South Africa (Somalilandpress)- Somaliland is an oasis of peace and democratic country in the troubled area of Horn of Africa, it’s scheduled to host its second presidential elections on 27th September 2009, its neigbours Ethiopia and Djibouti had troubles border relations with Eritrea, but Somaliland remains the success story in Africa
Jamal Ali Hussein recently on business trip in South Africa saw a need to further engage the world about issues relating to Somaliland in social, political and economic sense and in no order of importance, Jamal Ali Hussein former chairperson of Somaliland forum and the CEO of Citibank in Ivory Coast.
In his interview with SABC Africa, Jamal beautifully distinguishes the difference between peaceful Somaliland and war torn Somalia, he further explains to the audience about Somaliland and issues such as the question of recognition, how Somaliland has supported the Somalis who lives inside Somaliland and how Somaliland could be stablising factor in horn of Africa.
Indeed Jamaal’s views (in this interview and the invaluable time we had with him during his visit to South Africa), has certainly changed how I and many other colleagues think of the challenges which we face as a nation in self realization and a nation in transition from a bad history to being a prime example of peace and stability in the horn of Africa. His presence has reminded myself and many Somalilanders in Diaspora that we are indeed a nation in transition and we have so much to do while in overseas and while at home. That is so because we share the common humanity and history and it with such small battles that we are once again in position of strength and hope.
It’s with such interviews, debates, conferences held on Somaliland’s name that the reality of Somaliland is presented clearer to the international community.
Salaam All, To Somalilanders worldwide; The recent announcements made by Congressman Donald Payne regarding the issues involving Somaliland have concerned me so much so that I had to write. I have been further troubled by the current situation in our homeland. I am not a writer as per say but rather a young man with a lot of pride in his belly; pride for his country; pride for his people and proud of his history. Though my age may say that I am not wise enough to comment on these issues and ideas presented below I write this piece out of emotions and feelings I have for the betterment of my people.
Out of concern and frustration and knowing fully my people’s resilience in the toughest of times, I write this piece to outlay my absolute concern regarding the current situation that my countrymen face. Though I live in a far distant land and grown up in a society whose virtues and values highly differ from that which we all experienced back home, I still have so much love for my motherland. By paper I am citizen of Australia but in the deepest of my thoughts I am often confronted by the reality of my world, that I am a Somalilander through and through.
Before anyone misunderstands any of my concerns presented here, I am not a politician nor am I a supporter of any of the political parties in our country. I am a genuine supporter of my motherland, Somaliland. I put the virtues of nationhood before the squabbles of a few self serving characters. Believe me I have a lot of respect for our politicians, but I am often dismayed at their recklessness. I am writing this as a concerned Somalilander and a very concerned one at that. For the past years I have come to the conclusion that all chance of a better, independent Somaliland have evaporated somewhat due to the lack of love and concern for our country by our leaders and people alike. Please don’t misunderstand me and say that I am anti-Somaliland or even that I have no knowledge of our country. As a young educated somalilander it pains me to see my people go into a hole that’s hard to get out of. My analysis is not based on any foreign affairs experience but that of a young man whose entire future is tied with his homeland.
Growing up in a foreign country and always feeling the sense that you are an outcast and not welcomed in the country that you have grown up in, has driven me to search my inner belonging and find that I have a homeland, a very rich and tranquil one at that. Every article I read about my homeland (Somaliland) said something like “Africa’s best kept secret….”. My hopes and aspiration were through the roof; I’ve often argued and debated with other Somalis and Africans telling them that I am from the best land in the entire continent. I love my country more than any other. Some Somali friends call me “reer waqooyi”, I often reply with this very simple gesture that often gets under their skin, “I Prefer Somalilander”. Every new picture of Somaliland on the web fulfils my daily intake of patriotism. My family often comment on my extreme believe and sense of patriotism about my homeland. I try to the best of my ability to protect the image of Somaliland from all its adversaries wherever and whoever they may be.
Somaliland was not born out of the richness of friends but a reality where our foes outnumber our friends. This is further compounded by the belief that the politics of the 60s and 70s will be the way to a brighter day for our small simple nation. Often those who lead our nation are a very self cantered group of leaders and lack the ability to put their personal satisfaction a side and put the needs of our country first and this statement applies to both the current administration and the opposition parties.
The perplexing issue here though is the fact that it often seems that they answer to no one, not even the people who have elected them. Looking at it today Somaliland is standing on delicate ground, as we all argue the little issues our opponents are looking at the big picture and often are a step ahead. While we point the figure at each other our opponents are also pointing the figure at us. I might not have lived in this world as long as some of the leaders of our country but I often confuse the line of which of us are the wiser. Ask yourself this question if today Somalia is a peaceful country how hard will it be for us to get recognised if we can’t work hard enough to get the recognition from the international community today when we have all the reason and the realities that exist in Somalia then how hard is it going to be when Somalia is a peaceful country.
Everywhere I look, at almost everywhere in the globe where Somalilanders reside I see Somalilanders disenfranchised and disorientated by qabilism. We tell the world that tribalism no longer rules the people of Somaliland but I believe that the opposite is true. Today I even notice that in the Diaspora communities we compete with each other so as to
benefit our inner tribal groups rather than thinking of the big picture which is Somaliland.
All the news that has come out of our country in the last year or two has been one of sadness and sorrow especially the last few days. I am often compelled not to read any news from back home for it may ruin my entire day. Lately I have noticed that I read every Somaliland news website, searching for that good news that never arrives. For every failure of our politicians there is an excuse and it seems that our politicians never run out of these excuses. I am often dismayed by our government’s utter disregard for the intellectual ability of our people, but I am not surprised for they do not answer to us the electorate.
Our people have put clan affiliation before the rule of law and good governance. Today we stand at a critical point of juncture where our country has been going backwards for a long, long time. What saddens me is that many of my countrymen base their support of the current regime on their clan affiliation rather than the result of the productivity of our government. To say that the current regime is a lame duck is an understatement, for it seems that we the people expect no results and never question as to why there have been no results.
Lately we must have all felt that any sense of democracy in our homeland has somewhat disappeared and the main culprit, our government; for they have shown such disregard for the rule of law and have often transgressed the tranquillity that our people created. In the past week or two they have shown their utter disrespect for the virtues that many of the fore fathers of our land fought for and shed so much blood. The pain of knowing that the great many that fought for this freedom that we all enjoy and their efforts might be in vain because the leaders of today have no respect for the values and the effort that has gone into giving us this hard earned freedom of ours. Abusing the freedom of the ordinary man has become the common trait of the current president and his ministers. The idea of arresting people whom have done no harm to anyone other than expressing their personal point of view or the fact that they don’t like to praise the president for everything when they clearly know that for eight years he has mismanaged and abused the trust of the people that elected him. He reminds me of a dictator that I have once known.
Many of our father died to give us the freedom that we all enjoy in our country today and that didn’t come easy. While many of the ministers in the current government have placed their families outside of Somaliland and they enjoy the luxuries of life in those foreign countries they call home, they the ministers are abusing the very few rights that many of our compatriots back home have. They have locked up media organisations that have employed great many young professionals who have been the sole bread winners of many Somaliland families. The abuse and misuse of the Somaliland public media organisation (Radio Hargeisa, SLNTV) is wide spread. They have become place where the government propagates its dictatorial messages. I hope that all those employees of these organisations and other Somaliland journalists react to the happenings of the past few weeks and as solidarity stop all media publication until the government steps back from the actions that it has taken in the past few days. We the general public should stand
shoulder to shoulder with those young professional who are being prosecuted for doing their job.
Recently I witness government officials falling over themselves to welcome Marian Mursal to Hargeisa with such fanfare, all because of a song. I ask, are we that desperate? This in no uncertain terms should mean any disrespect towards Marian but it seemed that while we all shook our heads and hips with this great song we forgot many others who have done a lot more for Somaliland. When a fellow Somalilander travelled thousands of miles, across oceans and left his kids and wife for the pride in his homeland and to do something that no other Somalilander ever thought of doing for his beloved country only for us all to push him away. He travelled through many borders and boundaries so as to spread the name of Somaliland across many countries and places that our name has never reached and not even got a thank you for all his efforts, I for one apologize. I sincerely hope that my fellow Somalilanders pick up their sense of duty towards their country and follow your footsteps.
It is surprising to learn our government’s only answer as to why we have not been recognised as yet is to say that it’s coming and when you ask again they tell you it’s getting closer and closer when the reality says otherwise. The failures of our government to appoint people whose expertise is in the field of diplomacy and their understanding of international affairs is very much limited and further request of them to advocate on behalf of Somaliland is an act of treason by the highest of order for that has led to Somaliwayn supporters having bigger balance of influence on foreign diplomats then our own representatives, I ask how can war criminals, thugs, warlords, pirates and their affiliates be more influential than our own government?
Is it me or does it seem like that our foreign policy is almost nonexistent and that no other entity can regarded it worthy enough for it to be interested for the development of our country. It’s troubling to know that the voices of the many anti-Somaliland groups are growing and are often becoming more and more influential in the international community. They are influencing the UN, AU and the Arab world. They are presenting themselves at every opportunity that Somaliland is overed and are there to block it and lately they have achieved to push Somaliland into a corner. Djibouti has become the fore runner of these groups, but what amazes me is how our government puts on parties to celebrate the leader of Djibouti who is the number one financier of these anti-somaliland groups and not to mention an absolute dictator. The fact that he has said no to our day of celebration to take place on the 18th of May in Djibouti when great many other countries have had no problems with this taking place in their locality is a bitter pill to swallow, knowing that great many Somalilanders fought for and died in the effort to get a free independent country called Djibouti. The sad bit in all this is that our government is so naive as to believe that this dictator should be celebrated in our country and many UDUB leaders should be deemed unpatriotic for their support of this dictator who is the ultimate anti-somalilander. Where are all the Somalilanders in Djibouti, Do they have no pride in who they are? Why are our businessmen propping and doing trade in this country? Do we not have any sense of belonging to our motherland?
Yes I am a realist and I do understand that achieving peace in a place where peace is unknown is a great achievement but do we stop there and say that we’ve reached our desired goals and objectives and use peace as a weapon to answer when asked what have we achieved thus far as a government, only to respond peace and peace alone every time. If the current situation in Somaliland continues we will not even have the peace that we often post about. It’s clear to see that president Rayaale and his cohorts don’t understand how much we appreciate our hard earned freedom; for they have not been affected by the forgettable history of afweyne’s dictatorship. The current regime wants us to stay silent while they perpetrate the same misgivings that we experienced with afweyne. I ask what makes Rayaale so powerful as for him and his cronies to abuse the very basic right that we all had under Somaliland constitution; Why is it that we are all staying silent when our journalists are being abused “Miyaanay dad ladhalan” ; Where are all those so called Caaqils who usually jump up and down when someone mistreats their tribe; why are they ignoring the plea of our brothers; why are they so silent of this regime.; is history repeating?.
As the world focuses on other matters like Piracy, terrorism and Darfur Somaliland has been left in a precarious situation that requires urgent attention of our foreign minister. Though my expertise in the field of diplomacy is very much limited I can see the failures of our foreign policy. If we cared at all about our country getting the recognition it seeks we must take a different path to the current one which is doomed to failure. The policy of the current government in attempting to develop foreign relations with other countries has taken a very bad turn. I fear this may lead to permanent damage to the aspirations of our people. We have become the laughing stock of the Somaliwayn supporters. I fear there may be a sinister scheme to derail any hopes and aspiration that my countrymen had of seeing a free democratic Somaliland. It seems that the foreign policy of our country has no direction and requires someone with the ability to think outside the box. The current minister has no vision for the country and the path that we should take to gaining the independence that we seek. He is misguided in his attempts to make the search for independence a UDUB memorandum and not a national consensus, whereby every party and everyone are inclusive.
The only way I see the world listening to us is when we unite as one and lift the banner of Somaliland as one. I have often noticed the characters that are assigned to establish Somaliland’s presence in foreign countries are the supporters of UDUB and often speak as if they are the representatives of that party rather than the spokesmen for our cause, a cause we all believe in. This also applies to our opposition parties as they also practice these acts of stupidity where all our leaders put their political party affiliations before the general consensus that is Somaliland. In the past 7 years the only progress or update offered to the people of Somaliland by our government regarding the issue of recognition has been the simple statement that “Recognition is getting closer”, May I ask for how long will we not question this statement. As I mentioned before it really seems that we the people don’t demand results from our leaders and that may mainly be due to our clan affiliations.
In getting back to the issues that have led me to write this critical analysis of the situation in my motherland, I believe that as a young adult I strive to make a difference in Somaliland and as such I have the duty to protect and behold the cause that is Somaliland; for I am Somaliland and Somaliland is me and it’s the blood that runs through my veins and there is no way of removing it. I stand to defend my home from all its adversaries. Its seems to me while all our politicians and leaders are all cutting off each necks, our enemies are also onto us and are trying to eliminate our existence not only by name “Somaliland” but more importantly our people back home. Yes we can all dismiss this as a non issue like our current government has but that would be at our peril despite what our people have achieved thus far. We need to push back and push back hard.
I ask Allah to guide me and my people and to lift any burdens that may besiege them. Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire. Allah is Sufficient for me, none has the right to be worshipped except Him, upon Him I rely and He is Lord of the exalted throne. Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate (from the truth) after You have guided us, and grant us mercy from You. Truly, You are the Bestower.
To Mr. Payne him I would say these few words; We should all show our displeasure about the comments that this congressman made about our country and our people which showed that he is misinformed and misguided. I hope that we all write in to express our personal life stories and how we have been affected by the same people that are advising him today i.e. the ex generals of Somalia.
Where are the Somalilanders in his constituency; why are they silent and finally where are all the Somalilanders in the US. Action speaks lauder than words and in my opinion those Somalilanders who are located in the US should organise themselves and protest in front of his offices and that should show him that these issues and his comments have hurt our people and nation alike. He’ll respond once he sees how he has offended all of us Somalilanders.
We should also approach those other congressmen that are members of the foreign affairs committee and give them the “SOMALILAND101” Lesson.
It seems to me that your words Mr Payne about Somaliland are so misinformed and misguided that the Somali people at large are making a mockery of your comments. It seems that you think that the people that elected you deserve the right to live in a democracy and live in peace, but you cannot afford to give those same virtues to my people in Somaliland because you are misguided in overing those virtues to the terrorists, warlords, pirates and criminals in Somalia and denying it to the people of Somaliland. It amazes me that you, an elected representative of the United States cannot do a bit of googling to educate yourself about the reasons that Somaliland went it alone and decided they want peace, democracy and the rule of law instead of war, piracy, and terrorism. It saddens me to hear your support for terrorist groups in Somalia like the Islamic courts etc and the piracy of Puntland where its well documented that their leaders including the one’s you have met have directly benefited from Piracy. Somaliland said laud and clear in a referendum where 97% of our people decided to go it alone after the genocide of my people committed by the same characters that you advocate for. Our people have spoken.
Somaliwayne is a dead ideology that will never happen again for it has caused so much pain. I ask you to educate yourself about Somaliland and not rely on the words of the terrorists that America tells the world it’s fighting. It’s sad to know that you have no time to visit Hargeisa where peace, democracy and the rule of law is appreciated but you have all the time in the world to negotiate and appreciate the terrorists in Mogadishu and the pirates of Puntland but the saddest thing is the believe that your country America tells the world that its fighting terrorists when it’s clear that you and your advisors Mr. Payne are friends and advocates for these groups. The absolute disrespect that you have shown to the many Somalilanders in your constituent who have willingly voted for you have been left to wonder why the man they have voted for turned against them. Somalilanders have done no harm to anyone other than saying they want to decide their future and that they don’t want terrorists making the decisions for them. They have said no to piracy, they have been at peace for the past 18 years but you have dismissed all that with your comments and your support for some of the factions that are at war in Somalia.
You Mr. Payne have said yes to piracy and yes to terrorism. You as an African American should understand what it means to go through the hardships of being excluded by society and to presume in your comments that innocent Somalilanders should be punished for their believe in free and fair society that believes in democracy and the rule of law is reprehensible to say the least. I hope that you can someday know how hurtful your comments have been.
Hargeisa, 30 July 2009 (Somalilandpress) – AllAfrica Global Media is a multi-media company headquartered in the United States and Africa. Growing rapidly, AllAfrica’s web site logs over six million monthly page views and the company is the largest electronic distributor of African news and information worldwide. Clients include Comtex, Lexis-Nexis, CNN, Reuters Business Briefing, Financial Times Information, CompuServe, Bloomberg and iSyndicate, and for wireless devices, OmniSky and AvantGo. AllAfrica Global Media is highly reputed news company.
AllAfrica was established on 1999, and it earned remarkable trust between the African readers in very short period of time. AllAfrica led many of its readers to realize that good journalism is vital to the health of the democracies in Africa. It tells its readers most of what they know about the world beyond their own experience by going where its audience cannot or will not. It keeps watch on the government and other powerful institutions, exposes wrongdoing and injustice, and shares the endless fascinations of everyday life. AllAfrica reaches the voiceless communities across Africa including women and children.
However, AllAfrica´s sources in Somaliland and Somalia failed to implement the principles of journalism, and provide biased reports that bash countries or groups. AllAfrica Media use the reports by politically motivated Somali News Websites like www.garoweonilne.com (Garowe Online Media) and http://www.shabelle.net (Shabelle Media Network). The reports of such websites don´t respect the values of ethical journalism and are unreliable.
For example, AllAfrica Media republished report by Garowe Online about recent violence between two Somaliland tribes at the border between Somaliland and Ethiopia particularly Ceel-Bardaalle town, where four people were killed by armed bandits. The report can be reached by opening this link: http://allafrica.com/stories/200907150004.html
The report says that fighting took place at Hargiesa Suburbs. This is an attempt to show the world that the Capital of Somaliland is witnessing violence and fighting like Mogadishu, Somalia. The Ceel-Bardaalle town is located 100 Km west of Hargiesa, and is between Gabiley and Awdel Regions. This was politically motivated report by Garowe Online Media.
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Unfortunately, Garowe Online misled AllAfrica many similar issues to downgrade Somaliland’s stability and security. However, both Garowe Online and Shabelle Media are unreliable and biased to many Somali and international news agencies. The owners of aforesaid news websites are from Ex-Italian Somalia and politically motivates against independence of Somaliland. Such behavior undermines the values of journalism.
Garowe Online Media is promoting Puntland as third legitimate government in the former Somalia, and campaigning to determine Puntland as the third administration in future Somali Unity – if that happens again.
Somali Republic was established on 1st July 1960 after British Somaliland and Italian Somalia united. At that time, Puntland was under Italian Somalia, but Garowe Online is running to promote Puntland as third uniting party – if former Somalia unites again – at the expense of Somaliland. We can say Garowe Online Media is an official mouthpiece for Puntland administration led by Pirate President Cabdiraxman Faroole.
Puntland Administration and Garowe Online are campaigning to force AU and World community to accept Puntland as an existing power within former Somalia, and to have good share in next impossible Somali reconciliation process, which will give Puntland equal share to Italian Somalia and Somaliland.
Puntland Administration use piracy, human trafficking and drug smuggle to catch the world attention. However, Puntland’s crocodile tear over piracy catch the interest of US Congressman Mr. Payne. Pirate President was recently invited to US Congress by Mr. Payne, who failed to understand the true color of Faroole. The entire Somali Pirates operate from Puntland; Human Trafficking operates from Puntland; kidnapping foreigners in common in Puntland; Terrorist organizations, like Al-Itahad Al-Islamiya, are active in Puntland; Garowe Online Media don’t even highlight all these illegal activities in Puntland.
Garowe Online Media publishes articles bashing Somaliland and supplies to outside world; Allafrica Media need to reexamine the credibility of their sources inside Somalia including Puntland owned Garowe Online Media and Shabelle Media Network. Allafrica Media need to establish their own offices across peaceful parts of former Somalia.
Garoowe Online Media is highly corrupted, biased and tribal; it supports the policy of Puntland Administration led by father of the Editor of Garowe Online Media Cabdiraxman Faroole – Maxamed Cabdiraxman Faroole is son of Puntland President and one of the major editors in Garowe Online. Another word, Garowe Online Media is the official mouthpiece of Puntland.
Advice to AllAfrica Media
AllAfrica Media shall review the policies of their news sources in Somaliland and Somalia, in order maintain the image of the media in Somaliland and Somalia. What is reality is that news of Garowe Online Media is not reliable because the policies of Puntland Administration influence the news portal. Good journalism is about unbiased reporting and unveiling the realities to the world, and discovering the truth of the stories.
Hargeisa, 30 July 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Somaliland government expelled the representative of Interpeace from country. A group of Somaliland police arrived at Maansoor hotel where the representative was staying and guided him to the airport where he is flown out of the country.
Armed forces have been seen inside and around Maansoor hotel this morning during the operation. Witness says the representative was prevented to have any contact with the media as well as members of the electoral commission.
This comes after the government said opposed the list of the voters proposed by the organization.
Hargeisa, 30 July 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said ongoing talks between Ethiopia and Somaliland on the use of the port of Barbara are well in progress.
State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Tekeda Alemu on Wednesday held discussions with Somaliland Foreign Affairs Minister, Abdulahi Mohammed Duele.
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The discussions between the two officials were focused on the ongoing consultations to enable Ethiopia to utilize Barbara port.
The two ministers also discussed ways of further bolstering economic and trade relations between the two sides.
Ethiopia’s use of the port is believed to further strengthen existing economies and trade ties between the two nations, according to Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency’s Website.
IJARA, 29 July 2009 (SomalilandPress) – A prolonged drought is causing large-scale livestock deaths, increasing the vulnerability of residents living in the mid-western Gabiley region of Somalia’s self-declared republic of Somaliland, local officials say.
“We have not experienced such drought before,” Mohamed Ahmed Abdi, Gabiley governor, said. “Before, the drought affected either the people on the farms, or the animals, but now it is affecting [both].”
Abdi said agro-pastoralists living south of the main road connecting Gabiley to Hargeisa, Somaliland’s capital, and neighbouring Kalabait area, may have lost up to 70 percent of their sheep to the drought.
Dahir Abdillahi, a resident of Ijara village in Gabiley, told IRIN: “I had 50 sheep two months ago but they started dying off one by one; when it rained a week ago, another 10 died, leaving me with only 10 sheep.”
Abdi said carcasses of dead cows littered most of Ijara; camels are better adapted to drought.
According to the Food Security and Nutritional Analysis Unit (FSNAU Somalia) of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), an acute food and livelihood crisis was emerging in parts of Somaliland due to recent rain failure, compounded by three previous seasons of poor rainfall.
In its June quarterly food security and nutrition brief, FNAU said pasture resources in areas that experience moderate rains had been quickly depleted due to large livestock in-migration from neighbouring rain-deficit areas.
“There is a high level of livestock off-take, as well as high abortion rates, culling of kids/lambs, and drought-induced livestock diseases,” FSNAU stated.
Food availability
According to Ijara resident Mohamoud Mousa Warsame, the village has lost some 1,500 sheep and more than 600 cattle.
“I am in my 60s [yet] this is the first time we [have] experienced such drought,” Warsame said. “I had more than 50 sheep, but 20 died in the drought; two of my cows have also died.”
Warsame said sheep were the most affected due to a lack of pasture and the start of the cold weather had escalated the deaths.
The region has suffered two consecutive failed Gu [long] rains seasons.
According to Warsame, about half of Ijara residents have run out of food reserves and were surviving on one meal a day or skipping meals altogether.
Sharing food among neighbours has increased as has the sharing of reserve food with the animals. “Villages such as Taysa, Bodhley and Boqor have also been affected by the drought,” said Mohamed Da’ud Ahmed, chairman of the Ijara village elders, adding that there was a need for food aid to help cope with the drought, which has lasted about 10 months.
According to Amina Mohamoud, a mother of six from Ged-abeera village near the border with Ethiopia, the drought was increasing food hoarding. “I came from Ged-abeera to Ijara looking for food to buy but because of the drought, people who have some sorghum or maize are refusing to sell,” Mohamoud said.
Food prices have soared. “Before, we used to buy 1kg of sorghum and maize for 2,000 Somaliland shillings each [US$0.28] but now this has doubled to 4,000 shillings [$0.57] – if you can find a place to buy it from,” Mohamoud said. “We used to sell our animals to buy food, but nowadays all our animals are dead.”
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Desperate to feed their surviving livestock, residents are collecting grass loosened during ploughing in the fields for their animals.
“I have come to look for food for my animals,” an elderly Indha-Deeq Mohumed Ahmed, told IRIN in the Galolay area, southeast of Gabiley. She has been left with three cows out of a herd of 30. Ahmed, who was collecting grass, said: “My son went to town to work… and you can see me working at this age.”
More people are moving to the towns. “We do not have the exact statistics, but we know that several hundred agro-pastoralists have moved to the urban centres where they are living with relatives,” said Aden Muhumed Badde, mayor of Gabiley.
He said the region’s residents had been living in difficult conditions for almost two years with little support.
“We do not have the facilities to support these people. We are calling on the government and the international community to send food and medicine for the people and the animals affected by the drought,” Badde said.
Dar es Salaam, 28 Jul 2009 (Somalilandpress) — Tanzania has launched a bank aimed specifically at women in what officials say will be an empowering move.
The bank says women need only an ID card or passport to open an account, unlike other banks which require title deeds or other proofs of wealth.
And applicants need only 3,000 Tanzanian shillings ($2) in savings – much less than other banks.
Although the bank, which is based in Dar es Salaam, targets women with its services, men can also open accounts.
The bank’s management says it will give women expert help and advice.
‘Too shy’
Margareth Mattaba Chacha, the managing director, said: “We know some women hesitate to come forward – they are too shy and think they don’t know anything.
“But here we’re going to have a big group of professionals to take women through step-by-step until we really reach our women.”
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The BBC’s Zuhura Yunus, in Dar es Salaam, says 110 people had opened accounts at the Tanzania Women’s Bank by the end of the morning.
Officials hope there will be 200 more people coming in every day and say the Dar es Salaam branch is just the beginning of a countrywide network.
Margaret Sitta, Minister of Community Development, Gender and Children, said the bank would empower women, but stressed that the accounts were open to all.
Hargeisa, 29 Jul 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Amid the killings and the plethora of bad news trickling out of Somalia daily, once again for the second year running, Somalia has landed on top of Transparency International corruption index. The question on everybody’s mind should be: How did impoverished and stateless nation end up on top of this shameful index? There is a reason for this. We know the bulk of wealth donated to Somalia, only a small bit ends up in the pocket of individual Somalis who are themselves accomplices and contributors to the suffering of our nation. A fallen nation is a haven for unscrupulous individuals who take advantage. Somalia too has become a gold mine for foreign individuals. However, the irony is those who feed on Somalia, the same way wild beasts and mildew feast on fallen animals, are also the ones shaming and disparaging Somalia.
The growing insurgency in Somalia is primarily a sign of the absence of an effective government. It is also a sign of the lack of a government which the Somali people can feel their own. We know insurgents do not live in a vacuum. Obviously, they do not operate on thin air. They have to have support. Another sign of the absence of a credible government in our country must be said, is the expanding involvement of the UN representative, Ahmedou Ould Abdalla in the affairs of Somalia.
The Somali people are agonizing the fact that Somalia is being treated as though it belongs to no-one. Undoubtedly, one of the Transitional Unity Government’s serious mistakes was its unwarranted rush to sign a maritime memorandum with the Kibaki government in Kenya. Most of our people see this agreement as a serious breach of trust and a betrayal. This unwished-for move by the TUG has disheartened many Somalis against the government of Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. We now also learn that this agreement was previously rejected by Abdullahi Yusuf and his TFG.
Unlike in the past we want to live in peace with our neighbours. As new generation Somalis, we believe in neighbours living side by side in peace and close cooperation. However, because of the absence of a credible government in Somalia, the Kibaki government would be ill-advised to take measures which can only complicate the cordial relations that exist between our two nations. For starters, Somalia shall not recognize the maritime memorandum once we have a government fit for purpose.
The maritime memorandum fiasco too speaks volumes about the TUG’s choice of ministers. A minister is an individual placed with the highest trust to advance his or her nation’s interests and wellbeing. What kind of ministers are the ones who run to the Foreign Ministry of our neighbour barely a month after taking office to sell our coast on the hoof? How much does an inch of our God given coast cost? Regrettably, under the murky civil war climate, the Somali people are witnessing the creation of a strange type of civil servants who are out to get what they can. No wonder conflict is unending, perhaps, until those who care enough about our nation have arrived. Public servants are those motivated to serve and to make a difference not those driven to make fast money.
It is worth mentioning our appreciation to Abdirasak H Nuure who has educated us more about the TUG maritime agreement with the Kibaki government in his recent article: How Kibaki’s gimlet eyes espied Somalia’s southern coastline. Abdirasak explains the memorandum of understanding further in his article, “Ould Abdalla was the man who initiated the preparation of the preliminary information indicative of the outer limits of the Continental shelf and [he] accepted an offer of assistance from the government of Norway…”
More than ever — Somalia needs the establishment of an effective government which every Somali can feel his or her own. The weighty nature of the task to uplift Somalia shall require the involvement of the entire population. How else can one fast track reconstruction and redevelopment without the involvement and blessing of the whole nation? It will take a different leadership to inspire the entire nation to embark on the task of reconstruction. It must be said that only a leadership with vision, talent and integrity can inspire the whole population to rebuild the nation. When that happens, conflict will end and insurgency will melt away the same way heat melts butter. It is the will of a nation in unison to succeed which sends the signal that the time has come to end violence so our nation can pick itself and to come back from the dead.
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Some may wonder and not even know that we have been dead as a nation for too long. If we were not dead how else can we explain our nation which has tens of thousands of educated Somalis and hundreds of intellectuals stateless and the joke of the world for the best part of two decades? What about the likes of Ould Abdalla who had grown in stature riding on the bare skeleton back of Somalia? How can we explain, in Somalia, any individual who would not aspire to head a bakery would aspire to rule Somalia? Has Somalia become less important than a bakery? There is a reason behind everything. This is happening because in Somalia the bar of governing which should have been three meters high has been broken and on the floor. It is a peculiar life journey and events which make and mold those who pass as good leaders.
Another issue concerns inclusivity. To gain and retain legitimacy, a responsible government must include all and benefit all. We know in governing inclusivity is an important currency. It brings legitimacy and political capital. Political capital is the currency a government spends to stay in power. The more political capital in its possession, the more it can stay in power. However, inclusivity is more than picking individuals from different clans which brought by the 4.5 plan utilized to establish successive transitional governments which have failed the nation.
One of the differences between the 4.5 plan generated inclusivity and genuine inclusivity is the mechanism used. It is only a competent leadership which appoints a competent team to deliver. It is the task of a competent leader to create inclusivity with ability. For that reason what our nation needs first is to find the right leader for the task. Matching individuals from across communities with the right role the right leadership would know who to pick and how to deliver for the nation; the same way hiring a competent chauffer would bring mobility and the ability to go to places.
To regain the dignity of our nation we need to end division and revive our sense of nationhood. The only way which can restore our nationhood is a political direction which can make the Somali people see where we are going. This is clearly beyond the capability of successive inept transitional governments where the most treasured goal has been to collect funds from the international community to finance unworked for opulent lifestyle for few individuals while the whole population has been left to fend off for itself, stateless, voiceless and in abject poverty
Somalia has a million issues and problems which only an effective government can tackle. Ending mayhem and suffering in Somalia will take more than reconciling warring factions. The country does not belong to any faction. It belongs to the Somali people. When the time comes what is needed is to find the leadership which can establish an effective government and uplift the nation. This will not come by itself. We will have to find first the leadership which the competence to assemble the team which can take the nation out of its crises.
As touched on earlier, rescuing Somalia from finishing on top of global corruption index will take the formation of an effective government which every Somali can feel his or her own. However, the next opportunity to form an effective government may not come before the end of the mandate of the TUG at the end of 2011. In the meantime, Somalia should not be forgotten or abandoned by its people, especially its educated generation who would be needed to spearhead the task of rebuilding the nation.
Farah Abdulsamad who was one of those who responded to my message in an email is right to suggest that ‘the misery would continue if our intelligentsia doesn’t come together and save the nation.’ It is equally true that ‘sitting back and commenting on events without doing anything’ is not an option by itself. However, it was very important to allow things to take their course. Nonetheless, there has been a moral lapse. No-one should abandon one’s own homeland.
On 27 July 2009, a day before this article was going to press the TUG and its parliament were deliberating the maritime memorandum of understanding with the Kibaki government in Kenya. Of all the issues and crises the nation faces, the TUG had found time to duck bombs and bullets to deliberate this agreement as though it is as important as the panacea to all Somalia’s problems.
The only way to stay in power is through visible performance, delivery, and progress. Successive transitional governments created for Somalia with the help of UN ‘experts’ have become little more than business projects which benefit a few individuals who have acquired the taste for unearned opulent life while the rest of the population is suffering.
What can Mrs. Clinton add to the situation in Somalia other than complicate matters? Hasn’t she made a mess of the only George W Bush foreign policy success: North Korea? The Somali people are not with the TUG. Nor are we in support of the violence. We know there is no mileage in fanaticism. This is a modern world made smaller by technology and globalization. Fanaticism has no foundation to stand on. It has no domino effect. The question is: What is the new U.S. administration doing propping up private interest and unrepresentative government in Somalia? Isn’t it time to leave the Somali people themselves to find a way out of their problems?
We lament what our nation has become. However, we did not choose to be born for this nation. It is incumbent on us to fight for Somalia. Nonetheless, I believe in the possibilities of a nation which has made the choice to succeed. When the choice is made, Somalia shall go from the most dangerous place it has become to a bastion of tranquility for living, trade, investment and a cavorted after holiday destination. This is a possibility within our grasp. However, this can not happen if we remain divided, negative and self-defeating. This can only happen if we do something about it. We all have to do our bit to achieve a credible government, which can alleviate suffering, represent our nation’s interests, end ignominy, regain respect and restore dignity. If we give up on our own homeland, we may as well give up on our own lives. It is incumbent educated Somalis and intellectuals to take active participation in the endeavour to rescue our nation. For that matter, within the intellectual level, the time is approaching to take things to the next level to end the wilderness of our nation.
Abdullahi Dool
Hornheritage@aol.com
______________________________________________________________________________________ Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial
Hargeisa, 29 Jul 2009 (Somalilandpress)- Hargeisa is a city where the streets have no names and the houses have no numbers. But no one here is lost. Of course this precludes a postal system; but snail mail seems particularly passé. Hargeisans are at the cutting edge of the information age and are highly connected both locally and globally. In bizarre pastiche, apparently ‘pre-modern’ nomadic pastoralism meets ‘post-modern’ cyber-connectivity. Most Hargeisans carry a mobile phone or have access to one. The tallest building in Hargeisa is the seven or eight storeys of the mobile
phone network provider. And tall glass buildings, like obelisks before them, seem to be some kind of phallic index of power and progress. Make what you will of the happy coincidence of cyber-connectivity and multi-storey development. The number of internet cafés by far exceeds the number of traffic lights – there seems to be only one malfunctioning set. But hang on to your handbag if you get googled by a goat. Hundreds of goats appear to have the freedom of the
city; along with stray dogs, skunks and baboons which venture in for scraps from a countryside which, for a number of reasons, faces gradual desertification. (Unlike other urban spaces, the border between country and city in Hargeisa is porous.) The goats, incidentally, are pets kept not for slaughter, but for the pleasure of children who also drink their milk. So goat milk in a sense is on tap, while water for most people is not. Water in Hargeisa is a precious commodity.
Well water is supplied from metal drums drawn by mules. Piped water is something of a luxury enjoyed by the elite and the well represented NGO community.
Banking Hargeisa-style is an absolute cinch. Apart from the state bank, the only operator in town is the money remittance company, Dahabshiil. ( The other company was put out of business in the early, excessively zealous days of the paradoxically named War on Terror.)
Here you can enjoy a limited range of banking services at a fraction of the cost of the service charges of ‘proper’ banks. Apart from livestock, the Somaliland economy relies on remittances of Somalilanders in the diaspora, for whom the call of kinship (at the moment) remains strong. The money remittance company has branches in eighty countries in the world and operates based, believe it or not, on trust in the largely non-literate nomadic regions of Somaliland. If you’re inclined to do your banking outdoors, buy foreign exchange from the currency hawkers on the street – pronto! – with no filing through x-ray security doors, no tellers behind shatterproof windows and best of all, no queues! (Not that they need any of this in Dahabshiil either.) They use wheelbarrows here for cash in transit. There are no heists. At worst the wheelbarrow, loaded to twice its height with banknotes, can overbalance in a pothole. Potholes occur with an alarming frequency and an even more alarming magnitude. Old women also hawk thousands
of dollars’ worth of gold jewellery in the street with only plastic sheets to guard against the rain. Hargeisa experiences some petty crime, and the rate of violent crime is extremely low. The security checkpoints at the main routes into the city are a safeguard mainly against the political
banditry of the south which threatens to spill into Somaliland. The Somaliland judicial system mirrors the political system, which is a dynamic (and sometimes uneasy) equilibrium of state, Islamic and traditional law. If, in other African cities, the 4×4 is frequently the only accessory which offsets with adequately garish consumerist verve bling-bling jewellery and his-and-hers pointy shoes, in Hargeisa the 4×4 is an absolute necessity. Most city streets constitute rugged terrain and where the roads are ‘tarred’, often they are the product of community initiatives and community funding. The city is intersected at two points by a river. There used to be two bridges which spanned the river at these points; now there is only one. The other bridge was bombed by the dictator, Siyad Barre, in the late 1980s. To reach Hargeisa University one needs to cross the riverbed, which becomes something of a survivor challenge after rains which have been coming
less and less frequently.
They say that the city never sleeps. If cities are man-made spaces which fundamentally flummox diurnal rhythms, rendering day-time and night-time indistinguishable, Hargeisa by contrast is very different. By about lunchtime, most of Hargeisa grinds to a business but not
social halt. By the early afternoon, most Hargeisan men seek the sociality of the little green leaf called qaat. Qaat is flown into the city daily and constitutes a significant percentage of trade with Somaliland’s big neighbour, Ethiopia. Qaat-chewing suppresses the appetite, slows down the body and focuses the mind. Qaat has since time immemorial been used by Somalis, but what has changed are the social rituals and economic context of its use. It is reported that ninety per cent of Hargeisan men chew qaat, with the habit growing in the shadows among increasing numbers of young women. Qaat is sold openly in the streets at little stalls. There are tea shops and dedicated
qaat-chewing dens where men assemble in conviviality and conversation. If this sounds like a latter-day version of the coffee shops of Habermas’s eighteenth-century public sphere, perhaps it
is, but at a disturbing social cost. The prevalence of qaat-chewing means that the working day in Hargeisa essentially ends at lunchtime, with chewing and talking going on late into the night and the hangover lasting until late the next morning. A large part of breadwinner income also goes into supporting the habit, creating family discord and domestic abuse. Significant health risks also attend continuous qaat use. To return again to the ubiquitous city goats; stalks and
tough qaat leaves are frequently fed to the goats to increase milk production. The milk is fed to the children … say no more.
The ‘public sphere’ centred on the tea shops is extended by the relatively lively print media and somewhat constrained electronic media. Three daily Somali-language newspapers are published in Hargeisa, and one weekly English-language paper called the Somaliland Times – a remarkable achievement for a society that is predominantly oral, with a script and orthography for Somali standardised fewer than four decades ago. Interestingly, all four Hargeisa papers, which are distributed throughout the country, have the same editor who appears signally unafraid of courting controversy. The electronic media exist through state subsidy, perhaps explaining a noticeable failure of imagination. In the post-World War II era, Hargeisa was a renowned Somali cultural centre, with a thriving theatre. The bombing of the Hargeisa theatre in 1988, together with the ravages of the civil war, brought theatre culture to an abrupt close. Theatre has not been
revived, but will hopefully be resuscitated in a few years’ time on completion of the theatre building on its original site, a project undertaken by the Somaliland Ministry of Culture and Tourism in
conjunction with a philanthropist in the Somaliland diaspora. The theatre structure at present is about waist-high. (Incidentally, apart from self-help, the philanthropy of Somalilanders who have managed to make it accounts for most successful Hargeisa projects.) The Hargeisa of about five decades ago was also the Camelot of oral poetry. In fact, the most important ‘modern’ genre of Somali oral poetry, the heello, developed in Hargeisa. Most Hargeisans lament the decline in orature which, they claim, had its golden age about twenty years ago in the resistance to the authoritarianism of the Barre regime. Clearly, the art–politics dichotomy is not a consequence of the way in which poetry figures in this society. There is also in Hargeisa a handful of poets
and novelists who quite mind-bogglingly write in English in a society mainly Somali-speaking and oral. English, for these writers, appears more suited to represent what is styled ‘modern’ experience and is an escape from the sometimes rigid strictures of traditional art and political
criticism. In other words, these young artists can say what they like in a language their elders don’t understand. These self-reliant young writers create their own opportunities where none exist. Not only do they self-publish, but they also organise social gatherings (much like big
and festive weddings) to read their work. And on the topic of weddings, weddings among the Hargeisa elite are much the same interface of ‘tradition’ and ‘modernity’ as elsewhere in Africa,
with bride and groom constrained in sweaty satin and razor-sharp suits, looking like they’d much rather be on a trek across the desert in jilaal, or the dry season. As almost everywhere else, the most widespread entertainment (apart from qaat-chewing, that is) is satellite television – and, yes, even in Hargeisa the regime of Hollywood is challenged only by the coup staged by Bollywood.
Hargeisa is a relatively young city, having been founded only in the late 1800s by a Sufi sheikh. It had to be rebuilt in the 1990s, quite literally out of the ashes of its 1988 bombing by Siyad Barre, based in Mogadiscio in the south. The city’s inhabitants have felt the fallout
of the Ogaden war in 1977, which witnessed so many refugees fleeing into Somaliland that Somalilanders themselves were obliged to seek refuge elsewhere. Many of the refugees of the Ogaden war remain housed in Hargeisan school and municipal buildings. Hargeisa has endured the economic and political domination of the south, culminating eventually in brutal persecution. Most Hargeisans tell of life in a refugee camp, or of a family member killed or incarcerated. All
Hargeisans know about the ‘Hargeisa Group’, a group of twenty-eight professionals whose initiatives to improve schools and hospitals were deemed seditious by Siyad Barre. They were tortured and held in solitary confinement for a period of almost seven years, during which one of their number tapped out in a kind of Morse code for his troubled neighbour in the adjacent cell all of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, his copy of which had not been removed by the guards. They have known resistance, insurgency and civil war. Hargeisa is a city which has been reconstructed by Hargeisans upon mass graves of their kin. It is the capital city of a country which is a testament to a peace negotiated wholly through autochthonous Somali conflict-resolution techniques. Since self-declared independence in 1991, it has with varying degrees of success sought to integrate traditional principles of egalitarianism
and pastoral democracy into the inevitability of a modern state formation. Class differentials have been inescapable. It is not internationally recognised, so has not enjoyed any of the benefits
of bilateral aid and has not been able to develop the economic foundations of the modern state it seems it must become in order to survive. What one sees on the streets of Hargeisa may not be much, but it is the product of the initiative, will and co-operation of Hargeisans, the people themselves. But Hargeisa, for various reasons, has reached an economic impasse. The position of Somalilanders in the international community is dependent upon the African Union, which has been put in the position of gatekeeper. Ironically, the policy of the African Union is to respect colonial boundaries to which Somaliland
does conform. Hargeisans are holding their breath for change. But, as the self-reliant people of this city like to say … God willing.
