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by Warsan Cismaan Saalax Cabdikariim
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
In the middle of my despair and frustration with the long Somali reconciliation process, I sought the advice of an uncle of mine Mr Omar Hirsi (nicknamed - Omar Ilay), who was a good friend of my late father, as well as a distinguished member of the visionary men and women of the revolution. I asked him in desperation about what we could do as a generation if anything, to help Somalia. He then took a long look at me and said “my daughter, we as a generation, begun with nothing but being geared with an iron will that as the Arabs say, dug in the rocks, we worked day and night to make something out of ourselves first and with that we made something out of our country, my daughter I do not want to add to your disappointment, but I owe you this at least, to tell you that there are no magical solutions, your generation will have to follow its own dreams and come up with its own answers” I, of course did not know what to make of that and thought of him at the that point as unhelpful.
As time passed, I was able to see clearly what he meant. Undeniably, I believe now that it was necessary for the Somalis to go through this journey of political maturation however painful that may have been, surely what does not kill us will only make us stronger. Today we are in a cross road, there are no many choices before us, it is whether we choose to live or to perish.
The oasis that Puntland was to have become as foreseen by our founding father, Abdullahi Ahmed Yussuf, and his colleagues is on the brink of collapse and the patience of its people is indeed being tested in every corner of the land. Beginning with the pain of our brothers in Cayn, Sool and Sanaag, to the devastating economical and political situation and our leaders inability to foresight the impact this prolonged problems have had on the people of Puntland. Not to mention their helplessness in the face of the issue of the international thugs that feed on our maritime wealth, and the exaggerated reactions from within to the point of criminality. To summarise, the promised oasis is today going through unprecedented hardships characterised by death, destruction, corruption and mischief. This together with feeble political will, not by choice I trust but by circumstances, are enough to bring anywhere to a state of chaos.
The people of Puntland, however have exercised applaudable self restraint and rejected the notion of reactionary political and social resolutions. They have sacrificed their current comfort for a better tomorrow, which against all odds they still believe in. With these traits, and your strong will, determination and stamina for sustained hard work, I want you, the citizen of Puntland, to close your eyes and come with me, let us hand in hand walk towards our dreams, let us cross through the tunnel of hope, and reach to the light at the end of it. Imagine now a true oasis where you and I are equal yet different in what we do, aspire to and achieve. A place where no one regardless of clan, prestige, or wealth is above the law.
A place where we are distinguished according to our merits, place where the right person is in the right place regardless of our backgrounds social, political, tribal, and gender. Where diversity is celebrated and upheld. In the mention of diversity I would like to share with you that just before my father took over section 26 of the Somali National Army, a debate broke within the ranks of the revolution that was: can someone be a nationalist without believing in the spirit of the revolution. My father has ended this debate with his arrival in the north (Somaliland) and argued that we all, including the revolution belonged to the land and that the land was big enough to accommodate differences. He thought that it was inappropriate of these officers to even question people’s sense of belonging to their country based on their political affiliation. It has to be natural for us then, people of Puntland, given what we fought against in the past, and taking by the example of our fathers and those who preceded us, we owe it to them to believe in diversity and to dream of Puntalnd free of any forms of oppression and inequality, whether political, social or cultural, reminding ourselves in every step of the way that that was central to our struggle.
We should not also condone the submission of people against their will in our territorial borders or beyond. However, in the same time, we should not either be drawn to the use of violence and intimidation to resolving political predicaments. Let us dream of Puntland in peace with itself and its neighbours. Let us dream of a place where the majority rule, but the right of the minority is preserved. A place where the right of the child, the young, the old and women are respected. A place that invests in women as the bearers of tomorrow’s men and women. Let us dream of an environment where only hard work first and for most is worshiped and rewarded. A place that sponsors and nurtures science, innovation and excellence. A place where education and health are rights. A place where our responsibilities towards God and the Country are put before our rights and indeed before ourselves, families and communities. A place that organises itself in order to create a generation of people that serves Puntland and consequently our motherland, Somalia. A generation that becomes equipped with the will to dig the rocks, as uncle said, and change it first to a sand, and the sand to a mud, and the mud to gardens of Babylon, gardens of excellence. A generation that trusts and believes in itself, that helps remove the darkness from Somalia and helps the country to awake. A generation that focuses on the light at the end of the tunnel, that never gets destructed, that never contemplates pursuing its rights wherever and whomever that maybe with.
Now I want you to open your eyes, but keep focussed on that oasis because that dream will be our solace in our journey to transform our harsh realities. Let us dream to join the 21st century and along with other nations, the race to take humanity forward. Let us lift the pain, the weakness and the neediness from our people. Let us dream and never lose the ability to dream and above all to work hard to make it a reality. We have to remind ourselves that these are not impossible dreams much harder ones have been achieved throughout history. Indeed, it was not a miracle that a country with few qualified personnel became as powerful as Somalia once was.
This was possible because of not the majority, but the few who believed in themselves and their people. With the right leaders, political, social and economical reform, the sky will be the limit. You must be getting inpatient now by the mention of leaders. I am aware that lately the norm has been that, we as a nation are suffering from leadership deficiency. To the contrary, tomorrow’s leaders are amongst us but our efforts are hindered by social and cultural chains that have so far limited both our progress and creativity alike causing us avoidable physical and psychological pains. These shackles do not allow us to appreciate the qualities of everyday people we meet. Before we engage in a conversation or work, we enquire about the clan membership of those who we come across. So far, the only criteria our leaders had to fulfil have been clan affiliation. Then after the ecstasy of clan celebrations dies away, we realise that the person who we brought to power has nothing else to offer. No manifesto, no clear goals or milestones and nothing else to hold him accountable to. Suddenly with these revelations, instead of taking responsibility for our short sightedness, we start cursing our luck, the world, and ironically god by claiming that that was gods wish not ours. Then paradoxically, we decide that there is nothing to be done but to migrate from this cursed land to the lands of those who we blame.
I would like the citizen of Puntland to do something else for a change this time because evidently, what has been done to date has not been in your best interest. I would like you to not to ask what clan a leader is from but to ask what he or she will do for you. We will have to take some responsibility at least for deciding our destiny. I want you also to come out in your masses and show your desires for your region through the ballots. It is uncontested that change is possible and begins here and with us.
I have browsed the profiles of some of the presidential candidates and certainly one caught my eyes. Nuradin Dirie, who I have worked with when he was the Chair of the Somali Coordinating Committee in the UK. Not only that I am familiar with his capabilities, but also he is an educated, well spoken, and after all a visionary. He is a true leader whom these traits come to naturally. He was not only respected by us, but also admired by politicians, minsters and members of parliament alike. At the same time, he worked as an environment Officer in a local authority, and oversaw projects to include ethnic minorities in mainstream environmental issues. I remember when he decided to leave everything for what he then said was “a greater cause”. He took me by surprise at the time, because I was not able to comprehend what makes someone leave a well paid job, a certain level of comfort and prestige to go to a dangerous land such as Somalia. However, he was adamant about his wishes and nothing would have changed his mind. He told me “Somalia needs a sacrifice, we cannot hide or run away from that, no one will do that for us”. He was very hurt by the world’s reaction to Somalia during the tsunami and believed on self reliance. He has big dreams, such as water irrigation, and other projects for Puntalnd in order to alleviate distress from the people and minimise reliance on external agencies. I salute his courage and above all determination.
For more information about Nuradin Dirie, visit his website: www.nuradindirie.com
I also salute him for leaving his comfort zone to a land where life lost its value. I certainly would trust Puntland with him. I have no doubt that other candidates have as much admirable characteristics, but would like to see them all come together and join forces to change the future.
I would conclude by thanking our politicians and elders, men and women, who fought in order to free us, the people, from tyranny and to appeal to their sense of nationalism. I would tell them that they have done all that they could for us, and that it is time now that they have passed the torch. The younger generation, in return would promise to march steadfast towards a full self preservation for all, towards upholding our deserved and fought for freedoms.
This message I hope would go beyond Puntland, to reach the young all over our motherland so they can step in to fulfil the leadership vacuum and take us, the ill nation, to salvation.
May god protect Somalia.
For the love of god and country.
Warsan Cismaan Saalax Cabdikariim
E-mail: [email protected]