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On December 17, 2010, twenty six year-old Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi started a wave that seems to be engulfing the whole Arab World. His self emulation, although wrong under Islam, made him a martyr who sent a strong message to all Arab tyrants and motivated the trodden masses in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen to stand up and demand an end to all dictatorial regimes in the Arab world.
Bouazizi was probably oblivious to the fact that he was starting something that his country man, the Tunisian poet Abul-Qasim Al Shabi, called for decades ago. Al Shabi‘s powerful poems predicted the power of the people and the downfall of tyrants. One of his most powerful poems is ‘The will to live” which every elementary school student in Somalia used to memorize when we had a decent educational system that was eventually destroyed by the dictatorial regime of Barre, and subsequently made worse by the feuding clan-motivated fiefdoms called the Lands. The following few lines, roughly translated from Arabic, illustrate the power of that poem: Destiny will oblige when people desire to live (in dignity and freedom) …….. Blessed are those with ambitions and those who take risks
A rock that falls from the top of a mountain rests at the bottom and fails to climb up again to the top. These lines echo the notable quotes of Confucius who said “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall” The Somali people have fallen from the mountain and are still struggling to climb back to the top again. It has taken us 20 years to crawl back one step at a time but the top has eluded us time and again, not because we have no desire to live but because of poor leadership. The Somali people are like all other people in this world who desire to live in dignity and freedom. Although we got rid of our visible tyrants two decades ago, we have inherited new tyrants that are more dangerous and harder to spot. These tyrants hide behind the façade of clan affiliations and have brainwashed our young generations to put clan loyalties before God and State. An Arab poet said “Woe to my youthfulness, if I cannot fulfill the ambitions of my people and my country”. The youth of Tunis and Egypt have woken up to reclaim their country from tyrants and traitors. Isn’t it about time that the Somali youth reclaimed their country from clan and religious tyrants and to live in dignity and freedom to fulfill their full potential? Ali H. Abdulla
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