Somali Youth League (SYL)
— 2017
The Somali Youth League (Ururka Dhalinyarada Soomaaliyeed) was a political party that unified Somalis at the end of the colonial period in Somalia. SYL, shortly after its establishment in 1943, worked on launching a great force that would bring independence in the country. Considered and emulated by many as the great political party of Somalia, SYL is too recent in the memories of Somalis and celebrated annually on May 15th.
As part of his ongoing effort in researching and advancing Somali design aesthetic, Kaamil designed 56 Somali stamps as part of his graduating thesis at the University of Minnesota. One of the five categories he designed is Somali monuments, including the SYL monument in Mogadishu, Somalia. Unlike the original one in Somalia, Kaamil made his out of wood. Though these structures are permanent in the space they occupy, Haider’s SYL is designed to make it portable, an emblematic gesticulation of native monuments outside of their homeland.
