Bashir’s Educational Trip to Trieste, Italy
It was the 24th of June 2019 when I graduated from Somali
National University, especially in the department of economics with the second
class prize. We were 131 students and 27 of us were girls from the faculties of
Law, Economics, Agriculture, Education and Veterinary Medicine. When we
defended the graduation book, the University hired 4 top students from each
college who were hired as assistant lecturers to develop the teaching staff.
That day was a special day for me because I had just started my educational
journey for a master's degree at the University of Trieste. While I was at
the graduation ceremony I felt very happy, the reason that all the guest
speakers who attended the ceremony demonstrated their inspiration and promises
including the one I came to Italy to prepare for my master's degree at the University
of Trieste.
The event was attended by the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia H.E Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, members of parliament, the upper house, the governor of the Benaadir region and the mayor of Mogadishu Eng. Yarisow who died later on 1st August 2019 (may God have mercy on him) and foreign diplomats in Mogadishu, Somalia. Also present at the graduation ceremony was the University academic council led by the former Rector of the SNU Prof. Mohamed Ahmed Jimale.
During the ritual, the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia H.E Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has delivered a long and moving speech; said: “Our country has gone through various circumstances, and today many students are graduating from the Somali National University, which is a testament to the fact that with concerted efforts, we can achieve even greater results".
This is a picture of the 9th and the
current President of the Federal Republic of Somalia H.E Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo and me shaking hands on the stage. He especially congratulated me on my
success and the future. The president also handed over his message for our day
and advised me to take advantage of future opportunities.The former rector of SNU Prof. Jimale at the event said that “The university has produced students who have completed all the required courses and training and that only the job opportunities and educational opportunities are needed for the role of the Somali government in this regard. Because the government has spent a lot of money on these graduates so it should not be wasted”. Also, the former rector of SNU said on the stage that “I will only take advantage of this opportunity for those who get their first four places in their departments and will be treated fairly”.
Although there were many challenges facing him from different sides, the rector Jimale insisted on his decision which was based on fairness and I praise him for his role in bringing me to this level. However, there have been some major
events that Prof. Jimale did, but I will discuss in other forums and articles, God willing.
This is a picture of the former Rector of Somali National University Dr Prof. Mohamed Ahmed Jimale on the podium.
Photo Credit: SNU, 24th June 2019, Mogadishu-Somalia
The ceremony was also attended by diplomats, including the former Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E Emanuela C. Del Re, who announced the awarding of scholarships to 16 students, including myself, who will be studying for a Master's degree at various Italian universities. During her intervention, she highlighted the role of higher education in the development of the country and the governance of Somalia; "Your efforts in the last years and your future success will inspire the next generation of young Somalis who will make prosper Somalia", said Emanuela C. Del Re, former DMFA.
This is a photo of the EU Special Representative for the Sahel, Former Vice-MFA and MP of Italy,
Prof. Political Sociology - Author of essays & volumes, At the podium, at the graduation ceremony announced the Italian
scholarship to 16 students, including myself, who will be studying for a
Master's degree at various Italian Universities. On 24 June 2019,
Mogadishu-Somalia.A
few days later I started preparing for my study trip and began going to the
Italian Embassy in Mogadishu to apply for a visa to enter Italy. I was
accompanied by my other colleagues and we were 4 from the Faculty of Economics
and Management and other 4 from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal
Husbandry.
We were welcomed there by Fabio Massimo, the former first secretary of the Italian Embassy in Mogadishu “It was a pleasure to welcome you at the Embassy and congratulate the first group of @SNU_University students who will continue their education in Italy thanks to the Italian Gov. scholarships. We wish them all success and a big "in bocca al lupo" for their first exam session abroad!” said, Fabio Massimo
After a few days of waiting for an Italian visa, I received a visa in mid-September 2019. After that, I prepared for my study journey as I got my Visa. On November 27, the Somali National University hosted a farewell lunch for us, which also was attended by the State Minister of education FGS, the former rector of SNU, Administrative & Teaching staff and other government officials.
On the same occasion, we were given a special farewell by the dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management Science, Prof. Hassan Osman Gaal who told us a lot about the city of Trieste where we are travelling. Because Prof. Gaal studied in Udine near Trieste and is part of the FVG region in northern Italy. This meant that Prof. Gaal knew a lot about the city of Trieste, such as its climate, food, culture and so on.
The next day on 28th November 2019 around 5:55 pm I flew from Mogadishu to Trieste despite a long journey through Djibouti. Then, I went through Doha-Qatar where I switched the plane and from Doha-Qatar in the middle of the night to Rome, Italy and landed at Fiumicino airport in Rome on 29th November 2019 at 8:00 am. I was accompanied on the trip by my other friends and we were 14, and when we arrived in Rome we all headed to different cities as we were studying at different universities.
When I landed at Fiumicino Airport in Rome I went to the check-in section and when I had finished all the sections I was supposed to go through the departure gate. Then I took the bus to reach the assigned departure gate to Trieste. When it was time for the plane to take off I went to my departure point. Then the cold weather in Italy started for me as I was already inside the airport. Although the weather is better than Trieste's, we did not know it would be colder in Rome.
After I boarded a flight from Fiumicino airport to Trieste airport, FVG, I landed at Ronchi Dei Legionari Airport in Trieste at about 15:20 p.m on the same day the 29th of November 2019. My friends and I were picked up by a private car sent to us by the University of Trieste specifically by the order of Prof. Giuseppe Borruso our scholarship coordinator. The driver who sent us had our names and was parked at the front door of Trieste Airport. He was holding up a letter with our names on it which had already been told to us by Prof. Giuseppe Borruso.
On 29th November 2019, we were accommodated in a beautiful residency near the coast of Trieste and downtown so-called Residence del Mare. The DEAMS department has prepared for us until we find our own accommodations. During the first days of our stay in the residence, we were invited by the former Director of DEAMS Prof. Zaccarin Susanna to a welcome ceremony and the new year's closure festival held by the DEAMS. Prof. Zaccarin Susanna introduced us to all the professors, administrative staff, technical staff and college student body. That high level of welcoming was our beginning and the integration of the University of Trieste especially our department.
When we arrived, we were also warmly welcomed also by the Somali community in Trieste, led by Mr Ahmed Faghi and Dr Bashir Osman who were constantly helping me with all the things I needed, such as residence documents, health cards, accommodation contracts, opening a bank account and many more. On my first day in Trieste, I toured the city to see the places closest to me. I went to Piazza Unita which is the most famous place in the city of Trieste and also to the long beach of the city, especially Mole Audace which many tourists visit every year and every time.
On my first day in Trieste and Mole AudaceDuring the registration, we were warmly welcomed by the International Students'
Office which proceeded with our University enrollment. Then proceeded to the
DEAMS Secretariat who guided me and my colleagues where we successfully
completed the registration process. The Office of International Students and the regional agency for the right to education (Agenzia Regionale per il Diritto allo Studio Friuli Venezia Giulia) (ARDIS) have completed for me all the essentials for every student
at the University of Trieste, Such as issuing student ID cards, discounts made to students
at the canteen as well as full information on finding student housing, city bus
discounts for students and so on.
The first day I went to the University of Trieste campus was 5 December 2019. After a few days of documenting and enrolling in the university, we started the University classes which we started in the regular class. But unfortunately at the end of February 2019, there was an outbreak of the highly contagious Corona Virus 2019, Where regular classes were discontinued and it was converted to virtual classes in which all lessons were taken online. Although there is no one in my family in the city, not even in Italy, I have found many friends who have been very welcoming to me and who have responded to everything I ask. I took university classes and took the online course as Covid19 restrictions were imposed which reduced the concentration of people to reduce the spread of infection. It was also, imposed very tight restrictions and I have spent most of the time at home because I could only go outside to buy food, medicine or go to the hospital if I would felt sick.
When the Covid19 restrictions were lifted at the beginning of the summer of 2020 and I have travelled to some famous cities in Italy. On my first trip, I visited Rome, the capital of Italy, where my friends from Somalia were lived. Because we have not been together for around a year and only we have been contacted just video calls and other virtual media. Likewise, there were also other colleagues from other cities and we all met in the capital city of Rome.
When I arrived in Rome, my friends were welcomed there, who were studying law at the University of Rome Tre. We get together around the city. Although the visit to Rome was my first time, I had a wonderful time there. During my stay in Rome, I visited many famous historical sites in Rome such as Colosseo, and Piazza Travi. After, many days of news from Covid19, the first thing I looked at and the situation was returning to normal in the early summer of 2020. Then, I was move around to other Italian cities where my friends from Somalia live, such as Rome, Florence, Bologna, Napoli, Venezia and so on.
Most of the students in the Erasmus program from EU countries went home when Covid19 restrictions were started, although in the summer a large number of students returned. I used to take classes with my friends, eat at the student buffet, go to the gym together, and go to the beach in Trieste to swim because I like swimming like most people do. On the other hand, there were many friends like me from other continents such as Africa, America and Asia. Most of whom I met at my Italian language school, although I learned a lot in different places and in different ways of learning Italian.
Living in Trieste for two years and a few months made me promise to go every weekend for festivals, parties, seminars, seminars, and field trips because the City of Trieste is home to many working centres in advanced research based on modern science and technology. Even though the time was short, I did my best to complete all the assignments during my academic years. That finally ended successfully and opened a new door for me in the coming future. It's the reason I prefer the academic career because I like to work not only to earn money but also to work as a hobby and to work happily.
During my stay in Trieste, I also volunteered for local council elections campaigns, especially for mayor and Candidate for the Trieste City Council, were competing for political office. In particular, I worked with city council candidate Ahmed Faghi Elmi who represented the foreign communities in Trieste on the Punto Capo list of Francesco Russo who was running for mayor of the Trieste City, in the elections that were held on 3 and 4 October 2021.
While working on this campaign I gained a lot of attention on how important the voice of the people is and free elections because for me to vote is still a right that I have not been fortunate enough to get. This has given a new experience and a broader awareness during elections where everyone is voting freely while candidates are asking for a vote in public so that everyone can see it.
The most surprising story is that one day I was campaigning and I stopped a man and asked him to vote for my friend Ahmed Faghi Elmi on polling day. The man pulled out his candidacy papers from his bag and showed them to me and handed me one letter with his candidacy agenda for the Trieste City Council and said, "Take this letter to your friend and give me his letter as well, because I am just like him and I am a candidate "
The long journey finally came to an end on 29 March 2022 when I graduated from the University of Trieste with a degree in DEAMS Master of Industrial Economics and International Market. That graduation day made me bear the brunt of the hard work and I was overwhelmed by the fact that even as a student who was not with his family and can only be felt by someone who has experienced it.
In this post, I posted a few pictures of my graduation day as well as my dear friend Mohamed who was also on graduation day. In these pictures, we are with our Course Coordinator and Scholarship Coordinator and they show that they have shared our happiness with us and they are also happy.
From the left Prof. Danielis, Mohamed, Me and Prof. Borruso. We had this photo group after the Thesis defence in the front of the DEAMS building-D inside the main campus of the University of Trieste.After a few days of rest, I took a short trip to Florence, Tuscany, Italy, which is a summer destination for international tourists because it has many historical sites that many communities would like to visit one day. their lives. In Florence, I live with my friends who are studying at the University of Florance especially the Faculty of Agriculture. Even though it was at the beginning of Ramadan 2022, I had a wonderful time.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone who stood by me for coming here. In particular, the University of Trieste treated us more closely than ordinary students as we were guests in the city. Also, my Supervisor Prof. Gallenti Gianluigi and Co-supervisor Dr Carzedda Matteo helped me tremendously during my research. I would also like to express my special gratitude to my course coordinator Prof. Romeo Danielis who has been working with me since I started university to this day and has given me a share of his time and my scholarship coordinator Prof. Giuseppe Borruso without whom I would not have won this program. Last but not least, I would also like to thank with my colleagues Mohamed and Dahir who we were a close friends then ever and all the staff of the University of Trieste at all levels and all the top management of the University and our DEAMS department as well.
Bashir M Abdulle
What an interesting successful journey! I was fascinating to read your master degree story. Since I was so busy when you have posted it, I saved it for later to learn the amazing achievements of my beloved friend. It was an academic journey full of experiences and accomplishments. I wish more victorious events come for your future.
ReplyDeleteWhat an inspiring educational journey!
ReplyDeleteDear Teacher Bashir, you are one of the most respected and valued individuals in my life. Today, two years after your remarkable achievement of earning your master’s degree, I found myself reflecting on your journey. As I searched for insights, I stumbled upon your incredible blog.
Reading through it was a delightful experience—its simplicity and clarity made it easy to connect with, and my curiosity kept me engaged throughout.
Your words offered me profound lessons and inspiration. I’ve gained so much from your reflections, and I sincerely wish you even greater success in the future. Your journey continues to motivate us all.