The Qabiilist and the Political Qabiilist

[GeoSeven]

In regards to Somalia, is there a difference? Descriptively similar but that might not be the case. I think it's a subject worth discussing, seeing as that countless principled men of merit and virtue are unfairly branded as qabiilists.

The Qabiilist

1) Qabiilist - is a person cursed and tormented by their inclination to negative base and irrational human sentiment. They dislike a person for the sole reason of his/her clan affiliation in Somali society. Deplorable mentality

2) Political Qabiilist - A person who supports or is likely to support a politician or political group in Somalia for the sole reason of clan affiliation.

What's the difference? There is no coercion into Qabiilism, it's a choice whereas Political Qabiilism is unavoidable for the most part.

The Political Qabiilist has already been allocated a constituency and constituent representative based on qabiil by the system in place.

Would it be fair to condemn and accuse a Political Qabiilist of the heinous misdeed that is Qabiilism for simply being a partisan in Somali politics? If a Hawiye man who would break bread with his Dhulbahante friend, play chess with his Raxanweyn client and gladly bed his Isaaq colleague, if this man supported another Hawiye man in the political sphere for simply belonging to the same clan on the grounds of Political Qabiilism, should he be condemned for being a model constituent of the prevailing political system?

[SultanOrder]

Yes. Let's not kid ourselves, no excuse for either one.

[Shirib]

Our political system is doomed to failure

[GeoSeven]

PO, is it fair to label a person a Qabiiliiste for partisanship in a political environment forged and entrenched in qabiil? Anywhere else, an ambitious and pragmatic politician would be labelled as cunning and shrewd, why debase the Somali counterpart as a malevolent tribalist?

Would the fictitious qabyaalad of a Political Qabiilist equate to that of a genuine qabiiliiste?


Shirib, it's already a failure.

[Estarix]

Political qabiilist (sometimes on steroids) is what destroyed somalia, in its nature qabiil is divisive - its like navigating through a patchwork of competing and hostile fiefdom all represented by individuals who vouch for their clan. I cant condemn the political qabiilist because they are working within a natural and integral system that is central to somali people and is part and parcel of the people and culture; ignoring political qabiilism is like burying your head in the sand and you risk losing your power, respect and popularity.
Qabyaalad is simply harboring animosity to another clan group who have harmed or spoil your clan interests. This seems to me as somewhat rational because people are emotional creatures and can feel hate towards a group in the same way they dislike another culture or person. Now its not good to generalize everyone because of that but it happens. But you cannot have political qabiil without qabyaalad, the two are sometimes inseparable.
The thing is in the near future we cant expect to jump over this system or ignore but we need to manage it using laws and setting codes of practice. For example Somalia sovereignty cannot be breached is a law and code, so a clan militia cannot use foreign power to do their deed even if it benefits them. Also federalism/autonomy for each clan is another solution. There is a problem of how to balance this whilst having the somali state's best interest in heart.

[GeoSeven]

I agree Estarix.

But you cannot have political qabiil without qabyaalad, the two are sometimes inseparable.

So, our distorted sense of reasoning has us trying to work a system which fuels the problem? We've built a car, with only a reverse gear.

[Gabre]

It's time to switch up the game and invent some new qabiils like Muj Caydiid did by inventing Kamasle Hawiye in 1991. Keep it strictly local; eg Habar Kiska is anyone native to Kismaayo by 3 generations or more. Have a moratorium on qabiil creation except for 1 year out of every 25 during a horn or country-wide conference. Eventually Somalis will get the clue that your qabiil don't mean jack son.

Mengistu's way was by moving/mixing huge populations around and killing everyone equally, especially the rich/landed. Maybe Somalis could take pointers from this, since the main leeches who drum up qabiil fervor are the establishment. The problem with this plan may be distinguishing qabiil-inspired killings and qabiil-destroying killings. Then you're back in a circle.

Somalis are a collective society and the clever ones are just ahead of the curve by exploiting the qabiil system for individual aggrandizement.

[LiquidHYDROGEN]

I have sad this before and I'll say it again, democracy is the worst form of government for somalis.

[LiquidHYDROGEN]

It's time to switch up the game and invent some new qabiils like Muj Caydiid did by inventing Kamasle Hawiye in 1991. Keep it strictly local; eg Habar Kiska is anyone native to Kismaayo by 3 generations or more. Have a moratorium on qabiil creation except for 1 year out of every 25 during a horn or country-wide conference. Eventually Somalis will get the clue that your qabiil don't mean jack son.

Mengistu's way was by moving/mixing huge populations around and killing everyone equally, especially the rich/landed. Maybe Somalis could take pointers from this, since the main leeches who drum up qabiil fervor are the establishment. The problem with this plan may be distinguishing qabiil-inspired killings and qabiil-destroying killings. Then you're back in a circle.

Somalis are a collective society and the clever ones are just ahead of the curve by exploiting the qabiil system for individual aggrandizement.

Or how about you don't kill anyine but instead educate the populace.

[Gabre]

The problem in Somalia is there was never a clear victor, even after almost 50 years of civil war (counting from the mid 70s). There needs to be a final orgy of bloodletting to allow a dominant power to appear. Otherwise "Somalia" is going to be stuck in this limbo as the African Union Protectorate of the Former Somali Democratic Republic for the next 50 years.

Before the last Ethiopian emperor was overthrown during the revolution in 1974, the Derg calculated that there would be at least 3 million killed for the revolution to be a success. They overshot a little, but were willing to take the risk.

A luta continua, AUP-FSDR

[Estarix]

I agree Estarix.

But you cannot have political qabiil without qabyaalad, the two are sometimes inseparable.

So, our distorted sense of reasoning has us trying to work a system which fuels the problem? We've built a car, with only a reverse gear.

Qabiil is an outdated institution, when the 'somali' ethonym is the foundation for a state. So the planning is obviously long term, its clear (if we follow historical trends) education is key to putting qabiil in the backseat or rendering it as useless.
I believe that qabiil is sensitive today because we are still in a civil war and clans still have disputes especially in the north. But people are also realising how problematic qabiil is if used on a national scale. Creating federalism i think is good for one thing as in it creates a way of managing the qabiil problem by decentralizing the state so that clans can have a say on how they run their own affairs.

[LiquidHYDROGEN]

There's no doubt that for Somalia to be peaceful a lot of people need to die (including quite a few of your xabashi masters). But that's not what's being discussed. The topic is qabiilism and how to get rid of it. You don't need to kill anyone to deal with it. I do agree though that the somali population should be moved around.

[SultanOrder]

PO, is it fair to label a person a Qabiiliiste for partisanship in a political environment forged and entrenched in qabiil? Anywhere else, an ambitious and pragmatic politician would be labelled as cunning and shrewd, why debase the Somali counterpart as a malevolent tribalist?

Would the fictitious qabyaalad of a Political Qabiilist equate to that of a genuine qabiiliiste?


Shirib, it's already a failure.

Political qabilist is a genuine qabilist it's all the same sxb. Free yourself from qabil.

[Estarix]

The problem in Somalia is there was never a clear victor, even after almost 50 years of civil war (counting from the mid 70s). There needs to be a final orgy of bloodletting to allow a dominant power to appear. Otherwise "Somalia" is going to be stuck in this limbo as the African Union Protectorate of the Former Somali Democratic Republic for the next 50 years.

Before the last Ethiopian emperor was overthrown during the revolution in 1974, the Derg calculated that there would be at least 3 million killed for the revolution to be a success. They overshot a little, but were willing to take the risk.

A luta continua, AUP-FSDR

And who is going to do the killing? the somalis are going to kill their own clan members? not a chance; somalis have more loyalty to their clan than a government. The reason why other countries have been able to carry out repressions using the law enforcement/military is because these components have loyalty to the state. There are many examples but i recall reading a specific example in Ghalib's book that the USC government fighting in mogadishu was sparked by an incident where the militias short on money looted a store owned by hawiyes. Overnight the clan police and military turned to the rebel group attacking the capital.

United Somali Congress forces began closing in, having twice overrun the military garrison at Bulo-Burtey, 220 kms north of the capital, killing the commander there. yet even while USC commando groups were actually infiltrating the city and forces led by Brigadier General Aidid were sweeping through the center of the country, the Italians never let up in their efforts to stave off collapse. Meetings were held, manifestos were circulated, new appointments ere canvassed and broadcast but the chaos deepened steadily. It might be news even to Siad Barre himself that on Saturday 29 December 1990, it was actually hos own soldier bandits who provoked the final escalation of fighting in Mogadishu.
Some gangs, including Siad Barre's men, had become highly organized, collecting information and choosing their targets for looting forays. on that particular day, a group of army bandits acting upon correct intelligence of the availability of a large amount of cash in a Hawiye owned store, took two military vehicles with artillery guns ad raided the store. They killed the owner and seized sacks of cash It was about noon and the noise of their firing sent warning signals throughout the nearby surroundings. Anyone with a gun to the scene. Some of the bandits were killed there and then. One of the two vehicles was immobilized. the money was recovered, but the remaining bandits escaped in the other vehicle ad fetched reinforcements including a tank from the hitherto vaunted 77 Army group.
This clash developed into the final phase of civil war in the Somali capital which did not cease until Siad Barre fled on January 26, 1991. All able-bodied men in both the Army and the Police crossed over on the night following the flare and joined the USC forces.
Siad Barre became short of infantry manpower to halt the USC advances. He resorted to the indiscriminate bombardment of large civilian populated sections of the city. Meantime uhis officials, led by his on-in-law, Ahmed Suleiman, struggle to organize a Darod-based armed civilian militia. He met with some success amongst Dolbahante, Mijertein, and related clansmen, although the Ogadeen and other Darod refused to fight on the side of the dying regime against the USC. Regrettably, this nevertheless triggered off another phase in the civil war and led to eventual Darod-Hawiye ethic retribution of serious dimensions and far reaching consequences, long after the aged dictator, Siad Barre, had been bundled into an armored car and hastily evacuated to the temporary safety of his clan homelands."

[BlackVelvet]

The entire socio-political system is an oxymoron.

Whenever Somalis gather in one spot and talk about unity what is the one thing they all blame? Qabyaalad, let's leave it behind, it's holding us back, got us in this mess blah blah blah

Then 5 minutes later when we talk about politics everyone goes to their corner, heck the MPs are selected based on qabiil, states are being formed based on qabiil. News sites and TV channels are divided along qabiil lines, there are people who even select which xawaalo to use based on qabiil.

So it's hypocrisy really, the system is built on it. We can't accept qabyaalad socially yet make it the foundation of politics.


To answer your question, if you bluff in a poker game, is it accurate to call you a liar? These are the rules of the game.