Preceded by Abdirahman Mahdi Nationality Ogadeni-British | Religion Islam Name Mohamed Dolal | |
Alma mater Somali National University London School of Economics University of Leeds Occupation Academic Political Activist Education University of Leeds, London School of Economics and Political Science, Somali National University | ||
Dr. Mohamed Sirad Dolal was an academic and a member of the central committee and executive council of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a liberation movement in Ogaden determined to free its homeland from Ethiopia.
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Early life and education
Dr. Mohamed Sirad Dolal was born and raised in Qabri Dahar, Qorahay Province, in the Somali region of Ogaden, which is occupied by Ethiopia.
He completed his formative education in his birthplace of Qabri Dahar. He graduated from Medhane-Alem High School in Harar in 1972. He also earned Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from his undergraduate studies at the premier Somali National University (SNU) in Afgoye, Somalia. He later went onto graduate school, where he earned a Master of Arts (MA) degree at the London School of Economics (LSE) in England in 1991 and finally received a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) at the University of Leeds in Leeds, England.
Career
In 1973, he started work at Water Authority Agency. He left the work in June 1977, when the Ogaden War erupted in the region, at which time he joined the then Ogaden independence standard-bearer movement – Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF). He was wounded in 1978 in a battle at Goray, a village close to Jigjiga, where he almost lost his right hand.
During his stay in Somalia, he was regularly involved in efforts to free Ogaden from yoke of Ethiopian colonization and occupation. He also was a college lecturer and practicing social science researcher, who had frequently undertaken field trips across Somalia from Baydhaba to Bossasso, Kismayo to Mogadishu.
On January 17, 2009, Dr. Dolal’s life was brought to an end, when he was again wounded, captured alive and executed along with several of his colleagues by Ethiopian Army in Dhanan, Ogaden. The Ethiopian regime paraded his lifeless body and danced around it in celebration of the occasion. The Addis Ababa regime saw the assassination of Dr. Dolal as a major victory in its war against the liberation movement and Ogaden cause. The regime later denied releasing his body to his family for burial and to this day remains that way.
Dr Dolal was a charismatic and pragmatic academic and political leader, who had spent all of his intellectual and political energy in finding ways to liberate his country, the last African colony, from Ethiopia. He would be remembered for his unconditional and selfless love for his country and people, for whom he had sacrificed his own life, in the long and hard struggle to find a free and independent Ogaden in Horn of Africa. The greatest intellectual wealth he left behind would perhaps be his many literary works which he authored including two books about pastoral life in East Africa and in particular Ogaden.
He was based out of London, England and had been survived by his wife and six children.
Memory Poems
Ogaden heroes don’t die,
Wake up Doc ones more prove them wrong, I know you can hear me, tell them cowards, Ogaden heroes don’t die,
My head spins in sorrow disbelieve, No human-being can dare parade a body in torment, They are shallow animals awaiting termination, Undignified of their callous exploit,
Wake up Doc ones more prove them wrong, I know you can hear me, tell them cowards, Ogaden heroes don’t die,
Brave men like you are indispensable, A whole nation is engulfed in your loss, Our heart and soul are always with you, Forever indebt to your service,
Wake up Doc ones more prove them wrong, I know you can hear me, tell them Cowards, Ogaden heroes don’t die,
Dead isn’t rare, it waits us all, but a few pass the test, None can compare your lifelong mission, even, Dying your way struggling for the best,
Wake up Doc ones more prove them wrong, I know you can hear me, tell them cowards, Ogaden heroes don’t die,
You look so peaceful lying there, Where your father Sirad Dolal rest, A hero as well, you followed his lead, True to your passion like a father and son,
Wake up Doc ones more prove them wrong, I know you can hear me, tell them Cowards, Ogaden heroes don’t die,
Freedom solutes you, Heaven treasures you deeply, And I will miss you greatly,
“Hodeen” my friend, rest in peace, Forever until end of time,
I will tell them Cowards, Ogaden heroes don’t die,