Mogadishu (Sunatimes) Over 300 Somali university and high school students accompanied by the minister of higher education of the Transitional Government of Somalia landed at İstanbul Atatürk Airport on Wednesday morning, flying on a Turkish airline, Atlasjet, after being awarded a scholarship to study in Turkey. Thank you Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) for your scholarships awarded to Somali students and for welcoming them to Turkey.

Families and parents are very happy that the Turkish government has provided such an opportunity to their children. Many Somalis in the country and the diaspora appreciate this and, in fact, everyone is happy to see such a large number of Somali students receiving a scholarship.

One student said before his departure to Turkey: “This is an unforgettable moment for me, my parents and every one of the students. I was hopeless before Turkey turned its attention to my country, but now I’m so happy and my future is so bright.”

On Sept. 2, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ confirmed that 500 Somali students would study at universities in Turkey in the upcoming academic year.

The number of scholarships offered by Turkey in Somalia is very large and one could only rarely come across such a high number of grants in award programs of other governments for students from other countries.

All Turkish agencies and aid workers in Somalia are truly doing a magnificent job.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan -- a pragmatic and true leader of Turkey, and a role model of the next generation -- landed in the world’s most dangerous airport and paid a visit to a country where famine and drought are killing its people. Mr. Erdoğan, along with his wife and children, five Cabinet ministers, members of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party), doctors and aid workers, walked through the streets of the word’s most violent capital city and met with hundreds of thousands of people in need who lost everything in the ongoing drought and famine.

Erdoğan was the first head of state to officially visit the war-torn country since 1991. His historic visit was a glimmer of hope for the Somali people.

In half of his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York two weeks ago, Mr. Erdoğan talked about Somalia’s problems and called on world leaders to help the Somali people.

Extending our sincere gratitude to the people of Turkey for their helping hand, we believe there is no better brother than Turkey today.

The Turkish government is providing more than TL 500 million in aid to Somalia. Thanks are due to the Prime Ministry’s Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) and other charity organizations for collecting this money from our brothers and sisters in Turkey.

Somalia has for the past 20 years been neglected by the globe, but today we have a big brother (Turkey) who is ready to prove to us that everything is possible. This is not the first time Turkey is helping Somalia, as history tells us that this is the third major time Turkey has saved the Somali people.

Thanks to Erdoğan for having the courage to see with his own eyes the humanitarian crisis in Somalia and the words of encouragement.

A picture of him, Emine Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu holding severely malnourished children in Somalia will be an unforgettable gesture. Remarkably, he said, “Don’t worry, the Turkish people are with you.”

Mr. Erdoğan appointed a Turkish ambassador to Somalia to reopen the Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu to coordinate and provide famine relief and help rebuild schools, roads, hospitals and water wells. The new Turkish ambassador to Somalia, Kani Torun, is a doctor and was the CEO of Doctors Worldwide.

Somalis in the diaspora have also done the best they could to show their appreciation to Mr. Erdoğan and the people of Turkey. They have contacted and met with Turkish ambassadors in Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, the UK, Denmark, the US, Canada, Australia, Qatar, Norway, Russia and Sweden.

Turkish Ambassador to Kenya Tuncer Kayalar was the first to meet with members of the Somali community in Kenya, led by exiled Somali journalists, who expressed their appreciation for the Turkish aid for drought victims.

To thank Mr. Erdoğan, they also set up a Facebook titled “Thank you PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkey for supporting Somalia.”

A friend of mine posted on his Facebook wall that his first newborn baby boy will be named “Erdoğan,” while his first newborn baby girl will be named “İstanbul.”

“İstanbul is the capital city of Turkey [sic], which is also one of the most popular names in Somali culture, and Erdoğan is the man who saved Somalia, so we don’t want to forget his name,” he said.

Many Somalis, including me, have advised the Somali president to make Mr. Erdoğan an honorary citizen of the Republic of Somalia, while others have advised the Mogadishu mayor to change one of the main roads that runs through the city center to “Erdoğan Road.”

By Farah Ali

Farah Ali is a Somali journalist and can be reached at [email protected].