Ilhan Omar and the battle of the Somali translators
Who knew there were so many fluent Somali speakers in Washington? Talking to a crowd of Somali émigrés in Minneapolis over the weekend, progressive representative Ilhan Omar dived into African politics in her mother tongue, lambasting Somaliland, an unrecognized state that declared independence from Somalia in 1991, as well as regional actors that she claims are infringing on Somali sovereignty. A subtitled video was then widely shared on X Sunday, appearing to contain usage of the "blood and soil" nationalistic rhetoric that would trigger a response from other progressives. “Somalia is for Somalia only (a genocidal mantra) as over 45 percent of Somalia’s population are not even ethnic Somalis,” the translation indicated. That video was shared by Rhoda J.
