There is a thin line between laughter for joy and tears for tragedy. The two are lived side by side in an orderly family, community, nation, continent or the world. Where there is a balance between the two, each is appropriately employed and appreciated as life’s events demand. Both respectively show up, say, in the birth of a wanted child, the death of a loved one, a country’s day of independence or its team’s victory or defeat in an Olympics tournament—among other situations.

In Somali lives of the last 18 years, there has been nothing but a painful tragedy for all and its collective-tears, which could run rivers. If there was a market, a demand, for tears of tragedy, Somalis could have easily made trillions of Euros from it. In the midst of such drenching sea of sadness, the death of laughter for joy is the most credible testament to the depth of Somalia’s curse! Also, I suspect tears have run out by now, for there are no more tears to give—a sign of a frozen nation by indefinite shock! Who knows when the madness ends!

With any tragedy, it so happens, there is sarcasm or an irony, if you look for it. Somalia’s is no exception, and the players in its carnage saga provide too much of it!

The Islamists

“Wadaadadu lugaha ha kala baxaan siyaasada.” Translation: “The Mullahs should stay off politics,” this from none other than the grand mullah Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad. The statement came about in response to some of the mullahs, with only word of God and mosque assets,—in other words, plain traditional or garden variety mullahs with no militia— who were trying to mediate between Sheikh Sharif’s group and others in Jowhar town. When I read it, I almost fell off my chair.

In fairness, the good Sharif had shown up sporting a blue blazer jacket, a tie and khaki pants in his recent visit to Mogadishu. Clearly, that symbolizes something of a transformation, from Mullah to a full fledged politician, although the title “Sheikh” firmly remains. But again, he also met with world leaders, presidents, senators and even kings perhaps, which should neatly add-up in his resume for a politician!
 
Say nothing though about the fact he wants Somalia to be ruled by Islamic law, which would automatically make every Mullah a potential expert on anything governmental. Why push any mullah around for exclusion then?

The Al-Shabab group is the most powerful armed Somali group, which is clearly of Salafi or Wahabbi order. Fervent in their brand of Islam, by using a Wahabbi misinterpretation of Islam, they are not content to be confined in Somalia. It is hard to believe but true, that they (Al-Shabab) espouse, get this, “global” domination.

“From the US to South Africa, we will rule the world under Islamic law,” said one of their leaders on Al-jazeera network recently. This is a fool’s joke worth of a chuckle of a hen, no more!

Transitional Federal Government (TFG) 

If you followed the news from Somalia lately, you would think Somalia has a democratic government. You have heard terms associated with democracy, such as rule of law, invoking articles of constitution, removal of a prime minster, vote of confidence (yea or nay) and impeachment.

The tragic comedy here is something of a Somali bad character in particular, and perhaps a human nature in general, in which the sacred of both religious and secular is used and misused for a momentary personal or group gain.

For 4 years, the TFG has not brought any one of the smallest villages in Somalia under the rule of law. Baydhabo, a big town and the seat of this government, has not seen one day of such rule. In its streets, in fact, TFG members of parliament are gunned down with impunity.

Then there is the genesis of the TFG: a regime, of all its original members, assembly and chosen in a foreign land, Kenya, on 4.5 clan power-sharing basis. I understand desperate times call for desperate solutions, and the conception and formation of the TFG was consistent with such. The idea was to have all clans, big and small, to have a stake in a Somali government in the interim; there was a hope for a peace dividend as a result, which would lead, at the end of its foreign made mandate, to a better system of government. It would seem this would not be the case.

Perhaps in its final hour, it is ironic the TFG would dust off some nonexistent Jeffersonian or Magna Carter constitution for its own political cannibalization in a game of internal one-upmanship.

Would not this be, at the end, very antithetic to its original intent and spirit of clan power-sharing? People, obviously, chosen for their clan representation—not democracy—are bound to be alienated here. If so, a gain for peace, in bringing part of the opposition onboard, is to be offset by pushing others in the TFG to the rest of the ardent opposition column; a unique Somali take one step forward and steps until over the cliff backward.

So, do not be surprised if you hear one of these coming-up days the TFG disbanded just like that! Somalis seem to be slow on consensus-building and fast, faster than anyone, on disunity to a point of every man and clan for themselves.  

Abdul-Aziz Mohammed
E-Mail: Somam23@wowway.com
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