IN MEMORY OF DR. ABDISHAKUR JOWHAR - FRANTZ FANON OF THE SOMALI PEOPLE *

BY BASHIR GOTH

“He lit up a room. If you can imagine the sun, his face was like the sun, that smile, the arm around your shoulder. He was just like a gentle giant, a very lovely man. He was like nobody I ever met.” Shannon Shaw, a ward clerk on psychiatry – Owen Sound, The Sun Times.

While scratching my head on where to start this piece on the memory of Dr. Abdishakur Jowhar and how best to capture his unique character, pure serendipity (and Google News) brought the above quote to my inbox. Eureka; it looked like Dr. Abdishakur’s colleague at Grey Bruce Health Services, Owen Sound, ON., where he worked as a Chief Psychiatrist, had just snapped a live photo of him and hung it on the wall for all to see.

This was it. Immediately the vanishing memories I had of him when I first and last saw him, when he was high school boy in his last year, rushed back to me. It was in the summer of 1971 and Abdishakur was spending part of his school holiday with his sister in our little farming village of Dilla. It was the rainy season; the land was lush green, the ponds full of Xareed (rainwater), the sky was half cloudy, and the knee-high green grass around the ponds shimmered under the beautiful, bright African sun. We walked around the ponds, kicked the grass left and right, cut some of it and crushed it in our hands to feel its fresh smell. We ended up under the big Garbi and Gob trees for which Dilla valley was famous. I can recall many a day when wise community elders held their sessions to resolve issues, pre-school children took their Quran lessons, and my father spent mornings lecturing on Quranic exegesis for his Islamic studies students under the branches of the same trees. I was not if Abdishakur had similar thoughts in mind about the trees. We stood in that idyllic place, sons of great Sheikhs, young, smart and idealistic students, our heads in the sky but still searching the ground for our feet.

Being in his final year of high school, Abdishakur had some idea of where he wanted to go. In the little time we spent together, I knew him as bookish, reflective and likeable. As high school was the highest educational level available in the country at the time, at least in northern regions of Somalia, high school students of Sheikh and Amoud Secondary schools appeared to be scholars, and acted as such. As 7th grade student, I looked at Abdishakur as a scholar and a role model. He had been studying in Benadir Secondary School, Mogadishu, after spending the first three years in Amoud. In retrospect, I clearly see that although our journeys have taken different trajectories, the ideological affinity that we felt with each other on that day and the common family friendships we had have remained intact, only waiting to be rekindled many years later in cyberspace.

As I narrate this story of Dr. Abdishakur, who I reconnected with in 2004 and communicated with until a month before his death, I can imagine him looking at me with his sunny smile and telling me: “Bashirooow …What are you doing man writing about me; come on get a life!.” This was the way he would address me and many of his closer friends; he would address us in a calling manner…Bashiroow, Bahraoow, Ibrahimoow.

I will not talk about him in a chronological way. I will not say that he was born, raised, educated, and then he died. Such statistical memory is for ordinary people; people who didn’t reach out and embrace life, not people like Dr. Abdishakur who are alive both while they physically reside on the earth and after they depart it.

FAMILY BONDS

Dr. Abdishakur and I share a lot of bonds, both familial and personal. His father Sheikh Ali Jowhar, who was an Islamic scholar known throughout the Somali speaking region and beyond, was not only a teacher for my father in his early years of student life but a fatherly figure and a mentor. Even after my father had branched out with his own life, and continued his pursuit for knowledge through other scholars, and in such faraway places as Ethiopia, Sudan, Yemen and Egypt, and had become a well-known scholar on his own right, he still held special reverence and love for Sheikh Ali. For his part, Sheikh Ali returned the same respect and love. I remember as a young boy, people coming from Borama and bringing gifts to my father from Sheikh Ali, and my father too never missed a chance to send gifts to him.

The bond between our fathers was so strong that I even owe my name to Sheikh Ali. My father told me that he got a message from Sheikh Ali who was spending a few days in a place called Aw Buube, a cemetery of a famous saint, on the day before I was born. He was there with some of his students. As my father had a business in Borama at the time, Sheikh Ali had asked him to send some provisions such as sugar and tea. My father departed the following day not only carrying the provisions with him but also the good news of a new baby boy joining the family. After reflecting on the news, Sheikh Ali told him to name the boy “Hassan-Bashir (bearer of good news).”

When Sheikh Ali died, it was my father’s hands that laid him to rest in the grave. Thereafter the sight of Dr. Abdishakur’s sister, Saada Sheikh Ali Jowhar, who was married to Nur Dheere, the wealthiest businessman in Dilla, used to make my father’s eyes well up in tears. Whenever Saada, also a close friend of my mother Rahma, visited us to say hello, he used to get up and meet her with the same reverence and respect he would show when meeting Sheikh Ali himself.

I vividly remember one day when a land rover car came from Wajaale and stopped in Dilla. My father was seated under the miri-miri tree he used to sit under every morning to chat with the people of the village and enquire about their condition. Three young ladies descended from the car and walked straight to where my father was sitting. I was with him when the ladies greeted him. He asked them who they were and the moment they revealed that they were Sheikh Ali Jowhar’s daughters my father could not help but break into tears. He remained that way until the young ladies left him and he told someone to take care of their needs while in transit.

When the school today known as Sheikh Ali Jowhar was built, several of Borama’s elders came to Dilla with a proposal to my father. As he was the man who came up with the idea of building the school and conducted the first major fund-raising for it, they wanted to name the school after him. He thanked them for the honor but told them to instead name the school after Sheikh Ali Jowhar, who was buried in a graveyard close by.

IDEOLOGICAL TRANFORMATION

Dr. Abdishakur in his early ideological breaking turned left and embraced socialist ideology. Being as bookish as he was, he immersed himself in reading the works of all of socialism’s great names. Although I imagine that Dr. Abdishakur first acquainted himself with “progressive literature” in the bookshop of his elder brother, who had the first bookshop in Hargeisa where socialist books were sold, he also got hooked on the leftist ideology while he was at Banadir Secondary School; one of the first schools that had Soviet teachers.

This testimony comes from Abdishakur himself where he narrates a meeting he once had with his friend, Ali Aw Omar, who had the same ideological affiliation. In his article ( Midnight Forever), says:

“We were on the side of the progressive left of the political spectrum. Che Guevara of Cuba, Franz Fanon of Algeria, Amílcar Lopes Cabral of Guinea Bissau and Joe Slovo of South Africa were our heroes. We were the post-independence generation of Africa. We were fed up with tin pot military dictators and military coup d’états that devastated the continent of Africa like pestilence and plague. That was the turbulent seventies for my generation.”

No wonder that Dr. Abdishakur had followed in the footsteps of Frantz Fanon, not only in his ideological and revolutionary thinking but also in his profession. Fanon was a Martiniquean-French, psychiatrist, revolutionary, thinker and philosopher who worked with Algerian freedom fighters against French colonialism and wrote the mammoth psychoanalytic book “The Wretched of the Earth.” Dr. Abdishakur too had become a psychiatrist, thinker, and philosopher, but with a different message in another age.

The “turbulent seventies”, as he called it, was the time when Abdishakur’s and my life become ideologically interwoven. It was like history repeating itself again. We were both the sons of the great Islamic scholars, imbibed in Islam, who turned their backs on their fathers’ heritages and fell headlong in love with the ideology of the “the progressive left” that was spearheaded by the revolutionaries Dr. Abdishakur listed and besotted by the stories of African independence leaders like Lumumba, Nkrumah, Sékou Touré, Kenyatta, Nyerere, and Nasser.

Just like Dr. Abdishakur, I too was hooked on the anti-colonial works of Fanon, Walter Rodney, and the numerous works of the socialist ideologues. I remember someone who saw Abdishakur passing through Dilla one day telling my father: “Oh, Sheikh Omer did you hear that one of Sheikh Ali son’s called Abdishakur has become a socialist ideologue and is rejecting our heritage.” My father smiled and said: “I am not worried about him, I know at the end he would come back to his base…if he doesn’t explore all ideas when he is young, he will not do that when he is old.” It was not long after that when my father noticed that I was always reading books that were considered leftist and anti-religious literature. He called me one day and told me: “ Listen son, you can read whatever you want, you can broaden your horizon as far as you can, but always remember to have your faith in your heart…always remember to return to your base. Remember we have no other culture but that of Islam.”

Did we return to our base? Again I turn to Abdishakur to answer this for himself before I answer for myself. In the same article I quoted, he narrates when he met his friend Ali Aw Omar who had since then turned a religious person and had given him a book of Hadith and pointed out one particular hadith:

“Narrated Anas: Allah’s Apostle said, “Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one. People asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! It is all right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?” The Prophet said, “By preventing him from oppressing others.”
I hold on to the book of Hadith. I opened the same passage again that I read with Ali Aw Omar two years before. This time my head hung low in grief, I read the passage again with eyes unseeing flooded with the gravity of the loss.

I knew immediately why Ali selected the particular Hadith for my attention. Lifelong bonds of friendship ensured shared experiences and shared memories. Now that he has gone, in these memories, shared no more, I exist. I must remember to pass them on, to those who will come, for to bear witness is a responsibility.

Ali and I have been together in the social justice movement in Somalia since the early seventies when we both joined forces with other members of our generation to confront the military dictator of our time Mohamed Siyad Barre…

…We came to maturity in that decade and were immediately confronted with a nation in a crisis. We met head on a military dictatorship that was systematically destroying a nation. Ours was a political revolt, student movement, popular campaigns. We were determined to stand up to be counted. But we were crushed by the regime. To be brutally honest we failed miserably in the task we set up for ourselves. Our defeat and the victory of the short sighted selfish right set the stage for Somalia to become the prototypal land of statelessness, starving masses, well fed pirates, warlords and of course their social counterpart marauding ferocious machete wielding tribes.

Many of us ended as refugees in the four corners of the world. Few of the more dedicated, hardy, heroic types remained in the country and refused to go. Ali Aw Omar was one of the latter. He stayed with the people. He shared their lot, their wars, their peace, their hunger, their pain and their prosperity. I envied him then for his bravery. I think he knew of my envy, it was never mentioned. He was just too refined.

I sought refuge in the west and quickly got lost in its decadent capitalistic ways. I conformed to the locally prevalent creed of democracy, equality and free fair elections as the gentlest means of human progress. Ali Aw Omar having stayed home was caught up in the wave of Islamism that has swept over the new generations in Somalia. He also conformed to the locally prevailing political mood of a resurgent Islamic exuberance. He found safety in the Quran and sustenance in Hadith and Sunnah.

Ali and I witnessed the death of the ideology that dominated our childhood days as well as the death of the nation in whose bosom we grew. Like orphans in a ruthless world we had to evolve, adapt and improvise with all haste to survive. Like a football on the playground of fate, we were kicked around, cast, molded and ripened by the force of circumstances and times. At the end of it all here we were Ali, a Sheikh, and a pious man in Somaliland preaching to save my soul for the next world, I a Psychiatrist from Canada trying to understand my old friend in this present world.”

I could say that Dr. Abdishakur also spoke for me; like him I have met friends with whom I shared the same “progressive left” ideology and who have now returned to their base, just like my father predicted. And I can say after maturity, it is always in the comfort zone of childhood memories that one finds himself secure and safe. I have come to know that Dr. Abdishakur had become a pious man and was quoted to have said that the Fajr (Dawn) prayer was one of his favorite prayers. Only a person who went through a spiritually tortuous journey will definitely understand the pleasure of returning home. It is the same pleasure that prompted Abu Hamel Al Ghazali to write his short but canonical book Al Munqid Min Al Dalal (Deliverance from Error).

Being a traveler in soul and body, it is just fateful that Dr. Abdishakur had to meet his death on May 13, 2012 while travelling in the same road where he started his journey. Waxay baallisiyo, waxay balad martaba, xeradaw ballana (No matter how far it wanders and no matter whichever country they travel to, they should finally return to their stable), say lines sung by Somali cow herders during watering cattle.

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF FRANTZ FANON

Dr. Abdishakur got a real wakeup call when he went sent to the Soviet Union to study the socialist ideology. But no sooner he landed there; he found how disillusioned he was. And he immediately packed his suitcase and returned to Somalia to the surprise of his colleagues like Dr. Mohamed-Rasheed Sh. Hassan who was with him.

Talking about Dr. Abdishakur’s disillusionment with the ideological and Siyad Barre’s regime, Adan Hasan Iman (Dhegay) told me the following:

“Abdishakour was my classmate from grade one through the 3rd year at Amoud Secondary. He transferred to Benadir secondary school for his his fourth year in the fall of 1971. In high school he felt in love with Marxisms. He was briefly sent to the Soviet Union with Mohamed Rashid, but he soon got the attention of the Siad Barre regime as a dangerous man. That was when he left the country for Egypt.

He did not go to any of the faculties of the Somali University. He did not work at any of the ministries. He just sneaked out of the country. He feared to be thrown behind bars. He did not fly out of Mogadishu. He boarded a vehicle and my recollection is he went to Djibouti through Ethiopia.

That was around 1973. He was far ahead of us. He became disillusioned with the Siad Barre regime earlier than anybody that I knew. He was highly politically conscious at a young age. One of the motivating factors was his empathy for the poor and his love for hard work.”

And it was in Egypt where Dr. Abdishakur followed the footsteps of his mentor Franz Fanon and studied psychiatry. But while Fanon had to expose the psychological impact of colonialism on the psyche of the colonized and had to fight colonialism and racism, Dr. Abdishakur had to explore and wage a similar war against the impact of the dark forces of tribalism, ignorance and disease on the psyche of the Somali people. It was not a coincidence that he died while on duty travelling from one clinic to another to treat the mentally disturbed people who are the most wretched people on earth in that part of the world.

Commenting on Dr. Abdishakur’s death, Mahmoud Hassan Saad (Saajin), an old friend of him, told me how Dr. Abdishakur when he came to Borama asked about Saajin’s brother, an intelligent man that Abdishakur knew in his school days but had since then descended into the dark world of depression.

“Dr. Abdishakur Ilaahay baa dadka u soo diray (he was like an angel sent by God to the people. He treated my brother and within no time he became well to the extent that he even married,” Saajin said “Most of our people are suffering from mental problems and apart from being the only psychiatrist available, Dr. Abdishakur was also a unique person in his compassion and optimism which played a great role in the people’s healing.”

IN THE WORDS OF HIS FRIENDS

Having talked about what Dr. Abdishakur and I had shared, it would be unfair to reduce his life to his ideological metamorphosis. In fact, one cannot feel the richness of Dr. Abdishakur’s life and the various unique levels of his character without looking into his wisdom, his humor, his optimism, and his hatred for tribalism, ignorance and other forces of darkness, as well as his compassion, kindness, love, and his nostalgia for the cherished memories of his childhood.

To get glimpses of these other facets of his life, I turned to Dr.Abdishakur’s friends and classmates who generously shared with me their recollections. I also turned to some of my correspondences with him (absolutely only those I feel allowed to declassify as my friend is today in another world and cannot tell me, Bashiroow, don’t let that out).

In the following email, one can see Dr. Abdishakur railing against ignorance and the Somali tradition of praising their heroes only after death and not while they are alive. It also reflects Dr. Abdishakur’s promotion of love, peace and justice even in close circles. The email is dated June 11, 2000 and was forwarded to me by Roda Mizan, a friend of mine, who was a member of Awdal Forum to which Dr. Abdishakur had sent the email.

“Awdalities,

…Here in cyperspace, I share the tears, Foox and Salool with our Poet and heroine Mizan…. I gain solace from being with you out here. I gain courage from the little dents that we make together. Yes the books are on their way. Knowledge is the healer. Ignorance is the enemy. Down with the enemy!

And we have a cyber niche where we can console each other. I welcome all my new sisters to the forum. I bid them welcome to this space that stands for peace, love, justice and sanity. I welcome Fatima, Farhiya, Khadra and Khadra as well Halima.

And alas we are people who are known to take their heroes for granted. They toil thanklessly amongst us. Oh yes we do miss them when they depart. We thank them not while they walk amongst us! Something, something corrupt turns us the other way. …

For maintaining sanity when we all go cyber crazy, for preventing us from tearing this shade apart in juvenile rage, for making it possible for us to pool our meager resources, for the endless hours he spends maintaining and nurturing this list… Allow me to thank, deeply thank the manager of Awdal forum. Deeply. Endlessly.

A million thanks brother Ibrahim Absiye. You are our hero and we will say it now. This time we will get it right!...”

RECOLLECTIONS FROM HIS FORMER CLASSMATES

Adan Hasan Iman (Dhegay), Abdishakur’s classmate from the start of primary school to the third year of High School, speaks to the positive impact that Abdishakur had on him during his formative years, and about how he has passed down what he learned to his children:

“From first grade to fourth grade, I used to hang with kids who were NOT very serious in school. But starting from fourth grade I hooked up with Abdishakur Sheikh Ali Jowhar, Hussein Dahir Obsiye ( Husein Sheena) and Ali Barkhad Dhore who died in 1972 in Mogadishu. We called ourselves, the Four Lords, because we were on top of the class, sort of different class from the rest. I believe that my association with Abdishakur and the other two changed my life. I fell in love with books. None of my old friends before fourth grade went to college. I tell my two young sons that you will become like whoever you associate yourself with. I remind them to befriend the best and the brightest.

But I lost in touch with him in 1973. I lost the intimacy I had with him before 1973. I talked to him many times in Canada, but I didn’t see him in person for over 40 years until I saw him briefly in LA at 2004 SOPRI convention. I invited him and his wife to lunch. We reminisced the old days. His wife was my eight grade student at 15 May Secondary School in 1976.. It was a good get together.

I can tell you he was a highly intelligent. His IQ was within the top percentile. He was very intelligent, very jovial. He was a good person to have around.”

Adan also narrates a good anecdote when he, Abdishakur and two other friends went to Abdishakur’s father, Sheikh Ali to seek his blessing as they prepared for the leaving exams of the primary school (7th grade) before they were promoted to high school:

“We climbed up the hill to the Sheikh's house. The Sheik stayed inside the hill top house all the time except on very rare occsions when he would venture downhill to the town. My recollection is the door in his house was split at the middle. Only the top half would open. We knocked. He opened the top half. After the greetings, we told him about the purpose of our visit.

He said “Boys listen. You need to work hard on your lessons. That is the right key to your success and passing your exam...

Here was the most revered religious leader mentoring us that hard work is the way to achieve your goals in life. That was the kind of Islam we grew up with.

We all worked hard and proved to be among top in the northern region.”

Ibrahim Absiye, another class mate who had known Abdishakur for 45 years, says:

“For me it is just too much to write about the too many recollections – but will try to be brief:

I have known Shakour for almost half a century – 45 years, or since grade 8. And for that life-long friendship, I have never seen him angry or mad at anyone, no matter what. Yes, we were classmates and shared the same desk in the classroom. He was an exceptional human being – humble, simple, caring, always smiling, people-person, full of aspirations, forward thing, friendly and, what can I say, a real friend of mine!"

In the following anecdote Ibrahim narrates how he and Abdishakur, while campaigning for a candidate in Somalia’s parliamentary elections in 1969 in the hopes of getting a scholarship to the USA, had their vehicle break down at exactly at same place in which Abdishakur died recently:

“… it is in the Spring of 1969 and both of us joined an SYL campaign trip to Gorayacawl, Magaala-Qalooc, Idhan, Magaala-Cad, Dilla – Quraab gave us 10 Sh each and a promise to be sent on scholarships to the States! We were with elders in a Landrover. We left Dilla heading back home to Borama/Amoud at about 8:00 pm. it is raining cats and dogs. When we were close to Tulli, at exactly the current place of the accident, pure coincidence (!) (?), the Landrover had two flat tires. After a while a truck full of opposition supports from Gabiley (Baha Samaroon) came by.

I remember they were singing.. waa baa baryay bilic san … The truck stopped. Some of them shouted “waar waa kuwii SYLsha ee dhaafa” …the elders urged them to take only the two students who have classes tomorrow at Amoud –Shakour & I. They did and left the elders right there. The truck is full and quite noisy with drums and people with very high emotions –worst campaign fever. It is dark and still raining. Everybody is standing up, clinching to steel bars (dhigo). The truck climbed the hill at Gorayacawl and one of the passengers who has never been to Borama said “ alla, Borama way kaahaysaa, waar ayaa laydhka u sameeyey?” I opened my big mouth and answered him “ dee Adan Isaaq baa u sameeeyey”. All hell broke loose and they picked us up to throw us off the truck. The driver, I think his name Nirig, stopped the truck, came around and after negotiations, told them to ‘just bring them down and we will leave them here”. They did and we had to walk to Borama in Gudcur raining night. Cold and shivering, we arrived Borama around midnight and went to Harowo Hotel for rehabilitation ……

On how their friendship continued and even blossomed in Canada, Ibrahim says:

“We had the best time together over the last seven years. Shakour and Dr. Mohamed Beergeel were both working in a remote village in North West British Colombia, Canada. I was in constant negotiations with Dr. Jowhar for almost two years to convince him and his friend, the other psychiatrist, to move to Toronto where I was involved in community organizing/development, and where there is one the largest Somali community concentrations outside the country. They finally moved and in about a year, Shakour married his lovely wife, Amina Abdi Jama. They choose me to be the best man and Shakour called me to say: “ Yaa Sheikh Al-Abahri Wal Barri, you are not only my best man, but both of us have to wear the traditional clothes. So here we were in a Toronto west banquet hall among over 300 people standing out in what seemed to some funny clowns.

Over the past 3-4 years when Dr. Jowhar was practicing psychiatry in the Province of Ontario, he must have treated thousands and thousands of Somali Canadians in Ontario. Of course he was seeing other non-Somali clients as well. But I became known as the Dr’s friend and people will call me for emergency situations to put them in touch with Dr. Jowhar. Also, he must have seen dozens and dozens of patients in my home at weekends – all free of charge, simply because they came through Sheikh Al Bahri.

Bashir, I cannot stop talking about our brother and friend, late Dr. Abdishakour Jowhar, but I should. What about that skype call just the days before the accident – we chatted live for a 30 minutes and his last word to me was ‘ alla maxaan war kuu sidaa, see you next week! But I know he never arrived.”

Dr. Ali Ibrahim Bahar, another classmate of Dr. Abdishakur, thankfully allowed me to reprint the following prophetic email he sent to Dr. Abdishakur on March 25, 2010 in which he was inviting Dr. Abdishakur to attend a Gadabursi Conference that was being held in Minnesota:

“Dear Dr. Jowhar,

I was assuming you were coming to the Gadabursi conference, or may I say the Gadabursi Manifesti in Minneapolis. My wife informed me last night that you are not coming. What a shock! The author of the Gadabursi Manifesto is boycotting the conference!! I think you should come, man!!

Life is too short and this might be the last time you will see of some of us or have a laugh with some of your older friends—because our age group is dwindling and is approaching extinction just like the Dinosaurs. Also, I heard that great Mr. Bashir Goth is coming and the two of you might have the last opportunity to win a Somaliweyn friend to your side.

Seriously, I wish you are coming. What say you? “

This is more than prophetic. It seems that Dr. Ali Bahar was almost sure that he would not be able to see his friend anymore. What a premonition.

In fact, Dr. Abdishakur’s reply to his friend was not only a consistent, predictable, and emphatic NO, but he also asked his friend not to go to a tribal meeting. He said:

“Ali Baharoo

Good to hear from you brother. You are in a dark mood today. Our time may be on a state of countdown. But cheer up…

Seriously I am equally surprised you are coming. I thought making the tribal system stronger will be the last thing on your plate. These tribal gatherings are the poisonous opium of the masses that killed a nation. Ali Don't Go.”

Describing Dr. Abdishakur amid tears, Dr. Bahr said: “Respect was a true trademark of Dr. Jowhar’s character-always keeping you in a special place in his heart and valuing your friendship, even when disagreeing with us; a memory of him to keep and cherish.”

Last but not least, I turned to Dr. Abdishakur’s cousin and friend, Muuse Ali (Joome), who in replying to my enquiry about his memories of Dr. Abdishakur:

“All what I knew of Dr. Abdhishakur is very well said in your wholesome poem. He always had a big heart for everyone and he was the man who was always ready to offer all what he could to others. His big heart was paired up with smile, bright face and a gentle joke. Wherever he went, he always carried a bright light above him and around. That was why Dr Abdishakur’s death touched the hearts of so many people. Dr Abdishakur was a bright shining star in all the networks of his contemporary society. We will never forget him. We will always love him.”

Muuse Joome’s words bring us full circle to Shannon Shaw’s remarks with which we started. Isn’t it amazing how a cousin who grew up with Dr. Abdishakur, and a colleague who knew him only during the short period they worked together, came to the same conclusion concerning his contagious personality? I cannot find any better words to conclude that do justice to Dr. Abdishakur’s life than a line by the Egyptian Poet Ahmed Shawqi:

(الناس صنفان – موتي في حياتهم وآخرون بباطن الأرض أحياء)

“People are of two kinds: those who are dead while they are alive and others who are alive in their graves.”

- END -

*

* This paper is published in a special issue of Dhaxalreeb e-magazine, dedicated to the Person and Works of late Dr. Abdishakur Jowhar (readsea-online.com/e-books)

GEESI LOO HANWEYNAA
(A tribute to my hero Dr. Abdishakur Jowhar)

By Bashir Goth

Hearing of the death of Dr. Abdishakur Sh. Ali Jowhar struck me as a thunderbolt out of the blue. At no time can one be prepared for death but at times like this it is simply unbearable. The following eulogy poem is therefore a tribute to my friend, eminent scholar, unique thinker and philosopher, medical doctor and above all my irreplaceable intellectual soul mate and hero who was snatched by an untimely death in a tragic and unforgivable car accident on one of Somaliland’s deathtrap roads, between Dilla and Borama, on 13th May 2012.

Dr. Jowhar was a man blessed with the gift of gab and it was our mutual love for words and ideas that brought us together. It is therefore imperative that I remember him in the way he knew and respected me best, as a poet. In time, I will write an obituary about him to share his life as I knew him with his fans and the general public but now let me try to touch on his character, his intellectuality, his passion, his bravery, his kindness, his wisdom, his patriotism, his rebellious thought and his modesty as well as his humor, his sarcasm and his flare with language in the following poem: Geesi Loo Hanweynaa ( A Greatly Sought After Hero)

Geeriyeey  gableeyaay
Gudcur iyo habaareey
 ***
Iyadoon laguu gogol
Oon gu’ba laguu tirin
Waxad soo guclaysood
Kolba guri mug weynaa
Goloftood ku heestaba
Miyaad goor xun socodeey
Maantana gab soo tidhi
 ***
Ood gabi hadhweyniyo
Geed lagu nagaa iyo
Gumbur lagu dahsoonaa
Geesi loo hanweynaa
Gab intaad ku soo tidhi
Gaar nooga qaaddoo
Goonyaha dhulkaygiyo
Gayigii u ooyoo
Shakuur  lagu gunaanaday…
 ***
Maxaan gabay idhaahdaa
Miyuu ii guntamayaa
Godka uu baneeeyiyo
Gabalaaxsigiisii
Gololuhuu fadhiyi jirey
Gereerka erayadu
Qiimihiisi gaarkii
Miyuu gudi karaayaa…
***
Qalinkaygu gaydhada
Miyuu guulihiisii
Goohiyo dayaankii
Geesaaska sheekada
Siduu yahay gammaan faras
Qoraalkuu galbini jirey
Gibladiyo ciyaartiyo
Gurxanka iyo loolkiyo
Wilwilaha ku goyn jirey
Weedhuu gorfeeyaba
Guuxuu ka tegi jiray
Goolkuu ku dhalin jirey
Miyuu gaadhi karayaa...
***
Geesi baan abiidkii
Geeridu ka raagine
Goortii la joogaba
Guubaabadiisii
Gurmad caymadkiisii
Gaadh ilaaladiisii
Guryo oodistiisii
Gacal ururintiisii
Miyaa galalawgiisii
Durba loo go'doomoo
Gar allee la tebayaa
 ***
Goobtuu dhex joogsado
Gole oogistisii
Hadal godolintiisii
Gar wanaajintiisii
Talo loo gudboonyahay
Gorfo buuxintiisii
Garaad xoorintisii
Miyaa garashadiisii
Durba loo go'doomoo
Gar Allee la tebayaa
  ***
Jowharow waxaad guddo
Gogoshaad ahaydiyo
Beel gardaadintaadii
Dareen garashadaadii
Cilmigaagii gaankii
Waa loo goblamayoo
Goobtaad banaysaa
Jiilaal ka soo galay
 ***
Geeridu xaq weeyee
Somaliland gaar
Iyo guriga Soomaal
Gaban yar iyo waayeel
Geed kastoo la joogaba
Gacmahaa la hoorshoo
Gurayo hoyashadaadii
Guus iyo quraan iyo
Ducaa lagugu geebaray
 ***
Guudkeeda dunidani
Intaad joogtay gacallow
Waajibkaagii gudatee
Guryaheeda aakhiro
Galihii firdowsaad
Gama' oo ku waar nabad.
 -- ©Bashir Goth, 13th May 2012.

Editorial: Al Shabab defeated in Somalia, thrives in the West
April 10, 2012


Awdalpress, London – The recent suicide bombing of the Somali National Theatre by Al Shabab was a despicable, barbaric and horrendous crime committed with the intention of Al Shabab trying to prove that they still exist and that they can harm, hurt and cause havoc. But the truth of their heinous crime was not lost on the Somali people. It was an act of desperation, one last attempt by a defeated ragtag army of gangsters to kill the growing will of the people to restore the life that Al Shabab has suppressed for so long.

What was more repugnant, however, than the crime itself was how the spokesman of Al Shabab has shamelessly desecrated the holy Quran and the name of the Prophet in his logic defying invocation of Allah by standing before the cameras and thanking the Almighty for bestowing them with his mercy and victory. If anything this has again exposed how Al Shabab live in a cuckoo world of their own making. No sane human being can begin to understand what God would reward or be on the side of murderous terrorists who killed innocent people spending their evening in a cultural concert.

Surely, with this last despicable episode of Al Shabab’s dark era, no one will be under illusion anymore that these terrorists are an insult to Islam and Muslims. The Somali people, particularly those who suffered under Al Shabab’s ruthless rule, have turned against them and this is why they want to punish the people before they disappear into the dustbin of history.

The Somali people will rebuild the National Theatre and it will thrive as it used to be as a beacon of enlightenment and cultural revival. Great music will be born and performed in it and the Somali youth who have been tortured by Al Shabab for listening to music will in turn torture Al Shabab by blaring music into their solitary prison cells.

It is obvious that Al Shabab are defeated in Somalia both militarily and ideologically but the fear of Somali mothers whose children and husbands were killed, tortured and maimed by Al Shabab will be hard to disappear as long as they know that there are fanatic ideologues who preach and glorify Al Shabab’s crooked thought and recruit young impressionable converts in their safe havens in western democratic countries.

Awdalpress.com

Somali women between hope and reality

By Bashir Goth

Browsing through Somali websites on the International Women’s Day on March 8, two episodes attracted my attention; one was heartwarming and inspiring while the other was disheartening and sad.

Heartwarming was seeing Somali women in Mogadishu celebrating the International Women’s Day in their traditional Somali butterfly attire since the routing of Al Shabab from the city.

In a scene that was reminiscent of the old days before extremist ideologies and alien cultures shrouded the beauty and intelligence of Somali women in mourning garments, it was refreshing to see them come out dressed in their modest but elegant Diric, garbosaar and hagoog or Masar attire and celebrate the International Women’s Day in a dinner hosted by the TFG President Sheikh Sharif’s two wives. One cannot but be delighted by the transformation that took place in a few months since Al Shabab were driven out from Mogadishu. In their days, women were not allowed to celebrate even weddings let alone international events. They were forced to wear the Al Shabab ordained head-to-toe black cloaks and publicly rebuked and sometimes punished for wearing bras. It was equally enchanting to see Sheikh Sharif himself attending the women’s dinner. Some may argue and rightly whether sitting between his two wives was sending the wrong signal to the millions of Somali girls who would be watching this event from around the world. But the fact that a Somali president who himself went through a remarkable transformation was attending a women’s dinner party itself reflected the air of freedom that Somali women in Mogadishu were now breathing.

The women’s quick change of heart and garb is also a proof of the Somali women’s teflonian character that rejects alien cultures to stick to them no matter how forcefully it is imposed on them. Now, Al Shabab can see that just like any people living under tyranny, Somali women had never accepted the unaesthetic lifestyle that they tried to impose on them. Just like fascism, communism and the countless tin pot dictators that have all gone and left nothing but bad memory behind, Al Shabab will only be remembered by the amputated limps of the youth that they left behind. Hope has returned to Somali women and should never leave them again.

The disheartening episode however was a heart wrenching report and plea for help that Amina Elmi Fareed, a brave woman and head of a civilian organization by the name of CDA, so eloquently and strongly related about the rape and humiliation that women in the Awdal & Salal regions of Somaliland had to endure.

In a press conference that she held on the eve of the International Women’s Day, Amina reported that her organization had recorded 10 rape crimes in the past months.

In a tone mixed with sadness and helplessness, Amina narrated how she appealed to Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs over the last successive years and in fact to all relevant government institutions to bring an end to the recurrent crimes of rape against women.

She was appalled by how men who commit such heinous crimes against women are protected and defended by the society and how the society dismisses the tears and shattered dignity of women victims.

In a rare and brave repudiation of the complacency of traditional elders such as Sultans, Chiefs, Ministers and the community of men towards rape victims, she said: “ninka wax kufsanaya caaqilkii baa daba socda oo wasiirkii baa daba socda oo suldaankii baa daba socda oo communitigii baa daba socda. Miyaanay haddaba ayaan darro ahayn gabadh xuquuqdeedii lagu xad gudbay ee haddana raggii waaweynaa oo dham isku soo kaxaysanayaan…bal wiil yar oo dhalinyaro ahi haba xadgudbo, qoladan waaweyn ee ninkii wax kufsaday daba socotaa anigu wax laga xishoodo ayaan u arkaa. Waa wax laga xishoodo.” (The man who commits the rape has the minister, the clan chief, the sultan and the community behind him. Isn’t unfortunate to see a woman whose dignity and rights have been violated has still to face all these prominent men alone. I can understand if a young commits such a crime but to see these prominent men of the society rallying behind the criminal is indeed shameful, very shameful).

Amina appealed to the government to enact strong laws criminalizing rape and giving harsh punishment to those who commit rape.

In fact rape has become rampant not only in Somaliland but all the Somali territory. Dr. Ahmed Dahir Aden, Sexual Assault Referral Center (SARC) at Hargeisa General Hospital, reported that: "Rape cases are on the rise in Somaliland year after year. For example, in our office, we recorded 105 rape cases [in 2010] and the number [in 2011] has increased to 145." It also soars in Galkayo, in Mogadishu’s IDP camps.

Despite this disheartening picture, it is encouraging to see brave women such as Amina Elmi Fareed stand up, strongly and bravely against men favoring culture and to shame community elders and government officials for being accomplices of crime against women. Amina and all other unsung Somali women struggling to lift centuries old injustices against women deserve the support of every conscientious Somali. Ironically, it is women who despite bearing the brunt of all society’s ills that have kept the Somali people afloat over the last 20 years of internecine wars and misery caused by men.

David Cameron’s Welcome Colonial Arrogance

By Bashir Goth

It was arrogance, sheer arrogance of colonial times; another British PM in the 21st century dictating his terms to a beleaguered African nation.

David Cameron buoyed by his victory in Libya wanted an international endorsement to air bomb Somalia under the pretext of fighting Al Shabab and Piracy but in real truth he wanted to address domestic concerns: read Olympics, economic hardships, British tourism in Kenya, future oil & mineral prospects and home security, genuine interests indeed against genuine threats coming from a poor Horn of African nation. It was unacceptable, genuinely unacceptable.

But genuine causes are not enough. No politician and especially a British for that matter flaunt naked objectives. They have to be sugar coated with diplomacy and altruism. And this is why decisions were already made, the daggers were out and the victim was brought to the altar to submit to his fate or sign his verdict.

The whole episode looked like a Scramble for Africa all over again. Even the Group Photo shows Cameron's arrogance standing as a colonial governor in the front and apart from the rest. No wonder my mind raced back to Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and flashes of the Mad Mullah’s resistance to the British colonization. You see, history is hard to forget, especially its painful episodes and oppression is never far from the African heart. And in the 21st century when all are educated and aware about the real intentions it is painful to see someone exploiting you because of your circumstances.

There is no doubt that the Somali people who suffered under the ruthless rule of Al Shabab and experienced how their twisted thinking has converted Islam and Sharia into a ghoulish nightmare will absolutely welcome any force that could liberate them from the grip of Al Shabab.

Looking at this situation one may be forgiven to welcome a deal with the devil and say: “Muslinimo ninkaan kugu wadayn muumino khaas ah, gaal maxasta kuu dhawra ood magansataa dhaama…” If a leader doesn’t manage your affairs in the true spirit of Islam with pure honesty and fairness, it is better to seek refuge in a non-Muslim who cares for the well-being of your family.)

And this is why the Somali leaders, who stood like colonial subjects before their colonial master, had been put between a rock and a hard place. The bitter reality came in Sheikh Sharif’s speech: “We're looking for security. We're scared of tomorrow.” And tomorrow indeed is very scary and has been scary for many of the Somali people and particularly for Somali mothers’ over the last twenty years.

But a sound and a pragmatic reading of the regional political landscape may bring forth another ironic analogy from the rich Somali literature: “Baadida nin baa kula dayday, daalna kaa badina, oon doonahayn in aad heshaa, daayin abidkaaye.” (There is a man who searches your lost beasts with you and even makes extra efforts, but who deep in his heart does not want you to find them).

But despite the current situation, Sheikh Sharif could have reminded the British Prime Minister that Somalia was not always a “failed state” nor it is now. That there was a day when Somalia was fixing the problems of its African brothers that are now boasting to fix it; that it was Somalia that successfully mediated a conflict between Idi Amin’s Uganda and Nyereere’s Tanzania in 1972 and averted an imminent war; that Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was once a refugee in Mogadishu and that his Tigrean movement would not have been successful in deposing Mengistu Haile Mariam if the communist regime in Addis Ababa was not broken by the powerful Somali army in 1977; that Somalia was the first African country where two elected civilian presidents passed power to each other democratically in 1967; that even now and despite the world media focus on what is wrong with Somalia; that the Somali people have one of the robust, cheapest and fast growing telecommunications sectors in Africa; that Somalis have the most successful money transfer companies in Africa; that Somalis have more airlines and more universities now than ever.

Sheikh Sharif could have reminded Cameron and the world that with their known entrepreneurial skills Somali people have activated the business sectors in Nairobi, Dar-es-Salam, Kampala, South Africa and beyond; that the streets of some our towns in Somaliland; Puntland and other areas are more safe than the streets of many African countries, have achieved more progress than ever achieved in the 30 years under independence; that what is right with Somalia can easily offset what is wrong if foreign terrorists and governments with vested interests were not meddling with our affairs; that a well trained, well armed and well paid Somali army would have defeated Al Shabab and secured the country more than an foreign force could ever do.

Sheikh Sharif could have reminded Cameron that the British had a moral duty to support what was right in Somalia as was eloquently expressed by Alex De Waal in his brilliant piece "Getting Somalia Right This Time".


Sheikh Sharif should have told Cameron that if he met his promises and translated his words into reality by emulating the Turkish role and building big projects then Somalis would definitely tolerate and welcome his colonial arrogance and may forget the dark legacy that his patronizing posture evokes; a legacy that was the root cause of Somalia’s plight today. For it was Cameron’ predecessors, British gentlemen like him, who divided the Somali territory and gifted parts of it to neighboring countries against the will of the Somali people. It was the indefatigable search for the dream of greater Somalia that Cameron’s forefathers have shattered in the 20th century that led the Somalis to end up in vain and turn against each other in frustration in the 21st century.

26th Feb. 2012.

Never belonging

Bashir Goth

As an expatriate, one lives in perpetual split personality. As you work and socialize with the citizens of the country you adopted for your expatriate life, you develop a sense of belonging and you rarely remember that you had another country or culture; particularly if you have spent a long time in a certain place.

You may think that you have mastered the local language, the history, the cultural nuances of the local people and their culinary tastes, but then by the time you think you have become fully blended and integrated, an innocent fleeting comment or a subtle gesture may jolt you awake and make you realize that integrating is not like being and that being comes with childhood memories ingrained in one's formative years through the mother's bedside stories and not through learning in adulthood. What you learn and experience in adulthood gives you knowledge and enables you to find your way in life but it does not necessarily change your being. It is after many years living as an expatriate that I have come to conclusion that lacking that factor of being is the secret that keeps the person as an expatriate and not necessarily the lack of knowledge about the local culture or lack of legal citizenship for that matter.

I met some people who have become citizens of countries that they had migrated to and have lived in them more years than they ever lived in their original homelands, but who still see their original places as their home country. The fact that they have lived, educated, worked and have become citizens with full rights did not change that inside feeling of being alien and an expatriate.

On the other side, when you live many years away from your original country what you have about it is only a memory. The country, the people, the culture and the values you have in your memory may not exist anymore but you still cling to those worn out threads as dearly as you could.

I always find it difficult to understand how many of my fellow Somalis who lived most of their adult lives outside Somalia keep reminiscing about the country they once knew without realizing that what they know about Somalia exists only in their own memories. I received emails from friends who returned home recently after living more than 35 years in the West. And as excited as they were in going back, they were shocked when they could not find the country that they had been dreaming of. They suddenly felt alien and as expatriates in a place they considered as their own homeland.

This may lead the expatriate people, particularly African expats, to living in two different personalities. On one side, they may need to develop a strong sense of belonging to their places of work and residence and on the other side they may have a strong desire to cling to their childhood home even if it remains only a figment of imagination. But while some people may find it quite easy to reconcile between the two worlds and blend to the mainstream culture, others may cocoon in their own psychological enclaves and may forever live in a mental barren land.

Being an expatriate has therefore its ups and downs and its own exotica as well, as we read in the literature of the Europeans colonizers in Africa and elsewhere.

But the truth of the matter remains that once an expatriate always an expatriate. I once read a story about an American cross-country truck driver who saw a couple in different parts of the country. Perplexed by their nomad life, he approached the husband and asked him where he called home. The husband looked at his wife who was sitting close by and said: "Where ever she is."

So in today's globalized world, where one may not know where business and life will take him the next day, it may be safe to say that your home is wherever your spouse and your family are.



The article was originally published by Online Opinion

From Garadag “State” to London Conference: Mr. Silanyo’s Checkered Journey to Power


Bashir Goth

As Somaliland takes a slide into the unknown, many questions come to the mind of those of us who advocated and still believe in the legitimacy of the Somaliland cause and have a great faith in the ingenuity and wisdom of the people of Somaliland.

Among the questions that race through the mind is whether this downward slope brought about by the Somaliland government’s rush to attend the London Conference on Somalia, will cause it to free fall into the abyss or whether the slide will be due to a temporary misstep after which Somaliland will regain her balance and will continue the journey with her renowned stride.

Is this hasty decision to participate in the London Conference and the unprecedented unanimous support given to Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo’s government by the legislative houses, political parties and some community elders an expression of desperation after twenty years of seeking recognition have came to nothing? Or is it an attempt to change tactics and to reposition Somaliland’s foreign strategy by adopting a new policy of engagement with the international community and the TFG instead of the standing policy of Somaliland’s successive governments’ that was based on digging in their heels? Is the government’s decision a pre-emptive action aimed at stymieing any attempts by the recently declared mini-states of Awdal and Khaatumo to be heard in the London Conference? Or is it a long and drawn out agenda, carefully crafted with shrewdness and deceit by President Silanyo and his henchmen to scuttle Somaliland’s sovereignty and trade it for a hero’s welcome and posts in Mogadishu?

To save time and space, I will leave most of the above questions open to be answered by time, but I will tackle the last one, speculating on Mr. Silanyo’s perceived intentions and agenda for Somaliland.

A Wounded Ego

Any observer who tracks Ahmed Mohamed Mr. Silanyo’s history will surely surmise that he has never forgiven the SNM Command for removing him from the SNM leadership in 1990 in Baligubadle and denying him to be the hero who announces the victory of the SNM over Siyad Barre.

At the time of Baligubadle Conference, Mr. Silanyo was almost six years at the helm of the SNM and the military regime of Siyad Barre was on the verge of collapse. But when Abdirahman Ahmed Ali (Tuur) was elected to replace him, Mr. Silanyo must have naturally felt cheated. Like any guerrilla leader, Mr. Silanyo would have definitely liked to be the one who celebrates the victory lap, raises Somaliland’s flag and be remembered as the founder of the new country.

It was Mr. Silanyo’s fate to watch Abdirahman Tuur and later Mohamed Ibrahim Egal claim the honor of being recognized as the founders of Somaliland. If someone else was called the founder, he must have told himself, he should carve his own legacy in the people’s psyche by becoming the hero of the reunification of Somaliland with Somalia. If anyone would think this to be a wild claim or a stretch of imagination, let us explore together the political legacy of Mr. Silanyo during the existence of Somaliland.

After leaving Egal’s cabinet, Mr. Silanyo stayed in political wilderness for a while, apparently brooding about his comeback and how he would revenge for his damaged ego.

He probably saw his first chance after Egal’s death, when Mr. Silanyo rushed back to Hargeisa and lobbied to be elected as Rayale’s Vice President. He even met Rayale face-to-face and asked him to nominate him as his vice president. He must have been dumbfounded when Rayale overstepped him and took Ahmed Yusuf Yasin, an unknown figure and a political novice as his Vice President.

The Odyssey Begins: Laying Out the Plan

Thinking that Rayale’s sojourn in the Presidential palace will be short and temporary, Mr. Silanyo formed his own party Kulmiye, pushing aside his clansman Suleiman Mahamoud Adan (Suleyman Gaal), who was the chairman of ASAD Party, by using his SNM credentials. Even at that time people who knew Mr. Silanyo closely made their own interpretations about the name he chose for his party. Kulmiye (unifier) they thought was a signal to where Mr. Silanyo would lead the nation if he was elected.

But the real blow to Mr. Silanyo came when Dahir Rayale Kahin, a non-SNM and a former NSS officer, defeated him in the first Presidential election 2003 on his own turf. This must have caused a permanent dent to Mr. Silanyo’s ego and planted in him the seed for revenge.

He launched a relentless mobilization campaign that went non-stop for almost six years. He used the tribal card, the SNM card and every plausible tactic he could muster to discredit Rayale even at the expense of destroying Somaliland’s image abroad. He rallied the Somaliland diaspora behind him by invoking the memory of the SNM struggle and tribal sentiments.

The Garadag Conference

When the second presidential elections came closer, Mr. Silanyo seemed to have panicked to the extent that he couldn’t trust his party base and instead convened the Garadag Conference of his sub-clan. This was the first time that a Somaliland national leader of his caliber resorted to clan politics. None of the previous three leaders, Abdirahman Tuur, Egal and Rayale, nor even Faisal Ali Waraabe, the leader of UCID, had stooped so low to publicly and exclusively convene their sub-clans and seek their endorsement. The Garadag Conference had converted Mr. Silanyo from a national leader to a tribal chief. His battle cry was: “It is our turn”, but his tacit message was that if he was not elected this time, Somaliland had to prepare for the return of his sub-clan to Mogadishu or what we may retrospectively consider to have meant the creation of Garadag State.

To prove this one doesn’t have to go far. The flight of Dr. Mahmoud Abdillahi Jama Sifir, Mr. Silanyo’s campaign manager during the 2003 election, to Mogadisho after Mr. Silanyo’s defeat was a stark reminder of where Mr. Silanyo would have led Somaliland if he won the election. The unceremonious return of Dr. Sifir to Hargeisa after Mr. Silanyo has won the country’s presidency in July 2010 is another manifestation that Dr. Sifir was only acting as an emissary for Mr. Silanyo in Mogadishu.

Many people were perplexed how Dr. Sifir could just return to Somaliland while the law banning Somaliland politicians who engage in politics in Mogadishu was still in place and many prominent people before him including General Jama Mohamed Ghalib, first police commander of Somaliland after independence and Somali police commander and minister of interior under Siyad Barre, were imprisoned and deported as a result. However under Mr. Silanyo well known unionists such as Osman Kallun, Jama Galib and others have just slipped back into the country without facing any charges. The only interpretation of this development is that these gentlemen probably knew well Silnayo’s stance on the sovereignty of Somaliland.

But while Mr. Silanyo was on one side showing magnanimity and the tolerance of statesmanship to his people and pardoning those politicians who came from Mogadishu, he on the other side denied giving the same treatment to those hailing from Awdal. Two Somali TFG MPs from Borama, Abdoo Shoodhe and Ahmed Huseein (Sitiin) were deported from Awdal, while a number of Borama youth and one of the Awdal diaspora were imprisoned for unfounded suspicions of being members of Awdal State. If this is not a deliberate act of mockery of justice of Orwellian proportions, I do not know what else to call it.

Another manifestation of Mr. Silanyo’s apparent links to Mogadishu was the sense of relief felt in the South and the congratulatory messages that Mr. Silanyo received from the various political forces and communities in Mogadishu during his campaign and after his election.

A policy of Alienation and Provocation

Mr. Silanyo’s first ministerial cabinet looked like an exclusive club. The Hargeisa humor mill immediately branded it as the government of “Xigtada iyo Xaynka” (relatives and in-laws). The stark absence of Awdal and Sool representation in key cabinet portfolios and senior government posts was another harsh reminder of Mr. Silanyo’s policy of alienation and injustice-induced frustration.

In a further step that reminded people of the tactics of socialist states, Mr. Silanyo launched a sweeping purge of the government’s civilian employees in an apparent step of cleaning the government house of UDUB sympathizers and making place for his own supporters. However, many observers considered this a calculated measure aimed at driving a wedge between the different clans of the community, particularly as the clans on the peripheries have taken the brunt of the civil employehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gife purge.

While the writing was on the wall for all to see, it needed someone like Faisal Ali Waraabe, Chairman of UCID Party, to say it bluntly:

” Dalkii Qaylo ayaa ka yeedhaysa la leeyahay Eexasho Xoog ah ayaa jirta oo shaqooyinkii iyo dhaqaalihii midna looma sinna , Qabyaaladiina geeso ayey yeelatay waa in aynu geesaha ka jaraa, Beelaha iyo gobolada cabanaaya ee ay ka mid tahay Awdal iyo Laascaanood ay ka mid tahay waa in awooda dalka qaybtooda la siiyaa oo maaha in la isku koobooo in ay qolo qudhi qadato awooda sare..” Faysal Cali Waraabe (Source: Togaherer.com)

Faisal did not hide his fears that such injustice and lack of inclusive government could lead to the collapse of Somaliland: http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

“…waxaan idiin sheegaya in ay ahayd waxani waxyaalihii ay Somaliya ku burburtay in awoodii dalka ay reero kaliyi burbursaden Wadadii aynu ka dagaalanay ee cadaalad darada ahay in aynu marno maaha…” Faysal Waraabe. (Source: Togaherer.com)

But instead of rectifying these obvious injustices and addressing the genuine grievances of the peripheral communities, Mr. Silanyo has slapped them in the face again by removing all Somaliland’s representatives (ambassadors) and appointing new ones who in contrary to tradition did not include a single person from the Sool and Awdal regions.

Even when Mr. Silanyo sacked the country’s Chief Justice many people assumed that the position should go to the people of Sool who unlike those in Awdal were not represented in any key position in the country’s government organs. However, it surprised no one but those uninitiated in Mr. Silanyo’s policy of “segregate and provoke sedition” when he ignored the popular demand and had filled the post with one of his own people, thus further widening the fault line between his government and the people of Sool.

Cheerleader Opposition

What is astoundingly confusing and eerily suspicious is how Mr. Silanyo managed to silence all types of opposition from the clans of the central regions. Somaliland opposition on both the political and communal level used to be robust and highly critical of all previous governments.

The late President Mohamed Ibrahim Egal met tough opposition from both the political establishment and the people. He even survived a parliament impeachment by one single vote. This was the man who was the first Prime Minister of Somaliland after Independence, the last elected Prime Minister of the Somali Republic, the father of the new Somaliland and one of the most charismatic statesmen that Somaliland and Somalia have ever produced. But this brilliant leadership record and his skillful management of clan politics did not spare Egal from being the butt of a stiff opposition from political novices at the time such as Suleiman Mahmoud Aden (Sulieman Gaal) and others who gave him a tough time to fight for his political survival.

Dahir Rayale also did not enjoy a peaceful time in office as Mr. Silayo himself and the forces he mobilized have exercised no less than scorched earth tactics to intimidate him, incite hatred against him and eventually oust him.

But after coming to power, all opposition forces have suddenly become emasculated. The Somaliland Forum, the Diaspora group that was extremely vocal against Egal and Rayale and portrayed itself as the vanguard of Somaliland’s nationalism had suddenly fallen silent. The torrent of media outlets that peaked due to their gung-ho opposition to Rayale had laid down their gauntlets as many of them have been rewarded for their efforts with government posts and other favors. And the only few media people who dared to monitor the government’s wrong doings have been intimidated, gagged and at times beaten and ruthlessly incarcerated in dozens (Source: Guardian).

As a measure of counterbalance, Mr. Silanyo has extended the coverage of the official national TV and has opened a branch of it in the UK to use it as his mouthpiece and populate it with his former media cronies.

This is the leader that made freedom of speech a hallmark of his political philosophy and never failed to assail Rayale government for its treatment of the media and freedom of expression.

Plagued by internal conflicts, the two main opposition parties have ended up in disarray and many people point fingers at a hidden government hand in paralyzing them. This explains what happened to Faisal Ali Waraabe, the only vocal and bold opposition voice heard today.

Prominent community elders and respected religious clerics who dared to criticize Mr. Silanyo’s government such as Boqor Raabi were imprisoned or summoned to police for investigation. (Source: Somaliland.org). Only Boqor Osman Aw Mahamoud Buurmadow who currently resides outside the country remains a formidable opposition figure.

Lambasting Mr. Silanyo’s nervousness about criticism and his government’s heavy-handedness in dealing with freedom of speech and the disappearance of the role of the opposition, Hassan Essa Jama, Somaliland’s former Vice President and a highly respected intellectual and SNM veteran, said:

“…Immika labada maamul ee kala dambeeyey midna mabuu digiigixanayn (kii hore), kuwana haddaad dhinacooda jalleecdo oo aad xiix tidhaa adigoo cunnaha bannaysanaaya dhagaxu wuu kugu yaallaa. Waxaa la yidhi mayd maxaa ugu dambeeyey iyo kaa la sii sido, waxaa markhaati ka ah Faysal Cali Waraabe, Faysal waa ninka mucaaradada Somaliland ku keliyeystay sannadka iyo badhka maamulakani jiray, laba saddex eray oo uu meelahaa ka yidhi saska laga qaaday markhaati ayaad ka tihiin ee aan loo kala hadhin ee cid xaal bixisay aanay jirin ee cid ladqabe ka gashay aanay jirin ee rag iyo dumar la isu soo raacay…”

Elucidating the role of the opposition that Mr. Silanyo’s government wants to eradicate, Jama said:

“Mucaaridnimadu waa xil qaran. Mucaaridka iyo muxaafidku waa labada lugood ee qaranimadu ku taagan tahay. Haddii labada mid uun xanuun soo galo ummaddu waa dhutinaysaa. Markaa labaduba waxa loo baahan yahay in ay caafimaad qabaan si ay qaranimadu u sii waarto.”(Source: Ogaal News)

In an apparent disdain of the unwarranted cheerleading of the opposition and the public for government officials in every occasion, Mohamed Ibrahim Hadrawi, the renowned poet, admonished the youth in riding such a despicable trend by saying:

“Dhallinyaroy mid fadlakum sacabku waxba ma macneeyo ee sacabka iska daaya; Wallaahi waxba ma macneeyo oo waa jahli ee sacabka innaga daaya. Qofku wuxuu goobta u yimaad ma aha in uu sacabiyo ee waa inuu waxa la leeyahay wax uun kala baxo meesha..”

Gladdened by the truth of Hadrawi’s statement, Hassan Essa Jama added:

“…Waan u muusoobay oo waxaan idhi Ilaahayow yaa qodobkaa fahamsiiya siyaasiyiinta sacabka jecel. Siyaad Barre maan arag anigu oo aad baa loogu sacabin jiray baa la yidhi; oo isagaa xataa isu sacabin jiray marka loo sacabinayo….malaha Hadraawow sacabkii waad ka haqab-beeshee, waxaan aqaan qolooyin wali u jeellan oo aad ugu baahan…” (Source: Jamhuuriya)


This is indeed an unhealthy political environment; a country without checks and balances, without dissention, a country where the houses of parliament and opposition leaders just rubber- stamp the president’s dictates cannot claim to have a functioning democracy.

The majority of Silnayo’s cabinet members are expatriates whose only aim is presumably to get quick and tax-free cash to pay their mortgages in their adopted countries. They have no interest in rocking the boat and spoiling their newly-found fame and fortunes. It is again Faisal Ali Waraabe who illustrates the rampant corruption practices taking place in Mr. Silanyo’s government:

“..Wakhtigii dawladii Rayaale waxaynu maqli jiray musuqmaasuq jira, musuqmaasuqaasi wuxuu ahaa wax la wada arkayo oo aan dhaafsiisnayn mid xooga-xada iyo ku Guri ka dhista dalka, taasi saleelo ayey ahayd maanta Tan Siilaanyo waxa iskugu yimid niman xatooyatada iyo musuqmaasuqu heerku gaadhay Mortgages (Caymisyo) guryo lagaga iibsanayo Yurub iyo Maraykanka dee xogaagii aynu haysanay ma in danyarta loogu shaqeeyo ayuu noqon, mise in Mortgageka (Caymisyo) Guryaha Yurub iyo Maraykanka lagu bixiyo..” (Source: Qaran News)

Undoing Somaliland’s Hard Won Gains

One of Mr. Silanyo’s loyal Ministers who used to be a die-hard critic of the Rayale administration confided to me recently that he was surprised to learn that Rayale’s industrious Foreign Minister Abdillahi Duale had elevated Somaliland’s international standing to the extent that the country was on the verge of gaining recognition.

It is no secret that Somaliland had many regional and international friends during the Rayale-Duale period. Somaliland had enjoyed robust and close relations with Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, South Africa and beyond. As a veteran Minister, Abdillahi Duale had travelled wide and far during his long service and he established warm ties with many of his African counterparts and senior personalities of the African Union. This is why Somaliland was allowed as an observer in many regional conferences. A friendly, suave and gregarious personality, Duale had also built a pool of international academics and diplomats who actively advocated and campaigned for the cause of Somaliland. Dualeh did this without compromising the sovereignty of Somaliland in anyway. He is also known to be one of the few ministers who did not use his government post for personal gain.

Mr. Silanyo government has squandered all that effort to the extent that Somaliland’s ties with Ethiopia have become untenable and most if not all the international activists for Somaliland have disappeared.

The stability and security of the country, two factors that attracted great admiration for Somaliland had also suffered as the rate of criminal acts, clan conflicts and homicides have increased while the country has become a refuge for Al Shabab returnees who escaped from the Ethiopian push into Southern Somalia. Extremist elements that were kept under the government’s radar during Egal and Rayale’s administrations have become emboldened under Mr. Silanyo. The only explanation in my opinion for dismantling of Somaliland’s gains and allowing the security to loosen was to create a situation of heightened urgency to show Somaliland as a soft target for international terrorism as a pretext to invite foreign intervention and eventual return to the fold of the failed Somali union.

How Garadag “State” begotten Awdal and Khaatumo “States”

Instead of dissipating the image that Somaliland is a one clan-based entity as claimed by anti-Somaliland forces, Mr. Silanyo reinforced this concept by forming a government of Xigto iyo xidid. He deliberately avoided including people from Awdal & Salal in his appointed ambassadors, key ministries, police, military and intelligence commanders and the Chief Justice of the country. Even in his foreign trips he takes with him his close relatives. This is not an honest oversight but a shrewd calculation aimed at instigating sedition among the clans in the peripheries and pushing them to convene their own Garadag-style clan conferences to design their own future.

Unlike the policies of Egal and Rayale who saw the damage that any retrospective reading of history could do to the peaceful co-existence and harmony of the communities and hence avoided to invoke the memories of the civil war, Mr. Silanyo’s revial of the Mujahid vs Faqash rhetoric and his proposal of building monuments for the SNM fighters was another attempt to provoke the people of Awdal and Sool and to re-ignite in them old feelings of resentment, domination and fear.

Finally, the declaration of these peripheral states came as a result of Mr. Silanyo’s own doing. And in a strange coincidence the London Conference on Somalia has come to Mr. Silanyo as an extra bonus and appears to have quickly acted to capitalize on it in line with spirit of the Somali proverb: “Meel aan doonayey roob igu eri” or Rain has forced me to a place I wished to be. Mr. Silanyo’s media machinery has quickly moved in to mitigate any resistance by the people by using buzzwords such as: “we have been in a container for so long and it is time that we have to present our case to the world.” Perplexed by the weird mood of the people of Hargeisa, a young brother of mine has summed up the situation in a satirized email he sent me from Hargeisa, saying: “ Reer Hargeisa waxa galay saar lagaga soo tumi jiray Muqdisho…”

The Buuhoodle Fighting

It is also worth mentioning here that while “Awdal State” remains a peaceful and Diaspora youth-driven facbeook initiative with little reality on the ground despite hitching on domestic and negotiable grievances, the Buuhoodle war on “Khaatumo State” is a dangerous development that puts the peace and stability of the region in great jeopardy.

One cannot miss the role of Dr. Ali Khalif Galaydh who must have convinced himself that the only way he could return to the political scene is to follow Mr. Silanyo’s footsteps and go back to his clan constituency for endorsement and blessing. It was indeed a tragedy to see Dr. Galaydh trading his academic cloak for clan chieftainship and his professorship mantle for a militia commander uniform.

With the exception of unfortunate incidents and grave political differences, the people of Sool have lived in a relative peace with their brethren in Somaliland over the last 20 years. They did this despite many of the Sool people had never accepted the Somaliland secession. It is therefore painful to see a man of Dr. Galaydh’s status who at one time lobbed for a leadership position in Somaliland to use the brotherly people’s blood as a ticket to get a seat in the London Conference.

Dr. Galaydh was expected to play a bigger role. To be a man above the tribal fray, a peace-maker, an agent for communal harmony and a giant academic who understood more than anyone else that the root causes of all clan conflicts in Africa were nothing more than a rivalry on dwindling resources and sometimes on empty nomadic pride.

Both Mr. Silanyo and Dr. Glaydh are committing grave crimes in pitting the two brotherly communities against each other in such an internecine and meaningless war. Neither the sovereignty of Somaliland nor the unity of Somalia is worth wasting the life of the youth and destroying the livelihood of communities while both men have their homes and families tugged in peaceful places abroad.

In the internet age of the 21st century when the youth of the world are competing on education and driving world economy on their revolutionary innovation, it is a crime to kill our youth on hollow nationalism and sloganeering of yesteryears and for personal ego boosting. And for those who expect miracles from the London Conference, here is the first reality check for them; the Buuhoodle war is one of its first fruits.

London Conference: A virgin Defiled

In reference to the London Conference, it is important to note that despite the euphoria and the media hype surrounding it; the day after the London Conference ends, the reality of Somalia will still be the same. A country under siege, a country under International Trusteeship; a country occupied by Ethiopian, Kenyan, Ugandan, and other African forces. Al Shabab will still be a dominant force and piracy will still be rife in the Somali seas and beyond. The TFG leaders will still be bickering over the spoils of the London Conference. The situation of Somalia will unfortunately remain business as usual as it always has over the last 20 years with only one difference. This time the Somalis will have little say more than any time before in running the affairs of their own country or deciding the future of their people.

On the contrary, if Mr. Silanyo’s agenda is not thwarted by vigilant Somalilanders, Somaliland will wake up with a different reality. It will no more be the “Best Kept Secret of Africa”, the fabled oasis of peace and stability. The chaos in Mogadishu will spill over to it. The beautiful virgin will wake up the next morning to find herself defiled, disgraced and disheveled. All that she could hear in her disoriented mental state will be the harsh words that any raped and dishonored Somali virgin detests to hear “Ha la asturo” or let us help her to hide her disgrace, meaning that Mr. Silanyo will put Somaliland before an insurmountable fait accompli: Either she has to live in disgrace as a pariah forever or she has to accept a forced marriage”. A diabolical plan made in hell. I hope President Silanyo proves me wrong, damn wrong, and Somaliland thrives under his stewardship. Let his history be the judge.

February 9, 2012