Said Sheikh Samatar (, ‎; 1943 – 24 February 2015) was a Somali

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

and

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Biography

Early years

Said was born in 1943 in the

Ogaden Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled ''Ogadēn''; , ) is one of the historical names used for the modern Somali Region. It is also natively referred to as Soomaali Galbeed (). The region forms the eastern portion of Ethiopia and borders Somalia ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

to Faduma and Sheikh Samatar. He came from a large family consisting of fourteen people, including his father's second wife. Samatar spent his early years in a

nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

ic environment, where he writes that "seasons of plenty" with "fragrant flowers blooming all over the fallowed fields, abundant milk and meat" alternated with the "perennial threat of starvation during droughts, marauding gangs of enemy clans bent on murder and mayhem, stripping you of your livestock, the ever-present danger of ravenous predators." In 1958, Said's father, who had been working for the government as an

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

since 1948, sent for him to begin schooling. Samatar subsequently moved to the town of Qalaafo, transitioning from nomadic life to urban life. Samatar received education at a Christian Missionary school run by

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. During 1963, a Somali revolt against the Ethiopia Empire broke out and Qalaafo was bombarded during a reprisal carried out by the Ethiopian Imperial Army, resulting in the destruction of much of the property own by Samatar's family. In the attack his brother was shot and crippled by the Ethiopians, resulting in Samatar and his brothers becoming

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s in the

Somali Republic The Somali Republic (; ; ) was formed by the union of the Trust Territory of Somaliland (formerly Italian Somaliland) and the State of Somaliland (formerly British Somaliland). A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa Mohamud and Muhammad ...

Adulthood

In 1970, Samatar began working at the National Teaching College in Somalia alongside several American librarians. There, an American friend suggested that he continue his education at a university in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Coming to the U.S. on a scholarship, Samatar commenced studies at

Goshen College Goshen College is a Private college, private Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana. It was founded in 1894 as the Elkhart Institute of Science, Industry and the Arts, a ...

Goshen, Indiana Goshen ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart–Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend–Elkhart–Mish ...

. He attended early morning and night classes, while working during the day as a

welder A welder is a person or equipment that fuses materials together. The term welder refers to the operator, the machine is referred to as the welding power supply. The materials to be joined can be metals (such as steel, aluminum, brass, stainles ...

to support his wife, who at the time was pregnant with their two children. Samatar graduated from Goshen College in 1973 with a degree in history and literature. He followed that with a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

Northeast African Northeast Africa, or Northeastern Africa, or Northern East Africa as it was known in the past, encompasses the countries of Africa situated in and around the Red Sea. The region is intermediate between North Africa and East Africa, and encompasses ...

history, and received a graduate certificate in

African studies African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's History of Africa, history (pre-colonial, Colonisation of Af ...

. In 1979, he obtained a doctorate in African history from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

. Soon after, a job offer arrived from

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. It also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, and Manchester and offers over 40 online undergraduate and graduate options. History Founding ...

Richmond, Kentucky Richmond is a home rule-class city in Madison County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 34,585 as of the 2020 census, making it the state's seventh-largest city. It is the principal city of the Richmond–Berea micropolitan area, wh ...

, where Samatar taught from 1979 to 1981. In July 1981, he accepted a post at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. His daughter is award-winning author Sofia Samatar."Sofia Samatar: Stranger Scripts"
locusmag.com, 3 June 2013. Accessed 18 October 2014. On 24 February 2015, Said Sheikh Samatar died while undergoing treatment for an unspecified illness in Newark. He was survived by his wife Lydia, son Delmar, daughter Sofia, and four grandchildren. Somali expatriates around the world sent their condolences to the late scholar's family.

Career

Samatar authored a number of books, including a series on Somalia. In addition, he wrote a variety of articles, scholarly papers and book reviews. Samatar was a member of the executive committee of the Somali Studies International Association since 1979, and served as a managing editor of the ''Horn of Africa'' journal. He was also a member of the International Advisory Board of ''Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies'', published by

Macalester College Macalester College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate institution with an enrollment of 2,142 students in the fall of 2023. The college ha ...

. Additionally, he was a consultant to ''The Somali Experience'' project and was a member of the African Studies Association. He oversaw Somali-related programming on

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

. In 1995, along with Ismail Ali Ismail, Samatar took part in an international symposium in

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera (), is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region (Eritrea), Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the List of capital cities by altitude, sixth highest capital in the wo ...

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

for the writing of the Constitution of Eritrea. Samatar was a regular fixture in the popular media. In 1992, as part of the

Social Science Research Council The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is a US-based, independent, international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research in the social sciences and related disciplines. Established in Manhattan in 1923, it maintains a headqua ...

team's reassessment of the "Teaching and Study of the Humanities in Africa," he went to Somalia as a consultant and interpreter for the ABC news program ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...

'' with the American journalist

Ted Koppel Edward James Martin Koppel (born February 8, 1940) is an American broadcast Journalism, journalist, best known as the News presenter, anchor for ''Nightline'', from the program's inception in 1980 until 2005. Before ''Nightline'', he spent 20 y ...

. Beginning in 1983, Samatar appeared on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

shows for interviews regarding Northeast Africa, and discussed Somalia on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

, ABC,

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

CNN International Cable News Network International or CNN International (CNNi, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel and website, owned by CNN Worldwide. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates ...

, as well as

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

' The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

's radio and television news programs. Samatar has been cited in ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', '' U.S. News & World Report'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''.

Works

Books

* ''Oral poetry and Somali nationalism: the case of Sayyid Mahammad 'Abdille Hasan''. Cambridge University Press, 1982. * ''Somalia: nation in search of a State'' (co-author: Laitin, David D.). Westview Press, 1987 * ''Somalia: a nation in turmoil''. Minority Rights Group, 1991 * (Ed.) ''In the shadow of conquest: Islam in colonial Northeast Africa''. Red Sea Press, 1992 * In Samatar '92: chapter 3: ''Shaykh Uways Muhammad of Baraawe, 1847-1909: Mystic Reformer in East Africa''

Articles

*"Oral poetry and political dissent in Somali society : the Hurgumo series", '' Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies'', 1989 *"How to Run an SNM Gauntlet", ''Horn of Africa'', 13, Nos. 1–2, April–June 1990, pp. 78–87. *"The Search for Political Accountability in African Governance: The Somali Case"., ''African Governance in the 1990s'' (Atlanta: The Carter Center, 1990), pp. 165–168. *"How to Save Somalia", ''Washington Post'', 1 December 1992, pg. A19. *"The Politics of Poetry", ''Africa Report'' (September/October 1993), pp. 16–17. *"Remembering B.W. Andrzejewski: Poland's Somali Genius", 1998 *"'Sarbeeb' : the art of oblique communication in Somali culture", Wardheernews Online *"Unhappy masses and the challenge of political Islam in the Horn of Africa", ''Horn of Africa'', 2002 * "An Open Letter to Uncle Sam: America, Pray Leave Somalia to Its Own Devices", Journal of Contemporary African Studies, July 2010, Vol. 28, Issue 3, pp. 313–323.

Notes

External links

'HERDSMAN TO TOWNSMAN': Somalian Professor Describes His Unconventional Life
- originally published in ''Rutgers Observer''
Rutgers University - Profile

Remembering B.W. Andrzejewski: Poland's Somali Genius
by Said Sheikh Samatar {{DEFAULTSORT:Samatar, Said Sheikh 1943 births 2015 deaths Somalian writers Rutgers University faculty Somalian non-fiction writers Goshen College alumni People from Mogadishu Somalian scholars Ethnic Somali people Somalian emigrants to the United States