Iman Mohamed Iman Mohamed is a Somali writer and doctoral candidate in history at Harvard University. She is based in Rome.

Words Exchanged | Italophone Somalia, Then and Now

Iman Mohamed

“Italian language teaching is back in Somalia!” the Italian embassy in Somalia tweeted in late September 2021, announcing a new program at the Somali National University that would reintroduce the language of the country’s former colonizer. “Learning a new language,” the tweet continued in shaky English, “means opening your mind and seize unexpected opportunities.” For days, it was ridiculed and meme-d across social media by young Somalis. Why, some wondered,...