     Durgal | Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 02:08 pm
It is not an exaggeration to say that Somalia's most pressing and painful issue is the question of its future. Anyone who wants to analyze what will happen to Somalia in the next ten years must understand both the present conditions and past history of Somalia. When I say history I do not mean reading the notes of some God forsaken anthropologist, or historian at the back of the eighteenth floor in some Social science building, though sometimes they are useful. I mean your history and mine what your father told you about your grand father, about where he lived and grew up. After all its our history. Just six decades ago our fathers and grand father were runing around with their Camels enjoying their nomad life style, didn't bother outside world. For instance I remember some of the stories about my grandfather,Owning Camels, living simple life,and sometimes making it complex by trading around the border where he eventually was robbed and killed by Xabasho. My father's story starts off where my grand father left off. A 15 year old facing the world by himself, migrating to Xamar for better life. Years of dirty jobs and night school comes to an abrupt ending when he enlistes the army where he eventually rose to the rank of colonel. In his youth he participates SYL discussion, their demonstrations. Sometimes he and his friends resorted to beatings against then SYL opponents. At midnight, on independence day when the colonial flag was lowered and the Somali flag was raised, he cries , like most of the people who were there. Then the good crowd disperses forever. Evil and ignorant politics takes over, it explodes in Dec 30th 1990. Finally the Civil war generation finds new countries with fast life,cellular phones,career ambitions. In all though, everything is moving very fast. No front no rear,no reflection.
There are two important observations I want to make here. First, that at the individual level or family level we are adopting to the challenges of "modernization" at incredibale pace. Just remember where your father grew up, Baaddiye would be 80% of the answer. Now the son or the daugther of that nomad has degree, or working on their degrees at one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Some of us have businesses and like I siad we are adjusting at an amazing pace and rate. The difficulties that arose from our individual and family level were adjusted very efficiently and swiftly. But the communty and institutional adoptation have far lagged behind from our individual and family adjustment and gains. This brings us to my second observation. "Modernization" at the institutional level did not take off, and as result of that we are prisoners for other nomads who went to politics. In assence the crowd that cried and despersed at the night of independence has to yet to show up for similar event. This is perfect. How many somalis, highly educated, religious leaders, who subordinate their view to that of their clan politics. This guy has PH.D in Science but still he values some blind clan opinion. In short, We are in prison for those nomads who cannot adjust,and do their job, like we did at individual level. We will never achieve anything no matter how successful we become individually, unless We clean up our nomadic mess in politics and economics. Now this is my POINT why our brother NOMAD couldn't adjust? Is there something wrong with his thinking? Is he less of man. In other word, is he a prefessional screw up? If we say he is the problem, then why the rest of Africa is in the same mess? Are they suffering from the same fever? YES
When your father and mine migrated to cities in search of better life, there were other nomads from the same walk of life who found themselves in the middle of SYL fever. And when the country become independent the same nomads with insuffient education agian found themselves in the highest institutions of the government. Colonial people did not disappear they stuck around long enough to tutor our nomads on how to preserve their own interest and the interest of his masters. He may even helped his masters more than himself, since he did not understand the consequences of his actions. In short, There are two questions which we need to answer if we want to change Somalia, and I cannot emphasize enough the importance of these two questions. Is our nomad in politics naive, does he not understand how the modern system operates? and because of that all of our problems, including our civil war can be directly linked to his political inexpereince?
Second, if we take for granted that Nomad knew what he was doing by serving his own interest,and the interest of outsiders who tutored him, and by that he is responsible for the pain of every somali, can we expect him to lead us? Remember he is a triator,and a betrayer. The only remaining and logical question is how to remove the system. Don't we have the right to overthrow the system that allowed nuclear wastes to be burried in our beaches, made somali people enamies to each other. This nomad is no longer Somali, he is slave who only knows how to serve his instincts and the interest of the Outsiders. He cannot be rehabilitated. If we were dealing with first case where he didn't know what he was doing, reforms alone may have done the job. Trust me, we are dealing with a deformed nomad who knows only how to survive, we must find him and destroy not only him but the system. Ask me any question about somali politics and the struggle between the deformed Nomad and our beautiful people. But do me a favor and this is my only request GIVE ME young honest, intelligent Somalis and I promise I will change Somalia. I will make the name of Somalia a name which others take into account. |
