“Omar Artan was already a hero before he came back to Somalia this week after being denied entry to the United States for the World Cup. Long before the controversy, he had become a household name in the country. As one former sports official told me, a warm welcome was guaranteed whenever he eventually returned to Mogadishu. But the decision by US immigration authorities to turn him away transformed the meaning of his homecoming. Somali journalists had spent the morning waiting for his flight from Istanbul to land. On the tarmac, a delegation of senior government officials waited patiently alongside us, flags in hand and many already cheering. Anticipating that he might return disappointed and disheartened, preparations had been made to roll out the red carpet and turn what could have been seen as a setback into a triumph. Participating in the World Cup, he said in a rare 2018 interview, had always been his dream. …”
Africa Is a Country