Xaaji Aadan Af-Qallooc -Somali Patriot

[gemini07]

A new Club for Somalia based on the Vision of Xaaji Aadan Af-Qallooc
5 Jul 5, 2009 - 6:52:26 PM



by Ali H. Abdulla


Xaaji AadanAf-Qallooc is a Somali patriot. He was born near Erigavo in Sanaag. He is one of the many Somali heroes who are turning in their graves because of the sad situation in their beloved country, a country that they were proud of and for which they had visions of seeing it develop into a great nation among the nations of the world. Xaaji Aadan is up there with the likes of Axmed Gurey, the Sayid, Ismaaciil Mire, Timacadde and many other Somali patriots.


Xaaji Aadan has a history full of adventures. As a young boy, he was snatched by a lion while sleep in the enclosure of his nomadic family. The name Af-Qallooc can be attributed to the injuries he sustained in that life-threatening encounter with a ferocious beast. The Almighty Lord spared his life when the lion suddenly abandoned him in a bush not far from his family’s dwelling. A young girl found him lying in the bushes and alerted her family to his predicament. He was rescued, treated and finally repatriated to his family.


As a young man, Xaaji Aadan traveled all over the world and spent time in the jails of the British and Italian colonialists. He even participated in the freedom movements in Sudan and Palestine. He went to the Azhar University in Cairo and his Somali poems are interspersed with a lot of Arabic words.


Maxamed Baashe, a young Somali writer, has collected the adventures and poems of the Xaaji in his book “Hal aan Tebayey X. A. Af-qallooc”. It is must reading for any Somali interested in learning about the history of one of the Somali greats in our largely undocumented history. Maxamed and other Somali writers have pioneered for us a new beginning for documenting our history in our own language instead of relying on the likes of Lewis and other western historians.


Following are excerpts of a short poem from the book in which the Xaaji praises the first and only true Somali flag hoisted in the country:


Alxamdulilla calankii la taag aaminka ahaaye

Afariyo tobnaad sidiisi arlada nuurki ku ekeeye

Waa aayad naxariis ah oo Eebbe soo rogaye

Waa laydh udgoono ka timid oogadaa sare’e


……..


Ammaantiisa kuma koobi karo afiyo liisaane

Cirkuu u egyahoo aan lahayn iniq daruureede

Xiddig olosha baa lagu dhigoo aad u kaah badane

Asraq weeye midabkiisu oo lagu asteeyaaye


Afriiqiyada Bari buu u yahay shamis arooryaade

Sida qamarka oogada jiruu ugu iftiimaaye

…

Ummaddii la googooyey buu ururinaayaaye

Ilahh mahaddii waa taa khalqigu na ictiraafeene


In my attempt to translate the poem, I cannot hope to give justice to these powerful Somali words but I will try to convey the message that they carry.


The Xaaji thanks the lord for the reality of a Somali flag being hoisted for the first time in his life
He compares the flag to the full moon which covers the world with its light.
He compares it to a Qoranic verse or Sign revealed by the Lord
He regards the flag as a sweet smelling breeze sent by the Lord from heaven.
He humbly acknowledges that he cannot praise the flag enough with his tongue.
He compares the flag to the sky on a cloudless day.
He describes the flag as being adorned with a flaming star that shines brightly.
He describes the color of the flag as being blue.(He uses the Arabic word Asraq instead of using the English word Bluug that most Somalis use for the blue color)
He asserts that the flag was for East Africa like a rising sun that also illuminated their way for them like the moon. (He probably alludes to the fact that Somalia became independent in 1960 ahead of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and thus influencing these countries to also seek independence)
He mentions that the flag will unite the Somalis divided by the colonialists into one country (The dream of many Somalis even in these dark times)
He finally thanks the Lord for Somalia being finally recognized by the world.


In this short poem Xaaji Aaadan comes through as a patriotic man who gives us solace in these dark times in which the vision he fought for is under threat, not by external enemies but by his own people. Xaaji Aada’s vision for a united Somalia is the only solution for a stable Somalia. The division of Somali by the West into five parts heralded the current instability in Somalia. The 1977 war between Somalia and Ethiopia, in which Somalia tried to regain Western Somalia from its neighbor, started a series of events that eventually weakened the Somali government that resorted to brutal tactics to suppress dissent in many parts of Somalia.


As we celebrate the 49th anniversary of our independence from the clutches of a ruthless colonial empire that divided our nation into several enclaves, we still suffer from the effects of colonialism as our country descends into further divisions. As if the divisions imposed on us by the West were not enough, we now face the threat of being further divided into more enclaves by some of our own people. We certainly hope that the culprits who started the whole thing will not facilitate the dream of some disgruntled parts of the country to break up Somalia and thus herald further instability.


It saddens most of us to witness a new flag that flies in parts of our country that is adorned with a dark star that supposedly symbolizes the demise of Somali Unity instead of the flaming bright star that Xaaji Aadan glorifies in his poem. Since this is the second iteration of this flag, let us hope that the third iteration will transform the black star into a bright one within a Federal system that maintains our unity while preserving our perceived achievements and differences.


The Somali nation has suffered enough. It is wracked by an ugly civil war that has claimed thousands in a span of 19 years. The world watches in horror as we slaughter each other whether as clans or as different religious sects. Some of us believe that direct military intervention by the world community can solve our problems. Others believe that Somalis can resolve their difference in UN sponsored reconciliation conferences held in other African countries. Both formulas have been tried out and none of them seems to have worked. The world should stop sending us UN bureaucrats like Ould Abdallah who believe that assembling a few thousand Somalis in five-star hotels in an African Capital will solve the problems of a country that has been a failed state for more than 18 years. It is also a fact that Somalis alone cannot reach a common consensus if left to themselves. It seems that the formulas that worked for Somaliland and Puntland cannot work in the South because of inherent complexities.


May be it is time for a new formula. A stable Somalia is in the interest of the world. The International community is obliged to help Somalia constructively. Not by providing one side with weapons and bombing the other side into submission. This formula has failed in Afghanistan and other countries.


One of the new formulas that the International Community can consider is the creation of a new club for Somalia. Membership in this club should be based on certain conditions to be formulated by the United Nations, the African Union and the Organization of Islamic Nations. As part of the Federal system proposed for Somalia, any part of Somalia can join the club if it fulfills the conditions of membership. These conditions can include: Willingness to join the Federal System and the willingness to create Democratic Institutions.


As a reward, the club members should receive development aid for rebuilding their infrastructure, such as ports, roads, bridges, Hospitals, Universities, Job creation Industries based on tabbing the vast marine and animal wealth of Somalia and the abundant Solar and Wind energy that the country enjoys.


The new formula should strive to strengthen the integrity of Somalia by imposing on the members a common currency, a common flag and a common army that is trained to defend the club members against any threats from those outside the club. The club members should be open for all the refugees fleeing the seemingly endless madness engulfing some areas of the country.


If designed appropriately with the help of experts, the strategy can isolate those who thrive on conflict and war, and encourage the populations in those areas to join the stable areas and contribute to the development of the club members. The warlords and the religious fanatics can thus be isolated and eventually disarmed by the club members. Although it sounds naïve and simplistic, the formula can work like the incentives practiced in the corporate world. The strategy can potentially minimize the influx of refugees who risk their lives in the high seas to reach safe havens in other countries.


Hopefully the world community will stop rehashing losing strategies that failed in Somalia and come up with new ideas that help Somalia extricate itself from its current miserable situation, a situation that has the potential to destabilize neighboring nations and put a lot of pressure on the industrialized nations by the fleeing refugees and the rampant piracy on the shores of Somalia.


The vision of Xaaji Aadan Af-Qallooc of uniting all Somalis peacefully is in the interest of Somalia and the World community. A fragmented Somalia can always breed nationalistic fervors that can potentially destabilize the whole region.


by Ali H. Abdulla

aliegeh@gmail.com