Pessimism

[Matkey]

It is very simple to identify the root cause of our political crisis. It does not reqiure theoretical framework, though sometimes it is essential to employ such theories and deep political analysis in attempt discover and understand the complexity of such social and political phenomena. And certainly, there is no such thing as ideological contention in which claims to have panacea to the existing problem. Because I doubted that we can find a looser form of group association primarily defined by shared theory or ideology. My main argument is that political conflict based on ideological differences can be contained or at least minimzed, reason being national interest will always supercedes these differences.

 

Yes, there will always be discontented segment of any nation, who forms a political movement (which can be based on different ideology or political stance) as way of challenging status quo. However, it is unlikely to see high level of destruction of the state(such as 1991...in somalis) in terms of both infrastructure and civilians duration of political insurgence.

 

Having said that, Somalis don’t have a national outlook but rather hold tribal affinity, which takes precedence over the nationhood. And as you know, we all witnessed what took place back home. Bro Hagi, that is my input.

[GarYaQaaN]

^^^^^My point precisely. Naturally I am not a pessimist, but when it comes to Somalia I am. I used to have high hopes for my country and countrymen/women, but as I grow older and notice the world around me, I am forced to lower my expectations. Most people blame Somalia's ills for Warlords and elders, but I think its deeper than that. The whole social fabric that holds Somalis together has broken down, and it will not be easy to reconstruct. Instead of working together we are too busy scheming against each other. As the previous poster said, Somalis do not think of themselves as a nation but rather as individual clans and tribes. Worse yet, the majority of us have a zero sum mentality, in which one Somalis gain is another’s lost. Just last week I met this Somali brother at an elite American law school. After few minutes of conversation, he started to grilled me on where in Somalia my family came from and what clan I belonged to. I was stunned. If the supposedly ‘educated’ people are still behaving like this, what else is there to do but remain pessimistic about Somalis and the future of Somalia?

[Waaq]

While understand your pessimisim. I feel this pessimism and apathy contributes to the further troubles in Somalia. It is painful when I see our best and brightest have checked out of Somalia. Chosen instead to live their own lives. Of course, life is difficult, but so is the pain of having no homeland. A great deal of complaints about outside influence in Somalia, the peace process, qat are posted everyday in this forum. However few of us lift a finger to do anything about it. This is a common issue. Admitedly I suffer from this as well. But deep in my heart I believe that if Somalis in the diaspora put pressure on all the parties involved with the issue peace we would see a different process. We don't need to united in identity just in our desire for peace and stability.

 

The amount of lobbying and campaigning that occured immediately following the civil war was tremendous. It was also quite effective in pressuring western countries to open their doors to Somalis. The UN did not do this, your own people did this. Though terribly fractured by the war, Somali people operating under their own self interest were able to open the doors to many. Granted that was a different time and different situation.

 

It is tragic that so called educated people still ask about clan affliations, but that is not necessarily bad, as long as they do not treat you differently based on those affliations. As much as we would enjoy it, clans are not disappearing anytime soon.

 

Regardless it is ridiculous to assume that all of us will be enlightened. We must move forward with those who share a vision for a united, peaceful, and prosperous Somalia. Perhaps much like people write their congressman or congresswoman in the USA. We could collectively express our opinions to the Arab League, African Union, IGAD, etc. Inform the press of the actions of the people, so they can't ignore it. That might be a start.