Friday, February 06, 2009

Goodbye to Awdalnews devotees
By Bashir Goth

A goodbye often carries a dual meaning. On one side it conveys a deep sense of fulfillment and satisfaction and on the other it bears a harrowing feeling of depravation. It is with this mixed feeling that I would like to bid farewell to the devoted readers and valued contributors of Awdalnews.
From the moment we launched and I took over its editorial stewardship in July 2003, I made it my task to enable Awdalnews Network to stand out with punching editorials, hard-hitting opinions and critical news coverage. Aware of the mushrooming Somali online news sites and blogosphere, it was my duty to make Awdalnews immediately recognizable for meeting the issues head-on.
We placed top priority in providing Somalis scattered around the world and wherever they call home as well as the international community with reliable critical news and views on current issues in both Somali and English languages.
Awdalnews quickly gained friendships and signed cooperation agreements with a number of international news outlets. Awdalnews editorials attracted wider readership from the international community and many of them were republished by respectable media channels. We also won the trust of scholars who are an authority on Somali history such I.M. Lewis and John Drysdale. It was a source of pride for us to have carried their analysis and their essays. Awdalnews also prided itself on being an open forum for some of the best Somali opinion writers, analysts and commentators of diversified backgrounds and political affiliations.
It was through Awdalnews that the world has learned about the views and political outlook of Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as Chairman of the Somali Islamic Courts (ICU) in the interview we conducted with him on 9th June 2006:
Exclusive Interview- Sheikh Sherif welcomes dialogue with Washington
Although, we put great emphasis on making Somaliland's quest for recognition as our paramount mission, we never allowed this view to comprise our journalistic professionalism; hence we refused to silence the voices of those who oppose the secession of Somaliland. I made sure that Awdalnews under my helm should be a forum where serious intellectual debate takes place. Despite the pressure that was placed on us on many occasions, I refused to make Awdalnews a mouthpiece for any authority or serve the interests of any political party in Somaliland or elsewhere.
Now after six years, the time has come for me to step down as the editor of Awdalnews and to say goodbye to its devoted readers and contributors. It is my firm belief that without your loyalty and support, Awdalnews would not have become such a trusted media source. You deserve my salute and deep gratitude.
My thanks also goes to our international affiliates, UN Agencies, and Somali and Somaliland newspapers and websites who cooperated with us over the years and more than often reproduced the editorials and important interviews carried by Awdalnews.
Last but not least, I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to the core editorial team of Awdalnews, namely Farah Jeelal and Hashim Goth, who gave me their unwavering support for my editorial line which I am sure had at times put them in hot waters, cost them friendships and denied them political favors. My last word of thanks also goes to the many volunteers and deep-throats who worked as critical sources of reliable news and information for us whenever we needed their help.
As the saying goes “Every good-bye makes the next hello closer” and I promise that it will not be that far when we shall meet again in another forum where we would renew our commitment to each other and advance our shared philosophies of life. Until then I would like it to be known to all that I left Awdalnews as of January 22, 2009 and the editorial “Editorial: May Obama’s hope message touch every village” was the last I wrote for the website. The editorial leadership of Awdalnews has passed to my former partner Farah Jeelal who is based in Ottawa, Canada. So I wish him and his new team every success.


Email: bsogoth@yahoo.com

Note: Interested readers can access my old and future writings at the following links:
1- Newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal

2- Onlineopinion.com.au

3- My blog: Hanua
Obama, Watch Your Words
By Bashir Goth
The biggest foreign policy mistake that Barack Obama could make during his honeymoon will be to follow the same political discourse of the Bush administration. Bush was plagued with language disaster. One of his first slips of the tongue was describing the war on terror as a crusade. This was a loaded word that inadvertently endorsed Samuel Huntington's ill-conceived clash of civilizations and invoked a legacy of horrors in the Muslim world.

Other fluid generalizations and arrogant expressions such as war on terror and Islamic terrorism, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive', 'We shall nuke them out', have only further intoxicated the political atmosphere between the Bush administration and the Muslim world.

Precision of political language is therefore as important as precision of smart bombs. Any misstep in any one of them will end up in dire consequence.

A fable says that Confucius was once asked what he would make his priority if he was appointed as an advisor to the Emperor. He replied that the most important thing for him would be to use the correct words. The reason he said was: "If we don't use the correct words, we live in public lie. If we live in public lies, the political system is a sham."

The political disasters committed by Bush's regime prove the truth of Confucius' wisdom. Language is not only the key to mutual human understanding but it is also the key to either healing old wounds or inflicting new ones. In order to avoid any pitfalls, Obama should therefore use a language that heals the deep wounds caused by Bush administration's vitriolic language. In the same way that he united the American voters behind him and gave them hope and faith, he should also use the same rhetoric that could spread hope across the world.

The Muslim world in particular will be closely watching the language of Obama's foreign policy and how he chooses his language will either repair or deepen the political fractures left behind by Bush's administration.

Newsweek/Washingtonpost/Postglobal


Obama, Watch Your Words
By Bashir Goth
The biggest foreign policy mistake that Barack Obama could make during his honeymoon will be to follow the same political discourse of the Bush administration. Bush was plagued with language disaster. One of his first slips of the tongue was describing the war on terror as a crusade. This was a loaded word that inadvertently endorsed Samuel Huntington's ill-conceived clash of civilizations and invoked a legacy of horrors in the Muslim world.

Other fluid generalizations and arrogant expressions such as war on terror and Islamic terrorism, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive', 'We shall nuke them out', have only further intoxicated the political atmosphere between the Bush administration and the Muslim world.

Precision of political language is therefore as important as precision of smart bombs. Any misstep in any one of them will end up in dire consequence.

A fable says that Confucius was once asked what he would make his priority if he was appointed as an advisor to the Emperor. He replied that the most important thing for him would be to use the correct words. The reason he said was: "If we don't use the correct words, we live in public lie. If we live in public lies, the political system is a sham."

The political disasters committed by Bush's regime prove the truth of Confucius' wisdom. Language is not only the key to mutual human understanding but it is also the key to either healing old wounds or inflicting new ones. In order to avoid any pitfalls, Obama should therefore use a language that heals the deep wounds caused by Bush administration's vitriolic language. In the same way that he united the American voters behind him and gave them hope and faith, he should also use the same rhetoric that could spread hope across the world.

The Muslim world in particular will be closely watching the language of Obama's foreign policy and how he chooses his language will either repair or deepen the political fractures left behind by Bush's administration.

Newsweek/Washingtonpost/Postglobal
Editorial: May Obama’s hope message touch every village
By Bashir Goth

As Obama takes office, an unprecedented wind of hope and optimism sweeps around the world. In fact, Obama recognized this in his inaugural speech:”And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.”

From the strife stricken streets of Mogadishu to the gates of hell in Gaza; from the fear gripped alleyways of Baghdad to the terror dominated hills of Afghanistan; from the festering wounds of the Balkans to the internecine bloodletting in Africa’s darkest corners; from the hobbled people of Cuba to the recognition seeking people of Somaliland; from those groaning under the tyranny of Mugabe in Zimbabwe to the freedom loving people of the Caucuses countries, dreams are being woven around Obama’s Presidency.

It was benevolent of Obama to acknowledge this in his speech: “…To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”

Realizing the devastating effect the world economic meltdown has on poor people in developing nations, Obama had a word of promise for them:“…To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.”

Given to the enormous responsibilities waiting for him both at home and overseas, Obama may neither find the time nor muster the support to realize his dreams for the world, but the fact that an American President talks with such compassion and empathy to the world after eight years of arrogance and disaster is itself a moment to cherish.

Awdalnews