A tribute to a man who single-handedly helped a region embark on a ranassaince.

[Gabbal]

A letter From Toronto:Happy Eid For Abdi Guled Mohamed

 

By Bashi Hosh

 

It should be reminded to those who value positive contributions to Somalia that a great humanitarian work was undertaking by one man. His name is Abdi Guled Mohamed, a Member of Parliament in TFG, a former minister of Transportation and former Acting Prime Minister in Somalia under TNG, a senior Pilot and social activist. It deserves to be noticed that Abdi Guled, in post Mbagheti conference, had pioneered a project of peace in Gedo region. This great opportunity has helped a transformation of a region from anarchic “no-man's landâ€, into a viable administrative region run by council of elders. It was Abdi's idea of capacity building from the bottom up approach to conflict resolutions. His patience and perseverance of months of painstaking consultations with elders of Gedo have been very fruitful. I commend his initiative and must be endorsed by all of us.

 

Gedo region is situated in South Western Somalia. It is a place that Somali's civil war has left in the hands of militia bosses competing for resources. This bitter clan warfare had left the destruction of properties and produced a large number of destitute refugees or better known as IDPs(internally Displaced People). According to the latest figure compiled by Global IDP project, a study sponsored by a Norwegian Refugee Council, Gedo is home to 151,400 IDPs. These are refugees who are homeless. They were left to fend themselves, as they crumbled with small huts in every city in the area. Worse, they are also at risk for depravation and armed robbery as they are too weak to defend themselves.

 

Abdi's arrival in Gedo had given these people a hope. His dazzling and agile diplomacy were to raise the consciousness of the non-combatants. He also appealed to the armed militia to lay down their arms and join the progress force in Gedo. It was a remarkable approach that helped the creation of a council of elders in order to empower the local authority.

 

With a minimum grant received from Canadian High Commission in Nairobi, Abdi did not hesitate to leave from Nairobi in a mission that would change the lives of the forgotten people. Upon his arrival in Gedo, he joined with the local NGO.s such as S.A.D.O and CANUOSOM Foundation in order to share with his ideas of peace building. Fortunately, in a few months time, these trios have laid the groundwork for sustainable peace effort in a region that was characterised by anarchy and lawlessness. Their cornerstone for peace building mechanism included the recruitment, participation and dialogue for local stakeholders such as the elders, youth, women and militia leaders in various districts.

 

Abdi and his team offered a dialogue for solving conflicts. Their motto was to reclaim the region from armed militia and local warlords who fought inter-subclan divisions for control of resources and trade routes, and to give power and decision making back to the local authority composed of mainly cross section of a concerned citizens. Hence, this proactive approach to build a local authority has mitigated anarchy and thereby improved basic services in the area.

 

It was a successful project that has attracted the western NGOs and UN agencies as it did in other parts of the country---in post conflict environment, Somaliland has succeeded for solving IDPs problem and Puntland is disbanding its last camps. However, that painful assignment in which Abdi had undertaken had also a price to be paid. Many of you mightn't know Abdi Guled, but he is a hero among us, a selfless individual. This man has been away from his family for a quite some time. His wife and children are living on the margins of the Canadian generosity and his children miss him dearly. He has given up a better paying jobs in Toronto in order to help and reach out those who need most.

 

What brought him in Gedo is a compassion for his fellow countryman and indeed a humanitarian work that was needed urgently. He will probably miss his family for this Eid, the most important holiday for the Muslims, but rest assured that if Abdi chooses to stay in Gedo, he will be celebrating with smiling children, a children whose destinies are being shaped by him and his colleagues.

 

It is no doubt that the development of this new positive images of the future may be critical for allowing regions to salvage a sense of motivation and purpose and to avoid a crisis of direction. Humanitarian work of this scale is certainly a prerequisite for promoting constructive social change. Also, a friendly reminder for those who see the Mogadishu warlords as icons, that Mogadishu is also home to 250, 000 IDPs , the highest in the country and whose placements have not been even discussed.

 

To that end, wherever Abdi may be, I salute him for his heartfelt action for saying no to anarchy and lawlessness. I came to appreciate his brave endeavour for standing up for the poor and marginilized. I am also delighted to hear that his work has given a protection to the elderly, the women, the orphaned and the destitute children. A special thanks to the humble people of Gedo, particularly for those who love peace and who have given Abdi to their unwavering support and commitment.

 

Many thanks to S.A.D.O and CANOUSOM FOUNDATION for collaborative efforts in order to realise a genuine and lasting peace. I have no doubt that Gedo region will have a viable and affective regional administration, a region that would be safe and secure, a region that would be more compassionate for the weak and displaced people.

 

I wish Abdi and all Gedo resident for peace and happy holiday.

 

Bashi Hosh Jibril E-Mail: bjibril@yahoo.com font>

 

Bashi Hosh

 

bjibril@yahoo.com

 

 

The culmination of Mr. Cabdi Gulayd's effort

 

[Abdulladiif Al-Fiqih]

He helped Gedo people to solve their problem through dialogue. Abdi Guled and likes are the people we need in Somalia. I met him onetime. He is really patriotic and real Somali. It is true that he left his family to save so many other families. Gold bless him.

[wind.talker]

^^

 

You know Somalia has many Cabdi Guleeds, sxb. Its just that they're constantly overshadowed by militia leaders, mercenary-ministers and illegal business profiteers. But, sooner or later, peace and social justice will triumph over conflict and hate.

 

HORN -

 

Thanks for the post. Once in a while, someone will post an article on SOL Politics with a positive twist that I hope we can all agree to. Like the writer said, I'm one of the folks who've never heard of Cabdi Guleed before now. But rest assured, with such a track record, his reputation will speak for itself.

[Gabbal]

^^Sxb I had the pleasure to meet the man when, as an acting prime minister for Cabdiqasim, he visited Seattle to collect money for this endeavor that ultimately succeeded. He presented his case so well, that the shame he instilled in the people had some listeners throwing their whole checks in the box.

 

He is a man to be recognized, but there are million others around the country. It is time we started recognizing people that deserve it instead of the bloodthirsty leeches terrorizing our nation.

[Camel Mlik]

Originally posted by HornAfrique:

^^Sxb I had the pleasure to meet the man when, as an acting prime minister for Cabdiqasim, he visited Seattle to collect money for this endeavor that ultimately succeeded. He presented his case so well, that the shame he instilled in the people had some listeners throwing their whole checks in the box.

 

He is a motivator speaker I would say.

As a Member of Parliament in TFG, I hope we hear more about him. I also hope he brings positive contributions to the parliament and speaks out more.

[Gabbal]

He is not a member of this government. He was a parlimentarian, minister, and acting prime minister under the Carta government.