Mohamed Jibrell
Sunday, July 22, 2007
It appears that most Somalis perhaps taking the cue from enlightened cultures that they have been directly or indirectly exposed to for the last 17 years are finally cherishing their right to be as Psychologist Maslow frames it to be “self actualized’. Realizing that self fulfillment and self esteem of the individual is invariably linked to the collective attainment of national sovereignty and stature. In effect accepting the responsibility to reject anarchy and to regain respect from the community of nations.
TFG should be commended for their determined endeavor to pick up the pieces, bring about security, rebuild institutions and endorse elections to take place in 2009. It's also easy to predict that an Ethiopian withdrawal and loss of resolve by TFG would leave a vacuum that will be filled with violence even much more than what happened in the last 17 years.
It would be like when the former military regime was overthrown. There was no coherent plan then and the opposition to TFG does not have one now. It is clear that to accept the status quo imposed by the TFG opponents would only lead to further failure. If some reports are to be believed, a flawed extremist foreign Salafi Islamic religious doctrine of domination that is not reality based drives the opposition.
TFG adversaries are stuck at pandering to the radical Islamists who prefer to transform us to Arabs and obliterate the Somali culture. The Islamic Courts has dug a deep hole for Somalis. They further diminished the tenuous position of the Somali people and at the same time revealed to the world the limits of their appreciation for diversity and democratic governance. What is known is that the Islamic courts had been agitating for a Taliban Style rule in Somalia.
For 17 years antagonists of good governance and stability have shown monumental influence in derailing conflict resolution and harmony. There is finally a light at the end of tunnel- a new beginning. TFG is persistently laying the groundwork for peace and reconciliation - brave souls sacrifice their lives all the time. That still leaves out the one question: “what do we owe the world for our failures?” The answer is simple, we owe the world to overcome our fears, talk out our differences, reject Islamic radicalism, and accept the rule of law.
Mohamed Jibrell
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