Though I can't call this absolute rock-solid, I have been told over and over again privately and via Somali message boards that Yasmin's father is an important figure in Somalia:
The father of Yasmin is MP of the transition government of Somalia. He left Canada around 2000. His full name is Hon. Cawad Axmed Cashara (or Awad Ahmad Asherah in English spelling). He used to be minister for Puntland before the beginning of the Somali Conference in 2002, He attended this conference and was elected MP.
Puntland is a region in Somalia. In the complex and fractious politics of Somalia, Puntland is a semi-autonomous region, have declared itself semi-autonomous in 1998. The current leadership is working to fashion Somalia as a federation of clans, requiring delicate political negotiations. Puntland is the home of the Warsangali clan, part of the Harti group, which in turn is part of the Darod clan. The Darod clan is the the elite of Somali society in their caste system. Major Somali figures like Mohamed Siad Barre, Abdullah Hassan, and Ahmed Gurey were all Daroods.
Update: The statement about the Darod being the elite has generated some discussion on one of the Somali boards I've been frequenting. I think it's fair to say that I came off as too strong on that point. It is true that some major figures have come from the Darod. But other clans are, not surprisingly, sensitive to the notion that it makes the Darod special. So let's just say that the Darod have played an important role in recent Somali politics, which is clearly true. I'll leave the dubious stuff about clan heirarchy off, since it's obvious to me know that not everyone buys into it. In any case, it is likely to have little relevance to this story.
The Ashareh family is part of the Warsangali, or so I'm told.
The tradition of Darod control continues. The current president is Abdullahi Yusuf, a former President of Puntland, and a former warlord. Ahmed Ashareh, a Darod of the Wasangali, is Yusuf's minister.
And back to Ahmed Ashareh. What if indeed these claims are true, and he is Yasmin's father? Who is Ahmed Ashareh, exactly? From the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation:
The President of the Puntland State of Somalia Colonel Abdulahi Yusuf is asking his fellow Somalia delegates at the on-going Somalia National Reconciliation Conference in Eldoret to fully support the conference. Speaking from Gorowe town in Somalia, Col. Yusuf who is one of the delegates at the peace talks said all the delegates must have hope that the talks will succeed.
And he disowned the position taken by one of the Somalia leaders Mr. Musa Sudi Yalahow, chairman of the United Somalia Congress (USC), who withdrew from the talks and left for Somalia this week. Puntland's Minister for Religious Affairs and Justice Mr. Ahmed Ashareh who communicated with Col Yusuf on phone said president described the Eldoret talks as a matter of 'life and death' for Somalis.... Mr. Ashreh is one of the delegates at the talks that were last week hit by accusations of high-handedness and corruption as some delegates were ordered to go back home.
Minister for Religious Affairs?
Now the Globe and Mail did establish that Yasmin's father was a politically active individual:
Her husband [Yasmin's father] was a political dissident who arrived as a refugee in the early 1980s and has since returned to Somalia to help rebuild the country.
Reading the Globe and Mail report, you wouldn't guess that he became a top minister and so directly involved in the role of Islam in Somali life, at least in Puntland. Of course, it stands to reason that a Minister of Religious Affairs is expected to be a Muslim role model, along with his family. It seems obvious too that a scandal could be very costly, politically speaking.
Indeed, there are people who consider Yasmin's murder to be less than tragic:she deserved that and more my dear ... because she left her home and chose to live with adddoons in zina. somalis should start stoning these dhilllooos to death...her brothers should offed hear [sic: "her"] the day she decided to get a jamaican boyfriend and move out into her basement apartment
"Adddoon", or "Adoon", is Somali slang for black. It literally means Bantu, but also means slave in certain contexts. "Zina" is word that translates best into the phrase "living in sin". "Dhillooos"? I'm not sure, but I bet it's not nice.
Clearly, Yasmin's situation, or how people perceived her lifestyle, even if they were wrong in their perception, can generate strong feelings. Even violent feelings.
Are Yasmin's parent's still married? I'm trying to sort this out (assuming Ahmed Ashareh is really Yasmin's father, of course). One tipster describes the relationship better described as that of a man and one of his concubines. I'll see what I can find.
But according to the Toronto Police, I'm heading in entirely the wrong direction on this.
