By Abdullahi Dool

The mistreatment of a Somali is a matter which concerns not only the individual but all Somalis! The deportation of Somalis on Somali soil is illegal and unacceptable. Somalis have been deported to Ethiopia by both Somaliland and Puntland. A Somali should feel at home on home turf. It will amount to violation of human rights to deny a Somali to live in any Somali territory. Puntland and Somaliland are Somali regions and every Somali has God-given right to be there. It is an irony if Somalis are rounded up and treated as aliens on Somali territories. Our communities are in almost every country and Somalis live in peace and security in those nations. Somalis too should be able to make a home in any Somali territory without persecution.

Owing to a consuming civil war which went on for 18 years, Somalis have not been caring for one another as they should. The world was wondering for too long why Somalis who belong to one nation care less for one another. It wasn’t missed on Meles Zenawi, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia either. In an interview he gave to Newsweek on 12 April 2008, when questioned whether Ethiopia’s involvement in Somalia will spark nationalism, Meles Zenawi responded, “ An oversupply of national sentiment is not the problem in Somalia. The problem is a lack of it. The problem is an oversupply of sub-sub-clannish attitude.”

Puntland has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The administration there is increasingly showing signs of malfunction, be it printing forged Somali bank notes or rounding up and deporting Somalis. Fortunately, all is not lost in Puntland. The Somali people everywhere are aware of the courage and wisdom of elders and intellectuals in Puntland who stood up to their administration to deport Somalis to Ethiopia. The nation owes a wealth of gratitude for their foresight and courage in the face of an administration which has lost its marbles.

For a nation whose offsprings are being born from Canada to New Zealand and from Cape Town to Cardiff, only a broad-based vision encompassing all Somalis will meet the need to build a new and vibrant nation. Owing mainly to mass exodus brought about by misrule and civil war, Somalia is destined as a nation of Diaspora and Native population. Do we need Somalis born back home to discriminate against Somalis born overseas? To make a point where the individual was born is to lack vision: it will obstruct the emergence of new Somalia. Such myopia will deny the millions who are being born overseas to benefit as well as rebuild and populate our tiny nation. That is why, in 2009 we need the establishment of a government which has the necessary vision and the right leadership to inspire and unleash the potential of all our people.

There is no doubt division has cost us dearly. Our national media should lead opinion and not pander to hatred and division. Such pettiness has been responsible for the predicament of the nation. The beauty of a nation is in its unity and harmony. We need to work harder to see the day when our nation too is united and stable. That day can only come when our people focus on the many things we share. Only then will our nation succeed and catch up with the rest of mankind.

I am not bothered what Mohamed Warsame Nur (Darwiish) did to survive life in exile, but I am very much bothered what he is doing back home. The channel 4 program aired on 26 May 2008 was graphic and explicit on the toil and suffering of our people in the capital. The Somali people need to focus on how we can end this dark era by having a better government in 2009. To change the course of the nation we need to focus on how the nation can pick itself up post the TFG in 2009. The violence is not helping but aiding the continuation of the reign of the TFG. The more the violence goes the more the international community which invested in the establishment of the transitional government in Somalia will come to the aid of the TFG.

Somalia is big enough to house not only all Somalis but many millions more. If we are to build a lasting and vibrant society, we need to bolster a strong sense of common belonging. The need for national belonging has never been greater. It is high time we Somalis have acted as a nation rather than clans! We are Somalis not by choice but by the will of His Majesty, the Almighty. It is incumbent on all Somalis to care for one another. If we Somalis did not care for one another no-one will! It is high time all Somalis care for and support for one another.

Abdullahi Dool

Hornheritage@aol.com