A nation with a pre-tuned audiance

[Coloow]

There is a plethora of articles and websites in the internet all concerning Somali matters. These websites are busting in the seems, loaded with articles that are tailored for particular group of people. Every site has his own clients and posts fine-tuned news aimed at advancing the agenda and philosophy of one of the many competing tribal sects in Somalia. They are shy of speaking their conscience. Their contents are predictable and there is no uncertainty in what to expect from each one if you know who runs them.

 

I see that these sites produced a result that is antipodal to what the internet has brought to the most of the communities in the world. The net has defied all geo-political boundaries and ushered an era where spatial, racial, temporal and social divisions gave way to global socio-economic integration. But for the Somalis it has brought more hate and division among them along clan and regional lines. It is seldom to see an article with a grand theory that is void from the lethal venom of local hostilities.

 

But there is one thing I am glad of. It is that most of the users of those sites are people who live outside Somalia and Somaliland. And mostly articles are written in English and hence not accessible to the majority of Somalis in the domestic towns and villages of Somalia.

 

I liked to participate in cyber debates and contribute articles to local papers, but after spending a relatively long time in Somaliland, I have decided not to. What I have unfortunately learned is that I belong to a nation where people are pre-tuned, tribally-steered, regionally-programmed and intellectually confined. A nation that is under siege by the spell of evil influence. If you are not writing what is expected of you as a priori by your pre-tuned bunch that surround you either physically or influentially, then you must be silent. This reminds me one of the sayings of Ludwig Wittgenstein where he said “ whereof one can not speak, thereof one must be silentâ€.

 

To me it seems that Somalis every where has no hope. They are stuck. And very few are making fortunes in the status quoi of Somalia-- be it Somaliland, Somalia or Puntland. These powerful few batten in extreme comfort whereas the rest are on the edge of subsistence. I suspect that all those who are critics are not clean hearted as well, but are willing to take their turn of pillaging the public.

 

Change in direction, change of thinking, change of leadership and change, change, change is the only thing that changes a society. But where every one is afraid of change and wants to be inert there will come no change. And that is exactly where Somalis stand today. No one wants to change his believe or change his policy or changes his tribe. And the last thing is the mother of all, you can not change your tribe and every thing hinges on tribe, then every thing remains stuck.

 

I wish, we could come up of new formulation of mobility. Something that is less harmful than the inert clan allegiance that forms and shapes our thinking whose style always comes across our way of writing articles. I wish I could have experimented what it feels to be Habar_X one day and Habar_Y the other day, the D.i.R the D,a,r,o,o,d, H,a,w,i,ye and so on. You can not say that is bad, because we do not have any one to ask how it feels. It like death. What a comparison I made. You all fear death, but do not know if it is sweat, for you have never seen some one who have tasted it. But it is like death again for you can not do it.

 

The educated Somali class is wretched and crippled. To this, education is a temporary dye but true color is the clan color. The Aqils, Sultan and local warlords have sway over them. Their role is minimal. And it the unlikely event of making a contribution they do harm than help. For the evil monster in them takes control. And greed is always there. Cheap!

 

This is mad. I have seen an incredible lunacy in Somaliland. Religion is lip-service. It does not bind no more than few matters such as marriages, funeral services, inheritance and the likes. Prayers and fasting do not bind from committing the most grave acts against humanity and religion. I am sure, that other regions are either the same or worse.

 

You can not teach, you can not preach. Your value and the weight of your words hinges on the judgment of this pre-tuned audience. Even my current writing is an exercise in futility. The situation of Somalis including myself is a fly that is trapped in a bottle. But unlike the fly, we know that we are in a bottle and we are satisfied to be in the bottle.

 

People in Somaliland prefer to stay in their bottle and are seeking a recognition in the bottle. People in Puntland want to be in their own bottle. So are the southerners. So let us wait till the day we run out of oxygen and die for our self-inflicted wounds.

 

 

 

Mohamed-Khadar S. Farah (wardheenews.com)

[Qudhac]

the author who wrote this is clearlty hypacrite as he is basically doing what he accuses others of doing :eek:

[NGONGE]

^^^^ Is he? How? :confused:

[JustCause]

Originally posted by NGONGE:

^^^^ Is he? How? :confused:

Because Qudhac disagrees with him! But instead of telling us, how and why, he throws a one liner which he believes is bound to stick and accuse him/her what the author is rejecting! I am sure otherwise Qudhac would have backed up his points.

[Coloow]

Truth is a bitter notion. The author is 100% right. We are a nation of fadhi ku dirir, the Internet is becoming a tribal arena, we tend to exaggerate the success of our tribal enclaves, belittle somalis who do not belong to our elusive tribe, write a few lines of hatred with the aim of hurting the same somalis we could defend from our common enemies.

 

On somali owned websites, somalism dies to be replaced by tribalism. Warlords become democratically elected presidents, ministers. Success is failure if it does not involve our tribe. Failure is a mega success when it involves our leaders. Destitution becomes booming, villages become cities, progress is measured in terms of how our warlords are faring.

[J.Lee]

Caqiil, That is about the gist of it all brother.

 

The article is very interesting and refreshing, I must say, after reading endless articles about what so and so region and its warlord er I mean "saviors", have "accomplished". What I find lacking in the article though it's eloquently written, is what causes one to become "pre-tuned, tribally-steered, regionally-programmed and intellectually confined" especially if one resides outside of Somalia. I know he mentioned the Internet but I think there is more to it than that. Don't You?

 

Furthermore, If one wishes to solve a certain problem, they must attack the cause of the problem rather than the problem itself.For example, lets say you cut/pricked your finger, obviously there will be blood. One ought to then, of course apply pressure or put a band-aid on the finger in order to stop the blood which is a more effective method than just wiping your finger with a band-aid until there is no more blood.

 

To summarize, I understand where the author is coming from and I'm inclined to agree with him but it seems to me as though he has lost all hope and has given up instead of finding a way for us, remaining hopeful individuals who aren't yet a pre-tuned audience to put a band-aid on our "self-inflicted wounds" rather than wiping the said band-aid on our wounds hoping they will heal without us having done nothing to further the healing process.

[Coloow]

Msword, You are right. We can't cure the disease unless we give it proper diagnosis. we need an article an article entitled "the road once taken- the present path and the future journey".

[NGONGE]

^^^^As long as you make sure that you article has enough spin, sound bites and a respectable amount of propaganda, saaxib. You need to cater to your pre-tuned audience, see!

 

Reading the article, your reaction to it and the responses that you (two) gave, one assumes that this argument concerns emigrant Somalis (I.E those in the outside, as Msword calls them).

 

The problem, if it’s a problem that you’re looking for, is that these people (or at least most of them) don’t view themselves as being on the outside! They might physically reside in a different land, country or continent but their hearts and minds are in Somalia.

 

One is almost forced to sound crude and cite the popular saying of “you can take the boy out of the city but can’t take the city out of the boy†(or whatever other corruptions this saying has). Could one detach oneself from the motherland and, occasionally, utter the sinful words “To hell with Somaliaâ€, do you think?

 

Is it guilt, shortsightedness or insularity that forces a man (or woman) living in the West (and other parts of the civilised world) to dance to the tune played by an uncouth, unrefined and ignorant ruffians?

 

Allow me to sicken you once more and use another of those popular clichés; we need to think “out of the boxâ€, saaxib! And in this instance, the aforementioned object is not only imaginary.

 

I believe that only when one is ready to cast off the chains of superficial loyalty and nationalism will one be able to objectively view, comment on and suggest cures to this ailment. How many though would even entertain such a sacrilegious idea?

 

Take a deep breath now and repeat after me (you can hold to the edge of your seat if you suspect that your legs will give way): TO HELL WITH SOMALIA!

[Coloow]

My cousin Ngonge, One paradox of one our time and one that could be applicable to somalis is the one articulated by a somali songwriter (Hasha laba geel jecel). The lures of living outside somali inhabited territories is a tempting one. When we succeed in this endeavour which some might say has replaced the strategies of our forefathers (accumulated hard earned wealth), our moral discourse becomes centred on Somali issues. Unknowingly and spontaneously we are consumed by anger, revenge (targeted at others) and bragging (to enhance our self-steem). The internet and other ICT developments have facilitated communication. Somalis have many sources of information that have some diseconomies. It is dither geography wither monopoly of information- dither truths enter speculations. The diseconomies of the internet are a lure to the unsuspecting mind or to the mind that is receptive to propaganda.

 

In this jungle, websites are created not to cater to info needs, but to diffuse and generate a context based discourse. Some of them have the prefix somali to lure, others have a regional/local connotations with the tribe as a positioning strategy to drive it.

 

I think that and a language gap that exists in our society is the central theme pursued by the author.

 

I could say “to hell with Somalia†but it is not that easy. It is as Kierkegaard once wrote “ My existence is absurd!), yet I exist in a context.

[NGONGE]

^^^ Aaah! We’re getting philosophical here now! I’m not sure that quote applies here and am not too familiar with the argument put forward. However, I’ll take up your words as they’re put on the screen and ask: Is this context that you exist in of your own construction? Or is it one that you can influence and change?

 

To me personally, Somalia is I. It’s not the people, the tribes or the dusty sand. It’s ME. I’m the centre of that universe and all these concepts and ideas orbit me. If I decide to detach myself from Somalia and choose to focus on the UK instead, I suppose I can. If I decide to construct a “little Somalia†in this universe of mine and make it the object of my belonging, I bet I also could. Somalia, the idea is dependant on how I decide to view it. To say “TO HELL WITH SOMALIA†is not a difficult thing to do. To say “ I love Somalia†is not an obligation. Regardless of all the patriotic coatings and rhetoric, all this is merely a choice that one makes.

[Coloow]

Ngonge, the "my existence is absurd" phrase wasn't meant as a philosophical rant. From my perspective, somalia exists in a dichotomy: On the one hand, somalia exists in a state of abstraction (nationhood). On the other hand it is an artifact (people, flag,language). To me too, my somalia is I. However,there are times though when the meaninglessness of its existence (because of wars, killings, tribalism, destitution etc) fills me with anxiety and despair. The life of modern day somalia is one of despair which brings deep depression to those of us who depart from MY SOMALIA.

 

You asked whether the "context" is one I constructed and whether I could be able to influence it. A tough question and one that requires some pondering!

 

For the moment let us just say I am revolting against existing political/social structures to keep my sanity; to continue upholding the I=somalia equation.

[Paragon]

'Somalia is I'. You are the I thus in control of it or can influence it. If you are also that(Somalia) which you equate to I but you cannot control it or have influence upon it, are you truly it (Somalia)? Or were you talking about your fantasy Somalias' .

[NGONGE]

Somalia is I in the way I choose to view it, saaxib. I could view it with all the coatings of nationhood, people and all the tangible objects if you want. I could make Somalia a living, breathing entity and say I have no control over that beast. I could turn Somalia into a separate being removed from me and watch it from the sidelines. But, even the way I watch it from the sidelines is still uniquely mine. Details are not what I’m talking about, essence is. In that light, Somalia is I and I can influence Somalia by either embracing all the extra details or rejecting them and turning my back on it.

 

The point I’m trying to get across is my basic (though, I’m sure, badly expressed) vision of MY homeland. If I say “To Hell with Somalia†I’ll say so as a result of the Somalia that is part of me not meeting my own expectations. Though I realise I’m simplifying the issue here, but in essence, and like getting rid of an extra weight round my waist, I could discard that part of me (Somalia), which displeases me.

 

 

What are fantasy Somalis?

[J.Lee]

Fantasy somalis, I believe are those Somalis that don't have a grip on reality, Those that dream of a united Somalia if you will.

 

 

But there is one thing I am glad of. It is that most of the users of those sites are people who live outside Somalia and Somaliland. And mostly articles are written in English and hence not accessible to the majority of Somalis in the domestic towns and villages of Somalia.

The above qoute is why I believe the article is purposely written for those residing outside of Somalia.

 

 

Somalia is I thus I'm Somalia and to Hell with Somalia that is I.

 

Quite poetic so you are saying, correct me if I'm wrong, that when It pleases you or rather Somalia displeases, you basically stick your head in the Sand to cast of the chains of superficial loyalty and nationalism miyaa? Also, Just out of curiousity, how is the Idea that you posed sacrilegious?

[Garyaqaan2]

Change in direction, change of thinking, change of leadership and change, change, change is the only thing that changes a society. But where every one is afraid of change and wants to be inert there will come no change. And that is exactly where Somalis stand today. No one wants to change his believe or change his policy or changes his tribe. And the last thing is the mother of all, you can not change your tribe and every thing hinges on tribe, then every thing remains stuck.

 

 

I could not agree more walaahi the auther is drowing very clear picture. Change is the only thing we neeeeeed indeed insha alaah it will hapen oneday.

 

People in Somaliland prefer to stay in their bottle and are seeking a recognition in the bottle. People in Puntland want to be in their own bottle. So are the southerners. So let us wait till the day we run out of oxygen and die for our self-inflicted wounds.

 

time is running and we don't have answer yet. Alaah baa u maqan the new Generation. evry bady has hatred in their blood.