Mogadishu Braces for Clash of Titans

Southern Somalia’s militant giant al-Shabab, the only leading force that is still wielding considerable political, social, and economic clout and the most formidable force that remains an obstacle to Sheikh Sheriff’s otiose and corrupt administration, has taken one further attempt to overrun Galgadud region currently controlled by ASWJ-the Sufi-led faction that just finalized an agreement with the TFG. Despite beating the drums of war loudly and pronouncing a declaration of war against al-Shabab and despite the TFG mobilizing its forces for a final onslaught, al-Shabab is seemingly emerging a force to reckon with. Its marvelous application of covert and overt battle operations, its ability to mobilize forces, its meticulous garnering of public support through the use of diplomacy, radio and cyberspace communication, its adroitness at manipulating tribal elders, and its meritorious skill of tendering support to minority clans for the sake of weakening and deracinating powerful tribes that pose threat to its survival, and its undaunted will to survive unparalleled hardships and challenges remain tools yet to be discovered by its avowed enemies inside Somalia’s murky political waters.

Al-Shabab has even become skillful at controlling international aid agencies operating in the areas under its control by requiring them to abide by stringent laid out rules and regulations otherwise they risk being kicked out of the country. The recent altercation between the World Food Program (WFP) and al-Shabab where WFP ultimately pulled out of southern Somalia revolved around al-Shabab’s demand that WFP buy local Somali farmers produce instead of bringing in expired relief supplies to the country and distributing as a humanitarian gesture to an already famished and displaced war-afflicted persons.

Al-Shabab’s refusal to allow WFP run its relief operations has led to massive starvation of residents of ceelasha biyaha and opened a new round of hostilities with a select group of council of elders supported by the hierarchy of Hizb al-Islam who feel al-Shabab is imposing sanctions on their tribal enclaves where majority of their kinsmen or followers reside. The enclave in question-ceelasha biyaha as it is called or the water wells-is roughly a few miles to the north of the town of Afgoi-where the largest concentration of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who escaped the shelling in Mogadishu resides.

So far the said council of elders has issued a decree denouncing the actions of al-Shabab and to that effect are convening an assembly that include the top echelons of Hizb al-Islam who will collectively deliberate on the most effective countermeasures to take. Sooner or later a deadly clash of titans could be expected should al-Shabab continue to stubbornly deny the said IDPs access to WFP’s relief supplies.

Ironically, many Somalis, presidential observers, and political analysts are bewildered and dumbfounded at President Sharif’s peripatetic itinerary. His travel plans bring into play a passion for endless merrymaking and craving for leisure travel, red carpet receptions and deafening twenty-one gun salutes, all-you-can-eat buffets set around intricately and articulately designed manicured lawns, and accommodation at five-star hotels with continental breakfast to share with an inflated procrastinating entourage lacking guided protocols and principles.

To make matters worse, the absence of accountability and national security and the absconding of duty by those who took the oath of allegiance to the constitution have made the current Transitional Federal Government headed by Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed wallow in pathetic corruption and remain absorbed in indeterminate situation.

Shocking revelations of embezzlement and mismanagement of donor funds, political bickering and the higgledy-piggledy nature of its bloated parliament, the exodus of highly-priced, newly-trained, and tribally-inclined troops switching allegiance then joining jihadi camps, and the tiptoeing of the colony of political chameleons hiding in its midst seem not to be signaling its ultimate salvation but its timely and imminent death.

What Advantage is there for Rwanda to Switch from French to English?

The landlocked nation of Rwanda is located in Central Africa and is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Massachusetts or is half the size of Scotland. To the north, it is bordered by Uganda, to the south by Burundi, to the east by Tanzania, and to the west it is partially separated from the Democratic Republic of Congo by the Ruzizi Valley and Lake Kivu. This tiny nation of over 8-million inhabitants came into the international limelight during the 1994 genocide where approximately a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in a span of 100-days thus going down in history as the worst ever documented intertribal genocide. Rwanda, the most densely populated country in Sub-Saharan Africa, has often been described as the “Land of Thousand Hills” by geographers and visitors alike. It has a rich history and culture and prides to have had mysterious kingdoms with legendary military force before European powers set foot in Africa. Formerly a Belgian colony, Rwanda is now saying farewell to the French Language in favor of English which has become the lingua franca of Sub-Saharan Africa. The Government of Rwanda claims that English has become the backbone for growth and development not only in the region but around the globe and that French is spoken only in France, some parts of West Africa, and in some parts of Canada and Switzerland.

Like its neighbor Burundi, Rwanda has had a long history of intertribal conflict beginning in the late 18th century when European powers convened in Berlin, Germany in 1884 under the auspices of King Leopold II of Belgium who originated what came to be known as the “Scramble for Africa” or the “Race for Africa” leading to the partitioning of the mighty continent of Africa along colonial powers Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and Germany. Formerly what used to be Ruanda-Urundi was mandated to Belgium in 1923 by the League of Nations (now The United Nations). This conference eliminated all the existing forms of self-governance and autonomy previously practiced by Africans. Inspired by explorer Henry M. Stanley’s book, Through the Dark Continent (1878), the Berlin Conference attendees found reason to exploit the human and natural resources of the African continent while at the same time establishing a prolonged imperial legacy that would benefit future generations of European expansionist enthusiasts. The splicing up of Africa among European imperialists took-off immediately after the abolition of the horrendous trans-Atlantic slave trade commencing in 15th century and culminating in the eventual industrialization of Europe and North America.

After World War II, Ruanda-Urundi became a Trust Territory of the United Nations controlled by Belgium. Rwanda and Burundi simultaneously proclaimed independence from Belgium on July 1, 1962. Prior to independence, Belgian administrators running the colony favored the tall Tutsis who had European-like features (as the Belgians claimed) over the short Hutus by giving the Tutsis administrative and military positions. In order to exploit the social structure that existed, the Belgians supported the Tutsi Mwami (king) and even introduced ethnic identity cards so as to divide-and-rule the two ethnic groups. Colonial anthropologists argued that the taller Tutsis were “Black Europeans”. The Hutus are regarded as the ethnic majority of Rwanda while Tutsis are considered in racialist ideology, a foreign race as opposed to indigenous race. It was Jean Hiernaux of the French National Center for Scientific Research, who, in late 1974, noted a 10 centimeter difference between the Tutsi (taller) and Hutu (shorter).

Racialist ideologists went as far as concluding that the civilization seen in Africa before the spread of European colonialism originated from an external Caucasian race but black in color-in what came to be known as “Hamitic Theory”. Thus, the origin of the outsider civilizing Hamitic race is placed in the Horn of Africa. These racialist ideologists were stimulated by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, the eugenics movement, and racism. Belief in the superiority of the white European race over the dark African race proliferated ethnocentrism to an extent Germany embarked on what became known as realpolitik where global dominance or influence of a larger scale was only attainable through increase in power and wealth.

Walter Rodney, in his 1972 book, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, repudiated Colonial European ethnic division of Rwanda natives by suggesting that the tall stature of the Tutsis is a result of pastoralist protein-rich diet. He further shed light by claiming that the short Twa (forest people) possess pygmoid features simply because they are hunters/gatherers by occupation and that they lack essential nutrients in their diets. For the Hutus who are shorter than the Tutsis but taller than the Twa, Walter Rodney argued that, because they are agriculturalists, they have relatively poor food available for body building.

The land once described as a “tropical Switzerland in the heart of Africa”, Rwanda came to symbolize the killing fields of Cambodia when an inexperienced Hutu president ascended the throne upon proclamation of independence from Belgium in 1962. In order to impose law and order and ensure their “civilizing missions” materialized, colonial powers vested some authority on churches of their choosing. Church figureheads in turn proselytized, trained, and elevated subservient, approachable, and courageous ethnic groups they felt would relay the expansionist colonialist torches as commanded while observing standard operating procedures (SOPS).

On April 6, 1994, a plane carrying Juvénal Habyarimana, President of Rwanda, and Cyprien Ntaryamira, President of Burundi, was brought down by a missile while flying over Kigali International Airport, the capital of Rwanda, killing everyone on board including the two presidents who had just returned from a reconciliation conference in the city of Arusha in Tanzania. From 1973 until his death in 1994, Juvénal Habyarimana favored his Hutu tribe over the minority Tutsis. Former president of the United States, Bill Clinton, on an official tour of Africa, had this chilling message for the people of Rwanda upon landing at Kigali International Airport in 1998: "We come here today partly in recognition of the fact that we in the United States and the world community did not do as much as we could have and should have done to try to limit what occurred". [1] The former Canadian general Roméo Dallaire overseeing the United Nations peace keeping operations at the time of the genocide wrote in one his books the following the lines: "Rwanda will never ever leave me. It's in the pores of my body. My soul is in those hills, my spirit is with the spirits of all those people who were slaughtered and killed that I know of, and many that I didn't know.” [2]

Rwanda and Burundi became member states of the East African Community (EAC) in 2007. Formerly, the EAC comprised of the former British colonies Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania that are English-speaking. 80% of Rwanda’s population speaks Kinyarwanda. The implementation of laissez-faire economies, a common customs and excise tax system, unrestricted airspace, common parliament, unhindered borders and free movement of people and goods across borders, and the creation of a common monetary unit (shilling), EAC member states will eventually benefit without depending much on foreign handouts.

Rwanda has introduced a cricket board mimicking the British system. The game was brought to Rwanda by its Diaspora returning mainly from Kenya where the game is common. Rwanda will be the second country after Mozambique (Portuguese speaking)-that has not been colonized by Britain-to join the Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II of England is the ceremonial head of the Commonwealth which incorporates fifty-four member states. Rwanda was admitted as a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in November, 2009. It has also been a Member of the United Nations since 18 September, 1962. Ambassador Joseph Nsengimana is Rwanda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. The leaders of Rwanda have embraced the idea of joining various clubs so as to relinquish Rwanda’s dependence on colonial master France that has been implicated in the 1994 genocide that decimated roughly 20% of the nation’s human population.

Despite the devastating genocide and the preceding political, social, and economic hardships inherited from imperialism, colonialism, and European exploitation, no wonder at present “…Rwanda has the highest number of women parliamentarians in the world with women constituting 48.8% in the Chamber of Deputies and 34.6% in the Senate. The Government of Rwanda also has 34% of women in its Cabinet.” [3]

In 2008, the Government of Rwanda announced that English would become the language of instruction in schools replacing French. On a visit to Rwanda on Thursday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy admitted that France had made “grave errors” in the 1994 genocide. [4] For now relations between France and Rwanda seem to be thawing. Upon President Nicolas Sarkozy returning to France, the French government detained Agathe Habyarimana for crimes related to the 1994 genocide. She is the widow of former President Juvénal Habyarimana who died in a plane crash in 1994. “Her arrest follows a visit to the Rwandan capital Kigali last week by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, when he admitted that France - and the wider international community - had make "mistakes" over the genocide.” [5]

Upon taking the reins of power in 1994, Paul Kagame, the current leader of Rwanda exhausted all avenues until he was forced to use coercive power to subdue the masterminds of the genocide by pursuing them into the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo by dispatching contingents of the Rwanda Armed Forces. As a gesture of goodwill and reciprocity, Rwanda’s head of state extended amnesty to some his rivals to overcome enduring rivalries. He called on Rwandans to show restraint and embark on disarmament so as to overcome enduring internal rivalries.

Rwanda underwent decentralization initiatives on January 1, 2006. Up to 2001, the country was divided into twelve regions formerly known as prefectures. The twelve prefectures have been reduced to five regions: North Province, East Province, West Province, South Province, and Kigali Province. Such decentralization techniques are meant to empower the common citizen to collectively participate in nation-building efforts so as to attain self-sufficiency and modernization.

Since the leaders of Rwanda are responsible for steering the nation to its right course and that they fully understand what is good for Rwanda as a sovereign nation, there is absolutely nothing wrong with switching from French to English as the language of instruction for the schools of Rwanda. The recent visit by the President of the France to Rwanda signals the restoration of the lost relations beween the two countries. For the citizens of Rwanda, learning a new language (English) should be an added advantage politically, socially, and economically.

Cited Sources
http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9803/25/clinton.africa/
pbs.org/.../frontline/shows/ghosts/interviews/dallaire.html
http://www.undp.org.rw/Newsroom_story8.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/world/europe/26france.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8545120.stm

Médecins Sans Frontières

Founded in 1971 by a group of French journalists and doctors after the Biafra War (1967-70) that devastated the West African nation of Nigeria, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has evolved as an internationally recognized humanitarian aid organization that provides emergency medical assistance to populations in danger in more than 70 countries.[1] It works with people threatened by aggression, neglect or calamity, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, undernourishment, and exclusion from healthcare or natural disasters.

Initially, MSF came to fore after the incorporation of Groupe d'Intervention Médicale et Chirurgicale en Urgence ("Emergency Medical and Surgical Intervention Group") that meticulously provided aid in Biafra in 1970 and the Secours Médical Français ("French Medical Relief") that responded to the Bhola Cyclone of 1970 which took the lives of almost 500,000 people in the former East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).[2] MSF was founded on the basis that all people have the right to medical care regardless of race, religion, creed, or political affiliation. It works to remain nonaligned, is imperturbable, and free of bureaucratic restrictions.

The principles of MSF are outlined in the Charter and the Chantilly Principles together with La Mancha Agreement. [3][4] In France it is known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières or simply by the contraction MSF while in the United States, Canada, and Australia it is widely known as Doctors Without Borders. The operational decisions of MSF are made by largely independent centers located in Paris (France), Geneva (Switzerland), Brussels (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), and Amsterdam (Holland). The international office responsible for overseeing international activities is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

The current President of MSF is Dr. Christophe Fournier.[5] Dr. Christophe Fournier graduated from the University of Clermont-Ferrand in France where he received his Doctorate in Medicine. Besides, he holds a degree in Epidemiology, Tropical Medicine, and Biostatistics. He previously worked as a doctor or was head of mission in Burundi, Uganda, Honduras, and Chile and as well conducted emergency exploratory missions in Mexico and Venezuela. In 2000, he became MSF's Operations Manager in the United States while at the same time managing field programs in Guatemala, Haiti, Nigeria, Sudan, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand.

Like the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), World Vision, Oxfam, ActionAid International, and other international organizations scattered all over the world, the presence of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) or Doctors Without Borders is visible almost everywhere where human conflict and natural disasters exist. The national offices of MSF are solely responsible for the recruitment and coordination of volunteers. The organization was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1999 "in recognition of the organization’s pioneering humanitarian work on several continents."[6] It was Dr. James Orbinski , president of MSF at that time, who accepted the prize on behalf of his organization. Besides the Nobel Prize, MSF was awarded the Seoul Peace Prize in 1996.[7]

Teams of medical experts conduct evaluations on the ground to determine a population's medical needs before opening programs. Experts also carry out epidemiological surveys to determine the effect of a disease on a population. For example, MSF measures mortality rates by observing burial rates in a community. By working in concert with governments, cases like genocide, human casualties, and exodus of civilians can be computed by using surveys. Astonishingly, Doctors Without Borders has at times courageously and independently delivered medical assistance to some parts of the world without consulting or working with civilian or military authorities. Because of its commitment to impartiality, Doctors Without Borders remains independent of governments and is a reliable partner in the delivery of humanitarian supplies where others dare not. During the Rwanda Genocide of 1994, together with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Doctors Without Borders withdrew from camps inside Rwanda to avoid complicity as the camps were used as military sanctuary by the genocidal militia that was behind the massacre of a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus (Pease, 274).

The earliest recorded humanitarian relief operations by MSF was in 1972 when the city of Managua in Nicaragua experienced a devastating earthquake that killed between 10,000 and 30,000 people and razed most of the city’s infrastructure. After Hurricane Fifi inundated the nation of Honduras on September 18 and 19 in 1974, leaving behind massive flooding in its wake, MSF established its first long-term medical relief mission in the country. The fall of South Vietnam to North Vietnam and the subsequent exodus of Cambodians fleeing the ruthless Khmer Rouge saw MSF establish the first refugee camp missions in Thailand. The withdrawal of Vietnam from Cambodia in 1989 necessitated the formation of MSF’s long-term operations meant to resuscitate Cambodia’s dilapidated health care system and also provide care to the survivors of the mass killings.

Arguably, MSF’s first encounter with turbulence would be when the brutal civil war of Lebanon broke out in 1976 while its mission was providing surgical procedures in Lebanon’s major city hospitals thus establishing reputation for nonaligned status and eagerness to work under hostile fire. After caring for Christian and Muslim religious groups in the midst of a long and arduous war that dragged on for almost a decade, rampant attacks on its personnel and the deteriorating security situation in Lebanon finally forced MSF to shut down its operations in 1984.

For the first time in its history, the organization has been able to make a breakthrough in the mapping of the “Meningitis Belt” in sub-Saharan Africa which typically happens between the months of December and June. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of Meningitis in the world. Psychological programs track down massacres, kidnappings, rapes, and killings so that security can be enforced by the government-of-the-day. In 2004, MSF conducted a wide-ranging mortality survey in Darfur, Sudan.

MSF has been actively involved in the elimination of diseases caused by lack of proper nutrition. The organization has a marvelous practice of setting up Therapeutic Feeding Centers for victims of marasmus who show signs of severe emaciation and weakened immune systems.[8] The same applies for patients of kwashiorkor who are known to appear physically and mentally retarded. Both diseases cause malnutrition leading to fatal opportunistic infections if not treated right away. Drought, war, and mismanagement of economies by corrupt governments may be attributed to be the major causes of marasmus and kwashiorkor in patients.

Sub-Saharan Africa has been grossly affected by myriads of diseases caused by lack of healthy and sufficient nutritional foods because totalitarian and callous good-for-nothing regimes and ridiculous pseudo-democracies headed by leaders who are outrageously brigands in outlook have surreptitiously retarded the development of agricultural technology and scientific technology leaving areas in their control to be prone to contagious diseases.

Often, children are the most vulnerable in situations where basic necessities are nonexistent. To resuscitate such famished patients, MSF has introduced two phases of treatments: Phase 1 and Phase 2. In Phase 1, F-75, therapeutic milk with low energy, low fat/protein powder mixed with water is given to patients to transition them to Phase 2. In Phase 2, F-100, also a type of therapeutic milk but containing more energy/fat/protein content along with peanut butter mixture called plumpy’nut is served to patients. Enriched flour, porridge, and PB5-which is a high protein biscuit-are used for treating populations. In situations where dehydration and diarrhea remain widespread, MSF administers Oral Re-hydration Salts (ORS) as replacement for lost body fluids since ORS contain glucose and electrolytes. For cases showing signs of diarrhea coupled with dysentery and cholera, the application of antibiotics best serve to bring about complete convalescence.

Since water is necessary for hygiene, MSF water experts ensure there is enough water for human consumption-water that is free from sedimentation. Depending on the availability of resources, engineers may build water storage facilities or dig water wells that are free from water-borne diseases. Where applicable, these experts employ chlorination or filtration techniques to contain the spread of water-borne diseases spread by pathogenic microorganisms like bacteria, protozoa, and viruses-many of which are intestinal parasites. MSF water engineers train local medical staff in the fields of simple waste-water treatment by applying physical, chemical, and biological processes. This is done in order to reduce the effects of waste on the health, environment, or aesthetics. Also, volunteers and local medical staff learn proper waste disposal, personal hygiene, and garbage disposal and treatment techniques from MSF engineers.

Nations most afflicted by war and natural disasters seem to benefit the most from the free services provided by MSF. In Africa, countries that have been once afflicted by war or are on the road to recovery such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda, Congo, and many others in Sub-Saharan Africa remain the major beneficiaries of the services provided by this internationally renowned organization whose services know no boundaries. Regardless of whether it is an outbreak of a pandemic or an epidemic, MSF continues to serve the needy afflicted by the most debilitating outbreak of diseases. Whether it is Ebola, Bubonic Plague, cholera, sleeping sickness, polio, Marburg Fever, or Tuberculosis, the forces of MSF continue to intermingle with the most vulnerable and the most wretched of the earth including refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) without regard to race, color, creed, gender, sex and political and religious affiliation.

Besides the funds provided by donor nations, MSF has to its credit millions of voluntary donors and volunteer workers who dedicate their money, time, and efforts solely for the preservation of human dignity and sanctity of human lives. Those who wish to see the survival and well-being of MSF are not drawn only from the nationals of founding member-states but from the combined citizens of the Global North and Global South whose philanthropic endeavors revolve around the continuation of a collective global effort for the betterment of humanity’s overall existence. In 1982, Malhuret and Rony Brauman who would become the organization’s president the same year introduced fund raising by mail leading to financial independence and increased the speedy establishment of new centers worldwide.

The organization remains in the forefront in its fight against contagious diseases in many parts of the world especially in developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Concerted efforts in the collective vaccination of populations against diseases like diphtheria, meningitis, measles, tetanus, pertussis, yellow fever, tetanus, polio, and cholera remain top priority for MSF’s field missions. The bulk of MSF volunteer employees who include physicians, surgeons, nurses, and others with specialized trainings in various fields usually have considerable knowledge as regards the management and containment of tropical and epidemiological diseases. In Africa where HIV/AIDS is wrecking havoc to entire populations due to shortage of medications and the absence of sex education, MSF is playing a leading role in the provision of the much-needed and extremely expensive antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) needed by patients to boost their weak body immune systems.

In Central America, especially in the nation of Nicaragua, MSF is providing public education awareness seminars aimed at curbing the spread of venereal disease and other types of reproductive infections. In areas devastated by civil wars, natural disasters, or endemic diseases, MSF psychologists or psychiatrists provide considerable support to affected communities. In addition, the organization plays central role in alleviating stress in victims confounded by depression, domestic violence, and substance abuse. At times qualified MSF personnel may train local mental health staff to fill the void.

Often, MSF keeps a watchful eye on all forms of injustices or violations committed against defenseless populations by states and armed resistance groups by issuing rejoinders, press releases, and communiqués in the strongest language so as to attract the attention of the international community. By voicing its concerns, MSF is signaling warring parties to show self-control so that remedial measures can be implemented to avoid a repeat of past risky actions not only for the present but for posterity. “MSF reserves the right to speak out to bring attention to neglected crises, to challenge inadequacies or abuse of the aid system, and to advocate for improved medical treatments and protocols.”[9] The latest MSF press release appeared on January 26, 2010 in which the organization strongly condemned the forceful evacuation of 7,000 displaced persons from Munda (Lower Dir, North West Frontier Province) by Pakistani armed personnel.

In some regions of the world where the rule of law is either shaky or preposterously outlandish, some nongovernmental organizations might find their humanitarian efforts hampered by states and other religiously-inclined fanatics and MSF is no exception. The prospects of dispensing humanitarian supplies to the disadvantaged millions living in countries like Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan and other beleaguered, impoverished, and war-ravaged nations, at times remain absolutely discombobulating for MSF’s compassionate commitments.

Despite its hard work and dedication and its unreserved service to the cause of humanity, MSF employees have not been immune from the absurdities of political instability and civil wars. Constant intimidation by armed groups, kidnappings for the sake of ransom and attacks on volunteers for political reasons, and unjustifiable arrests and abductions of volunteers and international workers cause disillusionment in the dissemination of humanitarian services to the neediest. The War on Terrorism has generated profound mistrust for MSF by nationals whose countries remain under U.S. occupation and the end result leads to apprehension and abrupt evacuation of MSF personal and hasty abandonment of humanitarian activities. The organization evacuated its personnel from Afghanistan’s Badghis region after five of its employees were killed in an ambush near Khair Khana by unidentified gunmen in July of 2004.[10] The victims were identified as Afghans Fasil Ahmad and Besmillah, Belgian Hélène de Beir, Norwegian Egil Tynæs, and Dutchman Willem Kwint. In June 2007, a MSF-France volunteer was killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo while in January 2008, two expatriate volunteers and one national staff member were killed in Somalia resulting in the closure of the project.[11]

The number of non-governmental organizations calling themselves “without borders” is seemingly growing out of proportion. They include Lawyers Without Borders, Farmers Without Borders, Architecture Sans Frontières, Bikers Without Borders, MBAs Without Borders, Pharmacists Without Borders, Librarians Without Borders, and Reporters Without Borders just to mention a few. Despite superficial psychology of imitation and phony proliferation of names identical to that of MSF in the global arena, it is only Doctors Without Borders or MSF that has the potential to ensure the ball rolls when it comes to the delivery of humanitarian services worldwide without the least hesitations.

Sources
www.msf.org
http://www.imperialcollegeunion.org/clubs-and-societies/a-to-z/f/friends-of-msf/history.html?Pcs=com.othermedia.imperial.model.ClubSocietyHandle-L-318
http://www.msf.org.uk/about_charter.aspx
http://www.msf.dk/OmMSF/Hvemervi/LaMancha-aftalen/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9decins_Sans_Fronti%C3%A8res
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/lists/1999.html
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1999/msf-lecture.html
http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?component=article&objectid=38EE4ACD-E76C-419D-8888955E03EF9E13&method=full_html
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/aboutus/
http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?component=pressrelease&objectid=8851DF09-F62D-47D4-A8D3EB1E876A1E0D&method=full_html
http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?objectid=D45AE41F-15C5-F00A-25FA38BD021FCE9A&component=toolkit.pressrelease&method=full_html

The Torchbearers of the Seeds of Doom

All aspects of the beautiful life created by Allah meant to nourish and nurture all living things have been turned into catastrophic phenomena by a group of presumptuous and lame-brained men who possess insufficient, unpersuasive, or substandard principles and judgments. The exceptional, authentic, and original religion of Islam has been deliberately infused with irrational and innovative practices and beliefs that are tantamount to hypocrisy. In the absence of law and order, those who depend on these types of avaricious misfits preaching hatred and distorted ideologies, become victims of misrule or turn sadistic and vainglorious in the long run.

The torchbearers of these seeds of doom may be identified by how they behave towards their subjects for they portray the tendency to kill, maim, or dislocate every living thing and rape innocent unarmed women and girls. They continue to annihilate innumerable innocent mothers so as to inherit and indoctrinate their children and bring them into their fold. The same children will be transformed into armies of irritated and unforgiving suicide bombers, mine-layers, assassins, gunners, and poorly-trained riflemen who kill by impulse at any given time leaving death and destruction in their wake. To these children and their psychotic leaders, everyone else except them, is branded kaffir (disbeliever).

Superficial religious misinterpretations spearheaded by shallow-minded religious fanatics in regions like Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan have been the cause of incivility and intolerance leading to unprecedented internal strife, terrorism, and piracy. The aftermath of these religious squabbles open numerous doors for mass exodus of refugees, proliferation of weapons and arms smuggling, impoverishment, water shortages, sewage breakdown, prostitution, disease, cross-border raids, armed banditry, poaching, desertization due to environmental degradation, internally displaced persons (IDPs), homelessness, brain-drain, infrastructural decay, economic stagnation, and statelessness.

Somalia remained a stable governable state from the time it attained independence in 1960 until the collapse of the central government in 1991 when all of a sudden it transformed into a ludicrously unsteady, ungovernable, and ultimately a failed state altogether. The nation’s insalubrious political arena catapulted to greater heights immediately after the military junta fell apart. The rise of tribal hegemony and the craving for territorial expansion led to the escalation of irredentist mentality. Entire communities were forcefully disbanded from their original locations and made to live in squalid conditions while new arrivals rejoiced at the newly-grabbed lands and homes.

The rise of cold-blooded, desultory, ignominious, and gluttonous warlords who emerged after the demise of General Aidid brought about an era of prolonged national self-destruction. The defeat of the warlords in 2006 by the Union of Islamic Courts (ICU), the coronation of Abdullahi Yusuf as president of the Somali transitional federal government and the subsequent defeat of the ICU by Ethiopia’s occupation forces laid ground for the explosion of religious extremism and malevolent ideological fragmentation along clan lines.

Above all, Al-Ittihad Al-Islam, a religious group that has thus far ceased to exist after being routed by Ethiopia’s mechanized army, was the precursor of all religious fomentation in the early part of the 90s. Remnants of Al-Ittihad leaders conscientiously and clandestinely pilfered into various religious assemblages with the crucial aim of carrying out onslaughts against the formation of every conceivable and internationally recognized legitimate Somali transitional government with ideological and political leanings toward Ethiopia, Kenya, and the West.

Referred to as jihadists in contemporary global politics, Somalia’s religious movements have become internationalized, institutionalized, and politicized as they have made great strides in subscribing to the global jihadist consortium waging wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, and other hotspots interconnected by globalization and cyberspace communication. The rise of Hizb-Islam, Al-shabab, and Ahlu-Sunna Waljama’a (ASWJ) all developed after the collapse of the ICU and for the most part after the departure of Ethiopian occupation army from Somali soil. With the exception of ASWJ, the former two embody strict religious traditions never before experienced by the people of Somalia.

The presence of African Union peacekeeping troops (AMISOM) from Burundi and Uganda has further aggravated the security situation in the country. Al-shabab and Hizb-Islam’s daily altercations with AMISOM troops make life unbearable for the few remaining residents of Mogadishu. Heavy shelling by AMISOM troops stationed in the presidential palace, Mogadishu harbor, and the international airport has resulted in uncountable civilian deaths and casualties. The stable autonomous province of Puntland and the unrecognized breakaway region of Somaliland have not been immune from extremist attacks either. The death toll from suicide bombings and assassination of political and religious figures continue to grow exponentially. Unless Somalis unite on a dynamic common political ground and rally behind an acceptable religious path, the current horrendous state of affairs resembling vestiges of Calvinism will prevail. Allah forbid.

Contemporary International Relations

The era when nations viewed each other as enemies is over as all have been replaced by the emergence of transnational actors leading to genuine transformation in world politics. Mutual misperceptions that fueled discord and rivalry and the mirror image phenomenon during the Cold War have been replaced by mutual understandings. Global cooperation among nation-states have brought about integrative trends leading to increased trade and communication where they individually and collectively strive to overcome disintegration trends like weapons proliferation, terrorism, environmental degradation, and genocide.

The Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan which was signed in Washington, DC, on January 19, 1960 is a prime example of transnational cooperation. Another important agreement is the 1972 Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT I) between U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. It was an Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and an Interim Agreement on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. Most importantly, the collapse of the U.S.S.R. paved way for major global cooperation on many international levels. The creation of the United Nations in 1945 after the failed League of Nations (which the U.S. never joined) and the formation of Amnesty International in 1961 have opened a path for joint international cooperation on issues pertaining to facilitation of international law, international security, social progress, human rights, economic development, and the observance of global peaceful coexistence.

The emergence of multilateralism where nations work in concert for a certain cause has become a global preference as opposed to unilateralism where nations act individualistically without seeking cooperation.

The Realist Theory states that “states are the most important in world politics and that states are sovereign, and because there is no higher power, world politics is a ceaseless struggle for world politics.” Less concerned with ideals, social reconstruction or ethics, realists mainly focus on national interests and security. In the Realist Theory, special attention is given to great powers whereas NGOs, multinational corporations, and individuals receive less credence in the international arena. The Realist Theory is mainly based on the abhorrence of cooperation or alliance, amassing of resources, relations based on military and economic capabilities, and the use of pragmatic approaches to solve problems.

Despite coming to fore on the eve of World War II, the writings of Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Hobbes have played a great role in the history of Realist Theory. The failure of realists in defining the importance of power and national interest and their failure to account for new trends in world politics make them less reliable in the international arena. To Thomas Hobbes, the English philosopher who wrote Leviathan, international politics is about “a war of all against all”.
On the other hand, there is the Liberal Theory which “emphasizes reason, progress, ethics, and mutual gains.” Liberals value the importance of free trade for the prevention of unnecessary conflicts; they give significance to international institutions to solve conflicts, and prefer the use of legal procedures to overcome conflicts before they escalate. Liberalism is the most accepted view in the world today. Adam Locke is considered the father of liberal thought. Though realism and liberalism each have “comparative advantage in explaining certain kinds of international events”, none seem to be perfect as viewed from international theory and global future.

In principle 3 of economics, we learn that rational people think at the margin. Given the available opportunities, rational people systematically and purposefully do the best they can to achieve their objectives. At the international affairs level, the President of the United States has greater responsibility in foreign policy more than any other president because as a nation, the U.S. remains the sole super power after the demise of the former Soviet Union.

America’s military superiority over other nations in deterring belligerence anywhere in the world always gave every U.S. president the leverage to act unilaterally as happened in the invasion of Panama in 1989 when President George H. Bush was in office leading to the subsequent capture, transfer, and imprisonment of General Noriega in U.S. soil. Despite some nations within the international community viewing this unilateral act by the U.S. as irrational and a flagrant violation of international law, to the President of the United States and his loyal bureaucrats, interest groups, and supporters, it was an act undertaken to preserve America’s interests abroad.

The U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Thomas R. Pickering, cited Article 51 of the U.N. Charter as sufficient grounds for the invasion. Perhaps, General Noriega rebelled against the mighty U.S. because of his preconceived notion that Panama had nothing to lose in the war with the U.S. The type of government that existed in Panama at the time of the invasion was less restrained by domestic factors. The economic factor that mattered most to General Noriega was that he was a drug trafficker while at the same time being on the payroll of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. For the economic factor, it was in the interest of the U.S. to ensure the smooth running of the Panama Canal.

At the individual level the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austro-Hungary and the rise of Adolf Hitler sparked World War I. The rise of hegemons seeking world dominance culminated in the start of WWI. On the state level, the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire and the creation of new states and the evolvement of nationalism-a mindset that glorifies particular states came to the fore. At the global level, the League of Nations was created. Colonialism, multipolarity that lead to domino effect, and imperialism which implied expanding state power through conquest as experienced by Japan and Germany surfaced during these brutal wars.

On the persistent underdevelopment of the Global South, I find modernization theorists’ arguments to be more convincing. The “Global South’s own internal characteristics, including managerial inefficiency, lack of modern technology, and inadequate transportation and communication infrastructures” are the major factors behind the suffering and underdevelopment visible to this day.

Insecurity, corruption, embezzlement of state coffers, the absence of allocation of resources, retarded technology, poor governance, lack of political pluralism, and disparities between the rich and the poor are to blame for the suffering seen in the Global South. The notion that the absence of division of labor between the industrialized core and the underdeveloped periphery is the cause of the Global South’s underdevelopment seems to be out of context.

Many people believe Multinational Corporations (MNCs) can provide significant financial infrastructure for trade and industry and social improvement in developing countries as long as MNCs abide by the ethical standards and guidelines for operating in developing countries. However, others believe these institutions exploit the hardships encountered by developing nations. There are those who believe that most of the negative perceptions about MNCs are anecdotal rather than empirical.

There have been several documented cases of environmental degradations by MNCs as happened in Liberia a few years ago where Firestone was found to have created extensive environmental degradation and to have allowed its local employees live in squalid conditions. As long as MNCs abide by the internationally recognized environmental standards management set forth by ISO 14000, there shouldn’t be any problem for MNCs operating from far a field in developing countries.

The emergence of the World Wide Web has had adverse effects on the cultural and social well-being of some cultures notably Singapore and China where there have been outcries from many sectors of society. The negative effect of the internet on Chinese society has prompted the Chinese government to impose censorship on some URLs. Besides, pro-democracy advocates claim that the internet is playing a great role in the dissemination of democracy in politically retarded Asian nations. But there are those who cite the effects of pornography and other obscenities as harbingers of social degradations and other cultural absurdities.

A few Multinational Corporations have been involved in politics as happened in Chile when ITT attempted to block Salvador Allende of Chile from seeking the presidency. One major problem MNCs pose in foreign soils besides political, environmental, cultural, social, and traditional degradations is the effect of monopoly they have on the people and nations they have business dealings with. MNCs have been accused of exploiting the cheap labor of poor nations.

Another negative argument by some writers or scholars is that MNCs drastically changes the infrastructure of host countries and at the same time alter the culture and tradition of the locals they encounter. Besides the cultural and environmental erosion created by these foreign-based international institutions, a global effort can be effected to put a cap on further degradation of cultures, traditions, and the environment not only for the present but for posterity.

The world Trade Organization (WTO) was superseded by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) founded in 1947. The purpose of the World Trade Organization in the international arena is to liberalize international trade or in other words the regulation of trade between member states. Its central pillar is the multilateral trading system which is in regard to disputes settlements. Critics contend that the rich get richer and the poor poorer in what they refer to as convergence and divergence.

The World Bank (WB) was formerly established for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II ended. However, the bank’s working strategy changed to that of economic development once reconstruction was finalized. Generally, the bank is there to serve and protect the interests of the great powers. With the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Assistance (IDA), the World Bank gives loans and grants to countries that have no access to international credit markets. Some critics argue that the World Bank harms southern nations; some perceive it as practicing what they call “NGO imperialism”. Despite having 186 members, the World Bank is run by a few economically powerful countries whose interests dominate the bank composition and management; it has been blamed for running policies that are both practical and political in structure.

Founded in July 1944 in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire with originally 45 members, the purpose of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as an international organization is to keep an eye on the global financial system with the goal of stabilizing exchange rates and the modernization of the international payment system. The IMF provides loans to poor countries; it helps in surveillance and monitors economic and financial progress of nations that borrow from it; it provides statistics, research and technical assistance where applicable and is there to fight money-laundering and terrorism related activities in its spheres of influence global wise. As contended by critics, it is the conditions on the loans dished out by the IMF that make democratization and privatization a hurdle for member states.

Terrorism has changed dramatically since it has become more global in nature, more fatal; it is waged by civilians who rely on military technology to advance their aims and objectives. The use of the internet has enhanced their communication strategies; borders have become easier for them to encroach without being detected.

Good News for Peace-loving Somalis

The recent signing of a peace agreement between the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) and the Sufi-led faction hereafter referred to as Ahlu Sunna Wal-Jamaa is a step forward and should be commended by all peace-loving Somalis and their friends in the international community. Sufism, a branch of Islamic school of thought, is a theological thinking that seeks closeness to the Almighy Creator through meditation and hymmimg.

For many years, Somalia's sufis have been known to have been peaceful in their pursuit of their religious practices until the emrgence of various religious factions uncluding the likes of Al-shabab and Hizbul Islam who imposed alien ideologies on the peaceful ASWJ followers in Somalia's central regions.

The sharing of power between the TFG and the ASWJ where ASWJ will have powerful ministerial posts in the current government headed by Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed will create a powerful force that will eventually be a clog in the eyes of Al-shabab and Hizbul Islam.

The announcement by the leaders of ASWJ that they will pacify the country in as little as six-months and ensure all antagonists are annihilated should be a warning sign to those opposed to the combined forces of the TFG and ASWJ.

Foreign Fighters Fleeing Somalia

There has been a beehive of military activity in Somalia for the past few weeks. According to media reports, the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) headed by Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has been mobilizing thousands of militias loyal to his government and contingents of well-trained troops who recently completed military training in friendly African countries for a final onslaught against forces opposed to his administration. Forces rivaling Somalia’s infant government include the theologically-driven Al-shabab supported by hundreds of foreign fighters. Al-shabab recently joined forces with the militia of Ras Kiamboni headed by hard-line Sheikh Hassan Turki. Hizb-ul-Islam, a faction headed by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys and funded, supported, and advised by the Government of Eritrea is suspected to fight the Somali government should the war turn out to be full scale war. Eritrea has been a target of African Union condemnations because of its flagrant violation of Somalia peace and security and has been absent from the Union’s summits in Addis Ababa for the last ten years.

Somalia media is now abuzz with the drumbeats of war with some reporting that residents have seen foreign fighters fleeing the areas they previously frequented. These fighters have been mostly impacted and frightened by the continuous flights of foreign reconnaissance planes that have been flying over Somali airspace for the past few weeks. Somalia’s foreign fighters who have been drawn from all over the world have been providing rebellious factions with military expertise, bomb making skills, intelligence gathering, and have been vanguards of targeted assassinations against high profiles and most importantly oversaw almost all suicide bombing operations. By fighting alongside the rebels, in return, these foreign fighters get the free will to marry Somali women of their choosing while enjoying unconditional protection from international manhunt and prosecution.

Somalia’s president has run out of patience with those wrecking devastation in his besieged nation. Sheikh Sharif Started clasping his fists as a form of practicing pugilism and tightening his belt after his administration celebrated its first year in office. For the past year he has been globetrotting seeking assurances and gathering support from friends and allies of Somalia. Residents of Mogadishu reported seeing the young president in military garrisons fuming and clad in military fatigue-a sign the next few weeks will turn the tables upside down. The alternating interviews he gave to foreign and local media houses, the various communiqués he is said to have issued, and the movement of troops and hardware he is said to be overseeing should be enough to signal the end of a bleak era for Somalia and the start of peaceful reconstruction.

Ahl-sunna-wal-jama’a (ASWJ), the Sufi-led faction that controls the central regions and allied to the TFG, has its forces in high alert. ASWJ with support from Ethiopia could inflict devastating blows to Al-shabab and Hizb-ul-Islam forces fleeing to Ethiopia’s Somali region. The Government of Kenya, having amassed thousands of troops along its border with Somalia and having officially closed all border crossings could act as a detriment against fleeing terrorists. To the north, the tiny nation of Djibouti with support from French and American forces could deter fleeing rebel forces. Massive aerial bombing by western powers will undoubtedly bring about shock and awe to the rebels military installations. Those running away in decrepit dhows and headed for the Gulf of Aden could be blockaded by the combined international navies currently battling piracy along the coasts of Somalia. Such concerted efforts could usher in the defeat of international terrorism in the Horn of Africa.

Analysis: Taking Africa Seriously

This is an analysis on the article Taking Africa Seriously. It was was written by Lieutenant Commander Patrick J. Paterson and is a copyright from the U.S. Naval Institute proceedings of 2007. Lt. Commander Patrick J. Paterson is a Navy Foreign Area Officer who recently completed an assignment with Special Operations Command Europe. “He was a strategic planner for Operation Enduring Freedom-Trans Sahara (OEF-TS) and coordinated U.S. Special Operations Forces employment in 43 countries.” He is a prolific writer who has written many articles pertaining to security especially in Europe and Africa. He obtained his B.S. degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1989 and his Mater of Arts in National Security Affairs in June 1997.

Setting the Stage: Paterson focuses his attention on the creation of African Command (AFRICOM) which was established in 2002, the changing foreign policy of the United States toward the massive African continent in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, and the growing threat of terrorists in Africa. He explores the myriads of problems sprouting in Africa and the role the United States could play to bring about sustainable peace and stability before the continent becomes a breeding ground for terrorists. The writer elucidates how, “according to the Pentagon’s Unified Command Plan, the world’s regions are divided into zones”. He further explains how, for strategic military purposes, 43 of the 53 African nations was overseen by the European Command (EUCOM) based in Stuttgart while the Central Command (CENTCOM) located in Tampa oversaw the operations of eight African nations in the Horn of Africa, including Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen while the islands of the Pacific Coast which include Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles, and Mauritius fell to the Pacific Command in what Robert Gates, the U.S. Secretary of Defense berated as “an outdated arrangement left over from the Cold War.”

Thesis: Because of the enormous size of the African continent where “the region encompasses 25 percent of the world’s landmass and 20 percent of its coastline”, Africa’s diverse culture, its hundreds of ethnic tribes, and its
existing dissimilar religious composition will remain a daunting task for AFRICOM. The writer argues that “transferring all the various African programs from three COCOMs to a new headquarter was deemed problematic and unnecessary.”

Since the closure of the Wheelus Airbase near Tripoli, Libya, in 1970, the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) currently headquartered in Djibouti and established after 9/11will serve as the first permanent U.S. military base for the entire continent with the exception of Egypt.

Searching for a Home: Up to now no one precisely knows where the future AFRICOM command headquarters will be in Africa. Former President Bush has been quoted to have said “we will work closely with our African partners to determine an appropriate location for the new command in Africa.” The writer is of the view that many African nations are reluctant to host the new command headquarters. Much of African nations’ hesitancy to host the command headquarters emanates from the U.S. invasion of Iraq and other suspicions related to U.S. objectives in Africa. Whatever suspicions African states may have about U.S. presence in the continent, Theresa Whelan, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense has a different opinion. She has been quoted as saying: “Some people believe that we are establishing AFRICOM solely to fight terrorism or to secure oil resources or to discourage China. That is not true. AFRICOM is about helping Africans build greater capacity to assure their own security.”

A New Model for Regional Military Commands: AFRICOM will be totally different in perspective from EUCOM and CENTCOM in the manner it operates. It will serve as a base for humanitarian operations. Despite the size of the continent sounding massive and challenging to other forces, the U.S. military has the means and logistics to penetrate every corner of the continent without any huddles as it did in previous adventures in other parts of the world. “AFRICOM will attempt to coordinate and focus the efforts of myriad government, international, and nongovernmental relief agencies dedicated to improving Africa’s deplorable public-health problems.”

Current Military Missions: The presence of the U.S. military in Africa has already been felt in Djibouti where CJTF-HOA, under the command of CENTCOM’s Navy Rear Admiral James Hart, oversees 1,800personnel that include engineers, veterinarians, an doctors who meticulously provide benevolent services to nomadic and urban communities so as to deter radicalism and extremism caused by destitution. Since 81% of the 54,000 peacekeeping troops serving Africa come from the continent itself, AFRICOM’s primary mission will be training the peacekeepers.

U.S. Strategic Objectives: The African continent is experiencing population explosion which could lead to “youth bulge”. It is estimated that the current 800 million population of the continent will grow to 2 billion by 2050. So, in order to deter the youth from exploitation, “military civil affairs units and AFRICOM-supported charity organizations will have the dual assignments of winning the hearts and minds of Africans while improving their desperate conditions.” Thus, our military’s role of curtailing poverty, providing health care services, and sustaining animal husbandry through veterinary services will in the long run usher in the long-awaited democracy which will drastically reduce if not eliminate the menace of radicalism and extremism much feared in Africa. In my own opinion, this is what many Africans would want the U.S. to undertake for the betterment of their continent.

Can We Do It? “But regardless of perceptions, the best hopes of preventing an African apocalypse ride on the shoulders of the new African command”, concludes the writer. Given the right resources, Africa’s suspicions will finally dissolve despite the United States’ invasion of two Muslim countries.

Lieutenant Commander Patrick J. Patterson’s arguments on Taking Africa Seriously describe Liberalism.

Goormu Istaagi Doona Dagaalka Soomaaliya?

Tan iyo intii xukunka laga tuuray Madaxweyne Maxamed Siyaad Barre sannadkii 1991, ummadda Soomaaliyeed weli waxaa ka dhex aloosan colaad aan dhammaad lahayn. Waa kastoo barya, qorrax kastoo dhacda, gudcur iyo ileys, gu' iyo jiilaal, waxaa dhegaha caalamka ka dhammaan la' ibtilo aan dabargo' lahayn iyo hadalhayn aan dhadhan wanaagsan lahayn. Waxaaso balaayo ah waxaa usabab ah rag aan damiir lahayn oo aan garaneyn muhiimadda ay leedahay dawladnimada. Si kastoo dib-uheeshiisiin loogu qabtana, ugu dambeyn natiijadu waa kalaguur. Mid kasta wuxuu hamiyaya inuu noqdo madax sifa uu danihiisa iyo tan qabiilkiisa uhormariyo.

Dabcan, dawlado badan ayaa soo maray isjiidjiid siiyadeed iyo dagaalo lagu hoobtay. Hase yeeshee waa ay ka gudbeen. Soomaaliyaana ma aha qarankii ugu horeeyay ee jaba oo waa looga horeeyay. Hadiii aynu eegno qaaradda Afrika, dawlado ay kamid yihiin Rwanda, Burundi, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Zaire, Kenya, iyo kuwo kale ayaa dhammaan xilliyo kalageddisan la kulmay colaad hadba noocuu rabo ha ahaadee. Inkasto loolan siyaasadeed uu kadhexdilaacay raggii horboodaayey hurinta colaadeed waddamadani aan hore kuso sheegay, waxay ugu dambeyn la yimaadeen heshiis iyo afgarasho sidii lagu badbaadin lahaa umadda dhibaateysan ee dhexdooda ku baaba'ayay.

Laga soo bilaabo 1991, Soomaaliya waxaa loo dhisay dhawr dawladood oo ay caalamka kubixisay malaayiin lacag ah. Dawladahaasina waxay noqdeen hal bacaad lagu lisay. Weriye reer galbeed ah ayaa wuxuu yidhi "Jeneraal Caydiid wuxuu cunaayey cunto nadiif ah oo kulul ayaadoo teendhada uu kujidhay debedeeda dadku ay gaajo ugu dhammaanayeen." Haddii Caydiid uu lahaan lahaa qof iimmaan iyo damiir dhab ah leh, kama suurtowdeen in uu dhergo ayadoo dadkiisa gaajo udhammaanayaan. Sideedaba, waa xaaraan in qof Muslim ah caloosha buuxsado ama dhergo asagoo og in uu jidho ruux kale oo gaajeysan.

Maanta, ummadda Soomaaliyeed dunida dacalladeeda oo dhammi ayey ku tabaaleysantahay. Waxaan ka ahayn kuwa qurbaha kunool, Soomaali inteeda badani gaajo iyo macluul ayey ladhammaaneysa. Haddii ay umaaddu shaqeysan lahayd, waxaa udiiday rag calooshood ushaqeysteyaal ah oo aan marnaba arki karin cid kale oo xamaalaata ama macaashta. Soomaali waxay noqotay wax ladilo, wax qaxa, iyo wax buka oo aan waxba istari karin. Haddii adduunka usoo gurman lahaana, kuwo dulli ah ayaa hortaagan oo udiidan daryeel ama gargaar caalami.

Soomaali deriskeeda ayey dagaal kutahay. Waxaa waddankeedu kadillaacay xisbiyo badan oo aan lahayn mabda'a ama tabo siyaasadeed. Kuwa horboodayana ama waa haraadigii dawladdii duntay ama waa odayaal kudagaalama maskax shisheeye. Qaar baa waxay layimaadeen dhaqan aan hore looga aqoon geyiga Soomaaliyeed. Dumarka ayey waddooyinka kukarbaashaan; dil joogta ah ayey umadda kuhayaan; canshuur ayan awoodiin ummadda masaakiinta ah ayey uruurshaan; dhac, boob, kufsi ayaa dadkii lala dabataaganyahay.

Dhirtii waa laxaalufiyay oo waxaa laga dhigay dhuxul loo dhoofiyo waddammada carabta; badeheeni waxaa harqiyay maraakiib shisheeye iyo qowleysato lamagacbaxay "budhcad badeed"; sun iyo qashin warshadeed ayaa laga buuxshay xeebihii; abaar, biyo la'aan, cunto la'aan, cudur, dil iyo dhac ayaa ciiddeeni rogay. Haddaba, waxaan odhan lahaa Soomaali ha iska sabarto, Eebbe ayaa keenayaa nasteexe.

Kenya Points Fingers at Al-Shabaab

There have been a lot of unease and violent demonstrations on Friday in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, after Muslim demonstrators took to the streets demanding the release of Jamaican Muslim cleric, Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal who is being held for preaching religious hatred and awaiting deportation to his native Jamaica. Earlier, the Kenya Police denied Muslim Human Rights Forum a permit to hold peaceful demonstrations. However, on Friday Muslim demonstrators gathered outside Nairobi’s Jamia Mosque to protest against the detention and forceful deportation of Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal. The demonstrations turned violent after the police used live bullets and lobbed teargas at the demonstrators.

According to George Saitoti who is the minister responsible for internal security, two civilians were killed in the fracas, three others wounded and six police officers injured. However, Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua contradicted the minister, saying only one person died and 11 injured five of them civilians. According to the Standard Newspaper, Saitoti was flanked at the news conference by Ministers Yusuf Hajji (Defence), Mohamed Kuti (Livestock) and Mohamed Elmi (Development of Northern Kenya and Arid Lands) who condemned the protest in the strongest terms and also called for a thorough investigation into the causes of the violence.

Perhaps, the presence of hooligans who were not party to the demonstrations but who were there for the sake of looting the surrounding businesses resulted in the use of force by the police. Since attaining independence from Britain in 1963, the use of brutal force to quell disturbances by the Kenya police and security forces is well documented. A case in point is the Wagalla airstrip massacre of 1984 where hundreds of innocent civilians were gunned down by the security forces that was supposed to protect them. The enormity of this incident is documented in a book titled Blood on the Runway.

Kenya Muslim leaders have called on the government to take action against the police officers who were responsible for the deaths of the innocent unarmed demonstrators. They also called for the sacking of the commissioner of police and the resignation of Alfred Mutua, the government spokesman or else they will take undisclosed action. In a land where human and civil rights activists have been targeted in the past by the state apparatus, the possibility of having thorough investigations and fair jurisdictions must not be taken for granted.

According to the Kenya Government, Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal entered the country on a tourist visa but attracted the government’s attention after he started preaching religious intolerance. The Jamaican preacher was previously expelled out of the country only to be returned to Kenya because there was no country that would take him. Most airlines have refused to ferry him because he is on the no-fly list.

Now Kenya is pointing fingers at Al-Shabaab, the religious faction fighting for control of Somalia. Currently, Al-Shabaab is in total control of Somalia’s southern provinces and has been expanding territorially for the past few years.

Western intelligence sources have indicated that Al-Shabaab is fighting a proxy war and that its main leaders had previous training in Afghanistan and that it has hundreds of foreign fighters inside Somalia carrying out assassinations and suicide bombings.

Sources report that some of the demonstrators were waving the black flag of Al-Shabaab while shouting slogans in support of the group. If this be the case, then Al-Shabaab has infiltrated Kenya’s social fabric and that its rhetoric of spreading religious upheaval may be coming to fruition.

Unlike Mungiki, Kenya’s underground gang that has been the cause of past civil disobediences, what is worth comprehending is that Al-Shabaab is a well-organized armed group with inflexible intelligence structures and positive logistics and that it is capable of surviving for a long time just like the Taliban of Afghanistan.

In other developing news, the man who is the spokesman for Al-Shabaab in Somalia’s Juba regions, Sheikh Hassan Yakub Ali, has been quoted as saying that the current wars raging in the Hiiraan and Galgaduud regions are being waged by Ahlu-Sunna-Waljamaaca that is in alliance with the Somali Transitional Government against the forces of Al-Shabaab and Hizbul-Islam. The spokesman further heaped blame on the Ethiopian government and AMISOM troops in Somalia for arming the Somali government and Ahlu-Sunna-Waljamaaca.

On the other hand, frustrated by the continuous infiltrations of Al-Shabaab militia into Kenya’s North Eastern Province (NEP) and the subsequent abductions of foreigners, after prolonged deliberations, elders of the Kenya-Somali community issued a strongly-worded statement admonishing the leaders of Al-Shabaab to refrain from destabilizing a peaceful Kenya that is already host to thousands of refugees from Somalia and from around the region.

Obviously, the exhortations directed at the leaders of Al-Shabaab will fall on deaf ears since Al-Shabaab’s intentions are farfetched. Al-Shabaab is first determined to secure Somalia and then establish an Islamic government and from there on it will, presumably, carry the war to the Ogaden region in Ethiopia and the former Northern Frontier District (NFD) of Kenya. The two regions were annexed to Ethiopia and Kenya respectively during the colonial era. Neither Ethiopia nor Kenya is willing to give away an inch of their territory come what may.

In every healthy democracy citizens have a right to demonstrate as demonstration is a sign of alleviating misconceptions and voicing concerns and grievances. A government that respects the rights of its citizens must hold the voices of its citizens in high esteem. In the case of the demonstrations in Kenya, that did not happen because in the first instance Muslims were denied a permit to converge and rally behind what they deemed a just cause.

Kenya has seen enough of civil disturbances and any repeat must be avoided at all cost. The 2008 election irregularities in which the supporters of Raila Odinga, the current Prime Minister and those of the President in the helm, Mwai Kibaki, that left over 1,000 dead and many others injured and displaced, should be enough to forewarn Kenyans of the consequences of political stupidity and absurd human miscalculations.

To this day, the 2008 incidents remain issues of political contention as Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the Argentinian man appointed by the International Criminal Court (ICC) is about to indict the instigators and have those found guilty kept behind bars. Luis Moreno-Ocampo is credited with indicting the generals who committed gross human injustices during the reign of Augusto Pinochet of Argentina.

With rising crime and biting unemployment and tense social and political instability adding up to the nation's woes, Kenya leaders should discard any future idea of firing another live bullet at its citizens. Leadership is about having absolute vision, perseverance, patience, observing sanctity of life, and respecting human dignity. The recent squabbling between Uganda and Kenya over the tiny Migingo Island on Lake Victoria seems to have been forgotten.

To avoid unforeseen disturbances, the Kenya government, instead of holding Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal in detention for such a long time, must do all it can to fly him out of the country to Jamaica-his country of origin-even it means hiring a special jet for this one-time adventure. Then, it will have to embark on the long and arduous journey of having close working relationships with Muslim leaders and also demonstrate to its Muslim citizens its good intentions. Then after the dust settles, the Kenya government must prove beyond reasonable doubt how Al-Shabaab is meddling in its internal affairs so it can have the unanimous support of Kenya Muslims.

A New Year, an Eclipse of the Moon, and Escalation of War

Millions of people across the world have been reveling in commemoration of the beginning of the year Two Thousand and Ten (2010) corresponding to the Gregorian calendar. It also denotes the birth of Jesus Christ 2010 years ago. In some regions of the world especially in Africa, a unique eclipse of the moon was sighted while in some other regions a blue moon shone in the heavens-phenomena experienced twenty years ago. The bluish moon, according to cosmologists, is attributed to the dust and other chemicals emitted by the lower heavens. Volcanic ash and other chemical reactions on earth coupled with the rays of the moon and the stars cause the outer atmosphere to turn bluish. The eclipse of the moon must have been a source of solace for many who turn to the heavens for divine guidance.

While millions celebrate the fruits of peace and liberty, there are millions who continue to experience insecurity, hunger, illiteracy, thirst, political instability, poor governance, and a host of other ills caused by Mother Nature and by callous fellow humans. A prime example is the tiny nation of Somalia in the Horn of Africa. Somalia remained a democracy from its inception in 1960 until 1969 when a group of military officers took over the helm after the sudden assassination of the then democratically elected civilian president, Abdirashid Ali Shermarke. Since that goes around comes around, the tiny Horn of Africa nation descended into chaos when the military government headed by Major General Mohamed Siyad Barre was overthrown in 1991 by a ragtag militia led by General Aidid . Aidid died a few years later after being hit by a stray bullet from a warring faction that was pursuing him. To this day, Aidid’s followers commemorate the day he died for they consider him to have been a hero and a saint.

The ruling junta applied brutal force to advance its agenda. The government trade and marketing strategy was one based on monopoly where select agencies delivered goods and services to the public. There was hardly any sort of privatization.
The president and his henchmen enjoyed the fruits of independence while the rest suffered. The military government, which espoused opportunistic, cunning, and arrogant illegitimate political behavior, opposed any from of protests or demonstrations, peaceful or aggressive by university students or the general population.

Thus, most Somalis have been raised in a land of aggression, poor governance, and intolerance. Undoubtedly, some of those bad leadership traits deliberately filtered into their thoughts and processes. Immense pressure from the government-operated security apparatus known as the National Security Service (NSS) eroded their ability to think effectively in terms of leadership.

Task conflict, dysfunctional conflict, and potential opposition to governmental operations retarded any prospects for compromise. The absence of reallocation of resources, unclear performance evaluation systems, low trust, zero-sum reward practices, and lack of promotion opportunities hampered people’s prospects for leadership success. In a nutshell, the confused and convoluted form of leadership style espoused by the military regime ultimately led to the disintegration of Somalia.

As I write, the religiously-inclined Al-shabab faction that is in control of the central and southern regions of Somalia has issued a stern warning to all forces-domestic and foreign-engaged in the pacification of Somalia. During religious sermons delivered across mosques in Mogadishu, Al-shabab leaders pointed fingers mainly at the United Nations and the United States. These same leaders have been reported to have sent messages of relief to their brothers and sisters across the Gulf of Aden. Al-shabab leaders have been quoted as saying that they will take the war to Yemen. In a show of force, Al-shabab paraded hundreds of newly-graduated fighters in the streets of Mogadishu.

On the other hand, Somalia’s transitional government is devising a war plan that is meant to clean the country from Al-shabab menace. With the help of fierce firepower from the African Union troops in the country, the federal government aims to secure the areas under Al-shabab control within a short time. Hundreds if not thousands of government troops trained in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Djibouti, and Rwanda are expected in the country soon to take part in the all-out-war against the insurgents wrecking havoc in Somalia.

The anticipated massive mobilization of troops and hardware by the Somali government could lead to the unexpected unification of the forces of Al-shabab and the hard-line Hizbul Islam group led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys who is wanted in the west for terrorism related activities. The two factions are on the process of establishing an emirate for the Horn of African nation. They intend to have a Somalia governed by an Emir-an Emir who will have absolute power over the affairs and foundations of the entire nation while eying further expansion to neighboring countries.

The imaginary caliphate will eventually extend invitations to foreign fighters driven by religious zeal so that the theocratic beliefs of the Emir may be transported across Somalia’s borders. The aftermath of the resounding blitzkrieg will obviously lead to a humanitarian disaster. Wherefore, Somalia will be transformed into a new killing field where corpses will litter everywhere like in the era of black plague. Millions of unfortunate citizens will be affected with refugees spilling over to neighboring countries and across the shark-infested waters of the Indian Ocean and even beyond. There will be an increase in banditry, escalation of piracy, environmental pollution, sealing of borders, and increased naval and aerial reconnaissance. Businesses will come to a standstill, hospitals will run out of medicine, there will be shortage of food, taps will run dry, and in the initial end none will emerge winner.

Modern Leadership Practices

Leaders are not born, they are made. There are many types of leadership styles. The best leadership style I prefer is the transformational leadership style. Transformational leaders are significantly more innovative than transactional leaders. Transactional leaders are those leaders who clarify tasks while at the same guiding and motivating those under their authority. Most politicians play this kind of leadership style. In contrast, Contingency leadership is not efficient in atmospheres of accelerated change because leaders place themselves into positions matching their leadership style.

Furthermore, leaders need to recognize how knowledge is valued so they will be acquainted with how the learners will react to a variety of learning opportunities. Being intentional and goal-oriented leads to planned change and this is what many organizations perceive as an accidental occurrence. Given the right tools and techniques, anyone with the right intentions can be a change agent. A change agent can be a manager or non-manager. On the contrary, an organization may be resistant to change due to chaotic randomness.

By building support and commitment, fear and anxiety will diminish. It will be a solid requirement to initiate emotional commitment to change so that inconsistencies may pave way for positive efforts. One thing that is of paramount importance is to undertake full-scale negotiation to lessen the level of resistance by addressing core individual and collective needs.

To avoid potentially high costs, negotiating with all concerned parties could herald an ever-lasting negotiated settlement. Another easy method of overcoming resistance will be the use of cooptation which usually leads to endorsement from those resisting change. Giving key roles to those resisting changes may be defined as a ‘buy off”. Unfortunately, coercion may be on the last of the list of overcoming resistance to change.

To better understand the true meaning of motivation, Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs best hypothesizes its definition when he categorized the well-known theory of motivation into five components:
1. Psychological: It includes hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and other bodily needs.
2. Safety: Includes security and protection from physical and emotional harm.
3. Social: Includes affection, belongingness, acceptance, and friendship.
4. Esteem: Includes internal esteem factors such as self-respect, autonomy, and achievement; and external esteem factors such as status, recognition, and attention.
5. Self-actualization: The drive to become what one is capable of becoming; includes growth, achieving one’s potential, and self-fulfillment.

Experts in the field of Organizational Behavior often use different power tactics to achieve their objectives. The use of upward influence, downward influence, and lateral influence is used in different parts of the world depending on the culture of the organization. The collection of power tactics that work best for many include rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, and consultation as they tend to be more effective to influence people in the top management level and their subordinates. However, if the use of “softer” tactics fails, one will have no other option but to apply the “harder” stand which involves the use of formal power regardless of the costs and risks incurred. The use of ingratiation helps to better define a problem. We can draw from these statements and conditions, some drawbacks of the rational decision-making model:
1. It entails a great deal of time.
2. It requires a great deal of information.
3. It presupposes that considerable conditions exist to be agreed upon.
4. It assumes precise, unwavering, and absolute knowledge of alternatives, preferences, objectives, and outcomes.
5. It assumes a rational, reasonable, non-political world.

The Cure for Racism and Discrimination is Education

Race and race relations have been debated in the west for a long time. In the United States, Hispanics and Blacks have higher crime rates than whites; Hispanics and Blacks have higher high school and college dropouts than Whites and Asians; Hispanics and Blacks bear the most illegitimate children than Asians and Whites. Research has shown that good education and nutrition tend to raise the level of human productivity. In countries where food is scarce, the level of malnutrition and death among children is greater than in countries that have strong economies. Also, research has found good nutrition increases human height and growth while at the same nourishing the human faculty of thinking. Asian-Americans have the highest level of professionals despite their smaller population. Asian-Americans tend to stay in school longer than any other race in America.

When a nation’s human capital is strong, there will be increased productivity. Western nations tower above other nations in aging because they have the technological expertise to fight diseases of all kinds. Through medical and scientific research, western countries tend to come up with new remedies for newly-discovered diseases like the deadly HIV/AIDS and the killer malaria that is wrecking havoc in Africa. The discovery of retro-viral medications has enabled to boost the immune systems of AIDS sufferers in the west. These medications, even if available in Africa, tend to be out of reach of the AIDS sufferer or are too costly for the under-served.

Nutrition, hygiene, and good education fulfill human desire for a better life. A nation that has no tangible educated workforce will lag behind other nations in all aspects. Maladministration, autocracy, and lack of respect for human rights have retarded Latin American, African, and a handful of Asian countries.

Failures to solidify the agricultural and educational sectors of these nations have been cause for their people’s plunge in their level education, health, and hygiene. Massive brain-drain has been another factor that has tremendously altered these nations capacity to maintain a strong workforce. Doctors, engineers, and professionals, lured by the lucrative wages offered by western countries, have opened vacuums in these nations’ healthy work sectors. These massive brain-drains increase the level of political instability.

Often, migrant parents come to the west with little or no education. The children of these migrant parents find themselves without role models. Instead, they resort to violence and other unholy activities. Exposure to violent media, pornography, drug peddling, and gangs eventually open the doors for convictions. The rate of school drops-outs skyrocket; drug addiction proliferates; and in the end crime rates catapult.

Wherefore, as discovered by researchers and as recorded by the media, racism can only be overcome when those who are discriminated against find solace in education. Hispanics and Blacks have no other alternative but to seek better educational opportunities in order to get out of the current social quagmire.

Somalia: No Man's Land

“In a learning organization, leaders are designers, stewards, and teachers. They are responsible for building organizations where people continually expand their capabilities to understand complexity, clarify vision, and improve shared mental models-that is, they are responsible for learning”-Peter Senge, Fifth Discipline, 340.

Basic economics teaches us that when people associate no cost to something, they will abuse it. Whereas, rational people think at the margin, irrational people tend to think otherwise. Somalia has been a stable nation since 1960 until it descended into chaos when the military junta that came to power in 1969 was toppled in 1991 by a ragtag militia headed by General Aidid. Somalia lacks effective leaders who would put national interests above anything else. A leader is the one who understands all the underlying forces at play; he or she has the courage to initiate action to make things better; a leader sees what needs to be done; leaders have strategic thinking and have a sense of belonging.

Effective leaders resort to reconciliations and negotiations when there is a conflict in their midst. Leaders have the power to get others to do what they want them to do. In formulaic fashion, leadership entails planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling (POMC). Leadership is about influencing people through legitimate authority, coercion, reward, expertise, and personal reference. Naturally, in effective leadership, leader-follower relationships are reciprocal and voluntary. All humans have a set of values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations (VABEs) about the way the world is or should be. These VABEs are either semiconscious or partially conscious collections of what we have come to think of as the way the world is or ought to be.

Now, let’s turn back to the issue of Somalia being no man’s land. After the fall of the military government in 1991, the men who engineered the coup d’état resorted to the elimination of some select tribes and their sympathizers. Perhaps, they intended to weaken their enemies or totally erase their footprints from Somalia. This did not materialize. Because what goes around comes around, the hunter became the hunted. The humanitarian disaster that afflicted the entire nation forced the United Nations and western powers to act with speed. The best the coup plotters would have done was to pacify the country and convene an all-inclusive reconciliation conference that would save the nation from further destruction. Because Aidid led an undisciplined militia that killed by impulse anyone perceived to be an enemy, trust and confidentiality got out of hand. Somali in-fighting opened a can of worms by allowing wild and undocumented fanatics pour into Somali borders like hungry vultures fighting over carrion. This led to the creation of factions driven by greed, theocratic ideals, and vengeance.

When the entire structures of a nation collapses, when the hale and healthy leave the country creating massive brain-drain, when the civilian population vacates residential buildings for fear of reprisals, there ought to be a psychological warfare in the making. Men who were wanted in the west found the chance to manipulate and make drastic gains from Somalia’s civil disorder. In order to expand their militaristic activities, foreign fanatics established bases in Somalia with help from local lunatics who were devoid of any form of leadership traits except war.

Stabilizing Somalia requires international involvement to root out those who are behind the chaos. In leadership theories, “buy-off” can be used as a deterrent to antagonism. Buying off all tribal leaders and creating a tough spy force from all Somali tribes and clans that will serve as the “eyes and ears” of the newly-created government could be used as detriment to overcome dissent until such a time when the nation can stand on its feet unaided. The use of spies who serve as “eyes and ears” of a nation’s sovereignty has been in existence since classical times.

Anyone who is found guilty of violating the constitution will have to be dealt with severely. All those scalawags who wrecked havoc, those who took part in any form of genocide or human rights abuses will have to be dealt with severely without remorse. The most important job of any president is the security of the state. Somalia will need to establish a strong and well-equipped force that will serve as deterrence to any form of opposition. "The proper use of the imagination is to give beauty to the world…to cast over the commonplace workaday world a veil of beauty and make it throb with our aesthetic enjoyment”.-Lin Yutang

Yaa, salaad badanaa, ma dad bey soo dishay!

Duq Barreey yaraanteedii waxay soo martay qiso aan weligeed maskaxdeeda katirtirmeyn. Ayadoo shan iyo toban jir ah ayaa aabbaheed kudaray nin ka da’weynaa. Habeenkii ugu horeysay ee ay aqal galeen ayaa waxaa lasoo darsay arrin kayaabshey: ninkii qabay ee ka da’weynaa ayaa bikrajebin waayey. Wuxuu ahaa habeen ay lakulantay xanuun badan. Waxaa dhibkaasi oo dhan ukeenay gudniinkii fircooniga ahaa ee ay ayeydeeda kusameysay mar da’deedu ahaa toban sano. Hase yeeshee, ninkeedii ayaa wuxuu kuyidhi, “waxaa iga ballan ah in habeen dambe dhawaaqaaga laga maqlo xaafadaha oo dhami”. Barreey oo ogeyd xanuunkii iyo dhiigii kabaxay habeenkii hore, ayaa isu diyaarisay sidii ay uga samatabixi lahayd habeenka kusoo aaddan ee ninkeeda uu uqabtay inuu kalatuuri doono.

Gabadhani da’da yar ee daafaha Soomaaliya oo dhan looga yeedhi doono ‘duq Barreey’ waxay dhaafi doontaa wacdaro aan hore loo arag. Maalintii oo dhan ayay murug iyo maaweelo kujoogtey. Mar ay qorraxdu hoobatay oo habeen lagalay ayaa waxaa soo hoyday duqeedii oo aan lahayn dheg laqabto. Sideedaba Soomaalidu ‘nin baa naagtiisa bikra jebin waayey’ waxay ahayd arrin aan sideedaba laqaadin karin oo waxaaba loo arki jidhay ninka noocaasi oo kale mid dhintay ama halaagmay.

Mar allaale markey casheeyeen oo ay isku xaabiyeen wixii cunto ee guriga yiil, ayaa la abbaaray sariirta. Qaddar yar waxay sariirta kujidhaanba, Barreey waxay barkinta hoosteeda kala soo baxday middi afeysan. Odeygeedii bey caloosha dhoowr jeer kaladhacday middidii. Halkii ayuuna ku nafwaayay. Mar uu waaga baryay ayaa deriskoodii soo booqday. Mase, Barreey wey maqantahay odeygeedii oo meyd ahna wuxuu yaallaa sariirta asagoo si xun udhiigbaxay.

Halkii ayaa lagu soo baraarugay loona diyaargaroobay sidii loo aasi lahaa meydka. Muddo yar kadibna meydkii ayaa lagu hubsaday qabdriga. Cidina ma baadigoobin Barreey; sidii ayaana lagu iloobay.

Isla habeenkiiba Barreey waxay ufakay hawdka. Habeenkii ayay dhexseexatay god waraabe. Saqdadhexe ayaa libaax jiidanaya wax uu soo dilay dibdib usoo galay godkii ay Barrey kujidhay. Barreey waxay dareentay cabbur iyo argagax. Inyar bey yara gamacday. Goor dambe mar ay soo baraarugtay, ayay iska soo gooysay tooreey ay sidatay. Ayadoo gacanteeda gariireysa umbay hal mar libaaxii futada kagelisay tooreeydii. Libaaxi intuu argagaxay ayuu intuu kor ubooday ayuu kusoo dul dhacay geed kurtun ah oo meesha kuyiil. Kurtunkii baa libaaxa dilay oo dillaacshay caloosha. Barreey halkii bey kasii wadday safarkeedi ilaa ay kagaadhay tuulo aad uga fog meeshii ay ninkeedii kudishay. Dhowr maalmood kadibna waxay aadday magaalo kale oo ay kutaqiin dad kale oo eheladeeda ah.

Dhowr bilood kadib, Barreey waxaa guursaday nin ay halkaasi isku shukaansadeen. Ninku wuxuu ahaa ragga naagaha aan u ogoleen debedwareeg ama waxa loo yaqaan ‘wareeg iyo waab tiris’. Barreey waxay ninkii udhashay toban carruur ah oo ubadan wiilal. Barreey waxaa ugu horreyay gurigeeda oo ay kasoo baxdo markii dawladdii meleteri la afgembiyay. Waxaa lakulmay jabkii Soomaali oo dhammi aafeeyay. Waxay gashay xero qaxooti oo kuyaal waddan Soomaaliya laderis ah. Caruurteedii oo idil waxay usoo baxeen debedaha ayadiina wey diiday in ay debeda aaddo.

Maadaama Barreey ay xilligani cimri tahay, waxay goosatay in ay iska toobadkeento oo nolosheeda cibaado kudhameysato. Aay Barreey waxay guri ladegtay dhowr gabdhood oo aan laqabin. Habeen walba Duq Barreey waxay soo kici jidhay saqda dhexe sifa ay utukato salaatul leyl. Hablihii ayaa karaahiyeystay qubqacdeeda iyo feynuuska ay kor udheereyneyso. Habeen habeenada kamid ah, mar ay Duq Barreey aadday musqusha ayaa labo sheekeystay. Mid baa midda kale weydiisay, “dee, ina adeer, habartani maxaa haaysta. Ma dhiig Muslim bey soo gashay. Waa maxay habartu, kaseexan waaynaye”? Inantii kale ayaa ugu jawaabtay, “naa sooma ogid nin hore uqabay ayay madaxa masaar kaladhacday oy dishay.”

Ayadoo hablihii wadahaasawaya ayey Duq Barreey dalaq gurigii soo tiri. Markaasey kutidhi gabdhihii, “naa maxaad kuqosleysaan.” Mid baa gabadh kale oo jiifta intay farta kufiiqday ugu jawaabtay Duq Bareey, “taasi jiifta ayaa nagu dhuustay” markaasey Duq Bareeyna intey qosol jabsatay tidhi, “walee maantaan ogaa sidey digir isugu daldaleysay”.

Gebogebo iyo gunaanadkii, Aay Barreey iyo kuwa kale ee gacmaha dhiiga kuleh xalaaeystayna dhiiga aadanaha ha ogaadaan inay jidho maalin loo yaqaan “Yowmul xisaab”.