The late Abbas Ediris, a.k.a. John Drysdale, was laid to rest in Hargeisa, Tuesday, with the complete rites of a full Muslim on his way to meet the Almighty Creator. His Excellency the President of the Republic of Somaliland attended the funeral.
His Excellency the President of the Republic of Somaliland, Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud “Siilaanyo” and a great number of government officials and representatives of AET – the British representative office in Somaliland – and a high emissary from the British Embassy in Ethiopia attended the funeral.
Sheikh Ediris lived in Gabiley in his last years.
The president, in his condolence message to the nation and the late Ediris’s relatives, termed his as “a person who sacrificed many efforts to both the people and nation at large, in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture and through his NGO (Cadastral Surveys)” – which activity helped define boundaries for farm claims/stakes in Somaliland.
The Late Abbas Edris, a former British army officer, arrived in Somaliland in 1943 in his teens. He served alongside Somaliland soldiers during WWII in Burma and Singapore. During his long career as a career officer, diplomat, businessman, historian and publisher, Drysdale has turned into a prolific writer and analyst of political events in Somaliland, Somalia, East Africa and Southeast Asia.
In 2009, Mr. Drysdale wore a special Islamic cap and attire to pledge allegiance to Islam and to follow the teachings of the Holy Qur’an and Prophet’s Sunna in a ceremony held in Hargeisa’s main Mosque and changed his name completely to Abbas Idris (Enoch), becoming a Somaliland citizen a short time later.
At the funeral, eulogies paying homage to a great British-Somalilander were delivered by the President, the Ministers, the Embassy, prominent citizens, Islamic scholars and former associates all attesting to the greatness of character, determination, integrity and vision of a born humanitarian.
May God absolve him of all worldly sins and bestow His Bountiful mercy on Sheikh Abbas.
_________________________________________ With Somalilandpress
