By now many of you may have watched the video “Denan Then and Now”. The video spurred many people into action. Most of them are neither Somalis nor Muslims. They have established a project to help the people of Denan who were displaced by drought and an ugly war waged by the ruthless regime of Meles Zenawi on the helpless nomadic people of Western Somalia.

In part II of the video, the courageous and generous people who filmed the first part that I talked about in my previous article “A Journey to Hell on Earth, Denan” managed to raise funds, build a clinic with modern equipment and staff it with doctors and nurses. They have translated their concern into meaningful action. The man behind the project is Dick Young from Woodbury, Connecticut in the United States. The Denan Project depends on donations from people from all over the world.  It has saved many lives and provides medical care for thousands of nomads who sometimes trek hundreds of miles to reach Denan.

From preliminary assessments, it seems that the project is not associated with any church or religious organization. It seems to be an honest effort by concerned human beings who have been moved by the suffering of innocent women and children. Any one moved by the suffering of these people can either donate to this project or seek an alternative solution. If you are not comfortable with the Denan Project for any reason, there are many Muslim charities in the World that can be approached and mobilized to complement the Denan Project or start similar projects in other parts of Western Somalia which is a huge area. The Red Crescent in the United Arab Emirates is one of these charities. It is a Muslim charity that helps thousands of Muslims all over the world.

The Deanan Project does not the end the suffering of the Somali people in Western Somalia. The struggle against Ethiopian oppression and illegal occupation in Western Somalia continues and results in the creation of many camps similar to the Denan that we witnessed in Part I of the documentary where children died of malnutrition and preventable diseases. Women and children still trek hundreds of miles to reach the clinic in Denan since it is the only one available for hundreds of miles.

The Ethiopian regime has denied the area any form of development. The area lacks schools, hospitals, water projects and all forms of infrastructure to sustain human lives. The nomadic population relies on seasonal rains to eke a living from the harsh environment. When the rains fail, the livestock they depend on perishes and their nightmares and sufferings begin. This is a recurring phenomenon in Western Somalia where thousands of nomads live.
If Drought and lack of rain were the only suffering, it could be written off as a natural disaster but that is not the case. The Ethiopian regime compounds the suffering of the nomadic people in the area by practicing a calculated campaign of terror, intimidation and deliberate displacement of thousands by forcing them into camps like Denan in an effort to prevent them from sheltering the men and women of the resistance movements who have opted to legitimately resist the Ethiopian occupation and oppression. For more information about the Ethiopian atrocities read a recent article by a concerned US citizen who describes the horrors committed by the Ethiopian regime.

The suffering of the Somali people seems to be endless these days. They die on the high seas in their attempts to escape from the civil war in their country; they die in Mogadishu by bullets and mortar shells fired indiscriminately by all sides in an endless and senseless conflict; they die in South Africa as a result xenophobia; they die in Western Somalia as a result of drought and military campaigns waged by a ruthless enemy; they die in all parts of Somalia as a result of a devastating prolonged drought that has the potential of wiping out a significant portion of the livestock most Somalis depend on for survival.
 
The Deanan Project is admirable but also raises serious questions for us Somalis in all parts of this world. Have we become so insensitive to the point of becoming oblivious to the suffering of our own people? Why should a guy from a remote town in Connecticut be more sensitive to our sufferings? Why do thousands of Somalis in the Diaspora engage in fruitless debates about Somalia for  many hours in Tim Horton and Starbucks cafes sipping cups of lattes the price of which could probably safe the lives of dying Somali infants?

Let us use the holy Ramadan to complement our fasting with a serious effort to cleanse ourselves of primitive clan affiliations and heed the advice of the Prophet of Islam Peace be upon him. He said “Shun tribalism as it stinks”.  And indeed it stinks since its only product is destruction, bullet riddled bodies and dying infants.

Let us also use this holy month to remember the thousands of Somalis who are in a perpetual state of suffering and direct our Zakat to helping the neediest.

Ali H. Abdulla
E-Mail: aliegeh@gmail.com

* Read Part I from here:A journey to Hell on Earth, Denan
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