Abdulrahim Abby Farah - a World Voice For Freedom
Abdulrahim Abby Farah was born in Barry in 1919, a few months after the Race Riots swept through the town and other locations in south Wales. His father, Abby Farah, was a Somali entrepeneur and a sailor who was awarded an MBE for his tireless work within his community; he was a member of the British Colonial Club in Thompson Street for example, and was at the forefront of establishing the Domino Club, which not only served the Somali community, but also reached out to children of all races. Abdulrahim's mother, Hilda Anderson was an English woman, and she and her husband also kept a boarding house for a while. Abdulrahim grew up in a vibrant, multicultural community in Thompson Street and like the rest of the children in his family, attended Gladstone Road School and then Barry Grammar School.Being able to protect the interests of the people of Somalia was something that became of great importance to Abdulrahim as he grew up, and at the age of 17, with the support of his father, he left Wales and joined the British Colonial Service where he worked in Somalia as a clerk and then, later as a magistrate. During World War II, he fought with the British Forces in West Africa. After the war returned to Britain to study, first at Exeter University and then at Oxford, where he later graduated. Abdulrahim was appointed Somalia's ambassador to Ethiopia by the newly Independent Republic of Somalia in the 1960s. In addition, for much of the period from 1965 to 1972 he represented Somalia at the United Nations, holding various prominent positions as a statesman. He was promoted to the post of Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Questions from 1979 to 1989 and his contribution to the negotiations which lead to Nelson Mandela being freed is acknowledged world-wide.Abdulrahim Abby Farah retired in 1989, but continued to work in order to ensure a better world for the people of Somalia, setting up a hospital there for amputees injured by land mines as well as supporting and encouraging young people to pursue an education.Abdulrahim Abby Farah went on an incredible journey from Thompson Street, Barry to New York, following the principles of his vision to ensure freedom for his own people, and for others. He died in May 2018 at the age of 98.
