I recall when in early eighties a Somali soldier, a tank operator wanted to run errands in down town Berbera, instead of taking some form of public transportation or a private vehicle of his own to haul himself, he decided to commute with the same tank that he operated from the military base to the core of the city. The road that connected the seaport to the city was in good condition. However, the tank operator did not care about the splendor or the quality of the road and the reason behind erecting such magnificent road, which was vital to import and export goods at the Berbera port, as well as other public use. He drove the heavily armored combat vehicle, which moves on caterpillar threads rather than rubber wheels, along the road carelessly, speeding on it until its iron threads ruined the paved surface of the tarmac road. The careless soldier caused such a great disruption and damage. He was detained and court marshaled. People in Berbera still remember that incident and treasure it as part of their contemporary tales.

Another Somali folk tale, which contains the mundane traditions of everyday nomadic life, traces back to two hundred years ago. The story teaches us about the concept of ethical responsibility of group’s (here means sub-clan) indemnity protection. Two Somali nomad boys (with the same sub-clan) fought over a scarce resource, drinking water from a well; and one ends up killing the other. Consequently, the incident generated community gathering in which the elders made a peace truce between the two sides of the sub-clans, by passing a sentence of reinstituting the victims side one hundred camels (mag or dia money) for the injury suffered on the other side. Usually, the Somali custom dictates that any sub-clan (usually a handful of families) shares the payment of the mag in an equitable manner. However, in this case, the killer’s father refused to pay his share, worth one camel, of the restitution for the injury suffered on the other side. His reason was because he had only one hundred camels and had desired to keep all hundred intact to keep his wealth rather than forgo some to pay for the mag. What has happened next was the obvious!!  A long, bitter war was fought between the two sides. The war expanded from sub-clan to clan warfare, claiming more than 6,000 lives from both sides. The Old man who refused to pay his share of mag and refused the peace deal was fatally injured, and before he died, he lamented with the phrase “Aduun I khatal”

Ethnic Somalis inhabit the Horn of Africa, mainly dominating what is now known as the Somali Peninsula. The topography of the peninsula is diverse: from semi-arid of the north to the fertile lands of the south. In the north, most Somalis practice nomadic pastoralism; while in the south, there are a substantial number of agrarians. Most of the Somalis share common language, customs, and the Islamic faith. Precisely the homogeneity that other African nations envy, one language, one ethnic group, one religion and traditional practices that adhere to the goodness of humanity, which are mostly unnoticed by Somalis.

In recent demographic surveys, Somalis in the Horn of Africa are estimated roughly between 10 to 15 million people, occupying territories that include the present Somalia proper, Ethiopia (Somali Regional State of Ethiopia), Kenya (Northeastern Region), and Djibouti (former French Somaliland). Currently, Somali population growth is threatened by prolonged civil wars of their own making that were caused mainly by politicized clan conflicts. Few “elite” or “clan-leaders” whose political and economic interests depend on brute force and brutality often create clan conflicts. Thus, Somalis of today mainly suffer due to the problems created by their fellow Somali leaders – i.e. the Somali crisis are mainly the product of indigenous-ills.  A grave catastrophic mistake is that the majority of the populace are simply standing at the receiving end of the crisis, simply watching their leaders organize their next wave of destruction, like the Tsunami that just hit the peninsula late last year. The Somali masses are known for their indifference to the tragic situation that they are in and just sit back quietly, or blindly siding with their clan. 

However, what is needed now is to break this silence and indifference; Somalis have to try to change their circumstances and reflect on the lessons learned from the past. As our religion teaches us, “God does not change the condition of a people until they change that which is within them”. Somalis have to know that just few warlords and their gangs, in various parts of country, cannot dictate their destiny forever and turn them to stand against each other. These thugs have to be told that it is time to recuperate and heal from clan-based anarchy and butchery.

The fifteen-year old clan-warfare have already cost Somalis dearly. More than a million Somalis lost their lives from fighting, hunger, diseases, rape, and kidnappings. Many Somalis also perished on flight by the long trek, walking on landmines and swimming on the shark-infested seas of East Africa. Children are being born and raised in hostile and clannish conditions for generation to come. Education and other social service are non-existent. Despite all these problems, Somalis claim to strictly adhere to the Islamic faith, although this ultimately is a lip service since all the horrible actions that are being committed against their own are unislamic and inhumane. Many hide behind tribal names, a smokescreen for the unspeakable mass murders, thievery, and drug trafficking done in their name against other Muslims; their Somali brethren.

Ironically, the same groups that are committing grave inhumane practices against their own express outrage with the Guantanamo Bay detainees while they ignore the plight of their own as if they care more about other people than themselves. This reminds me the old Somali saying: “ninkii tiisa daryeela ayaa tu kale ku dara”.

Somalis are true camel herders who do not know much about governing or government institutions. From the foundation of the Somali nation-state, Somali leaders inherited somewhat sound modern institutions from the British and Italian Colonial administrations. However, Somali leaders hastily used their offices to enrich themselves and misuse the little resources of the newly-born nation-state. Such self serving tactics are present until today where the same thinking of filling their bellies to the max while others starve is engraved with the so called current leaders and warlords as they view the public good as their own personal property– their hashii maandeeq camel. 

This mentality led to the collapse of the Somali State in 1991, after a series of clan warfare erupted in all regions of Somalia. Since then, numerous warlords occupied the seat of Somali leadership, acting as representatives of the Somali people. The neighboring countries arranged negotiations, and peace agreements among these warring warlords with little or no success. Unfortunately, for more than a decade, Somali warlords gathered on more than 14 occasions and agreed not to a single lasting peace deal.

However, late last year, Somali Warlords have finally concluded an agreement and formed a transitional five-year government, in which all the prominent warlords were given a cabinet portfolio. The world is now watching these same warlords trying to undo the last hope of the Somali people. While each of the recalcitrant warlords fight to hold onto the millions he has illegally amassed for the past fifteen years and the national assets of the nation (airports, ports etc), those around them die from the simplest ailments. While the same government that was tasked to help the millions that are to perish from drought, disease and abject starvation sits ineffectively, the warlords-turned Ministers are busy traveling to various countries to line their pockets from the international aid that is meant for the citizens of the country. The whole saga of the Somali situation speaks volumes of the collective ignorance and careless attitude of the masses. The-don’t-care notion where the plight of the victims are blinded by mere clan support. The disgust of how Somalis sit around while their country is being wasted says something about the individual Somali who holds nothing but contempt and hate for his brethren, based on nothing more than than thier clan background. The self serving actions of the tank operator in Berbera (or as Togane reported about a conversation between President Clinton and some supporters of the late General Aidid, “there are hundreds and thousands of Aidids” ) reside inside each and every one of us who will not act in the name of the nation but rather will watch stealthily the destruction caused his own clan and their unreasonable demands. Unfortunately such unpatriotic actions are noticeable from Somalis of all walks of life.    

Abdirizak Muse,
California, USA
E-Mail:Gedi_3@hotmail.com

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