Mohamed Nur – From Fortune Green to Mogadishu mayor
Man who founded Somali welfare association returns to homeland to ‘fix’ shattered capital
Published: 7 October, 2010
by JAMIE WELHAM
FOUR years ago Mohamed Nur was a footnote in Camden politics following a failed attempt to become a Labour councillor in Fortune Green.
Now the man who called Kentish Town home for 18 years has taken on one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet as the new mayor of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu.
And Nur, 55, who was director of the Kentish Town Somali Welfare Association for more than 10 years, is making progress. He has paid his staff, turned on the electricity and started collecting the rubbish – no mean feat in a city where chaos reigns and it is said you can buy an anti-tank missile at the market.
His next step will be to put his $50,000 monthly budget to use in reclaiming the streets from al-Shabab, the Islamist militia linked to al-Qaeda who control 90 per cent of the ruined city.
The East African country, once an Italian colony, has been blighted by civil war for two decades. But there is also high praise and hope from the 6,000 Somalis living in Camden that Nur could be the man to make their motherland known for more than being a “failed state” infested by pirates and militants.
It has been suggested Nur is returning to his homeland to construct some good from the death of his brother, who was hit by a stray bullet during the Ethiopian occupation of Mogadishu in 2007.
Abdul Amin, who worked under Nur at the Somali Welfare Association in Gospel Oak, said: “He is a genuine Somali, with a massive heart and desire to help, and that’s why I think he went to Mogadishu. He’s a brave man to take the position.”
Mr Amin added: “He set up this organisation. This was the first real community group. He wanted to help refugees and asylum seekers.”
Nur came to London as a refugee in 1993, having fled the civil war which erupted with the overthrow of dictator Siad Barre. He briefly lived with his wife and six children in Hackney before moving to Queen’s Crescent, where the family still live today. After graduating from the University of Westminster, he worked as a business adviser in King’s Cross.
Mick Farrant, director of the Queen’s Crescent Community Centre, which houses the welfare association, said it was thanks to Nur, that the Somali community is so well integrated in Camden.
“He has done great work here,” said Mr Farrant. “I’m certain there wasn’t a group like this before he arrived. I heard he was trying to become president, so the job doesn’t surprise me.”
One person for whom the appointment has not come as a shock is his daughter. Muna, 25, a former pupil at Haverstock School in Chalk Farm, who works at the Archway Medical Centre, said her dad had wanted to “fix” Somalia for as long as she could remember.
“He has always been passionate about Somali politics,” she added. “We grew up with it. I think it was because he wanted to keep it alive for us here. He thought it was important to know our culture. He taught all of us how to speak the language. It was his ambition to fix it, and he was always telling us stories and showing us pictures of how it used to be before the war,” she said.
Nur speaks to his family twice a week. Muna said: “He has a mobile out there and we speak to him. It’s fair to say it’s not exactly Camden in the way that he lives, but he’s doing OK. He is making headway and we are very proud of him.”