxay mudan yihiin in la aqoonsado. Waxaan rajaynayaa in maalin maalmaha ka mid ah ay dowladda Soomaaliya ku maamuusi doonto inuu ka mid yahay Soomaalidii ka qayb qaadatay ilaalinta hantida qaranka xilli dalka soo marayay marxaladihii ugu adkaa. Markii iigu dambaysay ee aan la kulmo Gaashaanle Tuute waxay ahayd Muqdisho sannadkii 2024. Xilligaasna weli wuxuu dalkiisa ugu adeegayay sharaf iyo waddaniyad. Nasiib darro, hadda G/Sare Tuute wuu xanuunsan yahay. Wuxuu mudan yahay ducadayada, ixtiraamkayaga iyo mahadnaqayaga.

During my tenure as Somalia's Ambassador to the EU, in April 2014, Foreign Minister Abdirahman Beyle arrived in Brussels as head of the advance team before the arrival of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud for the 4th EU-AU Summit. This was his first trip overseas since he was just nominated, and it was the first time I had ever seen him. Since I was also non-resident Ambassador to France, I decided to take him to Paris for the weekend. The reason for the trip to Paris was to show him firsthand the deteriorating conditions of the two Somali diplomatic buildings in Paris. Somalia had two diplomatic buildings in Paris. One is the Chancery located near the most famous street in Paris, the Champs Elysees. The other is the Ambassador's residence located at the outskirt of Paris in Vacinet, twenty minutes away from the Embassy. For the entire train ride, we spoke about Somalia's unfortunate situation and how the country has collapsed because it has no leaders willing to defend it. He was telling me about the nationalist songs he had written himself. I was really impressed with the man. I thought to myself, this is a rare principled man. This man will serve the nation well. We were picked up by Ahmed Shire, one of the diplomats, and drove straight to our embassy in Paris, a building that had been left in total ruin. The moment we walked in, Dr Beyle placed his hands on the crumbling wall and broke down in tears. I was overcome with emotion and my own tears began to flow. It touched me emotionally in a deep way. A man nicknamed Tuute, the Military Attache who had lived in that building since 1991 to guard it and save all the diplomatic documents from being stolen or destroyed, looked at my tears and said to me, this man is a con artist. Do not trust him. I told him, do not judge him. This is a true patriot. I was wrong. Tuute was right. The man who wept over the ruins of our embassy now campaigns over the division of the country itself.