Somali Youth: The Leaders of today and tomorrow

[Showqi]

 

As I sit here and ponder at a coffee shop I am reminded of the importance of immediate peace in Somalia — I can not help but bear in mind that there is a child out there right now who just lost his or her mother, an orphan who hasn’t ate or drank for days, a father who doesn’t have the means to go and get food for his family for he has just been shot, a mother who is unable to breast feed her child, and a sister who just lost a brother.

 

Like any Somali who lives within or without Somalia, I am deeply distressed about the ongoing situation in Somalia. For the past two decades our people have been exposed to nothing but violence, disease, famine, and hate. Somalia, a country so homogeneous in terms of its people shared identify: a common religion, a common culture, a common language, and a common history. Yet, we are a nation still caught up in aggression!

 

During my senior thesis, I came to understand a land that I abandoned a little over 22 years ago: A land where young boys and girls would walk miles and miles just to receive some type of formal education. A land where boys would risk the chances of being killed just to bring food or water back home to their families; while the small percentage of girls risk the chances of being raped due to a lack of a government. A land where my family once called home has now turned into a battlefield. But as a young Muslim who has put trust in Allah, I tend to always remind myself: “Verily, with every difficulty there is relief.”

 

To the folks who always say the youth are the leaders of tomorrow – I’ve got one message for you: we are the leaders of today and tomorrow! It’s time for the youth to stand up and fight against injustice. For Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” It’s time for the youth to stand up and give back to the community that gave to them when they were in need. It’s time for the youth to stop taking education for granted and start gaining knowledge. It’s time for the youth to stop following the footsteps of the older generation, and start paving for themselves a path towards a peaceful and prosperous Somalia. It’s time for the youth to stop being divided, and start being united. I call on the young and old to build a better Somalia. I am reminded of what President Barack Obama said in his historic inauguration speech to the world: “To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farm flourish and let clean water flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.” Now is the time more than ever – Now is the time when our people need us most. Sometimes in life you have to keep yourself from doing what is popular in order to do what’s right!!!

 

As a Somali Youth, I refuse to sit on the sidelines while:

 

~ 3.2 Million of Somalis of which 650,000 are children suffer from hunger and malnutrition and are in need of emergency humanitarian assistance (United States Agency of International Development, June 2009)

~ 8% of the population are suffering from cute malnutrition, more than the 1% of the global threshold for emergency food crisis (US Agency of International Development)

~ There is a need for an inclusive national dialogue with all stakeholders of the Somali Republic to reach a comprehensive agreement that would address the root causes of conflict, humanitarian refugee crisis, and lack of good governance and democratic institutions

~ 1.5 Million Somalis internally displaced and 3.5 million on the verge of starvation (UN)

 

My fellow Somalis:

 

When a child from Mogadishu is crying, I’m crying even if that is not my child!

When a mother from Kismayo is hurting, I’m hurting even if that’s not my mother!

When a father from ******ia is being abused, I’m being abused even if that’s not my father!

When a brother from Puntland is ill, I’m ill even if that’s not my brother!

When a sister from Hargesia is at peace, I’m at peace even if that’s not my sister!

 

I call on all Somalis in the Somalia Diaspora especially our youth to lend a helping hand to our fellow brothers and sisters back home. Because I am reminded of that Islamic fundamental belief: “You should want for your brother or sister what you want for yourself.”

 

Today, I ask my Somali brothers and sisters to use knowledge as a tool of empowerment. Education should be that fundamental tool that empowers every young Somali. Remember education doesn’t discriminate nor does it segregate, but rather it brings different minds, ideas, and wisdom to the table that will better enhance our lives, our community, and our country. If we want a better future for ourselves and even a better future for the upcoming generations, we must be willing to engrain in their minds and our minds the importance of seeking and attaining knowledge. That of course does not exclude the honor of teaching. By sharing knowledge, we can all be better people who ultimately contribute to a better society. Because it is with knowledge that forth brings stability, peace, power, and success. And it is that fundamental belief: That education shall be the foundation of your success!

 

Ten years ago my fellow friends I had a dream, but my dream has now turned into hope. I have hope in a generation of Somalis that will make it a priority for Somalia to take its rightful place among the independent nations in the world. I have hope in a generation that will put their people first and not their own self interest. I have hope in a generation that will stand and call for Peace! I have hope in a generation that will not judge an individual because of his or her tribal or clan affiliations, but by the content of their character.

 

I don’t think I need to remind you all the pain and damage that the use of tribalism has brought to Somalia, but I feel like it is imperative that I remind you all the words of Allah (SWT), for there are a few who have forgotten and have used tribalism as a source of tool that has caused nothing but pain and suffering. Allah (SWT) says: “O Mankind! We have created you from male and female, and made you into nations and tribes so you may get to KNOW one another, and not DESPISE one another…” As a youth who is hurting inside because of the state my people are in, as a youth who cries out when a child cries out, as a youth who hasn’t seen her homeland in over 20 years — I humbly ask each and every one of you all to come together as ONE PEOPLE for the sake of that child in a refugee camp who doesn’t even know the word peace exist. When we come together as one nation, one ummah, and one Somalia, then and only then is hope within our reach!

 

There are times throughout the week I look through pictures of people in Somalia who are out of homes, out of food, and out of resources. I’m always struck by the smile they carry regardless of their situation – they find the means to live on. My people never seem to loose that extraordinary principle that keeps us all alive, HOPE! I am sure they remind one another the words of Allah (SWT): “God does not burden a soul more than he or she can bear.”

 

Let us be people who learn from the past, so we can make the right decisions in the present, and build bridges in the future.

Let us be people who give from our right hand what our left hand does not know – For the one (God) who gives can also be the one who takes; and, the one who takes can also be the one who gives.

Let us be people who follow the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) for he is the best of examples.

Let us all have a vision: A vision to see an educational and peaceful opportunity.

Let us be people who find solutions to problems, and not look for a problem in a solution.

Let us reach out to the orphans who are crying out for our help, the mothers who are calling out our names, the brothers and sisters who are yearning for peace, and let us reach out to that white and blue flag that has been waiting patiently (for the last 19 years) to rise up again to its true meaning: Equality, Love, Justice, and Peace!

 

I remind you all, but most importantly I remind myself of a great African proverb: “If you want to go quickly then go alone, and if you want to go far then go together.” So I humbly ask you all let us go quickly, but together.

 

If I have said anything wrong or anything that has hurt anyone of you all it is due to my ignorance and I sincerely apologize; and, if I have said anything right or anything that has pleased anyone of you all it is due to the will of the one and only, God.

 

My fellow brothers and sisters always remember: United we stand and divided we fall!

 

I thank you all for taking the time to read this

 

In Peace,

Fatima-Ilhan Mohamed

 

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