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[baala xoofto]

This tweet captures the South Somalis very well. 

Recently, Radio Mogadishu started broadcasting Italians programs. I am not too sure what use is Italian Language these days? If anyone can help me out, welcome!

 

[Che -Guevara]

3 hours ago, baala xoofto said:

This tweet captures the South Somalis very well. 

Recently, Radio Mogadishu started broadcasting Italians programs. I am not too sure what use is Italian Language these days? If anyone can help me out, welcome!

 

That move was rightly mocked. There are no Southerners that supported it or generally have nostalgia for the Italians. Don't confuse the idiots in control for the general public.

 

[Che -Guevara]

×l

WORLD, AFRICA
 

Italian push for 'colonial language' comeback in Somalia met with anger

People in Horn of Africa country say move to revive Italian language, influence makes no sense

Mohammed Dhaysane   |14.01.2022

 

MOGADISHU, Somalia 

When Somalia’s state-run Radio Mogadishu began airing an Italian-language program earlier this month under a new agreement with Italy, it led to an uproar.

Somalis both at home and abroad reacted with anger, calling it an attempt by Italy to influence the country and reintroduce its brutal form of colonialism.

Italy is trying to compete among Africa's former colonial countries as well as with the US, China, and India for new markets and resources on the continent, especially in the Horn of Africa, where Somalia is located. It now wants to revive its influence in Somalia, Abduwali Garad, a PhD candidate and teaching associate at the UK’s University of Birmingham, told Anadolu Agency.

He said as part of these efforts, Italy approached the Somali National University and offered some scholarships and attempted to influence learning and the teaching curriculum. It is also trying to take over the administration of Demartini Hospital in Mogadishu, which was built and controlled by the Italians during the colonial era.

"It is also worth mentioning that the Italians are dealing with some Somali politicians to make it easier to revive their influence and agendas by bribing them, especially during parliamentary elections," Garad claimed.

Salah Sheik Osman, Somalia's former minister of public works and reconstruction and current chairman of the Justice and Unity party (TIIR), said it makes no sense to allow national radio to air an Italian-language program given what Italy did during its "brutal" colonial era in Somalia.

He said only people over 60 or 65 in the country may understand Italian and questioned why Somalis need the Italian language, whose use has been declining for over 30 years.

"Over 75% of our population is young and they don't understand Italian and don't want the Italian colonial language to come back," Osman said.

After Italy forcefully took over and brutally colonized the country, the first thing it did was to dismantle Somalia's traditional governance system, he said. It also destroyed Somalia's thriving economy and Somali kingdoms and city-states among the Geledi Empire, which was based in the Lower Shabelle region.

"It destroyed Somalia's culturally rich system and dismantled our kingdoms and then started to brutalize and colonize the general population," he said.

He said Italy was responsible for killing thousands of Somalis during the colonial era.

"Thousands of people who were forced to work for the Italians died from disease, hard labor, a lack of food and medicine, and beatings, for instance, in the village of Kali Asayle, where thousands died while digging a water channel in Lower Shabelle," he said.

He noted that during the Geledi Kingdom's resistance against the Italians in the late 19th and early 20th century, the Ottomans – predecessor of the modern Turkish Republic – helped by providing weapons.

 

- How Italy started to take over

The Italians first came to Mogadishu and bought the Banaadir region from a ruler named Sayyid Barghash and then started to extend to the south and then to the southwest, according to Abdurahman Baadiyow, one of Somalia's foremost scholars and historians, who spoke to Anadolu Agency by phone.

"After this takeover, which was like an Italian version of the East India Company, they reached Warsheikh, where they met heavy resistance, and later Adale in Middle Shabelle, where after the resistance killed seven Italians, the Italians killed 40 Somalis," said Baadiyow, one of the founders of Mogadishu University.

He said before it destroyed Somali kingdoms and city-states, the fascist government of Benito Mussolini met with heavy resistance organized by religious students and religious scholars, since at that time, Somalis lacked effective and regular forces.

He said during the Somali resistance, Italians committed a massacre in the vicinity of Lafole – now a small town 22 kilometers (13.6 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu – and surrounding areas after a fierce battle.

During the fighting between Italy and Ethiopia, over 6,000 Somalis were forced to take part, and most lost their lives, he said.

On Italy’s attempt to revive its influence in Somalia, he said: "It doesn't make any sense. If it's a government policy allowing the airing of an Italian language program on state media, I believe it is a wrong and shortsighted policy.”

 

- No interest in Italian

Moulid Hujale, a senior Somali freelance journalist, told Anadolu Agency that the reintroduction of the Italian language on Somali state radio is part of Italy’s wider geopolitical strategy, but it has been ridiculed by many Somalis.

"It’s not just because of Italy’s dark colonial legacy, but the vast majority of people in Somalia, particularly the younger generation, do not speak Italian and aren’t even interested in it. That is why the reactions on social media have been overwhelmingly negative,” Hujale said.

 

- Popularity of Turkish

Osman believes the only foreign language that is currently thriving in Somalia and in the public eye is Turkish.

"If the government wants to air a foreign language, go ahead and air Turkish on national radio because the young people are now interested in Turkish and a lot of people now can speak Turkish," he said.

He said young Somali academics were educated in Turkiye and thousands of Somali National Army personnel were trained there and can speak Turkish, and even if they may not speak fluently, they can understand and communicate in the language

[Arafaat]

17 hours ago, Che -Guevara said:

From your ferocious defense of British colonialism to tying everything British to Sland, your soft spot for Britain is mind-boggling. It almost seems you take pride in being colonized or associated with Britain.

Don't take it personally. Your fellow qowdhans past and present show the same pattern of behavior apart from  afew.

How could anyone Somali (and I assume you consider yourself Somali) have such favorable view and unreciprocated admiration for that island is beyond reason.

It’s not only with the British, also with Djibouti and Ethiopia one can see the same one sided favourable and unreciprocated admiration, without getting much back for it.

And perhaps this has more to do with SL having little to no experience in foreign affairs and developing relations based on national interest rather then sentimental attachment. 

[Arafaat]

2 hours ago, Che -Guevara said:

That move was rightly mocked. There are no Southerners that supported it or generally have nostalgia for the Italians. Don't confuse the idiots in control for the general public.

 

They do exist, I have met many southerners who have nostalgia for the Italians and feel Somalia has a special bond with that Italians or with other countries(e.g.Turkey). In Italy you have even Somali-Italian associations coming together to commemorate that special bond, history and sing italian-Somali songs.

But perhaps the difference is that Southern  would never blast it shamelessly out in the open, as some of our ‘British’ oriented Somali’s tend to do.  

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

4 hours ago, Arafaat said:

They do exist, I have met many southerners who have nostalgia for the Italians and feel Somalia has a special bond with that Italians or with other countries(e.g.Turkey). In Italy you have even Somali-Italian associations coming together to commemorate that special bond, history and sing italian-Somali songs.

But perhaps the difference is that Southern  would never blast it shamelessly out in the open, as some of our ‘British’ oriented Somali’s tend to do.  

Did you even watch the video? These are mixed Soomaali-Talyaani folks, who at least had one Talyaani parent and were raised in Talyaaniga. Reer Koonfur ma'aha and have nothing to do with Soomaaliya either.

One of the eldest brothers had a import-export business with Reer Talyaani, used to fly there frequently in 1970s and 1980s and spoke Talyaani. He was very close to many friends who lived there, yet you wilk never, ever find him praising them. Even post-civil war when he went there in 1990s, wuu iskaga soo noqday and preferred to live in civil-war raging Xamar, London iyo Nayroobi. 

So you will never find qof Reer Koonfureed ah reminiscing about gumeystihii xumaa ee Talyaaniga. 

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

10 hours ago, baala xoofto said:

This tweet captures the South Somalis very well. 

Recently, Radio Mogadishu started broadcasting Italians programs. I am not too sure what use is Italian Language these days? If anyone can help me out, welcome!

 

Ask your adeer wasiir Dubbe, who was possibly bribed to bring this to Raadiyo Muqdisho. He was mocked and lambasted, too.

 

[baala xoofto]

3 hours ago, Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar said:

So you will never find qof Reer Koonfureed ah reminiscing about gumeystihii xumaa ee Talyaaniga.

Who would wanna? In fact, no one reminisces colonialism. And that is where Somaliland differ. You wished that Somaliland was on the same boat as you lott, but we aint. There is nothing for us to hate about during British Somaliland days. Because we never were colonised. That is what you folks cannot believe. But it is a fact. 

Anyway, lets cut this chase and focus on your sorry state today. 

It always baffles me someone who is under literal colonial rule today with all its ugly connotations, would still be talking about some other *non-existing* colonialism. It just shows how you want to desperately run away from your misery.

You see, UAE and CIA bank rolled melitia are today at logger heads in Bosaso. Neither taking orders from the other or the authority in Garowe. This is the sort of foreign involvement that you will never see in Somaliland.

In Baidoba, the Ethiopian Army hand picked a Lackey called Lafta Gareen and shoved down their throat.

In Mogadishu, Ugandan Army is forcing your leaders to strip search themselves. 

 

[Che -Guevara]

9 hours ago, Arafaat said:

It’s not only with the British, also with Djibouti and Ethiopia one can see the same one sided favourable and unreciprocated admiration, without getting much back for it.

And perhaps this has more to do with SL having little to no experience in foreign affairs and developing relations based on national interest rather then sentimental attachment. 

It could be they have internalized. I was listening to the radio the other day. It was a story about Mau Mau members who were tortured by the British. They wanted compensation for their suffering but at the same wanted to meet the queen not to demand an apology. They simply admired her. Imagine your victims admiring you.

The queen, then, princess was touring Kenya just as Mau Mau movement was taking off in 1952. The Brits were afraid for her safety but she went on with her visit, just make to a point, they won't intimidated by their subjects.