By Bill Pike
[email protected]
The Courier-Journal
Sunday, October 07, 2007
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A year ago, the scene in the Iroquois Homes apartment at 1427 Bicknell Ave. was one of horrific violence.Four young children from Somalia were dead, their throats cut. Their mother had been beaten with a mallet but survived. Their father was charged with four counts of murder.
Today, the scene in the yard outside the apartment was one of hope. About 60 Iroquois Homes residents and others — including about 35 children — gathered to remember the Somali children and support efforts to reduce violence against all children.
“Those children lost their lives in a very violent way,” said community activist Christopher 2X, who organized the event on behalf of a grass-roots drive called the Campaign to End Violence Against Children.
“We have to make people aware of this type of violence,” 2X said. “The best way we can advocate safety for children is to show children we care about them and support them.”
2X recited the names of the dead children — Goshany, Khadija, Fatuma and Sidi Ali, aged 2 to 8. Their mother, Fatuma Amir, “is on the mend in another part of town,” 2X said. “She’s a remarkable person.”
The children’s father, Said Biyad, is awaiting trial.
Ashley Taylor, a Jeffersontown High School student, and Lavel White, a University of Louisville student, told the youngsters at the gathering that they need willpower to avoid violence. The two said they grew up in tough neighborhoods and know what it’s like in public-housing complexes like Iroquois Homes.
The three speakers stood next to a tree stump that 2X said the Somali children called the “play stump.” He explained that they tried to teach American youngsters Somali games that involved the stump.
Juan Goosby, 11, said he had difficulty understanding the Somali game because he couldn’t understand the Somali youngsters’ language. “But they were the best soccer players,” he said.
Tyonna Pitney, 7, said all the Somali children were nice.
Alexis Massey, 9, remembered swinging with them in a park.
Shishak Moshia and Ali Shimba played African djembe drums during the ceremony.
“We need to love and share this planet together,” Shimba said.
The drums helped the gathering “feel the sprit of the Somali children,” 2X said. He also said that children who live in poverty need to know that adults care about them.
After the ceremony, 2X led about 30 youngster a block or so to a Short Stop Food Mart, where he bought them popsicles.
Reporter Bill Pike can be reached at (502) 582-4243.
Source: The Courier-Journal, Oct 07, 2007