Man who escaped war in Ethiopia found severely beaten

Man who escaped war in Ethiopia was found severely beaten on Syracuse street.
August 18, 2006
By BoNhia LeeStaff writer
Abdoirahman Mahmoud liked to walk around his neighborhood on Syracuse's South Side no matter what time of day it was, his friends said Thursday.
He collected soda cans and bottles and gave children candy along the way, where people know him as G.I. Joe. His friends don't know how he got his nickname.
"It was his neighborhood," said Adan Warfa, of Syracuse, who grew up with Mahmoud in their native Ethiopia in East Africa.
Mahmoud, 54, of 300 Burt St., was found unconscious about 2:05 p.m. Tuesday in the 600 block of Tallman Street. Witnesses told police they saw Mahmoud arguing with three young men, then saw at least one of the men attack Mahmoud.
Mahmoud is in critical condition at University Hospital with traumatic brain injury, said Sgt. Tom Connellan, Syracuse police spokesman.
Police still have little information in the case and are seeking the public's help, Connellan said. Police released a driver's license photograph of Mahmoud, hoping people who recognize him would call in with information about the attack.
"We're looking for people
who may have seen him out and about and maybe knew who he was with or saw what he was doing prior to the assault," Connellan said. "We're trying to piece together his day and see if he was with these guys or did he happen upon them."
Mahmoud is a member of the Somali community and attends the Islamic Society of Central New York.
The Somali community is shocked and saddened by the assault, said Daud Ahmed, a caseworker at the Syracuse school district's Refugee Family Program.
"He is very well-liked and part of the community," Ahmed said.
Mahmoud has no family in Syracuse, but he is close to Warfa and Omer Hussein, of Syracuse. Daud and the two friends have been at his bedside since the injury.
They declined to discuss Mahmoud's condition because of the investigation, but they spoke about their friendship and Mahmoud's journey as a refugee from Ethiopia to Syracuse.
Warfa, Hussein and Mahmoud lived in the same neighborhood of Dire Dawa, an industrial city in Ethiopia. Mahmoud worked in a textile factory.
They left Ethiopia in the late 1970s when war broke out with Somalia, whose government wanted to take over Ethiopia's Ogaden region, where the inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Somali.
The three went to neighboring Djibouti and eventually settled in Egypt, where Warfa and Hussein were roommates in Cairo, studying to become a mechanic and an electrician. Mahmoud wanted to study law but studied mechanics because he couldn't afford law school, Warfa said.
"He was a hard worker," Warfa said.
Hussein was the first to resettle in the United States, moving to New York City in 1983. He moved to Syracuse because the city life was too rough, he said. Warfa and Mahmoud soon followed.
Mahmoud is not married and has no children. Friends say he is disabled as a result of a car crash in Ethiopia and lives on Supplemental Security Income. Every month, he sends $200 to his mother and sister who still live in Dire Dawa, Warfa said.
In June, Mahmoud made a 15-day trip to visit his mother and sister in Ethiopia.
"He was speaking highly of back home and his family and how much fun he had," Ahmed said.
Mahmoud's mother is ill and he did not know how much longer she would live, said Warfa, who spoke to the family Thursday morning.
"His sister was so happy to see him before this event," Warfa said.
Source: www.syracuse.com