A private visit to somali region in ethiopia

[Xargaga]

By Abdillahi Dool

 

In April 2005 on a private visit to the Somali Region in Ethiopia, I observed much that was good as well as bad. The Somali Region is now home to many Somalis not only from the area but also those who are attempting to rebuild lives after leaving behind the unrest in Somalia. In Somali inhabited cities such as Jigjiga, Harar and Dire Dawa one can observe many new businesses and properties established by individuals who originally lived in places as diverse as Mogadishu, Beletweyne, Galkayo, Baydhabo or Kismayo. Signs such as ‘Benadir Store‘, ‘Puntland Pharmacy’ or ‘Buuleburde Restaurant’ are common throughout the Somali Region.

 

Development there is spearheaded mainly by private initiatives and endeavors. The day-to-day administration of the region is mainly by Somalis. Millions of US dollars sent to their families, relatives and friends by Somalis from all over the world stream into the region. Such a vast amount of hard currency also benefits the Ethiopian economy and banks. Even though there are no local Somali banks in the region, there are internationally established Somali-owned Hawala (money transfer) businesses operating in all cities and towns and in many villages in the region. Amharic and English are taught in schools but the main medium of education is Somali.

 

Another factor is the presence of a contingent of the US army in the Somali Region. The forces who are stationed in Djibouti drill wells, build bridges and renovate or build schools and hospitals. They also provide medical and veterinary care for the population in towns and in the countryside. The local people are very pleased with their presence as well as with the care they provide. Also their presence has encouraged a better attitude and standard of behavior towards the people of the region from the army of the federal government. According to the US government, the purpose of its army’s presence in the Horn of Africa is to combat terrorism not by waging war but by helping the nations in the region maintain peaceful coexistence and stability. Of course, the best way to fight terrorism is to bring the people on your side. Obviously, this is a huge PR exercise for the US and at least in the Somali Region, it is winning hearts and minds. Similar US army activities may be observed in the Somali districts in Kenya.

 

In the Somali Region people live side by side in peace and harmony. Jigjiga, the capital of the region, is a metropolitan [melting pot] inhabited by Somalis from diverse communities. Cities and towns should never become ‘clan turf’ where individuals threaten or bully citizens from other areas as well as foreigners. Such cities or towns where residents as well as visitors are ill-treated never grow or prosper, not to mention the fact that property loses its value.

 

Other than the encouraging news of the region there are disheartening things too. As in other parts of the Somali peninsula, throughout the Somali Region in Ethiopia there is universal deprivation, neglect and abject poverty. Destructive power struggles and a negative culture caused by jockeying for position are also typical. No sooner is a person appointed than a campaign to unseat him or her is started in earnest. This is a recipe for instability, further encouraging those appointed to make use of their short-lived position as a golden opportunity to put aside capital as security for life after their removal. Such instability is bad for the people as well as the public services.

 

Another destructive factor in the region is the mass addiction to qat which continues to kill the economy, quality of life, social fabric, family stability and the day-to-day running of the administration. Qat is a mild stimulant that can be debilitating, though when chewed occasionally in moderation it is a harmless pastime. The daily mass use of any narcotic involves huge finances, and qat also fuels corruption and the abject poverty that is prevailing throughout the Somali peninsula. The use of qat should never be stopped but it must be regulated. Regulation is one of the many tasks of governance. A military-style total ban on qat will only exacerbate its use. Banning an endemic social problem does not solve it but only creates more serious problems: in the 1980s, the attempted banning of qat in Somalia opened a can of worms that only worsened the crisis and quickened the demise of the state. For instance, one solution could be to limit the use of qat to weekends. A two-day weekend could be introduced as an incentive so that those who chew the green leaf on Fridays could recover on Saturdays and report to work on Sundays. That way the damage which daily mass consumption is causing could be limited.

 

In May 2005, months prior to a general election in Ethiopia, a number of Somali towns, such as Babili, and villages such as Dhagahle, were transferred to the Oromia Region with the consent of the Somali minister in the cabinet and the acting president of the region at the time. Nevertheless, our people believe that this was a politically motivated move to sweeten the Oromo nationality and keep them on the side of the government during the elections. This did not stop the Oromos from supporting the opposition, which it is alleged, has resulted in the imprisonment of many Oromos.

 

Because of heavy rains throughout the region in April 2005, the airport of Jigjiga was damaged on my return journey. I had to take a bus to Dire Dawa and only then take a flight to Addis Ababa. On 27 April 2005, at Babile which is located between Jigjiga and Harar, I had the opportunity to meet two of the town’s elders, Sheikh Abdirahman Abubaker and Abdi Haider Ahmed, who briefed me on the situation forced on them by the new status of the town and on their determined campaign to return it to the administration of the Somali Region.

 

The question is, what future is there for the Somali Region in Ethiopia? Like the train robberies of the 1960s, the days of terrorism, AK-47 wielding and road-mining liberation movements are long gone. What the Somali Region desperately needs is economic development and a better living standard for the people. Some would argue the emancipation of the people should come first. For starters, real emancipation involves development. We live in a small world which is increasingly interdependent. In Kenya, the Somalis enjoy rights similar to those of other nationalities in that country. More of them have access to good schools and enjoy a better future than the Somalis in Ethiopia. This is partly due to the instability created by armed conflict in parts of the Somali Region.

 

The mother of the Somali nation is Somalia and it is hardly surprising that, when the mother is ill, the children cannot do well. The mayhem in Somalia is gravely affecting all aspects of the Somali Region. This is not merely because of the geographical proximity. Once there is responsible government in Somalia, the Somali Region will benefit, not least from the dual attention of a functioning Somalia and Ethiopia.

 

Rather than conflict with our neighbors, as in the past, the new Somali State should seek development for all Somalis in the Horn; otherwise the troubled Horn will incur further instability, which will only consume funds needed for reconstruction, redevelopment and progress. Territorial disputes can only be settled by peaceful means through cooperation, mutual understanding and consent. Only a modern leadership can enable its nation to keep in step with the changing times. Those who exhibit antiquated practices such as clannism are doomed to fail a nation such as ours.

 

At any given time in life there are always opportunities on the table. One should not chase after yesterday’s opportunities and miss those that are available today. The Palestinians were once dubbed by a former US State Department official as people who never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Our nation too, has a history of missed opportunities, and the Somali Region is no exception.

 

In the Somali Region there is an autonomy that is not perfect, but conflict is not the way to fulfill the aspirations of people in the modern era. One must always make use of and not squander what is at hand, no matter how small. In Somalia, because of clannism, the sovereignty and statehood of the country have been squandered without the invasion or occupation of a foreign power. Those who aspire to lead their people must think big. They must first seek harmony and unity of purpose within their people. They must avoid petty things such as clannism, which only fuels division and discord. Nothing can replace genuine nationalism. It is the policy of the current government headed by Meles Zenawi to promote people in Ethiopia to organize and rule themselves as nationalities. In a region inhabited by every Somali community the most appropriate name is ‘Somali Region’. Otherwise, it would be tantamount to a man who threw away precious contents while retaining only an empty sack. The people see through the bankrupt nature of aspirations that are based on clannism.

 

In Ethiopia there are over eighty ethnic and linguistic groups and politics is based on nationalities. What is the point of fragmenting your own people into clans and subclans? The common factor that binds us all is the Somali ethnicity, to which we all belong, not one’s clan, which is a private matter, at times used like an address, which can be helpful. One reaps what one has sown. If you sow maize, you will not reap wheat. That is why the warlords who introduced clannism and discord into Somalia could not rule the country. It goes without saying that power derives from unity and harmony, not from discord.

 

In Ethiopia there is a power struggle for the leadership of the country between the ruling government and the Coalition Democratic Union (CDU) which is drawn from the Amhara nationality and parts of the Oromo nationality. Judging from their political agenda, the victory of this coalition would have severe consequences for Ethiopia as well as the whole region. Some of the aspirations of the opposition coalition, who took all the seats in and around the capital Addis Ababa and in many parts of Ethiopia in the mid-2005 election, are a throwback to the past: for instance, their aim to force Eritrea back into union with Ethiopia is misplaced and dangerous.

 

Once clannism is rooted out of politics, a multiparty system potentially has a better chance of succeeding in warring Somalia than in Ethiopia which has many nationalities, which vie to unseat one another for power. No sooner do leaders from one nationality come to power than a campaign to replace them is mounted.

 

In Ethiopia the power struggle is between different language and cultural groups and nationalities such as the Oromo, Amhara, Tigray etc. Most of these are comparatively united, with common aims and objectives, but not the Somali nationality, which unfortunately is fragmented on clan lines. This is happening for two reasons: because of existing clannism, which is denying Somali statehood in Somalia, and because there are individuals who themselves cannot outgrow outdated clannism in a world where entire nations, such as those of Europe, are shedding national sovereignty for even wider unity. Somalis in Ethiopia fiercely undermine one another and thus under-develop the region. Much of the Somali Region’s budget earmarked for development to the tune of tens of millions of US dollars, is annually returned to the coffers of the federal government in Addis Ababa.

 

So what suggestions are available for the Somali Region? (1) Rather than looking at one another as people from different clans and subclans hostile to one another, we Somalis have to look after one another as brothers and sisters from one nation. Our people in the Somali Region should not adhere to the element of division but show a unity of purpose. (2) Just as in football there are those who play for a nation, a region or a city, in politics there are those who serve a nation, a region or a city. All are important! In the Somali Region too, there are those who choose to serve the people. Unfortunately, there is as yet no leadership with a vision capable of organizing the people, caring for them and giving them a sense of direction. The people merely fend for themselves, while the suffering of the majority is all too evident. The people need to cooperate to get on with their lives, educate their youngsters and look after one another. (3) Development is the answer to most of the ills of the region. Our people in the Somali Region should reject unnecessary conflict for it causes stagnation, freezes progress and underdevelops nations. Already the region has wasted opportunities for fifteen years due to unnecessary factors and the inherent conflict, which also gives some of the authorities in the federal government a reason to clamp down on the region and curtail development. Unused funds returned to the federal government in Addis Ababa have gone to other regions that made better use of the funds. (4) Somalis from Benadir, Puntland, Hiiraan, Baay or any other region have every right to be in the Somali region. They should have equal access to resources like anybody else. (5) Because of the folly of the 1980s and 1990s, further unnecessary and artificial conflicts have been fostered. It cannot be overstressed that our people in the Somali Region and in Somaliland* are brothers and sisters who not only share ethnicity, language, religion, culture, heritage and all the aspects of a nation, but also are geographically contiguous. As Somalis say: Oodi ab ka dhow (The fence of your next door neighbor makes more kinship than kinship). Hargeysa, the capital of Somaliland, is only 80 miles from Jigjiga, the capital of the Somali Region. There should be no barriers between Somaliland and the Somali Region and the border must be open for visitors as well as for trade.

 

Hornheritage@aol.com

 

 

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[SOO MAAL]

Great article

Thank you nabadshe