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The Federal Government of Ethiopia.

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Shafy Ahmed-Nuur
714 The West Mall, Apt. 612
Etobicoke, Ontario. Canada
M9C 4X1
June 20, 2009
The Federal Government of Ethiopia

I begin with due respect and appreciation for the efforts of the Federal Government in the organizing of the Raaso Conference. Unfortunately, this conference failed and given the present state of affairs between the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the Shekhask people of the Somali National Regional State, this letter seeks to present an avenue through which an amicable relationship can be established so that mutual benefits can take root and flourish.

According to the constitution, everyone is equal under the law. Yet, for the past seven years the Shekhash people were being attacked by members of the Provincial Government while the Federal Government did nothing to intervene. Given the fact that even today, Shekhash people are rounded up and placed in jail for no reason and these innocent people are made to suffer just for being whom they are, there exists a high level of mistrust among the Shekhash for the members of Provincial government. In view of this mistrust and the recent failure of the Raaso Conference, there is little good that can come from any role by the Provincial Government in seeking peace.

Now, to achieve peace in this area, the Ethiopian government must first get rid of the middleman, i.e. the Provincial Government, and deal directly with the elders and representatives of the Shekhash people. Once we have done so, there will be many opportunities for progress. For example, the Ethiopian Government can use the Shekhash people as assets to the nation. It is well known that the Shekhash are a proud, peaceful, hardworking, and productive people. This can be seen from the development we have achieved within a relatively short time. Starting from bare land, we have built a strong and vibrant community with large buildings and all the infrastructure. It would benefit the Ethiopian Government to work together with us in harmony to achieve lasting peace and progress.

Our first step must be a collaborative effort to root out the harmful factions among us, particularly those in the Provincial Government who are only pursuing their own agenda and do not want peace. We must get rid of the unlawful gangs who are causing unjust suffering among the people, creating mistrust for the government and impeding our progress towards establishing a bonding relationship upon which we can all prosper.

The Ethiopian Government must realize that the Shekhask people are Ethiopians and not just a tribe. In so doing, the Ethiopian Government must take action to stop the killings and persecution of the Shekhash people because any such atrocity is seen as genocide or ethnic cleansing by the global community. Taking the first step as mentioned above will help to eliminate the atrocities that are inflicted to the Shekhash people.

Like all people, the Shekhash tribe deserves the basics of safety and security from their government. In the interest of fairness and justice, I appeal to you to do your utmost to put a stop to indiscriminate and rampant ill-treatment of our people. Only then can we can all work in harmony to achieve the many great things we are capable of achieving together.

Sincerely,

Shafy Ahmed-Nuur

________________________________________________________________________________________
Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial

Without Free Movement, East Africa Will Keep Marking Time

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HARGEISA, 16 August 2009 (Somalilandpress) – IN recent weeks, Nairobi has hosted two crucial meetings that touched on pertinent issues that deal with wealth creation. The East African Investment Forum was as important at the AGOA gathering that followed it in quick succession.

Whereas AGOA included 38 African countries that export to the United States market under that Act’s special arrangement, the Investment Forum was concerned with dwindling foreign investments in our region.

However, before we seduce foreigners to come and invest in our region by promising them lucrative terms with possible tax holiday for years, it may be prudent to consider the kind of incentives we can give our local and regional operators.

Do not tell me that there is no money for investment in East Africa. There is. If you doubt me; just look at the Ken Gen, Mumias Sugar, Equity Bank and Safaricom IPOs when these companies went public. They were all over-subscribed in the margins of close to 1000%. What they also revealed was that more individuals were keeping more money under their mattresses than they are in our banks.

This reminds me of two occasions I witnessed in Nigeria and Somaliland nine years apart. In 2000 while in Abuja, it was difficult to find enough dollars in banks yet the same dollars were plentiful under trees being held by Hausa traders hawking them freely! Ironically, Nigerian banks at times visited the same Hausa hawkers under those trees to buy foreign cash from them!

This year, as I strolled on the streets of Hargeisa in Somaliland, hawkers on the streets were hoarding sacks of local and foreign currency alike, ready to sell to the willing buyer with no questions asked. They were least concerned with an individual’s source of dollars and no paperwork was necessary.

What I am saying is that if you free any group of people to do business without burdening them with unnecessary oppressive laws, they tend to be more transparent in their dealings and less inclined to steal, cheat or evade tax. The more rules there are; the more restrictions, the more chances there will be more people bent on breaking those rules. It is human nature to go against the grain just to annoy the governor.

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Right now, East Africans I have met either in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi or Tanzania are waiting with bated breath for our borders to finally open. They are waiting with anxiety for that day when our rulers will announce that the borders in Namanga, Isebania, Tanga, Busia, and Malaba are now open 24 hours a day seven day a week. They are waiting for that day when cyclists, motorists and bus drivers will sail through our borders without being made to look like criminals. They are waiting for that day when Tanzanian, Ugandan, Rwandan and Burundian number plates will be a source of pride rather than fear on Kenyan roads; when the police on our highways in the five states will stop erecting “toll stations” to extort bribes from ‘foreigners with foreign number plates’.

We in East Africa badly need the Common Market because we are tired of being prisoners of our rulers. I feel sad and embarrassed to walk with a Ugandan or a Tanzania on our streets then suddenly the police pounce on us asking for our Kenyan identity cards. I feel insulted when I am asked to go while my friends are detained for “further questioning”!

Without freedom of movement, no amount of infrastructure development will move us forward. No amount of fibre-optic cabling, new railway lines and super highways will bring progress. People must be allowed to move, trade, exchange ideas and services in a free atmosphere in order to build trust among us East Africans.

I need to know that today I can fly to Dar-es-Salaam, Kampala, Bujumbura or Kigali in the morning and all I need to do is to show my passport or my identity card to prove that I am an East African national.

I need to know that if I have to set up business in any of my East African states, I will be given an equal opportunity and same treatment as my local counterparts. That is why I am personally yearning for these borders to be flung wide open on January 1, 2010.

On this score, I am pleasantly surprised that in the last two weeks, Paul Kagame, Mwai Kibaki and Jakaya Kikwete have been reading from the same script. Their statements have been bold and focused.

Unlike in the past, they have not wavered on the subject of regional integration. Therefore as the East African Media Summit prepares to meet in Kampala in the next few days, it too should not waver on the issue of regional integration. Let the media avoid mediocre, parochial partisan and nationalistic issues.

East Africa is bigger than us all and can accommodate all of us if we only tried a little tolerance.

Jerry Okungu
Jerryokungu@gmail.com
The New Vision

Somali officials trade blame over sheikhs' murder

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MOGADISHU (SomalilandPress) – Officials in lawless northern Somalia traded accusations on Thursday a day after masked gunmen massacred seven Pakistani preachers at a mosque.

The sheikhs were killed in Galkayo, a town on the southern edge of the semi-autonomous northern Puntland region. Violence is increasing in the area, which had been relatively more peaceful than the rest of the failed Horn of Africa state.

Western security agencies say Somalia has become a haven for Islamist militant plotting attacks in the region and beyond.

The president of Puntland, Abdirahman Mohamed Farole, accused officials in Galmudug, which covers the southern part of the town, of ordering Wednesday’s shooting.

“The administration of southern Galkayo was behind the killing of the Pakistani preachers,” Farole told reporters. “They are causing chaos in our region.”

But a senior Galmudug official, Mohamed Warsame, denied it.

“Puntland is definitely behind the killings,” Warsame said.

“When the Pakistanis landed in Puntland their passports were taken by the authorities and they were settled in a mosque … the Puntland president has imposed a night curfew in the north of Galkayo. His forces must have killed them.”

The group of about 25 sheikhs had arrived in Puntland on Tuesday. Local officials said they were mostly from Karachi.

It remained far from clear why they were murdered.

Some residents said they may have been suspected of al Qaeda links, while others rejected that and said the clerics were from South Asia’s apolitical Tablighi Jamaat religious movement.

Somalia has been torn by civil war since 1991, and the government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed controls only small pockets of the bomb-shattered capital Mogadishu.

It is battling hardline Islamist rebels in southern and central regions, including the al Shabaab group, which the United States accuses of being al Qaeda’s proxy in Somalia.

At least six people were killed in Mogadishu on Wednesday when two supposedly pro-government factions exchanged artillery and anti-aircraft fire across the city’s strategic K4 junction.

Violence in Somalia has killed more than 18,000 people since the start of 2007 and driven another 1 million from their homes.

Source:Reuters

Muslim women uncover myths about the hijab

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Rowaida Abdelaziz doesn’t want your pity. She doesn’t want your frosty public stares; the whispers behind her back; the lament that she’s been degraded by her father.

What the Muslim high school senior wants you to understand is that she doesn’t wear the hijab, the head scarf worn by Muslim women, because she is submissive.

“It represents beauty to me,” says Abdelaziz, the 17-year-old daughter of two Egyptian parents living in Old Bridge, New Jersey.

“My mom says a girl is like a jewel,” Abdelaziz says. “When you have something precious, you usually hide it. You want to make sure you keep it safe until that treasure is ready to be found.”

The nation has heard plenty of debate over racial profiling. But there’s a form of religious profiling that some young Muslim women in America say they endure whenever they voluntarily wear the hijab.

The hijab, also known as the veil, is the headscarf worn by Muslim women around the globe. It’s a simple piece of cloth, but it can place young Muslim women in Western countries in difficult situations.

Some hijab-wearers say that strangers treat them as if they’re terrorists. Others ask them if they’re a nun — or even allergic to the sun. In some cases, their worst critics are not Americans, but fellow Muslim Americans.
The pressure on Muslim teenagers in the U.S. who wear the hijab may be even more acute. Their challenge: How do I fit in when I wear something that makes me stand out?

Randa Abdel-Fattah, who has written two novels about this question, says wearing the hijab can “exhaust” some young Muslim women in the West.

“You can sometimes feel like you’re in a zoo: locked in the cage of other people’s stereotypes, prejudices and judgments, on parade to be analyzed, deconstructed and reconstructed,” says Abdel-Fattah, a Muslim who has Palestinian and Egyptian parents but was born in Australia.

Abdel-Fattah says people should not assume that Muslim women who wear the hijab are being controlled by men. She, too, struggled with the choice of wearing a hijab when she was a teenager.

“When it comes to the hijab — why to wear it, whether to wear it, how to wear it — there is theology and then there is practice and there is huge diversity in both,” says Abdel-Fattah, author of “Does My Head Look Big in This?”

The surprising history behind the hijab

Some women say the hijab makes them feel like they’re locked in a cage. But others say it leads to personal freedom. Sarah Hekmati first wore the hijab at age 15 growing up in Detroit, Michigan. She is the daughter of Iranian parents who left Iran in 1979 during the Islamic revolution.

Hekmati says the hijab liberated her from some teenage angst: Does my hair look good? Am I cute enough? Should I lose weight?

“It gave me a sense of identity,” she says. “I really liked the purpose behind the hijab — a woman covering herself so that a man should know her for her mind, not her body.”

That purpose can be traced back to the Quran, Islam’s holy text, which encourages women to dress modestly, says Faegheh Shirazi, author of “The Veil Unveiled.”

Some Muslims take the Quran’s advice as a command for women to wear the hijab, while others disagree, she says.

“The Quran is very ambiguous about whether you have to wear the veil or not,” Shirazi says.

The hijab, however, actually predates Islam, Shirazi explains. The first known reference to veiling (Shirazi uses the term hijab and veil interchangeably) was made in an Assyrian legal text in the 13th century B.C., Shirazi says.

In the Assyrian, and later, the Roman and Byzantine empires, the veil was a symbol of prestige and status, she says. By the 12th century, the veil had been imposed on women in the Muslim world to exclude them from public life, Shirazi says.

“A sign of distinction had been transformed into a sign of exclusion,” she writes in her book.

People are still debating the meaning of the hijab today.

In 2007, British Muslim groups protested when schools were given the right to ban students from wearing full-face veils. In 2008, Turkey’s top court upheld a ban on wearing Muslim headscarves at the country’s universities. That same year, a Muslim woman was briefly jailed at a suburban Atlanta, Georgia, courthouse after refusing to remove her hijab in court.

Some moms against hijab wearing

The debate over the hijab can literally hit home for some young Muslim women. Those that wear the hijab in the United States can befuddle their mothers, who often immigrated to the West so they could be free from wearing the hijab and other rules imposed on women.

That’s what happened to Hekmati, the Muslim-American from Detroit. Her mother, Behnaz, was puzzled by her daughter’s decision to wear the hijab. Behnaz Hekmati grew up in Iran, where she did not wear the hijab. Young women who attended college in Iran like she did generally didn’t wear the hijab, she says.

Behnaz Hekmati warned her daughter that wearing the hijab would arouse the suspicion of Americans.

“I said Sarah, when you cover your head here the people think you are political — they see you differently,” Behnaz Hekmati says.

Most of the trouble, though, came from Iranian-Americans, who came to the United States to escape the Islamic fundamentalists who seized power in 1979, she says.

“The Iranians here bother her more than Americans,” Behnaz Hekmati says. “They say, ‘We got rid of you guys. We came here because we didn’t want to see you guys anymore.'”

Hekmati was more concerned as a teenager about more personal issues, like her relations with boys. The hijab made it more difficult, she says. Few asked her on dates. Guys always seemed to put her in the “friend category.” She wondered if she was attractive.

“I wondered at times: Am I always going to be a guy’s friend and nothing more.”
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Strangers in public saw her as something else — a subjugated woman.

They looked at her with pity, she says. Some were just baffled.

“One guy asked me if I was allergic to the sun,” Hekmati says.

Abdelaziz, the New Jersey high school senior, also had her tense public encounters: angry looks, people feeling sorry for her or assuming her father ordered her to wear the hijab.

“It’s not oppression; it’s not that I’m accepting degradation — it’s about self-respect,” she says.

But it’s more about faith as well. She says the hijab affirms “Islam in the most respectful and purified way.”

“When you actually wear it, it opens your eyes,” she says. “It makes you want to explore your religious faith.”

At times, Abdelaziz says she wonders what it would be like to attend her prom, get a tan at the beach and have a boyfriend.

But she says her decision to honor her faith is already paying off.

“It really feels good,” she says. “It felt like I was missing something and now I’m complete. I finally understand my purpose.”

Source: CNN

Somaliland: Is In The Decline Stage

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Somalilandpress-

This article is dedicated to Ali guled marshal.

mr marshal You’ve left us precious memories, your love will be our guide, You live on through your children, you’re always by our side.
Birth is a beginning
and death a destination
And life is a journey:
we will uphold your values and beliefs and soon your dream  will come true insha allah. my allah rest him his soul in peace and accompany him with the chosen ones in the paradise amiin..dream for a democratic, recognized, developed somaliland run by a transparent government from the people working for the people……..

 

Somaliland: is in the decline stage.

 

In businesses products progresses through sequence of stages from introduction to growth, maturity and decline, these sequences is known as product life cycle and is associated with changes in the market situation.

Similarly Somaliland republic has been undergoing through these stages since it declared its restoration of independence from Somalia in 18 may 1991.

 

          The Introduction stage

In 1991 when Somaliland territory was liberated by SNM after a decade of struggle, the senior elders of Somaliland and the leadership of SNM converged at the town of Bur’o for a grand conference for the northern people and a meeting of a SNM central committee, they were joined by intellectuals, artists, militia commanders, religious leaders, delegates from the Diaspora and business people, who financed the event.

The purpose of the meeting was to consolidate the cessation of hostilities and to discuss the future of the north. After several months of discussion and dialogue, Somaliland elders proclaimed the creation of the independent republic of Somaliland and raised its flag for the first time. SNM was mandated to run the country for a 2 year interim period and Cabdirahman Ahmed Ali, the chairman of SNM was named the first president of Somaliland and Hasan Isse Jama as his vice president.

 

 The SNM interim government inherited a territory devastated by a decade of insurgency and war, it had no revenue, no financial institutions, no social services and no direct international support, the infrastructure was shattered, the country and the towns were littered with land mines and half of the population was displaced living in a refugee camps.

 

Post war reconstruction and state building was to bring many challenges, internal conflict, and disruption of life stock trade after Gulf States placed embargoes on Somali life stock, lack of diplomatic recognition, meager levels of foreign assistance, limited human resources in the government, a fragile infrastructure and thousands of returning refugees. Finally the two year interim period was over and civilian administration was elected in Borame. The first one and half years of the new administration the country was in chaos and civil war broke out in the big cities of Hargaisa and Burco.

            

The growth stage

 After civilian administration was elected, Somaliland started to grow, the gangs and militias were demobilized, basic infrastructure was established, peace and stability was restored through out Somaliland, schools, hospitals, industries and business were launched, national army, police and custodian guards were recruited and shaped, all government institutions became functioning, regional and local administration were named and became functional and the authority was decentralized, people started investing, remittances increased, private businesses become flourishing, new Somaliland currency was printed, a national flag of three colors red, white, and green was adopted, red for the fallen heroes, white for peace, green for prosperity, black star for the dead dream of great Somalia and the shahada for Islam.

 A national constitution was drafted, referendum was made in the majority of Somaliland territory, 97% of Somali Landers voted yes and thus voted for Somaliland’s independence, a reversal of that policy could only be effected by another referendum,  The power was peacefully transferred from the deceased president Igal to his vice Dahir Rayale Kahin. Multi party system was implemented, six organizations have completed the requirements for taking part municipal elections in Somaliland and the first three had the honor to become national parties.

 Local government, presidential and parliamentary elections was held, Somaliland army has reached beyond lascanod, almost all territory of Somaliland is in the control of the government with the exception of Buhodle, Taleex and eastern Sanaag. Unfortunately Somaliland has failed to get international recognition.

 

The Decline stage

Before reaching maturity Somaliland started to decline, since 2005 Somaliland’s reputation graph was leaning down.

Somalilanders are struggling for the basic needs such as food and water, even in the capital, residents has an access for water only few hours in every two days. Government schools has been abandoned, quality teachers has migrated to the private schools, only unprovoked and immoral teachers are available in the government schools, the few fortunate children from the rich families can have access for quality education from private schools.

 

The students, those who are providential enough to have university education, after graduation they don’t have sources for employment, they spent every day looking for employment but they go back homes empty handed, not knowing what to say for their parents, they have been invested so many years and they want to pay it back but how?

 

Our graduates, the future elites are dying in the seas in search for the alleged prosperous life in the west. President Riyale has once said that there is no reason for youth migration.  one time I red a poet by Cabdi Idan from Deelay in which he says:

 

            Islaantii docdeediyo       

Degalkay ku noolayd

          Daruuruhu ku hooreen

          Dadba wada hel moodoo

Daad wararac bay tidhi

 

Corruption is in the highest level; even ministers can publicly say that they are ticks who imbibed enough blood. In early 2007 the editor of hatuf news paper and some other journalists were detained over allegations made against president and his family. The leaders of political organization of Qaran has been arrested, Shura net was intentionally smashed, Hargaisa general hospital has been raided by military, using excessive force such as tanks, the term of Guurti was illegally prolonged by the president and the Guurti it self, later they fully rewarded the president by extending his term for a nother year, despite it was illegal neither of them (the president and the Guurti) has respected the law,

Eastern regions of Somaliland are neglected, there are no development projects, people in sool, sanag and some parts of burco are undergoing serious circumstances.

The president has failed to fulfill his promises to wards those people such as changing burco’s old Somali shilling and supplying pure water for lascanod residents, despite of creation of a special fund for the rehabilitation and development of the abandoned region of sool, by placing an additional 2% on taxes, no one knows where about that money.

In the parliament, the minister of finance was asked where about that money, he replied it is in a secret account which only he knows. Sool is in the hand of Somaliland, but it is clear that no one can occupy a place by force, sool people are loosing faith from Somaliland government,

 

President’s term was again prolonged because voter registration was not completed.

In remarkable days, Somaliland people went to the registration offices to register for voting, brave young men and women mainly from universities led the unprecedented event. Somaliland has succeeded to have a citizenship card for the first time of the history, finally some thing we can be proud of it. Unfortunately the government and the national electoral commission had smashed the only humor that Somali Landers had; the president dropped the registration results, deported Inter piece representative in Somaliland and declared that the country will go elections with out registration. The president has violated the electoral law, the registration law and ignoring the high courts decision which was no elections will be held with out registrations

The opposition parties, the representatives, civil societies, the UN, US and EU have all requested the president to rethink, but as usual he has deaf ears to hear.

The dreadful situation of Ceel bardaale, the arrests of Radio Horyaal journalists, the ban of Hargaisa Cable TV, which is the only Somaliland television that can be watched in Kampla, Uganda, the capture of Mahamed Cabdi SHeekh of HCTV, and the interrogations of cabdiqani xusen baynax of Somaliland press, in addition the latest human rights watch report about Somaliland, all these indicate that Somaliland has derailed the Wright path, and headed to wards decline.   

 

The exit strategy

In businesses when the product is in the decline stage, the options that the company has include: discontinuing the product by liquidating the remaining inventory or selling it to another firm.

My fellow citizens we need to discontinue the life of this shady, corrupt, fraudulent and weedy government. After years of greed and individualism, we need to return to values and behaviors that are respectful of each other and return to valuing the democratic virtues that contribute to the common good of all SomaliLanders.

 

                        Ahmed A Dualeh

                   BBA in Accounting

                   MA candidate in development studies from KIU

                   Kampala, Uganda

                   Samaale33@hotmail.com

Somalia: The Trouble with Puntland

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HARGEISA, 12 August 2009 (Somalilandpress) – If its government does not enact meaningful reforms and reach out to all clans, Puntland may break up violently, adding to the chaos in Somalia.

Somalia: The Trouble with Puntland,* the latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, warns about the rise in insecurity and political tension that the semi-autonomous north-eastern region has been experiencing for three years. At its roots are poor governance and a collapse of the cohesion, particularly within the Harti clan, that led to its creation a decade ago.

“Most of the blame rests squarely with the political leadership”, says Daniela Kroslak, Deputy Director of Crisis Group’s Africa Program. “If a wide variety of grievances are not urgently tackled in a comprehensive manner, the consequences could be severe for the whole country and even for the Horn of Africa”.

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Puntland’s creation in 1998 was an ambitious experiment to build from the bottom up a polity that might ultimately offer a template for replication in the rest of the country, especially in the war-scarred south. But the dream has faded, and the regime is in dire straits. Intra-Harti friction has eroded the consensual style of politics that once underpinned a relative stability. In a major policy shift from the traditional unionist position, an important segment of the elite is pushing for independence.

Puntland needs to return to its original consensual style of politics. This requires reforming the electoral system, restarting the constitutional drafting process, tackling corruption and rebuilding clan trust.

The Puntland government must take advantage of current international attention resulting mainly from the explosion of piracy in the nearby waters to mobilise funds and expertise to carry out comprehensive political, economic and institutional reforms. These should address the fundamental problems: poor governance, corruption, unemployment and the grinding poverty in coastal villages. Donors need to refocus on long-term measures without which no sustainable end to piracy or true stability is possible.

“The piracy problem is only a dramatic symptom”, says Ernst Jan Hogendoorn, Crisis Group’s Horn of Africa Project Director. “If the deeper problems are not addressed, they could ultimately lead to Puntland’s disintegration or possible overthrow by an underground militant Islamist movement”.

Africa’s best-kept secret “Somaliland” is in need for a change!

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HARGEISA, 12 August 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Peace is the only priceless jewel invested and deposited in the hearts and minds of Somaliland people; it is the biggest jackpot that the nation ever won all at once; it is the national treasury that the entire people young/old guards with love and passion every moment in their life.

However__ any external annihilation or internal implosion at the cost of this priceless living system would never ever be accepted from anyone at all, Udub, Ucid or Kulmiye. Somaliland is by the people; for the people, and her generations would not pay any price or bear any burden that its politicians may dictate. It really needs a change in many aspects, politically, economically, socially etc. President Rayale must believe in that this change is imminent, must and irreversible. It is a great saying__ the true visionary is one who thinks about tomorrow in an intelligent imaginative manner. Using the same metaphor, if Udub cannot predict about the impact of this standoff on the country at large, what they have in a store for us!

The fresh political dispute on Somaliland Election Process has sparked a wide range of anger, anxiety, and insecurity after the news came that the president__ fulfilling a so-called plea by the Somaliland National Electoral Commission (SNEC) has apparently expelled the donor-organisation (Inter-peace) from the country and accordingly nullified the long awaited results of the national voters’ registration list.

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This has invited a strong expostulation from the two chairpersons of the two houses together with the opposition political parties (Ucid and Kulmiye), but Mr. Rayale has opted to remain extremely deviant about their collective objections and disgustingly uttered not only unwise but undiplomatic provocative words that could possibly create political frictions between him and the other two opposition parties. Rayale’s harsh words depict how Africa’s malignant power-hunger virus (dictatorship) has metastasised into his body. In today’s situation, we can understand that Somaliland known as “Africa’s best kept secret” is in an intense need for rescue operation from its leadership.

By not rhapsodizing, Ucid and Kulmiye have taken together the best way this toddler country would survive and insisted not to accept taking a part in elections without concurrent voter registration. The revealed number of the ultimate voters’ list by the SNEC, although not correct__ perhaps, this may make the election process a lot more credible and transparent. Without shadow of doubt, lack of transparency and clarity is what moves forward Rayale’s political vehicle and this is the reason behind fighting for that.

Seven years under Rayale’s authority__ Somaliland has experienced unprecedented levels of corruption, economic destructions, scarcity of clean water and prolonged droughts etc, which is why the people no longer have stomach for Rayale as commander in chief. The corruptive hand of the government in the SNEC is not new but was since its inception and this failure is the outcome of a pre-planned conspiracy between Mr. Rayale and those at the helm in Somaliland National Electoral Commission body.

It is obviously very tough to get one’s faith unless you know about his/her actions in regard with his/her vast experience__ Mr. Rayale’s experience as an intelligence agent earned him to political strangulations by his bare hands as shown below.

A quick glance at Rayale’s bad governance:

* Rayale’s experience is the hurdle for good governance; causes him to omissions and accordingly became detached from many key co-working government bodies. It is also the stumbling block to any dialogue between him and the apostates.

* His Power-hunger psychodrama coupled with low self-esteem is what took the determination of this nation to an uncertainty and isolationism.

* Obstructionism based political system has yielded numerous filibusterers in both the houses whose job are to serve him adopt illegitimate incrementalism and systematic term extensions.

* Bureaucracy and red-tapism are severely disturbing, as many of his portfolios minsters are day and night 24/7 budget vampires who uses their assigned positions as a one-stop shop service.

* Many of his ex-intelligence service mates are his political gamesmanships, national security advisers etc, whose job are to imprison and impose a state of emergency law even if the smallest issue arises.

* His Paternalistic policy keeps the market bullish by brokering clan political ideologies through political neophytes such as, clan sultans, sub-clan chiefs and many other notorious clan mongers.

Where there is a will there is a way__ if Mr. Rayale has an inclination to take this nation back to the future, he must abide by the 4-point resolutions adopted by the parliament. He must reverse his decision on what this people spent much of their time, money and energy; re-instate the expelled organisation (inter-peace) to accomplish their job. Udub as a party must convince him to nullify his decision rather than the registration list. Somaliland National Electoral Commission (SNEC) must also be back to what they have taken the oath, must consult with Somaliland electoral-technocrats worldwide together with the donor organisation and re-correct what has gone wrong to the best interest of the people rather than their differences between them and inter-peace.

Finally, I would like to conclude my article with two words: One to the President and the other to the people. Mr. President__ you must value the security, life and wealth of the millions of people at home, as you are usually obsessed with yours. The reason behind retractable barricades sealed-off around your mansion gates after Oct-29 terrorist attempt on your life was not to control the traffic whizzing around, but for your security reinforcement. Moreover, the national constitution is not a small dog-eared notebook of a schoolchild but rather the country’s under recognition and democratic highway. Iron feast is not the best way to govern people but the worst to suppress them, and it could take the whole country back to square one.

To my people at large__ the only thing marketable we have in hand is “peace” which needs an attractive packaging with an expensive price tag and a meaningful label. We must abstain from anything that could lead us to belligerence or turmoil. We must know that the beauty over our country was not found on the fact that, president Rayale is in the office, but through our collective efforts, harmony and brother-hood. Let the world know about what binds us together is much greater than what drives us apart. If peace is so packed, priced and safeguarded, we can create for it a special political zone in the international political arenas and of course can break the ice within no time inshaa ALLAAH.

Khadar Hanan
khadarhanan@gmail.com
Doha, Qatar
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Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial

Building Bridges for Somaliland University Students Inside and Outside the Country

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HARGEISA, 12 August 2009 (Somalilandpress) – It is widely acknowledged that one of the fundamental pillars of sustainable human development is investment in education of a good quality. On 10th august 2009, SONYO umbrella organized a meeting for the University students inside and outside the country. Truly it is a colossal achievement to be proud of and one of milestones of our success as Somaliland university students inside and outside the country. It is a signal of enhancement that enables as young students to contribute fully in our education to our society and the world at large.

The ceremony took place at Ambassador Hotel in Hargeisa. A number of university students inside and outside Somaliland were seen in the ceremony hall and the corridors of the hotel. The ceremony opened with Holly Koran recitation by one of the students. After that the chairperson of SONYO umbrella started the speech and talked about the importance of such meetings. He indicated the necessity of exchanging experience with their local people to contribute for the development of the country. Though in Somaliland the importance of young graduates were not recognized by our society, but the growing influence of young graduates like this meeting is bearing out the community that our voices should be heard. Having said that, young students will not be passionate, creative and innovative unless their societies understand they have the potential to improve their country socially, economically and politically.

He also urged the foreign based students to have close friends to their host nations to establish a sustainable relationship which will ultimately be beneficial to our country. Somaliland Minster of internal affairs was invited to the stage, he told those who are studying abroad to respect the rules and the regulations of their host countries as they are ambassadors of their country. If you behave the people you live with good character, it is good for us. Other wise will spoil the name of your country. Later on, the session begun with presentation by different students from different universities in abroad.

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One of the Somaliland students in Malaysia started the presentation with the overview of Malaysian education. He told to the participants that Malaysia education is 70 owned by the public while the private universities are 30 percents. Apart from that, he compared the Malaysian universities with the local universities. That presenter indicated that Malaysian universities have facilities unlike Somaliland universities. Namely teaching methods and also what is known E- facilities such as, libraries. The presenter enlightened deeply the social problems faced Somaliland students in Malaysia including social –economic adaptability, financial problems, temptations, Isolations; Racism and Environmental issues were most challenges encountered students in Malaysia.

Secondly, a lady graduated from Kenya Institute of Managements who presented her experience of the education in East-Africa. That sister mentioned that there are 13 students in Uganda who were awarded Scholarship by the Somaliland government. She put in plain words the faculties provided by East African universities, Such as Social Science namely Development studies and Social work and Social administration. And this has contributed to finishing their studies successfully. There are also challenges in those students in terms of culture difference, food and behavior. Language barrier and ineffective student association was also another major obstacle. There are also presentations made by Somaliland student in Yemen, Pakistan, India, Egypt, Ethiopia and in the local. Besides the presentation on achievement and challenges, the Somaliland student in abroad highlighted to contribute their country Education, Patriotism and hard work.

The message is clear; the expansion of employment opportunity is far below the growth in the higher education graduates because of a lack of investment. Unfortunately Somaliland government is not putting higher graduate concerns at the heart of their development agenda, and still more remains to be done. Young students need access to both decent formal education and opportunities to acquire employment to actively participate in all spheres of development in their society. Young graduates in Somaliland struggle the transition from university to work. These major challenges caused that many young graduates up either unemployed or underemployed in the informal sector with little protection and prospects.

Let us remember the wisdom says, “Student are like young plants, they need to be cared for , if you take good care of your plants, you will have strong plants and a good harvest. It is the same with students, if you look after them”

Our motto “Together we can make difference”

Written by: Farhan Abdi Suleiman (oday)
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Farhan Abdi Suleiman is a social worker, fresh graduate at university of Hargeisa and youth activist. You can be contacted at oday1999@yahoo.com or odaycs@yahoo.com

Tell: 252-2-4401132
Hargeisa, Somaliland

Congratulations Amoud

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Somalilandpress– I am writing to not only congratulate Amoud University on its great achievement but to also encourage it to continue in its campaign of promoting and delivering a high standard of education  to the students who are lucky enough to be admitted to study at this established and most prestigious educational institution in Borama.

The great achievement to which I refer is not only that the university has graduated its 8th batch of students but they have all graduated in vastly different academic disciplines which is a testament to the research and investment the university has made over the years in widening participation and access to all students by offering the widest possible ranges of academic courses.

Amoud is and will always be the first university of Somali and Somaliland as at its core is the belief that education is the light that will guide the people of the nation out of the darkness of the of ignorance, intolerance and civil unrest. Amoud has proven to be an institution that has valued education for educations sake and not just as a method of improving individual employment prospects as is evidenced in the schools medical students been expected to invest their own money into purchasing basic drugs to cure the simple illness they come across in surrounding villages where they are expected to carry out some work experience as part of their course.

The fact that the University has grown from 600 to 1600 students is an indication of its success, its ability to deliver excellent education, the student satisfaction with its educational delivery and its courses.

Amoud is also the first university in Somalia to recognise the importance of knowledge sharing with other international universities such as Kings College London in the UK and as a result of this the university has been able to prosper and introduce innovative teaching methods and courses to strengthen its academic credibility as a higher education institution.

The university’s link to other international higher education institutions has allowed it to have access to funds and grants from some of these institutions as well as from the European Union members which has in turn allowed Amoud to become an employer of some of the best teaching staff in the country as well as a big economical player in the town of Borama and its surrounding areas.
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Mr. Suleiman Ahmed Guleed, the President of the University, and his colleagues have every right to be proud of their achievements and to be looking forward to an even more successful and prosperous future of expansion into the other key academic and vocational areas of dentistry, engineering and computer science.

Of course, educational success is not just limited to Amoud University in Somaliland as there are other institutions which are also helping to the train and teach the future of the nation such as the university of Hargeisa and Burao.

However, Amoud stands out because of its commitment to research, its social responsibility and its ability to change with the times. Despite its Conservative surroundings, Amoud has proven to be the epitome of what an independent, liberal, forward thinking university ought to be. This alone is an achievement in a continent where education is usually altered to teach the values of the ruling government elite and the importance of obeying it and conforming to it.

Nelson Mandela rightly wrote that, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” and Amoud since its opening in 1997 has been operating by this philosophy. However, since education is of such great importance, institutions such as Amoud should work harder to further widen access to it, especially at higher education level and within its own faculties by offering some of those who have the ability to prosper but not the finances to afford it, scholarships to attend the university. Of course, the case might be that this is already happening but the facts are that the majority of those who are educated at Amoud and other Somaliland universities are those that are able to financially afford it or those who have the backing of relatives in the Diaspora and not necessarily those that are worthy or capable of achieving the academic requirements to enter and study at university.

Whilst I accept that there may be very little funding available directly from the university itself for poorer students with academic ability, Amoud university is urged to approach its international partners to support it in its quest for widening educational access for those unfortunate enough to not be able to afford it and where possible, perhaps even raise the tuition fees for those able to pay in order to support those who cannot.

Educational access and success should not be the reserve of the middle classes and the wealthy or those that are generally able to pay for it as this will lead to the creation of elitism and further political and social segregation within Somali society.

Despite the suggestions above, Amoud University is to be congratulated in every way for its achievements in the field of education and without doubt it is an educational institution with a great past and an even greater future. However, one hopes that Amoud is able to share this future with many more students who without the provisions of scholarships would not have the opportunity to play their part in such a promising future.
I would wish Amoud University luck for the future, but I doubt very much it needs it.
 
Liban Obsiye
 Bristol UK
libanbakaa@hotmail.com

Escape from Somaliland

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HARGEISA, 11 August 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Xorriyo Airways, which ran flights from Dubai to Berbera in Somaliland, has collapsed. I found this out the hard way. I soon became one of more than 600 people stranded in Somaliland. At 7.40 pm one night the airline office phoned to say the flight had been ‘delayed until further notice’ and if someone did not bring the ticket to the office by 8pm it would become void and there would be no entitlement to a refund. This is Hargeisa where taxis in the suburbs are hard to come by and buses certainly can’t get you from near Mansoor Hotel in Jigjigayar to the downtown city center in less than 20 minutes. My only chance was to get someone who lived near the office to go and negotiate in the meantime.

An official source at Xorriyyo confirmed the next day the airline had collapsed and the priority was to get passengers transferred onto other airlines. The trouble with that useful information was that very few people had been told. Most passengers including those who had already booked their holidays from around the world are still none the wiser. The source alleged that Xorriyo was owned by two cousins who split the company assets causing the airline to go bust. At the peak of the holiday season hundreds of people are stranded in Somaliland. They will probably have to ask relatives and friends to wire them money via Dahabshiil in order to buy new tickets. Dahabshiil money transfer is the unofficial banking system amongst Somalis.

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In Somaliland I learned people have to fight for everything. Being obsolete and insisting I had a connecting flight to Doha which I could not miss under any circumstances – seemed to do the trick. This was true, I did have another flight to catch, but if I had not insisted, I may still be there now. I was fortunate to been transferred to Osob Airline but this meant another hot bumpy bus ride to Berbera.

When I got there I heard my flight to Dubai was still stuck in Mogadishu. When it arrived it was carrying several hundred desperate refugees. The airport officials said that they often have injured people with bullets still lodged in them, arriving from Mogadishu.

Although it sounds rough it is a great way to see Somali landscapes and mountains. Several small villages line the way as well as the routine police checkpoints. In one small village we were hailed to stop by a man who was allowed to board the bus and asking for money. He said his name was ‘Ali- Gaabe’ (Ali the Dwarf) and that we should give him money so he could pray for our safe journey. He was a dwarf and people laughed at his audacity and his sense of humour so they paid him and I watched him hailed the second bus in our convoy to make his quick buck.

Xorriyo airline is registered UK company but has not yet officially gone into administration or declared bankruptcy. The travel agent I booked with in London also confirmed its collapse and said I was very lucky to get out as several hundred people are literally stranded there. My thoughts are with them but desperate looks on the faces of the refugees from Mogadishu will haunt me for a long time. Despite waiting three hours for the plane to arrive, I wish I stayed at the airport for just a bit longer. Long enough to hear the stories those families had tell and what horrors they had escaped.

Source: frontlineclub.com – Hodan Yusuf-Pankhurst

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