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In an article in WDN headed "Objectivity: whose claim is it anyway?" Bashir Goth - former editor of Awdalnews.com website- responded eloquently to what is in my view-and his- an outstanding article by Abdelkarim Hassan on the state of Somali media entitled “Somali Media: Ethics, Truth and Integrity.” I had the honour to make a small input into it, drawing on my own experiences as a former staff of the BBC Somali Service. What is striking about the two articles is how much the two journalists concur when it comes to the media, its standards and the way it is practiced at home and abroad.
Apart from expressing his overall praise for the article, what pushed Bashir to respond was to scold Abdelkariim for having "descended from his lofty pedestal of objectivity and integrity" by bringing in an episode relating to the forced departure of Ms. Fahtia Absie from VOA Somali Services, in which Abdelkarim added the remarks that "listeners of the service will notice her departure.”For Bashir, the episode is not only irrelevant to the subject matter but Abdelkarim's quoted statement is "politically loaded" in order to "slander Mr. Yabarow for reasons that are obvious to the Somali audience". Frankly, if anyone has fallen from his pedestal, it is Bashir himself who has gone astray on a wild-goose-chase but can only come up in the end with twisting an innocuous straightforward observation about personnel relations at the VOA Somali Service and portray it as one driven by sinister motives or clan vendetta against the editor. On the contrary, the story of Ms. Fathia Absie, far from being a trifling irrelevant distraction as Bashir sees it, is important no matter how you look at it. It is simply symptomatic, as I will elaborate below, of a deeper crisis affecting the Somali Services of both VOA and the BBC and the quality of their programmes. Now coming back to the fundamental question, one has to ask why Fathia was forced to leave? Was it because of her clan origin as she claims, or was it due to her poor knowledge of Somali as the editor is quoted as countering? Any complaint by anyone in any organisation regarding clan, racial or ethnic discrimination or victimisation requires instant investigation and Fathia’s case is no exception. Indeed, it deserves even greater attention as an allegedly wronged woman and a mother at that, matters that are very sensitive in Somali culture. It was therefore incumbent upon VOA senior management to thoroughly investigate it. As for her Somali language competence, here I can volunteer my own informed judgement. As it is, I listened to a lengthy interview she gave recently to Radio Rajo Doon in which she was asked by the interviewer all sorts of searching and delicate questions. All I can say is that I was very much impressed with her enchanting voice, her charm and humour which came through her answers, and, last but not least, her fluency in Somali, all of which are the dream of any announcer. It goes without saying that listeners are bound to become aware of the forced departure of an announcer with these gifts and would certainly miss her. How does clan animosity towards the editor arise in saying these incontestable home truths as Bashir Goth would have us believe? Granted we are a nation bedevilled by the clan genie but there is a limit how far we can take it, least of all by someone of Bashir's intellectual status. As we say in Somalis: " waa lay caayay oo aan lagu caayin ceebaa kaa raacda". In any case, when Fathia applied for the post, the editor or others at VOA must have been satisfied with her competence in Somali; otherwise she would not have been recruited for the post. If there was a time to turn her down for her Somali language inadequacy, it was when she was being interviewed for the post and not after she worked for all this period. Unless the editor has other unspecified reasons, for me Fathia's version is the more credible and convincing one. Bashir, thinks that the matter could easily be settled by picking up the phone and getting the facts - i.e. that she is incompetent in Somali - straight from the editor. In other words, he is more credible than her! Is that because he is a man or because he is the boss and that he has the final word and what he says goes? Some might downplay the significance of Fathia's complaint and dismiss it as an isolated case. But even if that was the case, it remains all the same a very serious and sensitive matter. As it is, her case is not isolated but comes on the heels of several other prominent announcers who were forced out or found the working conditions and atmosphere unbearable. One has to recall the departure of Ahmed Hassan (Cawke), Abdisalaan Hereri, Mohamed Omar Hydra, Shiine, Abdisalaam Salwe, etc. In all my time with the BBC Somali Service during the 1960s and 70s, a time when it was in responsible and civilized hands, no one has ever been sacked, pushed or even left the Service unless their contract ended and they had to go back to radio Mogadishu or Radio Hargeisa. The high staff turnover at VOA (and the BBC Somali Service) is indicative of a wider malaise which has been in the open long before Fathia’s case surfaced. This state of affairs has serious implications for fair and transparent staff recruitment, for staff management and morale and ultimately for the impartiality, objectivity and overall quality of the programmes, all of which were at the heart of Abdelkariim's article. While I have thus far focused on VOA because of Fathia's case, we should be aware that its rival, the BBC Somali Service, has been suffering from similar or worse doldrums long before VOA Somali Service was established. Since its inception in 1957, the BBC Somali Service has been the icon among all stations broadcasting in Somali at home and abroad and was unchallenged until VOA Somali Service was established few years ago. Looking back, the fairness and inspiring leadership of those managers the BBC Somali Service had during these long years were as much responsible for the high quality of the Somali Service as its towering announcers who were mostly seconded from Radio Hargeisa or Radio Mogadishu. That long-established tradition ended abruptly when Yusuf Garaad became the editor of the BBC Somali Service. Driven by his clannish agenda, he lost no time to axe a dozen or so long-serving and highly experienced staff and replaced them with less qualified ones from his clan. Those who remained in their posts were saved thanks to the permanent contracts they held and not to Yusuf Garad’s kindness. It was not lost upon the remaining staff from the wrong side of the clan divide that hitherto clan loyalty rules supreme rather than merit and performance. Inevitably, that was bound to have an adverse impact on staff morale, on the programmes and above all on the impartiality of the Service. The fact that household names and veterans like Ahmed Hassan (Cawke) and Abdisalaam Hereri had to leave the Service speaks volume about the push factors at Bush House rather than any tempting pull by VOA. A similar situation also prevails at VOA where disenchanted announcers opt for the BBC, only to come back to VOA when they realise the choice between the two rival Services is like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Africans, including Somalis and particularly southerners, tend to see the public offices they head as their personal pet or perhaps their clan patrimony. President Mugabe when recently questioned about the demise of his country under his leadership responded that Zimbabwe belonged to him and that he can do with it what he likes. He was not quibbling but serious and he is not alone. This mind-boggling mentality is common among other African leaders and high office holders. Yusuf Garaad may not be so cocky to imitate Mugabe, but, for all intents and purposes, the BBC Somali Service is his baby, and he does with it as he pleases apparently unaccountable to no one. The net result is the demise of countries or institutions. In my input for AbdelKarim's article, I have judged the programmes of VOA to be superior as of now to those of the BBC Somali Service. Despite this positive assessment, the editor should know that all is not well with the Service and that it is on the verge of a slippery downward slope unless reversed in time. His main asset are his staff and if he alienates, abuses or loses them, he can be sure that the ship will head for the rocks and he will go down with it. He still has time to put the Service on the right keel and learn from his past mistakes and those of his colleague at Bush House. With all due respect to Bashir Goth, there is no slander meant in profiling VOA or for Abdelkarim to mention the case of Fathia. In my view he owes an apology to Abdelkarim. Osman Hassan ________________________________________________________________ We welcome the submission of all articles for possible publication on WardheerNews.com
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