Journalists Wali Hashi (left) and Horio Abdulkadir (right), fluent in Somali, are set to helm Yle’s fresh new Somali-language news service, a beacon scheduled to shine from September 2024. This initiative is crafted to bolster integration and deliver dependable newsworthy nuggets to Finland’s burgeon-ing Somali-speaking populace. Kudos to Benjamin Suomela & Juha Laukkanen for the snap.
HELSINKI, Finland (AX) — Come September 23, 2024, Yle Uutiset is all set to unveil a Somali-lingo news service tailored for Finland’s flourishing Somali-speaking community, one of the nation’s heftiest immigrant contingents. This year-long gambit is meticulously crafted to blend Somali speakers deeper into Finnish society, serving up news bites in their mother tongue and aiding their integration journey.
The dynamic duo, Somali journalists Wali Hashi and Horio Abdulkadir, will spearhead this venture, with talent spilling onto trending platforms like YouTube, Insta, Facebook, Telegram, and TikTok. This move is part of Yle’s grander scheme to jive with immigrant clusters via native-tongue news initiatives, stringing along an analogous Arabic news service piloted by scribe Esraa Ismaeel.
Fast Fact: Approximately 25,000 people chime in Somali on Finland’s soil as of 2023—ranking fifth among minority groups and standing tallest among non-European ethnic collectives. Concentrated vibes say 54% of these folks groove in Helsinki’s vibrant rhythm. Yle’s timely advent of Somali-centric news dovetails with Finland’s immigrant roster swelling; over half a mil inhabitants, to be exact, gabbing in tongues other than Finnish, Swedish, or Sami.
“News featuring these sizable immigrant tribes gifts us a fuller tableau of Finland’s mosaic-like society,” expressed Marko Krapu, Yle’s main noggin of Multilingual News.
This autumn, Yle gears up to roll out Arabic news curated by Esraa Ismaeel. Stat check: Finland harbors a 40,000-strong Arabic-tales cohort. Krapu underscores the salience of native verbose bits in nurturing integration and fostering mutual respect within Finnish borders.
Finland’s premier news entity contends these multilingual programs will dispel disinformation clouding social networks. The squad behind the curtain affirmed the need for verifiable news to squash myths and empower immigrant deciders.
Backtrace: The Somali diaspora began trickling into Finland during the tail end of the ’80s and early ’90s. Like many, they faced hurdles ranging from job barriers to social fitting in. Far be it from Yle’s Somali-flavored news not to tackle these obstacles head-on, dispensing precise intel and reducing linguistic hurdles for Somali elders muddling through Finnish media.
