Welcome winds of change across the dark continent
BY BASHIR GOTH (Inside Africa
FROM Darfur to Zimbabwe and from Somalia to the Great Lakes, there is a new wind of change blowing over Africa. Looking at the map of the continent, one may conclude that Africa is destined to bleed.


If not by foreign powers pillaging its wealth and robbing its future workforce, it is home grown tyrants that suck its blood and derive pleasure in teasing the hungry populace with the bare bones. If not by natural disasters, it is by inter-clan fratricides stoked by power thirsty sycophants and clans fighting over meagre resources.

Yes, it is a continent whose own leaders turn into its tormentors. Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe is one of a long line of African dictators who refused to leave power until they saw their countries turn to ashes. Among them were Siyad Barre of Somalia, Mubuto Sese Seko of Zaire, Idi Amin Dada of Uganda, and Jean-Bédel Bokassa of the Central African, Mengistu Haile Mariam of Ethiopia and others.

These dictators have been removed in violent revolutions. Not revolutions based on noble ideologies and mesmerising slogans, but revolutions built on years of hunger, dashed dreams, prolonged frustrations and people deprived of every shred of a decent life.

As soon as the euphoria of independence ended, the African masses realised how they traded a foreign occupier with a less urbane and more ruthless native occupier. But most of the continent’s people had to wait another generation to find the right atmosphere to stage another struggle of liberation; this time not against a white coloniser but a brutal local squatter cloaked in a hero’s uniform.

With the fall of the Berlin Wall, African dictators have lost their benefactors of the Cold War and the continent was destined for a new wind of change. Inspired by the people’s revolt against the communist tyrants in Eastern Europe and empowered by the freedom ushered in by globalisation and the Internet, the African people moved to reclaim their due rights for a decent living.

Like all dictators in history, it was only through force that African dictators who drew their staying power from the Cold War and ran their countries through repressive regimes based on a policy of divide and rule, favouritism and massive corruption could have been removed from power.

READ MORE in Khaleej Times

An open letter to Somaliland
By Bashir Goth
An open letter to:

- President Dahir Rayale Kahin, President of Somaliland

- Chairman Ahmed Mohammed Silanyo, Chairman of Kulmiye party

- Chairman Faisal Ali Waraabe, Chairman of UCID party

- Speakers of the houses and Members of the two houses

- Somaliland Election Commission

- People of Somaliland


In Somaliland, peace is our home. Our people have realized this 18 years ago when they reclaimed their sovereignty in the conference of Burao. Emerging from a bloody and disastrous war, the wise men who met in Burao came to the conclusion that only by shaking hands with each other, by forgetting and forgiving each other in keeping with the resourceful norms and values of our culture that they could move forward to build a nation. And a nation they built that is the envy of many African states; a nation that has been deservedly known as the “Africa’s Best Kept Secret.”

Our people have put peace first, peace second and peace third. They realized that one can sleep on an empty stomach at a place he calls home but one cannot call home a place where he cannot sleep in peace. It was the people, not politicians who made this peace, and it is again the people and not politicians who will safeguard it.

So beware,

The people are watching you. They tolerate your squabbles, your petty barbs, your internal bickering and your exchange of insults. They know that you are still taking your first childhood steps in the process of democracy and they give you allowance to make mistakes.

So beware,

But you must not test the people’s patience. Try not to stretch your childish tantrums beyond the tolerable boundaries. The great offence that any politician can commit is to insult the intelligence of the people. You may insult each other, rip each other to pieces, and smear each other’s reputations if you wish, but don’t dare you involve our people in your personal mudslinging campaigns.

So beware,

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A veiled Muslim view of art
by Bashir Goth
18 March 2008
The reappearance in the media of the Danish cartoons featuring the Prophet Muhammad, following the arrest of three Muslims accused of planning to kill one of the cartoonists, has re-opened the debate on art and freedom of expression between the West and the Muslim world.

It is unfortunate that violent demonstrations in different parts of the Muslim world in response to such types of artistic expression have often overshadowed the opinion of the silent majority of Muslims who do not adhere to such a limited perception of Islam.

Danish newspapers described their publication of the cartoons as a sign of protest against the attempt by Muslims to gag their freedom of expression through fear tactics. Many people in the Muslim world, however, viewed the cartoons as an affront to their religious beliefs and expressed their anger through emotional outbursts and mob demonstrations.

READ MORE in Commongroundnews

U.S. All Talk and No Action on Human Rights
By Bashir Goth
The Current Discussion: The U.S. State Dept. says China's no longer one of the world's worst human rights offenders. Are they right?

Does it matter, one might ask, whether the U.S spills tons of ink accusing China of all kinds of human rights violations or absolves China of any wrongdoing at all? For many years, the U.S. State Dept. was criticizing many countries, including China, for their human rights records. Most of these countries, however, knew that the U.S. human rights reports were just like the boy who cried wolf. Leveling criticism without accompanying it with punitive action makes such reports meaningless.

The U.S. had listed China as one of the worst human rights offenders due to China’s oppression of the Tibetans and Uyghurs, its shackling of the will of the Taiwanese for 60 years, its torture of political dissidents and its degradation of human dignity in child labor and sweatshops. Despite all that, America still continued all these years to renew China’s most-favored-nation trading status. Now China has launched its worst repression campaign against the Tibetan people just after America dropped it from the human rights offenders list. That appears to be a divine ritribution for the U.S. issuing such an unwarranted clean bill.

The U.S. State Dept. also repeatedly criticizes many of its Middle Eastern friends for their dismal human rights records. But some of these countries remain as major recipients of U.S. aid.

READ MORE in Newsweek/WashingtonPost-Postglobal.

Wake up, Mr. President. Wake up!
By Bashir Goth
Wake up, Mr. President. Wake up! Don’t be deceived by your cozy palace, the luxurious sofas and the glorification by your lackeys. No Mr. President, if your cronies tell you everything is fine and people are enjoying their life, it is not true. Sometimes, Mr. President you need to stretch your legs and go out walking in the countryside. It is not only good for your health, but it is good for your governance. Because, Mr. President, you will find the truth, the naked truth. The truth that thousands of nomadic people, living from Jidhi to Cali Xaydh, have lost their entire herds in devastating rains and cold waves of weather that hit the area. Tens of people have lost their sight, while many others are suffering from hypothermia. These people, Mr. President, are still in the mercy of nature. Just like sitting ducks, they are waiting nature to decide their fate. They have no clothes, no shelter, nowhere to seek refugee. Their children, suckling mothers and elderly people have nothing to eat and nothing to protect them from the biting cold and torrential rains.
READ MORE In Awdalnews

Qudbigii Suugaanta: A tribute to Hassan Sheikh Mumin by Bashir Goth

Language fails me in trying to write a tribute to an eminent and enigmatic playwright like Hassan Sheikh Mumin. A man of unfathomable and versatile philosophy, a superbly creative and lucid style, a prophetic vision and cultural connoisseur who dived to the deepest depths of the language and adorned words with different hues and layers of meaning.

But instead of trying to capture the essence of his works and his personality in prose, a risk that I will engage in sometime in the future, I found it easier now to resort to Somali poetry, which comes as natural as drinking milk as Hassan has brilliantly expressed in his “…Afkii Qalaad ha moodin, Carrabku qaldi maayee, sidii caanaha qudhqudhiyaay.”

It is therefore, by turning to the beauty of the Somali language, a language that Hassan has fashioned and enriched through his brilliant dramas, mesmerizing melodies and masterly knowledge that I will try to describe the literary void that his departure has created.

***



Tixdan oo aan ka tiriyey geeridii Abwaan Xasan Sheekh Muumin waxay taataabanaysaa kaalintii suugaaneed ee uu abwaanku kaga jiray halabuurka Soomaaliyeed. Xasan wuxu ahaa tiirarka ugu waaweyn ee riwaayadyahanka Soomaaliyeed, isaga oo si gaara ugu tilmaanaa doorka uu ka qaato wacyigelinta, gaar ahaan dhiirri gelinta tacliinta iyo naqdiga aafooyinka bulshada. Wuxu ahaa nin afka ku xarragooda oo sarbeebtiisu xambaarsan tahay falsafad gundheer oo uu si farshaxanimo leh uu uga soo mullaaxdo suugaanta hiddaha iyo dhaqanka. Xasan wuxu ku geeriyooday magaalada Oslo, Norway, 16 January 2008, waxana lagu aasay magaalada Boorama, Somaliland, 26 January 2008. 

Qudbigii suugaanta
 
Duniyeey qadaraleey
Qabar xumi ma oolee
Maantana qab baa dhacay
Qaylaa habeen timid
Ababshihii qoraalkiyo
Qodinkii aqoontiyo
Qudbigii suugaantiyo
Gorod baa la qaadoo
Qaddarkii haleeloo
Qalinkiisi joogsaday 

***

Qorraxduu ahaa iyo
Qaxootiga madaw iyo
Qorfuhuu ku lee’daa
Qalbigay maroorshoo
Hiygaan ka qawdhamay 

***
Allaylehe qod baa dhacay
Qaran baa habeensaday
Afka qiimihiisiyo
Suugaantu qurux iyo
Waxay qara lahayd iyo
Qudbigeedii baa tegey
Qalinkiyo tawaadii
Quudinaayey baa lumay 


***
Af Soomali qurux badan
Oo qaayo loo dhilay
Far xariira lagu qoray
Qudbigii hadduu tegay
Ayaa soo qormaynoo
Sidii qayli darartiyo
Qaabil caanaheedii
Waayeel qulbaayiyo
Qudhqudhsiin dhallaankii 

***
Murtideena qaniga ah
Sheekooyin qaydhiin
Sida aale qadaw iyo
Qooqaani roobi iyo
Qodaalkii dhulkeenii
Ku quwaystay oo baxay
Yaa qaniini oo jabin
Oo quud macaan iyo
Qumbo malab ka fuuqsani 

***
Quruumaha wixii dhacay
Ilaa qaafo soo jiray
Taariikhda qaabka ah
Qasnadeeda yaa furi
Oo luul ka soo qubi
Ayaa dheeman qaaliyaa
Kolba meel ka soo qodi
Kuul qubatay caynkeed
Qawyada habeenkii
Kolba qaar ka soo heli 

***
Ayaa qaaxo iyo cudur
Huuryo iyo qaniiniyo
Xumihii qarsoonee
Nin dantii quminayaa
Ku qadhaabanaayiyo
Wixii qooma aadmiga
Ee qabkiisa dhaawaca
Ayaa qeexi oo dhili
Oo sarbeeb ku kala qali 

***
Yaa jacayl ku qaydaran
Buuraha qarkoodiyo
Qod laalay ku yaaliyo
Hulo qaabo-qawsayn
Dabayluhu qulqulayaan
Tixa loo qiyaasiyo
Qormo macallin weyn iyo
Liishaan ku soo qaban
Sida kuul qardhaasa leh
Qalanjooyin loo bogay
Qoortooda soo sudhi
Qalbigooga soo luli 

***
Inta uu Qurbaankiyo
Quraan ruuggu ducadiyo
Qaadkiyo lubaankiyo
Meerinaayo quulada 

***
Inaguna qushuuc iyo
Hawraar u qalantiyo
Gaby qiimo weyn iyo
Aan qasiido goynoo
Dikri aan u qaadnee 

***
Qummanow saciidiyo
Xaddiyo qalweeyoo
Beylow qaraamida
Soo qabo halkeedoo 

***
Qalabkuu jecelaa iyo
Kamankii ha quustoo
Muusigu ha qululoo
Qaaliyada dhulkeeniyoo
Oslo qoorigeediyo
Qoomka soo koraayiyo
Qaaradaha ha gaadhoo 

***
Codkii qaaligiiyuu
Qururxdiisa joojuu
Qajeel soo gardaadshiyo
Hibo ha ugu qaadee 

***
Mawliidow qormeeyoo
Xadhig bilan ka qaadoo 

***
Qabnadii warkiisiyo
Sheekadiisa qubantii
Xertii gaacidaydaay
Kaalayoo ila qalindara. 

- By Bashir Goth, 23 Jan. 2008.
- Email: bsogoth@yahoo.com
-----------------------------
Fiiro Gaara: Halabuuurka iyo fanaaniinta aan magacdooda tixda ku xusay waa dad saaxiibaday ah oo aan murti-wadaag hore lahayn iyo qaar jacaylka suugaanta iyo fanku na kulmiyey. Waxaanay kala yihiin:

1.     Siciid Cabdillaahi Iimaan: Waa Abwaan ku nool dalka Imaaraadka Carabta horena aan uga wada qayb galay silsiladdii Xaamiim.

2.     Daahir Maxamuud Xaddi: waa Abwaan ku nool Somaliland ahna Guddoomiyaha Waxbarashada Gobolka Awdal, horena aan uga wada qayb galay silsiladdii Xaamiim.

3.     Dr. Cabdiraxmaan Bayle: waa nin aan jeclayn in lagu tilmaamo Abwaan laakiin suugaanta curiya, ururiya oo jecel, waana dhaqaale yahan ka shaqeeya Bangiga Afrika, dhawaana wuxu tiriyey heesta Qaylo Dhaan ee uu u tiriyey tiiraanyada Calanka Soomaaliyeed haysata.

4.     Axmed Xasan Caynaan (Mawliid): waa fanaan ku xeel dheer tumista kamanka, waana ninka uu Xudaydi yidhi waxan ku wareejay dhaxalkii kamanka, wuxuna ku nool yahay Imaaraadka Carabta.

5.     Hibo Maxamed Hoddoon (Hibo Nuura): waa fanaanada caanka ee ku soo baxday riwaayaddii Shabeel Naagood ee Xasan Sheekh Muumin sameeyey. Hibo iyada ayaa qaaday heesaha ugu badan ee Xasan tiriyey, waxaanay ku soo kortay guriga Abwaanka yaraanteedii.

---

© 2008 Awdalnews Network

Book review: Whose World Is It Anyway? The Fallacy of Islamophobia
Author: Shamis Hussein
Reviewed by: Bashir GothGiven the deluge of writings prompted by the war on terrorism or the Clash of Civilizations as some may like to believe, I could have easily dismissed the above title as another cliché of one of the countless hordes of Muslim apologetics and Al-Qaeda sympathizers who see light in every crime committed by Muslim extremists and evil intention in every action that comes from the West.

But one thing that enticed me to flip through the pages of the book before I even committed myself to seriously reading it let alone reviewing it was the author’s name: Shamis Hussein, a Somali woman’s name. It is therefore the idea of a Somali woman taking on the neo-conservative heavyweight thinkers and modern scholarly connoisseurs such as Bernard Lewis, Samuel Huntington, Francis Fukuyama and Charles Krauthammer to mention only a few that raised my curiosity.

Another catching point was the author’s claim of objectivity in an innovative way by describing herself as being a daughter of a judge imbued with an egalitarian background and a strong sense of law and justice. Equally appealing also was the way she set the tone for her ensuing argument with a classical Somali poem that vividly describes the disastrous results of arrogance, which in the author’s eyes is symbolized by Bush-Blair alliance against the Muslim world.

READ MORE in Awdalnews, Radiohadhwanaag