The research in Somaliland focused on a civil resistance initiative from the 1980s known as Uffo, which means “the sweet smelling wind before the rain”.

Doctors, teachers and other professionals came together to address serious negligence in the health and educational sector by restoring a hospital and volunteer teaching. This was both a humanitarian activity responding to the acute suffering of patients, and a way of resisting the oppressive policies of the regime while navigating the high risks in an authoritarian setting.

They wanted to illuminate the government's neglect of its duties, and show their community that they could take matters into their own hands. They further wanted to mobilize people across clans to counter the regime’s repressive split and rule tactic, inherited from previous colonial rule.

When the professionals were arrested a few months later and risked execution, this became the spark that ignited and inspired secondary school students to protest the regime openly. This was the first open street protest against the Siad Barre regime. Due to these reactions, the regime commuted the death sentences to prison sentences. The resistance continued and eventually led to the self-proclamation of Somaliland in 1991.

Hence, these events represent a key transformative moment in Somaliland’s’ history and thereby provide an opportunity to study individual and collective mobilization that drive societal transformation. The Uffo professionals described a strong sense of care for the community and responsibility to address injustice. You can read the whole story in both English and Somali here.