My little Somalia Vs warlords

[Gabbal]

Civil wars, says the World Bank, is "development in reverse", immature societies riven by tribal passions, are doomed to fight for years to come. Stateless for more than a decade, Somalia just fits that definition. Surely, there isn't any incentive for me in explaining why this might be the case not just because its so obvious for everybody to see it, but also to alleviate any chances of hurting our hearts by reminding ourselves the current state of my little Somalia. As a young Somali student surviving in the harsh realities of a foreign land, a place where all our settings are uprooted, where there is neither an ex-neighbour nor a former classmate, indeed, it should have been a case of "home is where the heart is" . Unfortunately, it turns out to be, " home is where the hurt is". The state of my nation's condition is beyond believe and the logics behind it defy the basics of human conscience. Officially, Somalia is now the world's poorest and the least developed country with the lowest literacy to mention just a few in order to conform to my earlier promises of not spilling the bean and not breaking any more hearts.

 

To come out of the dark and make my point clear, today, I am in a mission to deliver an ultimatum, a clear and concise message on behalf of, (the orphaned, the widowed, the crippled, the dead, the old, the lost, the wounded, the displaced, the unemployed, the poor, the unschooled, the raped, the malnourished, the humiliated and the degraded Somalis in and out of the country ) to the so called leaders in Nairobi. It is now time to tell the warlords, who they really are in the eyes of the Somali society and the international community? What they can do or what ordinary Somalis want from them?

 

It is now time that warlords look themselves in the mirror and assess their position and role in the Somali community and the wider world. A closer look of Somalia 's political direction and the underlying causes of its endless plight and sufferance reveals sinister and a rather sad trend. This trend shows that, only the unfortunate bloody conflicts of 1991 to 1993 might be classified as a civil war. Since then, everything that is happening in Somalia falls into a more evil and rather brutal category. Civilian Somalis are no longer fighting for tribal passions to wipe out other fellow Muslim Somalis. In contrast, the trend shows that the sustained lawlessness in Somalia is neither an accident nor temporary but rather permanent intentions of professional groups. Unfortunately, these groups are the very same people locking their horns in Nairobi whose our nation's destiny is in their hands. No wonder they fly in and out of the meetings in protest and don't even remember what they signed the previous day.

 

Warlords have successfully managed to bring our entire nation on its knees and hold its fate on ransom. They constantly manipulate poor citizens for means to their own ends. They want to solve a quadratic simultaneous equation with too many unknowns and no one dares to explain exactly what the buried treasure they are missing is, simply because it irrelevant to my fellow Somalis and is merely about a battle of who gets the most associates into prominent positions for future exploitation and corruption. Most warlords are hardly there to end their country's plight but to pursue their own interests that include the opportunity to gain a superior status as the result of being invited into a high profile meeting. It is when most Somalis are displaced, starving to death and no access to basic health and education that these men are most successful. It is the sheer amount of misery and pain they inflict on vulnerable defenceless civilians that give them the ultimate recognition, higher status and automatic right to dictate the future of Somalia and puts them the position they are now.

 

Without any doubt, warlords and those so called leaders led Somalia to the road to hell. Somalia is now described as "the nearest place to hell on earth" an impressive record that only a warlord or a Somali leader would be proud of but puzzles the world. Since they strive on war and instability, asking a warlord to accept a peace may be little like asking a champion swimmer to empty the pool. They will undoubtedly find themselves in an unfamiliar territory. In the last ten years or so when the world had seen the greatest developments and breakthroughs in technology, research, medicine and prosperity, warlords have led Somalia to the road to ruin. Insecurity, negative economic growth, zero employment, fostering poverty, rocketing inflation together with lack of schools, healthcare and clean water provided the perfect breading ground for warlords.

 

A classical example of how the dynamics of warlordism works and the reasons behind their reluctance to end our problems is there to be seen. They (warlords) create war and fear to societies, recruit young people with little or no alternatives, ready to fight and die for a mere bread. They create opportunities for each other, how? Well, one attacks and the other defends to maintain the momentum of insecurity whenever there is a chance of normality and once war gathers pace, the vicious circle is hard to break. However, it is important to mention at this stage that almost all conflicts in Somalia are between permanent militiamen loyal to certain warlords and rarely occur between ordinary Somali civilians. It is therefore impracticable to call them (militia) civilians or their actions civil war just because they have no military uniform or are unsalaried.

 

The art of warlordism is indeed an emerging trend that its boundaries and foundations are beyond the scope of this article and a phenomenon that frequently wrong foots the international community and those interested in finding solutions to Somalia 's dilemma. Another scenario that keeps Somalia in its current situation and helps its warlords realise their objectives is the fact that war makes it harder for the peaceful people and those with portable skills flee, the ones with money stash it offshore. All that is left are loosely dispersed around the country and fall under the hammer of different warlords in a confined world beyond which many believe there isn't any life beyond it let alone weight their choices and choose the best option. It is absolutely perfect to describe the living conditions of Somalis as a person on a journey stranded in a desert. Life is temporary and most Somalis find themselves the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

As regards to the wishes and the expectations of all the Somalis the article represents ( all groups mentioned earlier now minus the dead ), the only and the most beautiful thing that the warlords or the other leaders could do for my little Somalia, is to abandon their illusive ambitions and create an environment where the world can help Somalia and Somalis can rebuild their shattered lives. Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier warlords have an incredible power and influence in ceasing hostilities and opening up Somalia . All that is needed and all that these men can do is, to make sure that security and stability prevails and people can move freely within the country. These leaders have the biggest opportunity of their lives in turning the corner around and giving my little Somalia the chance it so deserves. It is better for them to do something now if they are really serous about Somalia 's future when the onus is with them and the far future of Somalia is beyond their comprehension at least for now. To sum it up, there is more to development, building international relations and trade than just travelling to Ethiopia and Egypt and printing money from India .

 

Nobody expects most of these men to have a substantial input into a possible future Somalia , simply because they are ill-equipped to that kind of environment due to lack of experience and relevant knowledge. Few are also too arrogant in thinking that they can do whatever they want with little respect to human lives and the well-being of other fellow Somalis. It's wonderful and rather unlucky that my little Somalia harbours such so many strange men that even one would have been terrible enough for any nation in the world. Honestly, most of these men are deadly and surely wouldn't want to be your next door neighbour let alone run your beloved motherland. To be absolutely frank, at least ten are deadly and totally unreliable. It is however, a relieve to mention that there some decent people in there and even though my knowledge of the individuals involved is very limited, there are those that took their own initiatives and made great sacrifices with no hidden motives but touched buy the pain of Somalia.

 

In the light of the recent developments in the world economics and politics, it is more important now than ever before that Somalis sort out themselves sooner than later. In fact, no one can help people that are not helping themselves. Unknown to most of our politicians in Nairobi is the grim reality that awaits Somalia 's future reconstruction. Reconciliation is a term they are quite familiar with and is a paramount importance at present, a mission they repeatedly failed to achieve. But reconstruction is however more important and a one that yields a tangible benefit in the longer term but also equally painful to achieve and might call for skills that are beyond the scope of all warlords and some of the other leaders. It is the later that everyone should have been striving towards achieving but before that, lies an obstacle, simply our leaders. My little Somalia has its own problems and needs an urgent attention, an attention that has long been deprived of by its leaders in the name of reconsolidation. In other words, precious time and effort has been wasted on reconciling warlords that would have been much easier and worthwhile had it been spent on reconstructing the country. It is surely there for everybody to see that warlords are a burden on Somalia .

 

Time is another thing that is surely against Somalia as fourteen years of destruction opened up a gap too big to bridge. It is far too easier to destroy than to build as the Americans in Iraq with the world's biggest resources and finest experts will tell you. So, my little Somalia , a 100% Muslim state, with neither immediate strategic significance nor economic return to the west, and Ethiopia trying to rule through proxy militias, needs a miracle to return to any kind of normality. The gravy train of the pre-soviet union is now a thing of the past. Things have changed since Somalia was a recognised stable state. International relations are non-existent and the days are gone when the west bankrolled failing dictators to stay ahead of the Soviet Union during the cold war. The World Bank and the other donors have now decided to give aid to only the most efficiently run countries. My little Somalia surely not one of them at the moment and long before it becomes efficient under the guidance of the men in Nairobi .

 

At last, a failure in Nairobi to end hostilities will be a terrible blow to all Somalis but a spectacular success for the men there. The world has had enough of Somalia and our future looks doomed in the hands of warlords. For them, it is just a beginning of a peculiar career but for us its endless devastation. I pray to the mighty Allah to save us and our land from these evil men. I pray to the Rabi of Mekah and Medina to make Somalis understand their future lies beyond warlords. And I pray to the Rabi of the Kacba to make my little Somali peace and prosperous and free from warlords.

 

Take care all

 

Abu.amiin Osman

London, United Kingdom

[Liqaye]

Is not a du'a but amiin all the same.

 

 

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