Dear Friends,

Many of you have been asking for an update on the trial and how you can support the Justice for Abdirahman Coalition.

Please read on to find out.

Please note that there is also a community meeting organized by the Coalition on Friday, February 22, click here for details.

The Ottawa Somali Network is a group of young Somalis living and working in Ottawa in various professions who are passionate about community organizing.

Abdirahman Abdi was a 37 year old Somali-Canadian with mental health issues. He lived in Ottawa’s Hintonburg community at 55 Hilda Street. On July 24th 2016, following an incident at a local coffee shop where police were called, Abdirahman began running home for safety.

Toronto-based Somali Canadian visual artist Riya Jama shares a story from her childhood whose moral reminds us to "Be kind – for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about."

Somali Canadian author Fartumo Kusow has spent much of 2018 traveling across Canada, the United States, with stops in the UK and Somalia, speaking about her first English-language novel "A Tale of a Boon's Wife", published by Second Story Press.

Somali American Ilhan Omar just became the first veiled Muslim woman to be elected to the US Congress. What about the experiences of other veiled Muslim women who have run poltical campaigns in Canada? 

An unprecedented number of Muslims ran in Municipal elections in Ontario, British Columbia (BC), and Manitoba in October 2018.

The Somali Education Fund (SEF) is organizing a career fair for racialized students this Saturday, October 27th at the Jim Durrell Centre in Ottawa, Ontario. Students will have the opportunity to meet racialized university students and young professionals as well as learn about how to navigate apply for college and university. 

Muslim Link interviewed the team behind this career fair, the second organized by SEF who hope to make this an annual event.

On September 25, The Federal Minister of Health announced $10 Million in funding for community initiatives addressing mental health and its determinants in diverse Black communities across Canada. The new Promoting Health Equity: Mental Health of Black Canadians Fund will support Black Canadians to develop more culturally focused knowledge, capacity and programs to improve mental health in their communities

This October, cities in British Columbia, Ontario, and Manitoba are holding elections for the positions of mayor, city councillors, and school board trustees.