As the oldest surviving newspaper, Foroyaa celebrates 34 years of existence and The Standard wishes to send profound congratulations to this important medium which has served the country as an important source of information all these decades.
Yes, Foroyaa was an organ of PDOIS, a political organization but from the word go, the paper has been able to give a voice to all shapes of political opinion, even from those its owners disagree with.
One of the many positive impacts the paper registered in the country is the promotion of political education and maturity.
Since its inception, Foroyaa ran, and continues to run articles, commentaries and analyses of how a nation-state should be run, by who and for who. This has led to a greater understanding by citizens of their civic rights, democracy as well as constitutional and economic matters.
Politics aside, Foroyaa can be credited to be perhaps the most effective medium in the promotion of women empowerment and the propagation of the voices and rights of the poor, the vulnerable and the discriminated. Columns like the Woman is a Human Being Too contributed immensely to raising awareness about the rights of women, protection and promotion as well as breaking cultural barriers that hindered women empowerment.
Foroyaa also prides itself as a reliable recorder of history. The paper is never tired, bored or bothered in its persistent repetition of historical facts to let the present and future generation know about the history of the nation and the world at large.
Aware of its civic duty, Foroyaa is never in a hurry or in competition for a headline. Rather, it would approach every story with utmost care and due diligence and would always admit and apologise when an error is reported. As the paper marks over three decades of existence, we congratulate the editorial team for their courage, persistence and endurance and professionalism and wish it many more decades of active service.
To freedom and educating the people, happy 34th anniversary!
