Sahan Research and the Art of Writing about Somalia

[Deeq A.]

Mogadishu (PP Comment) —  The latest editorial on Somali politics by Matt Bryden of Sahan Research, an organisation owned by Matt Bryden, highlights what is wrong with the pontifications of wannabe modern buccaneers in Africa. What constitutes knowledge about Somali politics is now up for grabs, given the emergence of outfits such as Sahan that claim to have expertise on the countries they write about. Their claim to expert knowledge is often based on a previous stint of working in Somalia as a UN worker or as a field researcher contracted by a development agency affiliated with the EU, USA, or UK.

Sahan serves to portray Somalia as an existential threat to the interests of the West by publishing unfounded information. Its latest editorial on  reports that Somalia is open for talks with Al-Shabaab, Bryden  recycles his  2021 essay entitled “Fake Fight: The Quiet Jihadist Takeover of Somalia.” It is an open secret that Bryden dismissed the sovereignty rights of Somalia earlier this year when he was interviewed by Al Jazeera about the illegal maritime Memorandum of Understanding between Ethiopia and the secessionist administration in Northern Somalia. Sahan equates proposed  talks with Al-Shabaab and the rejectionist ideology of secessionists when it opines thus: “With negotiations, the future of electoral democracy in Somalia would be forfeit. Al-Shabaab rubbishes the very concept of popular sovereignty and with it, the notion of political alternation.”

Any talks with Al-Shabaab will have preconditions, such as full respect for the territorial and political sovereignty of Somalia. This basic principle closes the door to any anti-sovereignty ideology and the forces of transnational terror organisations intent on turning Somalia into ungoverned spaces.

In her essay “How to Write About Somalia,” Professor Safia Aidid offered pointers for those who want to write about Somalis stereotypically : “Always use the words ‘crisis,’ ‘instability,’ ‘conflict,’ ‘anarchy,’ or ‘terror’ in your title. Subtitles may include the words ‘refugee,’ ‘militant,’ ‘warlord,’ ‘failure,’ ‘collapse,’ ‘clan,’ ‘radical,’ ‘terrorist,’ ‘extremist,’ or ‘pirate.’ Also useful are words such as ’nomadic,’ ‘pastoral,’ and ‘tribal,’ as well as made-up verbs combined with these other words, like the ‘Somalization of the crisis.’ Sahan Research took this advice to heart. 

© Puntland Post, 2024

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