Sunday April 13, 2025
DUBAI, UAE (HOL) — The streets of Dubai are no strangers to linguistic diversity. But a young Somali man speaking Malayalam—flawlessly, and in the unmistakable Thrissur dialect—was enough to send Malayalis across the Gulf into collective amazement.
Hassan Mohammed Abmoji, 25, born in Mogadishu, became a minor celebrity after a video of him speaking Malayalam went viral on social media. In it, he banters with friends in colloquial slang, asking, “enthutta gadiye?” (“What’s up, dude?”) — a phrase no one expected to hear from a Somali man.
“I’ve had people stop me on the street and say, ‘Bro, was that you?’” Hassan said, grinning. “That makes me really happy.”
Hassan spent 15 years in Kerala, where he studied and absorbed the region’s language, culture, and cuisine with remarkable ease. He arrived in Thrissur in 2008 when his father, Abdikadir Mohamed, then working in Dubai, decided to relocate his children to India in pursuit of a better education.
After considering several states, his father chose Kerala for its academic reputation. Hassan, along with his siblings and cousins, enrolled at Al Azhar English Medium School in Manakkody, Thrissur. At the time, Hassan spoke only Somali.
“I didn’t even know English,” he said. “My elder brothers helped translate. But I learned fast—English first, then Malayalam.”
His family first lived in a boarding facility, where adapting to the local food was a challenge. That changed when his mother, Zeynab Gaal, joined them two years later. With home-cooked Somali meals and a rented villa just minutes from the bustling Pooram grounds, Thrissur began to feel like home.
“Porotta and beef became our go-to. We even learned to make some Kerala dishes ourselves,” he said, recalling Onam sadhyas shared with neighbours and friends.
Hassan eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science engineering from Rajagiri School of Engineering in Kochi. His time in Kerala left an indelible mark—from first-day film screenings (Drishyam is his favourite) to playing football in floodwaters during the 2018 deluge.
“We didn’t realize how serious the flooding was until the water reached our doorstep,” he said. “Hotels were full. One of my brother’s friends took us in for 10 days. That’s the Malayali spirit.”
Now working as a property consultant and investment specialist in Dubai, Hassan continues to speak Malayalam at home with his siblings. One of his brothers is currently studying at SCMS College in Ernakulam.
“My friends are mostly from Kerala,” he said. “I hardly know anyone in Somalia anymore.”
For a man whose first language was Somali, Hassan now wears his adopted tongue like a badge of honour—one that connects him to culture thousands of miles away and a people who never expected one of their own to come from Mogadishu.
“Malayalis are everywhere in the world,” he said. “Knowing their language and culture? That’s a blessing.”