| |
|
|
Mohamoud Oogle What Yussuf Garad has done to the BBC Somali Service is a mirror image of what his alter egos, the warlords, had done to Mogadishu . Just as the warlords unleashed a systematic and savage ethnic cleansing in Mogadishu soon after the fall of the Siyad Barre government. |
Dear Sir, At the outset, I would to like to express, in the name of your faithful Somali listeners, our deep gratitude to the BBC World Service for airing its very popular Somali Service for so long. In my opinion, and I think many Somali speaking people in the vast Horn of Africa Region share this with me, your efforts in this regard have been very commendable and greatly appreciated. I also personally believe that the most valuable assistance that Great Britain has ever offered to the Somali people is its sponsorship – through the British taxpayer's money – of broadcasting the Somali Service for almost the past five decades. I also know that in the recent past, and particularly after the end of the cold war, several foreign language programmes were discontinued by the BBC due to budgetary constraints. However, the Somali Service was exempted from this elimination in deference to the current tragic situation in our homeland.
Myself, I started listening to your Somali Service in 1957, right after it was started, when I was doing my elementary schooling in Galcaio, Somalia (even, perhaps, before its current Head, Mr. Yusuf-Garaad Ahmed was born), and I liked it very much. Since then I've a made a point to make this Service part of my daily living and to listen to it almost every day wherever I am, and I think this is typical of all Somalis – educated or otherwise – of my generation. (Here in Saudi Arabia, we hear this programme very clearly three times a day - mainly through short waves. But even when I'm traveling and I'm in, say, North America, I listen to it regularly through the internet). Why do we love the BBC Somali Service? I love it simply because of its neutrality, objectivity, its relentless search for the truth and its continuous endeavors to present the two sides of any major issue. This programme is the main, I dare say the only, source from which the overwhelming majority of Somalis – most of whom illiterate who speak only their native tongue – get the most up-to-date, factual and unbiased news about the world, in general, and their respective countries (in Somalia, Somaliland, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya), in particular. This is especially vital, in the case of Somalia, at this very critical juncture in its history when we have no functioning government, we have been going through a devastating civil war for almost 15 years, and the local radios broadcast only the news and programmes favoring the particular warlords who own them (and which I make a point never to listen to, because I know beforehand the lies and partisan propaganda they will dish out). Above all, Somalis will never forget the vital and unique role that the BBC Somali Service has been playing in the past 15 years for conveying information or re-uniting family members who have lost loved ones (or informing them about those who died unbeknownst to them) because of this terrible and seemingly never-ending civil war, by means of its daily announcements on missing persons. In short, devotion to this Service is arguably the only thing that unites all Somalis today. However, I am sorry to say that, in my view and in the view of many Somali listeners, the BBC Somali Service has, in the last few years, been deviating from its well-known and time-honoured tradition of impartiality, objectivity and professionalism. Simply stated, the programme often tries not to present both sides of an important story and is gradually becoming like the local radios in Somalia. The point I'm making is that the Head of that Service, Mr. Yusuf-Garaad Ahmed, may be an excellent journalist, but he is often biased and he strives mightily to suppress any story or dissenting voice that he does not endorse. And he behaves as if the BBC Somali Service belongs to him personally or to his wider clan. As a matter of fact, some Somali listeners accuse him of doing his level best to push the political agendas of some Somali warlords, particularly those in Mogadishu, the ruined capital of Somalia. Moreover, some of his appointed reporters in that lawless city, namely, Hassan Barise and Farhiya Ali Qajo, often try to paint a false, rosy picture about its security and how its “wonderful, peace-loving leaders” are going to restore peace and stability to it. But as you may be aware, just last week, a bomb was thrown into a rally in Mogadishu where the new Prime Minister of Somali, Mr. Ali Ghedi was giving a speech – and which in the opinion of the experts had targeted Ghedi himself, despite his understandable denial - causing the death of at least 14 innocent inhabitants of that unlucky city. (Others also accuse him of very serious tribal favoritism in his recruitment of staff for the Somali Service, though I personally cannot prove this charge). That way he helps, intentionally or unintentionally, those selfish men who, for the past 14 years, have been perpetuating the civil war in Somalia, have been thwarting all genuine peace and reconciliation efforts, and who constantly impede, despite their disingenuous protestations to the contrary, the formation and the functioning of any viable and stable central government in that destroyed country which, together with its unfortunate people, they have been holding as hostages for so long. This is so, because they gain enormous economic benefits from the continuation of the current anarchy and lawlessness, and they do not have the greater interest of Somalia at heart. Thus, Yusuf-Garaad enables these evil, tribal-minded men to use the BBC Somali Service as a regular and free outlet for airing their cheap, pernicious and very misleading propaganda, as well as their naked lies. Dear Sir, To counter this seriously flawed argument, I wrote the attached e-mail to Yusuf-Garaad and I called him up a couple of times, but he totally ignored my contribution and he did not allow me the courtesy of airing a summary of my views on his programme - or even acknowledge receipt of my e-mail - bearing in mind that he conducts long and expensive telephone interviews, almost on a daily basis, with the notorious Somali faction leaders who are well known for pushing their narrow tribal agendas, who initiated and have been perpetuating the ruinous civil strife in Somalia, and who are famous for being economical with the truth. A such, they always try to use the BBC for that dubious and illegitimate purpose. That is why I've lately been switching more often to BBC's other programmes, such as BBC's main World Service, its Arabic Programme, BBC Afrique (in French), or even Voice of America, because they are now better, more informative, objective and more balanced than the current Somali Service. Last but not least, I plead with you, Sir, to safeguard the kind of fairness, objectivity, balance and professionalism that we have always associated with the BBC which I consider as the best radio station in the world. Furthermore, I earnestly hope that the BBC Somali Service will be one of the instruments for restoring peace to our devastated homeland in addition to spreading the lofty ideals of freedom, democracy and modernity over there, and not an agent of division and discord. I also wish that you will help give your audience or clients, especially Somali intellectuals, like me, who have neither political ambitions nor vested interests in the perpetuation of the present civil war in our failed State, but who are genuinely concerned about what is happening over there, to present their views from time to time through occasional debates or letters. (By the way, I have a very good job and I would not, honestly, accept today to be the President or the Prime Minister of a ruined country and a failed-state like Somalia). In this regards, I have a simple suggestion for you. Why doesn't the management of the BBC set a term limit of, say, 5 to 7 years for the tenure of the Head of the BBC Somali Service or make a regular rotation among the present staff of the Service, most of whom, I think, are as equally qualified for the job as Yusuf-Garaad, if not more? Please, Sir, don't allow one single individual or Big Brother (as George Orwell would have liked to call it) - in this case the Head of Somali Service - to determine, unilaterally, what we, your customers, i.e., the listeners, should or should not hear. Otherwise, many of your listeners in regions or cities other than Mogadishu will be turned off, will feel sidelined and betrayed and will be forced to switch to other alternative media or broadcasting stations. And this will, undoubtedly, be an enormous loss for your vast Somali audience, a very serious damage to the BBC's well-earned credibility and a total waste of the British taxpayer's money. Very sincerely yours, Mahamoud Yahye, Ph. D. E-mail: mm2yahya@yahoo.com
Copyright © 2005 Wardheernews.com |
