I applaud and respect Dr. Adan, my friend and colleague for twenty years, for his sense of justice and firm determination to contribute to peace and human rights in Somaliland. I especially admire Adan’s steadfast support for gender justice in a country where most Somali men would shy away from challenging gender inequalities. Thank you, Adan, for your unwavering service to our country so as to make it a better place for all of us. — Amina Warsame ‘Milgo’

It has been my privilege to be a friend and colleague of Dr Adan since 1992. As medical doctor, a social activist, a human rights campaigner and a peacemaker, Dr Adan has touched many peoples’ lives in profound ways. His place in the history of Somaliland deserves to be recognized and his life celebrated. At the Rift Valley Institute, we are pleased to be able to contribute to that by documenting a part of his life in his own words. — Mark Bradbury, Executive Director, Rift Valley Institute

Dr Adan Yusuf Abokor was born in Hargeisa, Somaliland, and grew up in Aden, Yemen. He graduated from Warsaw Medical School, Poland, in 1976. He was the director of the Hargeisa Group Hospital in the early 80s and together with other young professionals was arrested and imprisoned by Siad Barre’s regime from 1981 to 1989. He was Country Representative for Progressio, a British NGO, from 1998 to 2012 and the Rift Valley Institute’s Representative in Somaliland from 2013 to 2019.