Mohamed Ali: The link between unemployment and terrorism

Translator: Alisa Xholi Reviewer: Helena Bedalli

I would like to talk to you about a story

Do doja tju flisja mbi nje histrori

about a small town kid.

per nje femije te vogel nga qyteti.

I don't know his name, but I do know his story.

Nuk ja njoh emrin, por i njoh historine.

He lives in a small village in southern Somalia.

Ai jeton ne nje fshat te vogel ne Somaline jugore.

His village is near Mogadishu.

Fshati i tij eshte afer Mogadishut.

Drought drives the small village into poverty

Thatesia e shtyu fshatin e tij te vogel ne varferi

and to the brink of starvation.

dhe ne buze te gjendjes se urise.

With nothing left for him there,

Duke mos patur asgje aty,

he leaves for the big city,

ai largohet per ne qytetin e madh,

in this case, Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

ne kete rast, ne Mogadishu, kryeqyteti i Somalise.

When he arrives, there are no opportunities,

Kur mberrin atje, nuk ka mundesi,

no jobs, no way forward.

nuk ka pune, nuk can dot.

He ends up living in a tent city

Perfundon duke jetuar ne nje tende

on the outskirts of Mogadishu.

ne periferi te Mogadishut.

Maybe a year passes, nothing.

Mbase nje vit kalon, asgje.

One day, he's approached by a gentleman

Nje dite, atij i afrohet nje zoteri

who offers to take him to lunch,

i cili i ofron ta coje per dreke ate,

then to dinner, to breakfast.

me pas per darke, dhe per mengjes.

He meets this dynamic group of people,

Ai takohet me kete grup njerezish dinamik,

and they give him a break.

te cilet i japin atij nje mundesi.

He's given a bit of money

I jepen pak para

to buy himself some new clothes,

per te blere disa rroba te reja,

money to send back home to his family.

para per t'ja derguar familjes se tij ne shtepi.

He is introduced to this young woman.

Ai prezantohet me nje grua te re.

He eventually gets married.

Perfundimisht ai martohet.

He starts this new life.

Nis nje jete te re.

He has a purpose in life.

Ai ka nje qellim ne jete.

One beautiful day in Mogadishu,

Nje dite te bukur ne Mogadishu,

under an azure blue sky,

nen nje qiell blu te kalter,

a car bomb goes off.

nje bombe ne nje makine shperthen.

That small town kid with the big city dreams

Ai femija i vogel me endrra te medha mbi qytetin

was the suicide bomber,

ishte vetevrasesi bombe,

and that dynamic group of people

dhe ai grup njerezish dinamik

were al Shabaab, a terrorist organization

ishin al Shabaab, nje organizate terroriste

linked to al Qaeda.

e lidhur me al Qaeden.

So how does the story of a small town kid

Si historia e nje djaloshi te vogel

just trying to make it big in the city

i cili perpiqet t'ja dale ne qytet,

end up with him blowing himself up?

perfundon duke shperthyer veten?

He was waiting.

Ai po priste.

He was waiting for an opportunity,

Priste per nje mundesi,

waiting to begin his future,

priste te fillonte te ardhmen e tij,

waiting for a way forward,

priste per nje rruge perpara,

and this was the first thing that came along.

dhe kjo ishte gjeja e pare qe i erdhi.

This was the first thing that pulled him out

Kjo ishte gjeja e pare qe e terhoqi

of what we call waithood.

nga ajo cka ne quajme pritja.

And his story repeats itself

Dhe historia e tij riperseritet

in urban centers around the world.

ne qendra urbane perreth botes.

It is the story of the disenfranchised,

Eshte historia e rinise urbane

unemployed urban youth

te papune, pa te drejta,

who sparks riots in Johannesburg,

qe shkendijne trazira ne Johanesburg,

sparks riots in London,

qe shkendijne trazira ne Londer,

who reaches out for something other than waithood.

te cilet kerkojne dicka ndryshe nga pritja.

For young people, the promise of the city,

Per te rinjte, premtimi i qytetit,

the big city dream is that of opportunity,

endrra e qytetit te madh eshte mundesia,

of jobs, of wealth,

e punes, e pasurise,

but young people are not sharing in the prosperity of their cities.

por te rinjte nuk kane pjese ne mireqenien e qyteteve te tyre.

Often it's youth who suffer from the highest unemployment rates.

Shpesh eshte rinia ajo qe vuan shifrat e larta te papunesise.

By 2030, three out of five people living in cities

Ne 2030, tre nga pese njerez qe do jetojne neper qytete

will be under the age of 18.

do jene nen moshen 18.

If we do not include young people

Nese nuk perfshijme njerez te rinj

in the growth of our cities,

ne zhvillimin e qyteteve,

if we do not provide them opportunities,

nese nuk i japim atyre mundesi,

the story of waithood,

historia e pritjes,

the gateway to terrorism, to violence, to gangs,

rrugedalja ne terrorisem, ne dhune, ne banda,

will be the story of cities 2.0.

do jete historia e qyteteve 2.0.

And in my city of birth, Mogadishu,

Dhe ne qytetin tim te lindjes, ne Mogadishu,

70 percent of young people suffer from unemployment.

70 perqind e te rinjve vuajne nga papunesia.

70 percent don't work,

70 perqind nuk punojne,

don't go to school.

nuk shkollohen.

They pretty much do nothing.

Ata pak a shume nuk bejne asgje.

I went back to Mogadishu last month,

U ktheva ne Mogadishu muajin e kaluar,

and I went to visit Madina Hospital,

dhe vajta te vizitoja spitalin Madina,

the hospital I was born in.

spitalin ne te cilin kam lindur.

I remember standing in front of that

Me kujtohej tek qendroja para

bullet-ridden hospital thinking,

atij spitali shoshe nga plumbat duke menduar,

what if I had never left?

po sikur mos te isha larguar kurre?

What if I had been forced

Po sikur te isha detyruar

into that same state of waithood?

ne te njejten situate te pritjes?

Would I have become a terrorist?

A do isha bere nje terrorist?

I'm not really sure about the answer.

Nuk jam shume i sigurt per pergjigjen.

My reason for being in Mogadishu that month

Arsyeja ime e te qenit ne Mogadishu ate muaj

was actually to host

ishte ne te vertete per te mbajtur

a youth leadership and entrepreneurship summit.

nje Samit mbi drejtimin dhe sipermarrjen.

I brought together about 90 young Somali leaders.

Une solla aty rreth 90 udheheqes te rinj Somalez.

We sat down and brainstormed on solutions

U ulem dhe dhame ide mbi zgjidhjen

to the biggest challenges facing their city.

e sfidave me te medha ne qytetin e tyre.

One of the young men in the room was Aden.

Nje nga te rinjte ne ate salle ishte Aden.

He went to university in Mogadishu, graduated.

Ai eshte diplomuar ne universitetin e Mogadishut.

There were no jobs, no opportunities.

Nuk kishte pune, nuk kishte mundesi.

I remember him telling me,

Me kujtohet kur me thoshte,

because he was a college graduate,

duke qene nje i diplomuar universiteti,

unemployed, frustrated,

i papune, i irrituar,

that he was the perfect target for al Shabaab

se ai ishte objektivi perfekt per al Shabaab

and other terrorist organizations, to be recruited.

dhe per te tjera organizata terroriste, per tu rekrutuar.

They sought people like him out.

Ata i kerkonin njerezit si ai.

But his story takes a different route.

Por kjo histori merr nje rruge ndryshe.

In Mogadishu, the biggest barrier

Ne Mogadishu, pengesa me e madhe

to getting from point A to point B are the roads.

per te kaluar nga pika A ne piken B jane rruget.

Twenty-three years of civil war

Njezet e tre vjet lufte civile

have completely destroyed the road system,

e kane demtuar totalisht sistemin rrugor,

and a motorbike can be the easiest way

dhe nje motociklete mund te jete menyra me e lehte

to get around.

per te levizur.

Aden saw an opportunity and seized it.

Aden pa nje mundesi dhe e pushtoi.

He started a motorbike company.

Ai nisi nje kompani motocikletash.

He began renting out motorbikes

Nisi te japi me qera motocikleta

to local residents who couldn't normally afford them.

tek banoret lokal qe normalisht nuk i perballonin ato.

He bought 10 bikes, with the help

Ai bleu 10 motocikleta, me ndihmen

of family and friends,

e familjes dhe te miqve,

and his dream is to eventually expand

dhe endrra e tij eshte qe te zgjerohet

to several hundred within the next three years.

ne disa qindra brenda tre vjeteve ne vazhdim.

How is this story different?

Si eshte kjo histori ndryshe?

What makes his story different?

Cfare e ben historine e tij ndryshe?

I believe it is his ability to identify

Mendoj se eshte aftesia e tij te identifikoje

and seize a new opportunity.

dhe te perhape mundesi te reja.

It's entrepreneurship,

Eshte sipermarrje,

and I believe entrepreneurship can be

dhe mendoj se sipermarrja mund te behet

the most powerful tool against waithood.

vegla me e fuqishme kundra pritjes.

It empowers young people

Ajo fuqizon njerez te rinj

to be the creators of the very economic opportunities

te jene krijuesit e mundesive ekonomike

they are so desperately seeking.

qe ata po kerkojne me kaq deshperim.

And you can train young people to be entrepreneurs.

Dhe njerezit e rinj mund te trajnohen te jene sipermarres.

I want to talk to you about a young man

Deshiroj t'ju flas per nje djale te ri

who attended one of my meetings,

i cili mori pjese ne nje nga mbledhjet e mia,

Mohamed Mohamoud, a florist.

Mohamed Mohamoud, nje luleshites.

He was helping me train some of the young people

Ai me ndihmoi te trajnoja disa njerez te rinj

at the summit in entrepreneurship

ne samitin e sipermarrjes

and how to be innovative

dhe si te sjellesh risi

and how to create a culture of entrepreneurship.

dhe si te krijosh nje kulture mbi sipermarrjen.

He's actually the first florist Mogadishu has seen

Ai faktikisht eshte luleshitesi i pare qe Mogadishu ka pare

in over 22 years,

keto 22 vjet,

and until recently, until Mohamed came along,

dhe deri kohet e fundit, deri sa doli Mohamedi,

if you wanted flowers at your wedding,

nese te duheshin lule per dasmen

you used plastic bouquets

ti perdorje buqeta plastike

shipped from abroad.

te ardhura nga jashte.

If you asked someone,

Nese do pyesje dike,

"When was the last time you saw fresh flowers?"

"Kur ka qene hera fundit qe ke pare lule te fresketa?"

for many who grew up under civil war,

per shume qe u rriten gjate luftes civile,

the answer would be, "Never."

pergjigja do ishte, "Kurre."

So Mohamed saw an opportunity.

Pra Mohamed pa nje mundesi.

He started a landscaping and design floral company.

Ai filloi nje kompani qe merrej me rregullim kopshtesh dhe dizenjim floral.

He created a farm right outside of Mogadishu,

Krijoi nje ferme jashte Mogadishut,

and started growing tulips and lilies,

dhe nisi te rrisi lloje tulipane dhe zambake,

which he said could survive

te cilat mund te mbijetonin ne

the harsh Mogadishu climate.

klimen e ashper te Mogadishut.

And he began delivering flowers to weddings,

Dhe nisi te shperndaje lule neper dasma,

creating gardens at homes

te krijoje kopshte neper shtepite

and businesses around the city,

dhe bizneset e qytetit,

and he's now working on creating

dhe tashme eshte duke punuar ne krijimin

Mogadishu's first public park in 22 years.

e parkut te pare publik ne Mogadishu pas 22 vitesh.

There's no public park in Mogadishu.

Nuk ka park publik ne Mogadishu.

He wants to create a space where families,

Ai deshiron te krijoje nje hapesire ku familjet,

young people, can come together,

njerez te rinj, mund te bashkohen,

and, as he says, smell the proverbial roses.

dhe sic thote ai, te nuhasin trendafilat proverbial.

And he doesn't grow roses because

Ai nuk rrit trendafila

they use too much water, by the way.

sepse ato perdorin shume uje.

So the first step is to inspire young people,

Pra hapi i pare eshte te inspirosh njerez te rinj,

and in that room, Mohamed's presence

dhe ne ate dhome, prezenca e Mohamedit

had a really profound impact on the youth in that room.

kishte nje impakt vertet te thelle tek te rinjte prezent.

They had never really thought about starting up a business.

Ata nuk kishin menduar kurre te nisnin nje biznes.

They've thought about working for an NGO,

Kishin menduar te punonin per nje OJQ,

working for the government,

per te punuar per qeverine,

but his story, his innovation,

por historia e tij, risia e tij,

really had a strong impact on them.

kishte nje impakt te forte mbi ata.

He forced them to look at their city

Ai i detyroi ta shohin qytetin e tyre

as a place of opportunity.

si vendi i mundesive.

He empowered them to believe that they could be entrepreneurs,

I fuqizoi ata te besojne se mund te behen sipermarres,

that they could be change makers.

se mund te behen ndryshim beres.

By the end of the day, they were coming up

Ne fund te dites, ata erdhen

with innovative solutions

me zgjidhje te reja

to some of the biggest challenges facing their city.

per disa nga sfidat me te medha qe po kalonte qyteti i tyre.

They came up with entrepreneurial solutions

Erdhen me zgjidhje sipermarrese

to local problems.

per problemet lokale.

So inspiring young people

Pra te frymezosh te rinjte

and creating a culture of entrepreneurship

dhe te krijosh kulturen e sipermarrjes

is a really great step,

eshte nje hap shume i madh,

but young people need capital

por njerezit e rinj duan nje kapital

to make their ideas a reality.

per te kthyer idete ne realitet.

They need expertise and mentorship

Kan nevoje per expertize dhe tutore

to guide them in developing and launching their businesses.

per ti udhezuar ne zhvillimin dhe hapjen e bizneseve.

Connect young people with the resources they need,

Lidhini te rinjte me burimet qe u nevojiten,

provide them the support they need to go from ideation to creation,

sigurojini mbeshtetjen qe u nevojitet per te kaluar nga idete tek krijimi,

and you will create catalysts for urban growth.

dhe do krijoni katalizatore per zhvillimin urban.

For me, entrepreneurship is more than just

Per mua, sipermarrja eshte me shume se

starting up a business.

thjesht hapja e nje biznesi.

It's about creating a social impact.

Eshte per krijimin e impaktit social.

Mohamed is not simply selling flowers.

Mohamed nuk eshte thjesht nje shites lulesh.

I believe he is selling hope.

Une mendoj se ai po shet shprese.

His Peace Park, and that's what he calls it,

Parku i Paqes i tij, se keshtu e quan ai,

when it's created, will actually transform

kur te krijohet, realisht do ndryshoje

the way people see their city.

menyren se si njerezit e shohin qytetin e tyre.

Aden hired street kids to help rent out

Aden punesoi femije te rruges per ta ndihmuar te japin me qera

and maintain those bikes for him.

dhe te mirembajne motorcikletat per te.

He gave them the opportunity to escape

I dha mundesine te arratisen

the paralysis of waithood.

nga paraliza e pritjes.

These young entrepreneurs are having

Keta sipermarres te rinj kane

a tremendous impact in their cities.

nje impakt te pamase ne qytetin e tyre.

So my suggestion is,

Pra sugjerimi im eshte,

turn youth into entrepreneurs,

kthejini te rinjte ne sipermarres,

incubate and nurture their inherent innovation,

jepini ngrohtesi dhe ushqim risise se natyrshme ,

and you will have more stories of flowers and Peace Parks

dhe do keni me shume histori lulesh dhe Parku i Paqes

than of car bombs and waithood.

sesa te bombave ne makina dhe pritje.

Thank you.

Faleminderit.

(Applause)

(Duatrokitje)