Patriotic Songs Resonate Across Somalia

[BiLaaL]

Patriotic Songs Resonate Across Somalia

 

IOL, Thursday , 31 May 2007

 

MOGADISHU — Singing from little Mogadishu in neighboring Kenya, the patriotic and pro-resistance songs of a maverick band of Somali refugees are resonating across war-ravaged Somalia.

 

"Our patriotic songs are the most popular in Somalia today and are topping the charts," Shino Abdullahi Ali, the manager of the 20-member Waayaha Cubus, which means "New Dawn" in the Somali language, told IslamOnline.net over the phone.

 

The band groups twenty Somalis in their early twenties who have been living as refugees in Kenya for the better part of their teenage life.

 

Singing from the Nairobi suburb known as "little Mogadishu," their hit songs are dominating the airwaves in their homeland.

 

Their "Fight Somalis", "Warlords", and "Ethiopian Colonizers" are being played over and over again.

 

Despite attempts by the powerless Ethiopian-backed interim government to block them, the band's cassettes and CDs are best sellers in Somalia.

 

Formed in 2004, the group mixes the newest tunes of the Western hip hop music with a Somali flavor.

 

It uses melodies to preach peace and fight killer diseases like AIDS, which is taking a severe toll on Somalis.

 

The band performed in the Somali movie Ali and Awrala about the caste system of marriage within Somalia communities.

 

"New Dawn is a phenomenon that revived the Somali art after being buried for nearly 16 years," Amin al-Shikh, a music critic, told IOL.

 

He said the band has stepped out of the old poetic tradition and introduced more creative and modern lyrics to the long-forgotten music industry.

 

Singing the Pain

 

Ali, the group's manager, says their lyrics speak for all Somalis.

 

"We seek to unite the Somali society and all Somalis across the Horn of Africa through ours music," he added.

 

Frustrated with the worsening situations in their impoverished homeland, which has not had a functional ruling since 1991, the band spares no player from the blame.

 

One of their nationalistic songs rebukes warlords for causing too much pain and destruction as they fought for power.

 

"Girls are raped. Warlords are to blame," sings the band.

 

"All the people have been killed… There is no school, there is no peace."

 

Another one lashes out at the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia.

 

"The Ethiopians are forming indirect colony with the world watching…," says the song. "May Allah lead them to the grave."

 

But their most famous hit is "Collaborators", which was released right after the Ethiopian invasion and berates the interim government.

 

"Don't be a collaborator ... Don't sell your country… Don't help the colonizers… Don't betray your conscience."

 

Their video clips feature militias, civilian massacres and burning buildings.

 

But Ali insists that the are not necessarily with the ousted Supreme Islamic Courts of Somalia (SICS).

 

"We support any Somali who resists the Ethiopian invasion and colonization."

 

In December, Ethiopian troops and interim government forces routed the SICS in a two-week war.

 

Since then, Mogadishu has plunged into chaos and insecurity after enjoying relative peace for six months under the SICS.

 

Since the beginning of the fighting, more than 2,000 people have been killed and 400,000 have fled Mogadishu.

 

"Our songs give voice to the plight of the Somali people," Ali said.

[Castro]

But their most famous hit is "Collaborators", which was released right after the Ethiopian invasion and berates the interim government.

 

"Don't be a collaborator ... Don't sell your country… Don't help the colonizers… Don't betray your conscience."

I'd pay good money for a recording of that song. Also, probably the most accurate translation for 'Collaborator' in the Somali language is 'Geedi'.

 

"We support any Somali who resists the Ethiopian invasion and colonization."

What is the primary difference between the person who said the quote above and the one who calls resisters terrorists?