A young Somalilander brother, born in Mogadishu, educated in Djibouti, reared in West London by a British-born Somali father (the beauty of multi-layered identities), did something no Brit has achieved; ended the British feud with dentistry won the gold model in the 10,000 m race. The UK cheered, the world looked on in envy, and Somalis, proud of their native son, united, if only for a brief moment in collective euphoric bliss. For a split second, Somalis and Somalilanders, from Hargeisa to Mogadishu, diverse in their political ideals, and patriotic afflictions, stood together in solidarity and awe of Mo Farah. It was a beautiful moment. words suppressed, rhetoric delayed, and ethnic pride took centre stage. It was perfect. But, Mo Farah did this…
And then some of us did this…
and I did this…
Now look, I’m all for well researched and nuanced discussion about the Somaliland/Somalia conflict, and never one to censor reasoned discourse, irrespective of its capacity to stir conspiracy. However, Mo Farah’s historic win was not the platform nor space for this discussion. I can’t believe we just did that. I’ve quit Somalis twice since, and applied for a Burundi passport. We did not just reduce a pivotal moment in the history of all Somali bodies to a moment seized to spew political and divisive propaganda. No! We couldn’t. We wouldn’t. No way! This can’t be, said the little girl. But so it was.
Rather than parlay into the political world of African secessionism (all for it), or dissect the validity of Somaliland’s separatist claim (I support it, Somaliland is/and will become an independent nation), I’ll instead give you a list of characters I’m convinced are detrimental to the peace and stability of this region, with/without Somaliland’s separation. I’m convinced the source of all mistrust/misinformation and spiteful rhetoric stem from an array of folks hellbent on challenging any chance of reconciliation and progress. These miscreants should be avoided at all costs, and any fantastical assumptions of rationality on their part, and naïve-laden attempts engaging them in civil discourse is both a lesson in futility and a task reserved for those folks who ban bras. Without further ado, I present you, Somalis we should elect for euthanasia experiments.
1) Ali and Asha ‘Somaliland Ha Nolaato’ Warsame
Found: Inhabiting any and all boroughs in the Greater London region (Never attempt to engage in any/all critiques of Somaliland and/or the implications/complications/nuance of separatism while in Londontown. They travel in packs, are relentless, and you’re life will thank you for it)
Favorite holiday: May 18th. To most Somalilanders and Somalis sympathetic to Somaliland’ secessionism, May 18th represents the day Somaliland declared its sovereignty, and claimed its autonomy. It is a glorious day. It is a day to be celebrated, exalted and remembered. Well, that’s how reasonable Somalilanders view this historic date, to Ali and Asha. May 18th represents the beginning of history; the day they escaped from the clutches of evil, the rapture predicted in the book of relevations. This day is not one of nation-building, love, and citizenry, but rather one of hate, rhetoric, and the occasional Somali flag burning.
Favorite Activities: Somaliland memes, summer vacations to Burco, profile pictures of the Somaliland flag, and referring to the Somalia as ‘the Dirty South’
Things not to say: Inquire about the ethnic origin of Somalilanders, and the root source of their national identity. 1988. Siad Barre. Somalinimo, bananas as a side dish.
2) Farax and Halimo ‘Somali-weyn till death do us part’ Shirwac
Found: In every city in every welfare state (diverse group of Somalis that trascend all tribal/political allegiances, but united by a shared common hate for books Somaliland. From Helsinki to Budapest, to twitter, these Negros are there.
Favorite holiday: July 1st, Somali Independence Day. They’ll rarely acknowledge the holidays of the countries they’re supported by and reside in. Rarely acknowledge and congratulate their neighbors on their independence. To these folks, May 18th, June 26th, June 27th are merely days for confused/mentally colonized Somalis. They also really love Ramadan. A lot. Well, at least will publicly remind any stranger within 5 mile radius of their love for Ramadan.
Favorite activities: Naming and claiming every person with a five- finger forehead as Somali. Stockpiling images of Mogadishu. Policing ‘Somalinimo’. Welfare offices. Conspiracy theories about how the whole world solely exists to destroy Somalia (some of these theories include a three way espionage between Israel, Bhutan and Ethiopia). Claiming Knaan as a cousin, and calling Iman a whore.
Things not to say/do: “When will you get a job, sir?”.Comparisons to other Africans. Inquire about his/her migration from Somalia to current locale. Support for Somaliland. Pan-Africanism. Encouraging introspection on their part.
3) Farhia and Yassin “I’m from Ogadenia, Ethiopia and have no Business Instigating This Mess’ Jamac.
Found: I have no idea, I’ve never seen these guys outside of Jijiga. They’re experts at going ‘stealth mode’. But from their undisclosed locations, have managed to brilliantly instigate the Somaliland/Somalia rap battle. Can be seen playing both sides, and offering unsolicited political prescriptions.
Favourite holiday: All of 1977-1978
Favourite activities: Dhaanto
Things not to say/do: “Shut up Habaasho”, “Viva Zenawi”, “ONLF are/aren’t terrorists (depending on political allegiances”, and lastly, never, ever, ever, attempt to niiko during the dhaanto.
4) Khadra and Yusuf “But What about Puntland?” Hussein
Found: In many cities, but headquarters are in Virginia, United States.
Favourite holiday: August 1st (Unfortunately this holiday hasn’t caught on, and these guys can be found celebrating alone in a corner)
Favourite activities: Denying the horrible legacy/privileges under the Siad Barre regime. Presenting themselves as the sole victims/victors/intelligentsia of this entire region. Longwinded stories of ‘Mogadishu’s glory days’ (no one else seems to remember this period except them). Nurradin Farah novels. Secularism. Cabdulahi yusuf. Comparing their plight to that of the Jews. Khatuumo state parties.
Things not to say or do: An inquiry about oil reserves in Puntland. General Morgan. 1988. Siad Barre. Present-day Mogadishu. TFG. Silanyo. The whereabouts about Al-Shabaab’s headquarters. Identity yourself as a journalist.
There you have it folks. These are the seedy characters one must avoid at all cost, if one has any hopes of engaging a community at peace. These deviants are caricatures of a caricature, and hell-bent on preserving the status quo, the endurance of ignorance, and keeping all promises of peace and prosperity at bay. Some of these characters are our family, and friends, and one must be careful not to excuse this behavior, even when it exists in polite and parochial company. And lastly, for the love of all good in this world, stop enabling these looney tunes, and delete them from our consciousness and history books of our region. For peace to endure, we need reasoned citizens with gazes of solidarity and a love for one’s kin that transcends political borders.
P.S. Mo Farah only waived the Union Jack that evening, image used for satirical/illustration purposes. Should, any of Mo Farah’s relatives stumble upon this, your son is still our King 🙂
P.S.S. I’m not really Patrick Stewart.
afrolensdotcom.wordpress.com 
LOOOOL!
What a beautiful piece! Such an honest and insightful piece! How do you do this my sister? Make me laugh when I actually want to cry?
Somalis kill me! I also quit being one and soon moving to Gambia! Lol!
You could add on the Somalilander-or-else-die crew, ‘bana-aafricanisim?(spell that way on purpose!) What is that? We do not hafe anything in common with these madow!’ ALSO the exaggerate enamorada with their colonialist!
Just one little question, is the image of Mo Farah holding the SL flag actually from these Olympics? I certainly did not see him waving any other flag but the British one.
I hate these haters from all sides and yes, I will be staying away from all of them.
Peace and love and PanAfricanism!
Zaynab, thank you for stopping by sis!
This one was a headache to write. So many emotions, identities and politics at play! But enough with these extremists, and time for nuanced and reasoned voices to step up. The divisive politics is hurting our region, and has gotten to a point where conversations have become a lesson in futility…Enough is enough..
As for the image, i don’t think it was from this competition, but this image personifies what many Pro/anti-Somaliland pundits saw that day! lol!
I’ll say it again, pan-africanism can cure us of this disease, but definitely a long walk home awaits…
This is really a start of wonderful spoof of what really is an intractable lot!! brazen, cocophonic ! and entirely stupendous collective!! thank you for this. One caveat is, we should rally and support the ONLF, and the oppressed Somalis of this region(Naf iyo Mal iyo Karti). This one is a very serious matter the occasional spoof is worthy, however- lest we forget the Hundred years of fire they have endured while these characters you mentioned held/hold sway! ONe bebble let us first learn to avoid this group and give them the Marginalia to eat, shit and abide by! (it shall come to bass, the book of Mofarahian axioms). May Allah usher them all into one big assxxxx .Take heed !! to this- lets start to roll on this.. leaving you with the MJ … “Make a better blace.. thanks so much Afrolens and messers mz bralooting/somal superben!— Idilay (boqoolKaroon(noloo!!)… thank u (smiling).
abdi latif Ega
Spot on brother! I’m with you on the ONLF bit. Definitely need to be mindful about the politics of spoofing/satirizing marginalized peoples/space. I’m in solidarity with our brothers and sisters over there, but they’re also not exempt from critique, particularly the role they play in instigating this mess further. But agreed, down with Zenawi! Always look forward to your insight, and love the part about MoFarian axioms!!! Thank you walaal 😉
I haven’t laughed this hard in ages, this is a superb piece! I hope many Somalis, especially the younger crowd being brainwashed by this poisonous divide get to read it. I totally agree, time to expose and marginalise the haters and small time thinkers on both sides. Enough of petty and dimwit political discourse and time to have a real and grown-up discussion about Somali politics.
Having said that, I agree with a point a friend made on FB that Mo Farah, might have got himself in a spot of bother when he raised the Somaliland flag in the last European championship games. As a British athlete he should stay clear of Somali politics and flags and stay neutral.
Oh! Why did you change the photo of the old lady with the Somali flag hat, she looks hilariously out of place in her outfit. Bring her back, bring her back, bring her back, looool.
LOL. Apparently she’s our first Somali pilot, and completely apolitical. Image was selected solely for that brilliant cowboy hat, but felt bad afterwards. Now Saado Cali is the prototype of Somali-weynimo!
I’m entirely offended by this article. Well done.
Tho in global (Olympic stage) recognition terms the United Kingdom gets all the bragging rights for Mo Farah.
I agree somewhat. However, I have an honest question for you, if Mo Farah chose to pull out the Blue and White flag would you still be saying that the UK gets all the bragging rights? Just a penny for your thoughts.
Oh and by the way ALL Somalis whether from Djibouti, Somalia, Somaliland, China etc get bragging rights over MoFarah’s achievements.
“Oh and by the way ALL Somalis whether from Djibouti, Somalia, Somaliland, China etc get bragging rights over MoFarah’s achievements.” This! cosign!
LOL! you’re awesome! I agree. Much of this brouhaha is futile. He belongs to the UK, and he represented and waived the English flag proudly. But we Somalis will ignore that. Come on. As part as we’re concerned, he held up the Somaliland/Somali-weyn/Djibouti/Puntland/Awdal State/Galmudug/Ogadenia flag 😛
By far the funniest post EVER!
thanks for stopping by 🙂
I quit the International Somalis when they could not stop prostituting themselves. By prostituting I mean the ones who keep telling us that they want to lead our people and country into a new era of peace and development. The ones whose dollar price depends on whether they have the title President, PM, Minister, etc… Then I quit the local Somalis when they too could not stop prostituting themselves as well, and here I am talking about those Farahs and maybe Halimas although I have not come across any Halimas prostituting her self to the FBI, CIA, MI5/6, RCMP, etc.. The local prostitutes are the ones I am familiar with most, those are the ones running to the security agencies of our adopted countries and telling them that every young Somali man is a potential bomb that could explode in London, NY, Toronto, etc.. They label a whole generation of young Somalis (16-35) as lost, yet they are the lostest (made up a new word) of all lost. They are even more petty than the international prostitutes because their price is usually as low as a couple thousand pounds/dollars for a crime/radicalization prevention project run out of a suitcase, or a free plane ticket to an anti-terror conference, or a free breakfast with the chief of police to “discuss” the Somali gang problem (take pictures and post to their websites). Every day when I wake up I pray to god that I do not see/hear a Farah speaking on behalf of the Somali community on our local TV/Radio stations, then I pray to god to not read an interview of a Farah in one of our national/local newspapers, then I pray to god that I do not hear of a Farah planning/organizing/hosting a conference to address the “problems” of the Somali community. The day that none of the above mentioned assaults happen is a safe day to be a Somali in London, NY, Toronto, etc…. and is a day I sign up with being a Somali again. But unfortunately those days are far and between.
Thank you for letting me know that I am not the only one who quits Somalis on regular basis, I now feel that I belong somewhere, I found my kin.
Wonderful piece, funny and sad!
Sad that Mo Farah’s proud moment was turned into Political conflict.
That is it, I am going to apply for a Pan African passport!
hahahha! Pan-Africanism for the win!
I agree with Fadumo, bring back the old lady with the cowboy hat! Please:)
As always you are amazing<3
Actually, she’s our first Somali pilot, and was informed by a reader about the implications of satirizing an icon like that..So took it down…I, too, miss the cowboy hat 😛
That is one reader Vs 2 of us now, lol. Seriously, what is wrong with making fun of people even when they are our heroes? Doesn’t mean we disrespect them, we didn’t force her to dress like that, and besides she is cute in a hahaha way, lol.
Great article. To be honest, both are at fault on both sides of the Somalia-Somaliland spectrum. The usual barbs include “Somaliland does not exist” and “Mogadishu is a hell zone.” Even when the Okympics started there were numerous barbs going around that Somaliland does not exist and the Western-Somaliland youth took it upon themselves to gloat once MoFarah won who by the way clearly chooses to represent Britain and Somaliland as proven by his flag waving and prior visit to Hargeisa last year).
Nevertheless, both people need to learn that we are Somalis ethnically and share language and religion. Yes some may argue that we are politically distinct (Somaliland and Djibouti advocates) others may argue that we are one, including politically (Somaliweyn advocates).
I think that people need to realize that no-one holds a monopoly over the truth. Advocates of Somaliland need to know that Somaliland is not a divine construct nor isit something completely infallible. Somaliland advocates also need to learn to debate more coherently and leave arrogance and emotion out of it. Likewise Somalia advocates need to know that Somalia and this notion of the Blue and White flag is not an article of faith and if a fellow Somali does not pay loyalty to it then it does not mean that one has given up their right to be a Somali.
It seems that everyone has a polarized opinion on this and never in the middle. Personally I see no problem if youth in the West choose to be patriotic about Somalia or Somaliland. However, the problem is when we do not respect each others wishes and keep trying to put down the wishes of the other.
Peace
Well said Londoner!
Well said mate! Opinions like yours are needed to balance out the sea of political crazy.
Somaliland does not exist that is the reality! This article should be just about Somalia. And if MoFarah chooses to represent this fictional Somaliland, then he is a traitor in my eyes and should be shunned as a Somali.
Siad Barre was right to target these treachorous people.
SOMALIA IS ONE FOREV ER!
LOOL! Calling is out on our five finger fore head? thats below the belt and totally uncalled for! – Can we all agree on that?
LMAO! you know I had to go there 😛
Lol my only issue with the lad is that, HE DIDNT HAVE THE DECENCY TO MEET ME BEFORE HE MARRIED TANIA. I would have him baris and banana shake. *sigh*
LMAO! Actually I wanted to write about a fifth category. Somali girls who watched Mo Farah’s wife, and thought ‘damn….damn…..noooooo’…..: P
*made*
At the end of the day you are entitled to your two sense. Somalilander’s brought their independence South to what they thought was their brothers. Big mistake to be avoided at all cost in the future. Never again. Live free or die
I can respect that position, and think a diversity of political allegiances is progressive, but just want us to tone down the rhetoric. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Great article It made me laugh out loud. You basically summed up everything I have been thinking. (In a very funny well written way) Hope a lot of the younger generation read this and it open’s their minds from the prejudice and hate they are being taught at home.
Agreed! Many of the younger generation are appropriating inherited hate, and its time we break from tradition, and build bridges…
SOMALIA had pn
I loved it. Loved it. Lovedd itt. God Bless you and multiply you by a dozen. Sadly, we Somalis are so deep into this mess that I cannot help but notice even some of the comments sadly seem atleast slighly biased.
Thanks a million.
This is the most devastating piece i have read in a very along time. At first i thought it was meant as some kind of encouragement not to fall back into destructive and deviding non-cultural habits such as tribalism and regional conflicts. But, to my astonishment the rationalization and the purpose was the apposite of that. It is therefore very sad to read that the blog authors clear mental inclination and poin of view is obviously similar to those with dishonest intentions and regional patriotic sentiment rather than the idea of One people, One culture and ONE SOMALIA.
I think Moha Farah was `whispered` in the ear by his issaq elders to wave the somalilander flag. You can see the embarrestment in his face. He is clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation. He made a critical choice to only represent some somalis of his native region (a region he has never set a foot) instead of ALL somalis. Therefore i will not support him from now on and i hope i looses the 5000m.
VIva Somalia
Viva Puntland
Wow. I think you intentionally missed the gist of the article. In fact I would go as far as to say you are one of those mentioned in the article that should stay away from these debates. Firstly, you fail to forget that the idea of Somaliland or Somalia are both linked to ideology. Neither one is an article of faith nor does it make you a better person to believe in Somaliland or Somalia. Therefore, for you to believe that every Somali must believe in Somalia to be an upright person is a false premise as it is your subjective view. I am what you would call a separatist and believe in Somaliland being its own country whilst at the same time wishing all the best and assistance to fellow Smalis in Somalia. However, I know that my view of Somaliland is not a concrete, foundation of faith nor should it ever come before Muslim brotherhood, Somalinimo or brotherhood as it is just a political stance. In that same way Somalia is a political ideolog. If you believed in Somali solidarity you would applaud the achievements of Somaliland in terms of stability and development over the last 21 years even if you hated the Somaliland ideology, also in the same manner that I applaud Mogadishu and Somalia on their recent political breakthroughs which I hope leads to peace.
You then made the regrettable point of saying you will never support MoFarah because of his support for Somaliland (and fyi he went to Hargeisa last year with his wife and daughter to do development projects and received a state welcome). If MoFarah chose to wave a blue and white flag or a GB flag to me he is still a Somali hero so you need to leave your divisive point of view. For you to go as far as to say you hope he loses shows blatant Xaasid and which is a characteristic of Somalis on both sides of the Somaliland-Somalia debate. You claim to represent an ideology of inclusiveness, but really it is inclusiveness and brotherhood on your terms. If that wasn’t all enough you then stated Viva Puntland at the end of your statement which shows the obvious and blatant contradiction in your entire statement as you castigate Somaliland supporters and Mo Farah as regional renegades then you support Puntland, again double standards.
I genuinely believe people can support Somaliland or Somalia and have a reasoned and intellectual debate, however the problem as this article as shown is that there is a lack of maturity or ability to debate objectively on both sides. Instead people want to base their subjective views on everyone.
By the way Great Article!
I say All the best to Somalia and Somaliland.
One thing i will never fully support or accept is the division of my people or land. Especially when there are external forces involved. I believe Somalia stands much stronger united both in both in terms of geographical landscape and inhabitants. Yes, you can check mark me next to “Somali-weyn till death do us part”. See, I stand for the Pan Somalism ideology wich refers to the vision of unifying all Somali inhabitant territories (Somalia, Puntland, Somaliland, Djibouti, the Ogaden of Ethiopia and the North Eastern Province of Kenya) to ONE single Somali nation. Greater Somalia.
Lets be honest here. People are starving and live under poor condicions in Somaliland under the rule of few incompetent men who exclusively favor their own individual agendas while they proclaim Somaliland is a sucsessfull state, when Somaliland still remains unrecognized by any country or international organization. The whole political dielema is ridiculous and a huge embarresment to me personally. Why?
Well, the wadani i am i know of my Somali history. What the leaders of Somaliland want is to re-establish the 1850-1960 era, when northern Somalia was protectorate of the United Kingdom, known as British Somaliland (Almost the same name). The Sayyid and his follower-warriors saved the people of Somaliland from christianity At the time Sayyid Muhammad could not succeed in spreading the teaching of the Saalihiya order due to the hostility of the local qadiriyyah inhabitants who did not like him criticising their khat misuse, gorging on the fat of sheep’s tail and for following their traditional qadiriyyah order.
He and his army of brave warriors crushed The British empire and Ethiopian Emperor Meneleks army who both together fought against him. After all that history of blood shatred in the name of country and diin you want to go back to
the old colonised establishment? Why?
Oh wait, i know this one! “Charlie bit me”. We all know that our brothers in north have expirienced a fair share accounts of unhuman and awful warfare genecies. I think some Somalilanders experience even more discomfort knowing that these terrible incidendts were carried out by fellow Somalis. Although, the cruelty that the British brought to Somaliland and what they have done to people is more stupendous and evil. But, i still notice Somalilanders taking their hat off and bowing down for Britian, maybe more now than ever before. Why is it more difficult to forgive your brother? I find that very strange and sad. So, lets not cry over spilled eggs and scream separation when shit hits the fence. We are not Tibet! Thie Anti-Somalia and pro-Hardliner arguments of Somaliland separation movement just doesnt hold water for me.
@BluenWhiteStar By the way no-one ever says not cry over spilled eggs LOL, its lets not cry over spilled milk.
After analyzing the content of this page, it seems like i have tumbled into a pro-Somaliland blog. I can sence the separation force is strong in here. But, what triggered me the most when i read this piece after being reffered the link by a friend was the solely appraisal of Somaliland and the condemption and mockery of other Somali communities/regions and especially when this persecution mainly was concentrated towards Puntland State.
Ok. So, let analyse this:
This is what the blog author wrote about Somaliland:
“Found: Inhabiting any and all boroughs in the Greater London region (Never attempt to engage in any/all critiques of Somaliland and/or the implications/complications/nuance of separatism while in Londontown. They travel in packs, are relentless, and you’re life will thank you for it)”
Ok. So, dont talk bad about Somaliland. We are many. Got it!
Now, lets look at what she wrote about “Somali-weyn till death do us part’
“Found: In every city in every WELFARE state (diverse group of Somalis that trascend all tribal/political allegiances, but united by a shared common hate HATE FOR SOMALILAND. From Helsinki to Budapest, to twitter, these Negros are there.
All non-somalilanders are on welfare and they hate us (Somalilanders) Got that one too!
Clearly the blog author has most issues against Puntland. Good to be updated with who your main combatant is i guess. This is what she wrote about Puntland:
“In many cities, but headquarters are in Virginia, United States”
For your enlightenment. The capital of Puntland State is Garowe.
“Denying the horrible legacy/privileges under the Siad Barre regime. Presenting themselves as the sole victims/victors/intelligentsia of this entire region. Longwinded stories of ‘Mogadishu’s glory days’ (no one else seems to remember this period except them). Nurradin Farah novels. Secularism. Cabdulahi yusuf. Comparing their plight to that of the Jews. Khatuumo state parties.”
See, i rest my case..
Were you people clearly fail and the problem the way i see it, is that through your obsession you always fail to see both sides of the issue equally (A big contridiction). I am xaasid because i wont chear for MohaFarah? I`ll tell you what is xaasidnimo. When everytime sometihing terrible happens in the South, Somalilanders get excited, since it gives them this strange satisfication and a hope that others grose neglegents can some how lead to that the international community acknowledgeing Somaliland as peaceful and independent.
When the true of the matter is Somaliland territory, is by far the weakest Somali region both in aspects of sosial and economic (You cannot sustain the economy of Somaliland exclusively on Khat trade)
Ok. Why will i not support MohaFarah? To be honest its a predicament. I want to support him because he is a Somali and i want him to win as a Somali, but not as a Somalilander. If he wins as a Somalilander, the region will get boosted in their pursuit of madness and MohaFarah can easily become this fiction ambassador and line up with the rest of the mind twisted Somaliland advocates who do nothing else but stand all day in London westminster with their signature campaigning and knocking doors nonsense. I ask myself,
have they no dignity?? Begging for approval at the knee of their former colonial master.
Im done…
Lol! You are definitely one of the people this article is talking about and thus I need to stay as far as possible from you. Lol!
Viva Somali people everywhere in the world including Somalia, Puntland, Somaliland and the rest of the earth. I pray for your breed of people to soon disappear to leave space for healthy debate, Somali mutual love and respect and, and, and Pan-Africanism. (My Black power fist is up in the air!)
Do you see why this article is so important and timely? Damn ignorant asses everywhere polluting the air! UF!
And you are definitely one of those “confused/mentally colonized Somalis” that i hope stays out and never return to Somalia.
Please, stay away with your inferior complex and poison words.
BluenWhite star I am not going to get into an argument about Somalia and Somaliland, this is not the place to do it. Rather as a rational human being you should at least understand that this article is telling people on BOTH sides of the spectrum to stop being so partisan and ideologically brainwashed. Yes this partisan behavior can be found in Somaliland and Somalia advocates as you have proven to us.
We are not here for everyone to give their two cents and at the end of the day the idea of Somaliland is a political belief so too is Greater Somalia. So for you to refer to anyone that does not believe in Greater Somalia as colonially brainwashed is not fair, in the same way that extreme-Somaliland advocates paint others with a bad brush.
You my friend are a self-fulfilling prophecy as the article stated there are those that believe that they can police Somalinimmo and what constitutes right and wrong.
If you believed in Somalinimmo you would never have said you want Mo Farah to lose because you do not share his political outlook, talk about Xaasidnimo. As fellow Somalis we should support each other on all sides of the spectrum whether we agree or dis-agree politically.
People like you and Somaliland advocates need to understand that this idea of “Somaliland” or “Greater Somalia” was not something sent down in revelation from the heavens and to believe in one or the other does not make you a better Somali, to put it bluntly they are both political belief systems (emphasis on Political).
At the end of the day you are entitled to your opinion, which I think is all rhetoric more than anything.
Blue and White Star, may be you should find out who brought that flag to Somalia. We know your type, those who hide behind Somali weyn to cover their hatred for Somaliland. May Allah cleanse your hearts. Ameen. I want peace for my brother’s in Somalia, but first forget about Somaliland and put your house in order. Somaliland is gone, live with it or forever cry about it. Talk about the corruption in Somalia, Somaliland is building itself without handouts. Even during Barre’s time we never got a share of the pie. You can now have it all, in the process we wish you the best but please stop hating.
I have more to be proud of than you because i am Majerteen and a proud Puntlander. Unlike Somaliland, Puntland, does not seek outright independence from Somalia. As Majeerteens our heritage and history goes much deeper than the rest. I guess that creates some sort of envy. Somalis everywere owe a lot to us. If it wasn’t for us there wouldn’t be any Somalia. We gave you the flag and the anthem.
Mohammed Awale Liban, designed the flag of Somalia (Majeerteen)
Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, first Prime Minister of Somalia, second President of Somalia (10 June 1967 until 16 October 1969 (Majeerteen)
Abdisalam Issa-Salwe, Ph.D., scholar, writer; associate professor at Taibah University. (Majeerteen)
Abdulqawi Yusuf, lawyer and judge at the International Court of Justice. (Majeerteen)
Ali A. Abdi, anthropologist, professor of education and international development at the University of Alberta. (Majeerteen)
Hassan Abshir Farah, former Mogadishu mayor, Somali ambassador to Japan and later to Germany, interior minister of Puntland, Prime Minister of Transitional Federal Government from Arta, and a former TFG Minister of Fishing and Marine Resources. (Majeerteen)
Mohamed Abdi Aware, Puntland judge and member of Supreme Judicial Council. (Majeerteen)
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmedformer President of Somalia, President of Puntland and leader/co-founder of the Somali Salvation Democratic Front. (Majeerteen)
Yaasiin Cismaan Keenadiid, traditional Somali linguist (Majeerteen)
Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, first Prime Minister of Somalia, second President of Somalia (10 June 1967 until 16 October 1969) (Majeerteen)
BlueNWhite Star,
you’re showing your ass, mate. But quick question. You just claimed Somalinimo, the flag, the nation as solely the work of Majerteenia…In that case, why have an issue with Somalilanders separating? after all, according to your version of history, the blue and white flag belongs to one tribe. You just declared Somalia as the sole product of one tribe, why the hell would anyone else wanna stay? you’re losing it..Lastly, thank you for being the personification of one of my caricatures. Helps it bring my point home! Much Thanks.
Wow BluenWhite flag you have shown us how clearly uneducated and how mich of a backward Tribalist you are by trying to claim that 1 tribe is genetically superior over other Somalis, Amazing!. Not only that but you then tried to claim that the author favoured Somaliland in the article, I am not a Somaliland advocate ut it is clear as day that the author targetted Somaliland advocates as much as everyone else so stop acting like a victim. To be honest, most of the stuff you said about Somaliland supporters are lies, especially the idea that they wish bad on fellow Somalis from South Somalia, I have many friends who are pro-Somaliland and this is never the case, the only person who has shown how small minded and backward they are in this forum is yourself.
I too want a united Somalia, but at the end of the day Somaliland has every right for self determination if the people want it, I think more than anything they have put their house in order and established development and democracy and for that I support them even though I may not agree with the ideology.
But you BluenWhite are the epitomy of uneducated and unable to form a rational debate as you have stooped as low as tribalism and fabricating lies, its a disgrace that someone like yourself thinks they represent Somalia and the bluenwhite flag, thankfully you are a minority. You are just as bad if not worse than many extreme Somalilanders.
BluenWhite you try and portray yourself as some kind of anti-colonial hero, but in fact you have a sick mentality that our people suffer from; tribalism and instead of trying to cry foul over Somaliland you should educate yourself!
That was well executed luv great pieace had me laughing and smiling throught the ehtire article great work you have a untapped talent for point things in prespective yet again great job really proud of you love you miss you
P.S. you know am be postin this everywhere i can
The true colors of blue and white finally came out. I had to flash him out of the sewage. You list certain people with certain achievements, big deal. I am not going to brag about other people and their achievements just cause I share tribal affiliations. That is the work of Abu Jahal, instead I will gear myself towards love for all the Somali people. The fact that Djibouti is a separate country does that diminish my love for the name? Obviously not. We can have desperate borders and live next to each other. But your likes ( fitna international ) will never rest in peace as long as Somalilander’s walk the Earth.
Oh my God I am actually a second away from doing a standing ovation to my laptop screen after reading this article. I wanna seek asylum in your brain and build a hut there ( sorry the nomad in me to blame for that). lol I might just cancel my subscription to somali news and follow your blog from now on.
Seriously tho I couldn’t have thought of a funnier more elaborate, precise way of putting it all. Hit the nail right on the head.
If you have a day job I say quit it and become a journalist!! * Just a thought*
Phamo, I so want to ‘seek asylum in Idil’s brain and build a hut there’ to!!! Looool! So well said walaahi! MashaAllah, I love you my sister Idil! You are my hero and I know you do not realise it but you are destined for great things. You are certainly making history. And just because the Somali nation has produced someone like you, I will never quit them no matter how much they drive me crazy! Bless you and keep it up!
I Loved this…Finally someone has spoken the truth…regardless of how painful it is!!!!
Respect ❤
I’d like to point out that the picture of Mo Farah with the Somaliland flag is not from the Olympics. A simple google image search would have shown you that the image is a least a year old, but I guess inaccuracies and half-truths are what get you readers.
Thank you, comrade! Much appreciated. Good to know, despite the thousands of readers, you were the lone detective to crack the case. Now, heres the million dollar question, what on earth does that fact have to do with my article? clan politics? Or the mistrust between Somaliland vs Somalia? or the hysterical war of rhetoric between both of these regions right after Mo Farah’s win? Ok,those are several million dollar questions. It doesn’t matter what that image is, its what that image (from a race a yr ago) represents, and what Somalis of varying nationalities projected onto Mo that night, an image of a Somalilander (ahhh, it’s starting to all make sense now). Did people not react as if he did? But thanks for the heads up, next time, I’ll write a disclaimer, ‘for those of you impervious to the complexities of language, Mo Farah did not actually do this, I’m being fictitious’. See, I’m funny in that I assume my readers don’t need context clues, and can understand the premise of a discussion…But that’s not what you came to accomplish.You’re disgruntled (you’re reference to perceived volume of readership indicates high level of salt) and hiding behind an anonymous screen-name (I see you). Why don’t you engage this discussion(because you’re here, and even though you can’t admit it, you’re hooked), or do yourself a favour, and stop putting ‘afrolens’ into google 🙂 Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Your entire article was based on one picture.
From your opening paragraph:
” For a split second, Somalis and Somalilanders, from Hargeisa to Mogadishu, diverse in their political ideals, and patriotic afflictions, stood together in solidarity and awe of Mo Farah. It was a beautiful moment. words suppressed, rhetoric delayed, and ethnic pride took centre stage. It was perfect. Then Mo Farah did this…”
My point was Mo Farah never carried the Somaliland flag after his gold medal win, so how was the moment ruined? How was it any less perfect? If certain Somalis did not celebrate his win because THEY projected an image onto him then that’s something THEY need to deal with. It has nothing to do with Mo Farah because he did nothing to diminish his gold medal win.
“You’re disgruntled (you’re reference to perceived volume of readership indicates high level of salt) and hiding behind an anonymous screen-name (I see you). Why don’t you engage this discussion(because you’re here, and even though you can’t admit it, you’re hooked), or do yourself a favour, and stop putting ‘afrolens’ into google”
Instead of staying on topic, you decide to personalize the discussion and hurl insults and accusations at me. You’re claiming that I’m ‘disgruntled ‘ ( if this is your way of accusing me of being a Somalilander, I’m not), ‘hiding’ ( even though I know you can see my e-mail) and ‘hooked’ to your site for replying to a SINGLE blog post of yours and not going into fan-girl mode like the rest of the commenters? If you don’t like being criticized perhaps you should disable the comment section or put up a disclaimer discouraging any real discussions from taking place on here.
I apologize for I stumbling across your blog and I’ll be sure never to repeat the same mistake again.
Take Care,
Nameless
“How was it any less perfect? If certain Somalis did not celebrate his win because THEY projected an image onto him then that’s something THEY need to deal with. It has nothing to do with Mo Farah because he did nothing to diminish his gold medal win.”
Important lesson here in reading comprehension and context clues. This article is not about Mo Farah, rather Mo Farah was utilized to open a discussion on a contemporary social/political dilemma. I can’t help you, if you can’t understand that point. Millions watched the olympics, and sentient, book-learnin folk with access to google understand that Mo Farah did no such thing that particular day. I’m not challenging the level of your intellectual fervour, but I have a hard time believing that the countless readers of this article have failed to point out what you just. But you’re right, my usage ‘then’ is problematic, and one can miss the forest for the trees based on this point. But you didn’t just stop there, you refer to readers as ‘fangirls’ (how can you come to such a conclusion with one visit? Are you sure you’ve never been here before lol). You have the audacity to speak of slander, and your slandering strangers. But as penance to your curious mind, the the ‘and then he did this’ was a tongue in cheek reference to what many Somalis saw rather than his lived actions on that particular day. See, this is awkward, because I’m now explaining satire. This is a satirical political blog. Now, granted, its my fault, if one particular reader didn’t take to my form of wit, and I understand that. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m skeptical of that conclusion. I don’t know how things work in your corner of the internets, but a person without an agenda doesn’t come to a unknown blog, and slander not only the writer, but the perceived intelligence of the readers. You said I deal in half truths and inaccuracies, why the hostility? Why not first inquire about the motives as to why I would do such a thing? Why not simply give us your groundbreaking research, and then inquire about the motives? No you didn’t do that, you completely missed the entire premise of this article, and zoomed in one what you perceived to be an inconsistency.
I have no problem with critiques, my blog is full of people checking my assumptions and conclusions everyday. But what I don’t like are trolls. You had little intention of engaging, or interacting with this article. You saw a picture, and boom, you went into slander mode. Atleast, be courageous and own your actions.
And the ‘disgruntled’ part has nothing to do with you being a Somalilander (did you read the article? if you did, you’d know I’m a supporter of Somaliland, tsk tsk tsk), but rather the salty manner in which you apparently approach blogs you’ve ‘stumbled upon’. LOL. You need more people, comrade. Who stumbles upon a brand new blog, and goes into attack mode? surely there are at least several questions you have, or if you find the blog to be utterly useless, you keep it moving. Slander is a troll move.
Now here’s where I give you a lesson in social media decorum. There’s a way you conduct yourself when engaging other ideas/political spaces/ social media mediums. You ask questions, you express concerns/ you critique, and when you critique, you back it up with evidence. But most of all, you don’t make conclusions if you’re genuine about real discourse. Just a future reference so you don’t get checked by other bloggers where you’re out and about ‘stumbling upon’ blogs.
Again, thanks for checking out Afrolens, and rest assured, our hometown hero Mo Farah is loved here. Be well and prosper long, comrade 🙂
By the way, enjoyed your website. http://www.puntite.com, for anyone checking this out..It’s an awesome blog dedicated to
all things Puntland! great stuff, definitely encourage that everyone visit. 🙂
THE TRUTH HAS COME HOME!!!! WE R THE DEMISE TO OUR OWN EXISTENCE ‘SOMALI’.
“Tribalism” The poison needle injected in our Root’s by our four father, the sooner we take it out the sooner we wake up from this EUPHORIA that is destroying our existence.
I hope this is an-awakening to the New generation!!!
A++++++++++++++++
Hope so too, walaal! But I think a shift in paradigm is on the horizon!
Loved it!
What a profoundly retarded post.
“Favourite activities: Denying the horrible legacy/privileges under the Siad Barre regime. Presenting themselves as the sole victims/victors/intelligentsia of this entire region. Longwinded stories of ‘Mogadishu’s glory days’ (no one else seems to remember this period except them). Nurradin Farah novels. Secularism. Cabdulahi yusuf. Comparing their plight to that of the Jews. Khatuumo state parties.”
First of all, what does ‘horrible LEGACY/PRIVILEGES mean, surely you mean one of the two, are you saying Puntlanders had horrible privileges under Siad Barre regime? What does even mean? You aren’t even making sense.
“Presenting themselves as solve victims of the entire region.” Again, tell me who else suffered under this regime who was from the region.
“Glory days” aka the 1960s, I’m pretty sure people remember this given it was the independence of Somalia, 9 years of democracy and a pillar of progression in the whole of Africa. Sure, we must be the only ones that remember since we are the ones trying to fix the problem started by others which still have ramifications today, i.e Siad Barre’ whose regime apparently gave us “horrible LEGACY/PRIVILAGES, what on Earth that means we don’t know, I mean I think it’s one of those times when a person thinks he’s smart by mixing up a few words and then gets it completely wrong.
Thanks.
Wa waree Puntland is in full force today looool. First of all, thank you for engaging, and stopping by. It wasn’t the most politically correct blog, and expect that I might take a karbaash or two…so welcome..
Now to the meat of your concerns. Firstly, by Barre’s legacy (and boy did he leave us many parting gifts), I’m referring to the systematic suppression and oppression of Somaliland by Barre’s regime. A legacy many puntlanders are apparently oblivious to. And by privileges, I mean how Puntlanders had access to many social/economic mediums denied to other groups (doesn’t take away from Barre’s animosity towards this region, and understand that this history is laced with nuance, and pretty complex).
Btw, I’m well versed in the mentality of Puntlanders (by clan politics, I’m a Puntlander), and find this region to be an example of progress in many aspects, but underwhelming in others. Basically, Puntland Ha nolaato…but some Puntlanders need a wake up, and need to drop this type of rhetoric…
“Sure, we must be the only ones that remember since we are the ones trying to fix the problem started by others which still have ramifications today” I mean come on….Some of you guys insist on living up to my caricature of Puntland zealots. Seriously? I’ll let you ponder that for a moment…I’ll also concede and apologize for any perceived slander, if you can write one sentence about one way in which Puntlanders have failed to achieve peace with their neighbours. Accountability is a beautiful thing.
I didn’t realize rape, imprisonment and poisoning of wells were considered “parting gifts”- are you a masochist afrolens?
Before you speak on Puntlanders and their relationship with the late dictator, I would suggest you try to educate yourself on this topic.
rape and imprisonment only befell puntlanders, miya? I don’t know what version of ‘Puntland Ha Nolaato’ history you’re reading, but you need more people. Every clan group had their share of injustices inflicted upon them. How about we press pause for a moment on victims politics, and reflect on the rape and imprisonment committed by your beloved regional co-citizens upon others? oh wait, I forgot….Puntland is absolved of any wrongdoings, a region innocent of spilt blood, and only a victim of other uncivilized tribes….Filin Hindi. Here’s the world’s smallest violin playing for your rhetoric.
Oh and more thing, long before your beloved Somalilanders were “oppressed” their officers were in charge of delivering the “parting gifts” to Puntlanders. Yet another chapter of Somali history you appear to have skipped. 😉
Don’t attempt to school a fellow Puntlander about Puntland, dear friend. I’m well versed and outrageously impervious to your rhetoric and propaganda.
So according to you the wells in Mudug were not poisoned, the women of Puntland were not raped and their menfolk were not imprisoned?!
Shame on you!! I don’t know where you get the GALL from to call yourself a Puntlander when you harbor such intense hatred for the people of Puntland.
I guess Afrolens was completely right, Puntland advocates do see themselves as as victims. For goodness sake stop being such bell ends, if you looked at the article no-one was spared from criticism, extreme Somalilanders, extreme Somaliweyn advocates, Ogadenia advocates and Puntland advocates were all EQUALLY targetted so stop being such trolls.
Finally, Puntland has legacies, just look at Abdullahi Yusuf and his invitation to Ethiopians to pillage Mogadishu in 2006 and the never-ending hero-worship of Afewayne (Siad Barre). Oh yeh lets not forget the bad news about the oil, heard it turned out to be water ouch.
But yeah happy 14th anniversary Puntland for last week. They say imitation is a form of flattery!
Johnnyboy,
Puntlanders were the first group of people to rebel against Siyad Barre, your people ,”Somalilanders”, took up arms after we did. I agree, imitation is the best for of flattery.
We have 14th years of federal state under our belt, and well over a 100 years of self-governed rule that stretched from the tip of Somalia to Harardheere. Ku dayo PL 🙂
Guys, this is exactly what we don’t want. We have Somaliland, an example of governance and peace in a region in turmoil. Why not learn from our brothers and sisters there, and try to rebuild what Barre et al took? And Puntland, another amazing region that has endured a state in shambles. What we’re fighting over, are two incredible success stories that can potentially be a blueprint in restructuring and stabilizing Somalia…If only, we could get over the ‘I’m loyal to my qabil’ rhetoric.
*14 years.
I’m done giving this shitty blog attention. Afrolens, please apply for citizenship in Somaliland, I hope they welcome you with open arms.
Calm down comrade. I love Puntland, and no one is here to slander this region, but let’s have a conversation. If we can’t have civil discourse, then what is the point of all this? I understand your frustration, but to be fair, I criticized all forms of zealots…Why only react as if I’ve went on a slander campaign against Puntland. Let me ask you this, do you think Puntlanders have any responsibility in all this? serious and sincere question. I value your insight, and even if we disagree, this space exists so we can intellectually karbaash eachother, but then shake virtual hands.
I would love to have a sensible discussion with you , once you stop denying the well documented history of abuse Puntlanders suffered under the hands of the socialist government. Until then, I will let you simmer in your hate and ignorance.
Ramadan Kareem my mushrik “comrade”.
Be very careful, calling a fellow Muslim a mushrik is way out of line. You can have a debate on issues wether you agree or disagree with each other so be it. Please, I fear for you by Allah refrain from getting personal and remember this month is the Month of Ramadhan, we ask Allah to forgive our sins and cleanse our hearts.
Thank you Hassan! Mushrik, wa waree….we don’t need to go there walaal. We’re bringing up religion now? LOL No one has denied any injustices inflicted upon Puntlanders (I have family members with war wounds), and let’s avoid false misinformation. I’ve only pointed out that Puntlanders were not the only ones to suffer. Why is that fact so hard to digest? I can’t hate my own family inadeer, so caadi iska dhiig. Put the emotions away, and let’s have a conversation.
“AfroLens
on August 10, 2012 at 10:29 pm said:
Don’t attempt to school a fellow Puntlander about Puntland, dear friend. I’m well versed and outrageously impervious to your rhetoric and propaganda.”
Do you suffer from convenient amnesia?
If you’re going to continue to slander and get personal, then I suggest we end our discourse. I said impervious to rhetoric and propaganda. What you’re spewing are not facts but rhetoric. I’m telling you, I’m a Puntlander and you couldn’t tell me about the injustices that took place on your worst day, so let’s put emotional blackmail moves aside, and have a discussion. Do Puntlanders play a role in this mess? or are they absolved of any responsibility?
LOL…Answer my question comrade, what do Puntlanders have against freedom of speech? Journalists arrested, any dissent silenced, and now you’re on a war campaign against a blog. What’s wrong with dissent?
What on earth are you harping on about! First you claim Puntlanders were not abused, the next post you claim abuse did happen, then you deny it again.. Now you wish to redirect me to another topic altogether… Please get it together.
My only issue with you, which I’ve demonstrated,since my very first post on this blog, is your denial of the abuse that Puntlanders suffered. That is all.
Macasalama!
People need to calm down, this was a good blog and the author criticized everyone equally, this is not a time for Somaliland v Puntland/Somalia. This is about people not seeking the truth because it goes against what their clan said.
Nothing is black and white and certain people should stop making out as if they are victims, people on each side is responsible. Somaliland is a success story and Puntland can too be a success story. Instead of criticizing one another, they should focus on how to best alleviate poverty for their general populace.
This debate only exists amongst us the diaspora; back home in Somaliland or Somalia the people never have this debate as they are entrenched in their way of life and do not have the cross-interaction that we have in the West, so our debates won’t actually change much, I’m all for debating but it seems that most of us Somalis should stay away from it. Especially those categories pointed out in the blog.
Also people using words like Mushrik are clearly way ott as that’s something a Muslim would never call a fellow Muslim. The problem with Somalis is that they never know the saying live and let live.
Oh one more thing, go to Somaliland or Somalia go to Hargeisa or Mogadishu and you will see that the average people have love and respect for one another as Somalis, it is only us the diaspora who complicate everything and spew hate and rhetoric on both sides. Hard it is to believe, there can be 2 brotherly Somali states in the horn of Africa (well 3 including Djibouti) and people from both sides should learn restraint and respect or at least how to debate like a rational human being, which by looking at some of these comments is something beyond some of us.
Kudos to the author!
“This debate only exists amongst us the diaspora; back home in Somaliland or Somalia the people never have this debate as they are entrenched in their way of life and do not have the cross-interaction that we have in the West, so our debates won’t actually change much, I’m all for debating but it seems that most of us Somalis should stay away from it. Especially those categories pointed out in the blog.”
Well said…I think this entire paragraph summarized the tragedy that is the dhayuus-baro (what they call us back home). I was in Somaliland, and was welcomed as a Puntlander. My Somali brothers and sisters of Somaliland welcomed me with open arms, and infact many also expressed concern at the level of hateful rhetoric on the part of those from the diaspora. I think we the diaspora have a lot of healing to do.
We can disagree, but when that bond of kinship is broken, we need to put clan politics aside, and choose humanity.
Well said, at the end of the day we are Muslims first, Somalis second and you can choose Somalia, Somaliland or punt land as your next choice if you wish. The most important aspect of our being is to live in peace and do our ibaadat, therefore what is the point of Somaliweyn when all we can accomplish is hate, fitna and the status-quo of tribalism. Somaliland has been a model of peace and prosperity until now. There are forced who only wish harm who work overtime to destroy that peace i
Beautiful words. Thank you Hassan!
I have been reading the comments above and have been very saddened. This is the last 10 days of Ramadan brothers and sisters…let us be kind and civil towards towards one another….here are a couple hadiths and commentaries that I hope will sobar us and allow us to get prospective Insha Allah..btw great blog afrolens…it is only through self reflection and self criticism that we can correct our errors…hold the fort!
• Sayyiduna Anas ibn Malik (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “Do not nurse mutual hatred, nor jealousy, nor enmity, and become as fellow brothers (and sisters) and servants of Allah. It is not lawful for a Muslim to desert his brother (or sister) beyond three days.” (Sahih Muslim, no: 2563)
• Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “It is not permissible for a Muslim to break ties with his brother (or sister) beyond three nights, the one turning one way and the other turning the other way when they meet. The better of the two is one who is the first to give a greeting (salam).” (Sahih Muslim, no: 2560)
• well known incident is of a villager who had newly accepted Islam. This villager, not knowing the etiquettes of the Masjid, began urinating in it. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) did not stop him instantly, rather he let him finish first and then explained to him in a polite, gentle and kind manner that, it is inappropriate to urinate in the house of Allah, rather the house of Allah is for worshipping Allah. (See: Sahih Muslim) There are numerous such examples in the life of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace).
“At times people think that they are “practicing” and “good” Muslims and that it is their duty to have hatred and revulsion for someone who they think committed a sin. This is completely wrong and very unfortunate indeed. It has all the ingredients of pride, arrogance and Kibr written all over it. Having pride (kibr) and looking down upon a fellow Muslim is considered to be amongst the major sins that take one to the fire of hell. (May Allah save us all). “ quote by Muhammad ibn Adam, Darul Iftaa, Leicester , UK
I can’t decide whether to cry or to laugh. Notice how the comments made up for more reading material than the actual article. Where to start……well what I wont do is play the ” Can’t we all just get along ” card, because clearly we might be another 2 to 3 light years away from reaching that point. Yes the author of this article had the intentions of eventually engaging people in discussion, because clearly one just doesn’t write an article that detailed while waiting for their Latte in a long line at starbucks or because they missed the bus to their afternoon yoga class.
That being said, any reader has the right to voice their opinion and or make corrections where they see fit (provided this information is factual evidence and not pulled from one’s own pocket). We are all here to learn from each other, the corrections are welcomed indeed, because frankly this is a “BLOG” not the Newyork Times or Foreign Policy and so errors can happen.
What I don’t understand is the need for a full blown tribal war to break out………….wait for it……..wait for it……………………………………..ON A BLOG!!!!! I mean seriously???!!!
One thing that might have evaded the minds of some people here is that this blog is:
A) open to the public hence 7 billion people in the world have access to it minus the toddlers
B) Is written in a language every Tom, Dick and Harry can understand
C) and frankly this ain’t FUBU!
So imagine the shock on a non-somali person’s face to see that it’s not only in the flesh we can’t stand each other, but by golly will whip out the budhadh on one another at the slightest mention of this tribe plucked a chicken in 1800 and that tribe ran over my dog in 1900. I mean really !?!!.
And then we sit and wonder why the world has such a F****ed up impression of Somalis in general. Dunno, sometimes I wish the memory erasing pen from the movie men in black was real, so I can just burn out the tribe segment in every Somali’s brain.
We would all still all be alive and ……….Somali’s IMAGINE THAT! I know right… the horror. Some of us would be like what, be JUST a Somali………with not tribe,
BUT MY OXYGEN INTAKE DEPENDS ON IT!!!
P.S Before anyone turns their blazing guns on me, I am a born and bred proud Somali. I love my country, every square inch of it and my people. So why did I just dismantle us like that you say? This was just my sarcastic way of teaching us, that we live in a technologically advanced world today, where the weapon of choice is media, the name of the game is psychological warfare and our actions are the bullets. Now given how the international media is doing a mighty fine job at making a mockery of us, our behavior and maybe even our very existence ………………….need we really go out of our own way to provide them more prove of how much we hate each other.
I am just saying, if some of us are blessed with the talent it takes to write, to research, to run a blog, however small. It is still a niche somewhere out there in the world wide web, and you owe it to your people to once in a blue moon portray a positive image of the country you feel so strongly about.
Peace and Bariis !!!
This was a general lesson for all Somali’s, and was not directed at anyone in particular.
Laughter and tears are both the antidotes to that crazy that is us. But hope is not lost…This entire exchange can’t be reduced to some fadi ku dhirir btw a few…The rest of the comments were engaging, fair,and nuanced…Besides, I would rather us karbaash eachother on a blog and put the guns down. But point taken….
Also, I don’t know if you’ve checked out other articles, but this blog is dedicated to african issues, and many of the articles tackle western orientalist depictions of our region..But sometimes, we gotta air our laundry, and it’s not always pleasant…And definitely my approach is not for the faint of heart…But thats when sense of humor on the part of the readers is necessary…It’s a satirical blog, and I think with this article, I gave everyone their share of karbaash…But with that said, I definitely do have a responsibility in all this, and must be more mindful about the emotionally charged reactions my words could elicit…Thank you for your words, and you’re right, we all do suck..But I love my people immensely, and even the ones who’ve showed their ass are wadaanis, just misplaced wadaanimo, thats all.
Lol, I wouldn’t put it as “we all suck” surely every nation has its flaws. But my point was sort of not making every platform we meet in a battle ground while healthy discussions and educational engagements are encouraged or at least that is what I hoped the readers would take away from that rather long sarcastic story I commented above now that I look back on it, hoping I haven’t offended anyone 🙂
And I am new to this page so I am slowly getting through the articles you mention, you do have quite a fascinating way of capturing your readers attention and I applaud your efforts on creating such a blog. Like a wise man once said ” better a has been than a never was, but better a never was than a never tried to be”. It takes a lot to say what everyone else is just thinking and so I wish you the best and hope you outlast the bullets 🙂
Cheers
I’m really shocked how people are so consumed and entrenched on their points of views, “no one has monopoly on our Somali ethnic race”.
Maybe if the wise Somalis can use their brains even if it’s for once to create a similar commission like that of South Africa “Truth & Reconcilaition” to address all the outstanding problems and accept the fact we are brothers but NOT Siamese twins that cannot be separated, and being brothers means that we can unite or go on our own seperate ways but still maintain our “next of kin” relationship!
We should remember Allah’s word which says
“يأيها الناس أنا خلقناكم من ذكر وانثى وجعلناكم شعوبا وقبائل لتعارفوا ان اكرمكم عند الله اتقاكم ان الله عليم خبير”
For those of you who cannot read Arabic, it means “O you men, we have created you male & female and made you people & tribes that you may KNOW each other; surely the most honorable with Allah is the most careful (of his duty); surely Allah is
knowing, Aware”
Having said that I’ll always remain a Somali by ethnicity and Somalilander by choice.
Salaam
Bisinka and alhamdulilah! I have been reading with interest but I am so disappointed that some of us left their xishood and respect behind. I so dislike the attacking and cyber bullying of a sister who did nothing but challenge us positively, us all Somalis, regardless of our clan politics. She beautifully assessed the disease that Somalis suffer from, especially in the diaspora and she put it to us so we may get the courage to be honest with ourselves and each other. But some of you are trying to shoot the messenger!
Axxx! I am just shaking my head.
You are brave and honest sister and I have the greatest respect for you. You spoke nothing but ruun with a hint of humour to make the red pill easier to swallow for the hardcore extremists on each side. Besides, Somaalido dhirbaaxo mooye hadal si wacan loo yidhaa ma yaqaaniin!
What is missing from our lives as Somalis is is cafin. No clan/clans/region is willing to accept their mistakes and take full responsibility for the harm they caused onto others or the admit their responsibility in the mess we are in today. Besides they want to deny others’ suffering and injustices others suffered. No clan is clean.
According to clan politics, I am a Somalilander and it really hurts my soul when I hear the nasty rhetoric full of hate that the extremists on this side vomit on daily basis, such as ‘dadkaas isu dad manihin’ referring to who they call ‘reer xamar’. They also have their own version of history, self fulfilling prophesies and superiority propaganda. They recycle that hatred, prejudices, inaccuracies in their circles, poisoning the kids’ minds. Their double standards and contradictions are appalling, meaning they fail to see the shortcomings within their own governance and society but point the finger at how ‘soomaaaaliyaaaa’ is selling their country to the west! But, yet they celebrate their British colonialists, just so they may be ‘recognized’. I still cannot get over Edna Ismail’s speech at that conference! You would think G W Bush was talking!
Having said that, I also have a serious problem with how many of our sisters and brothers from Somalia/Puntland seem to deny ‘the systematic suppression and oppression of Somaliland by Barre’s regime’, as you very well said. That denial feeds the extremists Somalilanders’ rhetoric. The extremists on all side feed each other and we burn in the middle! Acudubilaah!
Well said Phantom….where is that memory eraser? ILA SOO GAADH Bliiiiiiiis!
I pray for better days. I pray for peace and forgiveness amongst all Somalis. I pray for development and progressive thinking.
InshaAllah one day and while we get there, may Allah bless and empower the brave voices amongst us. Viva Afrolens and, and, and Pan-Africanism!
Yes although I do agree with what you have said, you’re assessment of people with those traits are a small vocal extremist Somaliland minority and this is not something which can be generalized to the majority.
And the people who choose to celebrate the colonialists are usually either the extremists or the older generation who still harbour bitter feelings. It irks me when people think that all Somalilanders have that backward philosophy.
The paragraph you mentioned; “They also have their own version of history, self fulfilling prophesies and superiority propaganda. They recycle that hatred, prejudices, inaccuracies in their circles, poisoning the kids’ minds. Their double standards and contradictions are appalling, meaning they fail to see the shortcomings within their own governance and society but point the finger”
can be extended to extreme Puntland and Somaliweyn advocates too.
The way I see it we are all Somali whether one comes from Somaliland Somalia or Djibouti and really the only difference is politically and no culturally or linguistically.
By looking at some of these comments I would never generalize against all Somaliweyn or Puntland advocates that they are similar to some of the mindless trolls commenting on this website. Vice versa, it works both ways one should not generalize on the Somaliland “experience” based on views of extremists or the older generation.
Walaal, the questions is, dadka sidaas ah makujiraan somalilanders or not? The answer is yes. I am sorry to say but this is not just a small minority. Waan ku dhex jiraa that shit! Edna Ismail represents that country and if she can talk like that as a leader, then there is no need to even talk about the rest of the people. Waliba waa loo sacabeeynayay. Please, lets get over this denial! This is not about who is doing it more or better than the others. Sikastaba oo loo eego, wa foolxumo iyo dib u socod.
But my point here is how can you generalize one person to a whole people. That’s like me using Abdullahi Yusuf and claiming every Puntland person/supporter is a replica of him or has his views. My opposition to your position is that you are unfairly using an extreme advocate to say all people from Somaliland are like that. Yes there are some and quite a few people who have that bad mentality but for you to say that the majority do is not right, just because you have have family or people from Somaliland does not mean you can make that generalisation. I know plenty of pro-Somaliland people who although respectful to Edna do not agree with some of her words and arguments.
To top it all of that’s like me saying many Somalia advocates see Siad Barre as a hero and then me unfairly generalizing against the general populace.
I think if we can learn anything from this article is that generalizing is one of the main reasons why these issues exist.
LOL Idil gacan baan ku tagay! luug baan kugu daray! ur getting pure abuse, and reading some of the comments makes me feel sad! 😦 I am not sure Somalis are ready for a discussion, or even reflection. For a society to learn from its past we need to learn our history, but our history is distorted and fragmented – perhaps its a reflection of how we are as a society. Either way, I AM SAD ABOUT THIS!
Mo Farah in his own words seems to rise above this compartmentalizing of his identity. He seems to really cherish being a Somali diaspora figure all Somalis can root for. He recently made a video thanking all Somalis for supporting him. Here his in his own words describing the picture in question:
On Tuesday night, as he jumped around on the Barcelona track, delirious in celebration, someone in the crowd threw him a Somaliland flag.
“It’s a part of Somalia now trying to be recognised as a republic,” said Farah, who left the country behind as he tried to build a new life in the UK. “They’ve just got a new government. I was chucked the flag and I thought: ‘Yeah, OK.’ There’s a lot of people in the UK from Somalia who’ve followed me.”
I agree with you that Mo Farah should be seen as a neutral hero for all Somalis. But what I am against is that you think you can speak for Mo on his political views.
Oh by the way here is a link of Mo visiting Somaliland in 2011 with his wife and kids and meeting with the President.
http://somalilandpress.com/23827/somaliland-a-hero%E2%80%99s-welcome-for-runner-mo-farah/
http://somalilandpress.com/23895/mo-farah-recieves-presidential-award-from-somaliland-president/
But maybe you’re right he probably thought he was in Mogadishu.
If Mo chooses to rep Somaliland or Somalia whats the big issue. If he repped Somalia today I would have no qualms, but what surprises me is people like yourself will try banging their heads against the wall hoping he has nothing to do with Somaliland. At the end of the day Mo did everything for Britain and he’s win was a win for the UK but he clearly identifies with his motherland too.
Mohamed Farah, a Somali man who had accomplished an amazing feat by winning 2 Olympic Gold medals. At the end of the day he is A Somali regardless. Instead of using this opportunity to come together an celebrate as one umma, fitna international ( shaytan) is leading the way. My dear brother’s and sister’s fear Allah and seek his forgiveness in this blessed Month. About Somaliland, we will sit down together and talk and decide the best way forward to enhance our brotherhood, inshallah.
Hassan Noor said “Blue and White Star, may be you should find out who brought that flag to Somalia. We know your type, those who hide behind Somali weyn to cover their hatred for Somaliland. May Allah cleanse your hearts. Ameen. I want peace for my brother’s in Somalia, but first forget about Somaliland and put your house in order. Somaliland is gone, live with it or forever cry about it. Talk about the corruption in Somalia, Somaliland is building itself without handouts. Even during Barre’s time we never got a share of the pie. You can now have it all, in the process we wish you the best but please stop hating.”
So for all of you out there bashing Blue&White Star NEED to be bashing this fellow and all others who think like him equally. Because THAT is how 99% of Somalilanders I come across think. And boy, have I come across a lot of them. lol.
To understand why Somaliland won’t get independence you need to look no further then places like the United States or Germany. Both places had ppl that shared some mix of Religion, Language, Cultural Values etc… In the case of America, Texas is the example of Somaliland. It ATTEMPTED to separate, 26 Times. That’s a lot. Somaliland is just on attempt #1 (going on 19yrs) Each and every time they were brought back into the fold. And believe me, you don’t get much more separatist then Texas. lol.
Why couldn’t they break away to form their own country? Because those for their separation and those against it, those against were much more. In the case of Somalia vs Somaliland, where we are roughly 10million in population, there’s the claim that Somaliland passed a referedum back in the early 2000s and it passed with a 97-98% approval to separate. Furthermore the claim was made by the SLand Govt. that “all Somalis in Somaliland” voted in this process. Meaning that all qabills located in SLand, even those that weren’t somalilanders (isaaq) voted on it…
Well that’s odd… isn’t the whole premise of Somaliand that they want nothing to do with other Somalis? Yet, they have other somalis voting on their separatist agenda? Is that the whole keep your friends close, enemies closer thing? lol
The second example was Germany, ah.. Germany a major player in both World Wars we’ve had to date… and what happened there? East Germany (the Nazis) and West Germany it became… the East lead by Hilter and their secret police.. in effect was a police state. We all know how that end. The Nazis got defeated and at one point in time, Germany was hit with the largest tab in the history of the world… one that would make it bankrupt for centuries but then the ppl of West Germany forgave the ppl the East (spiritually) and the WALL separating the two was brought down during the Reagan Era.
Now this example isn’t to call “Somaliland” Nazi East Germany, cause they didn’t set out to kill all Somalis and make a pure Issaq Nation. But I am rather using it to show where division got the Germans.
So in conclusion, if two of the more historic Nations in the History of the World wouldn’t let division overtake their national identity then why would Somalia?
I don’t get this whole Somali-weyn thing. I personally don’t care for it. DJibouti had it’s chance to join with Somalia Proper (South AND the North) and it chose not too. Then they got another chance in 77 and the declined again, instead choose to be a former French Colony and “embracing” their french side like the West Africans… smh.
The Ogadenia region, again same thing. They had their chance in the late 40s-early 50s and declined, opting to remain part of Ethiopia which only further helped Halie Saliese’s position in his speech to the United Nations, which further convinced the brits and italians to not include Ogadenia in the new borders of Somalia proper.
So, IF Somaliland (such a backwards and colonial loving name) wanted to be separate from other Somalis they had their chance on June 25th 1960 before they claim independence from their British colonizers. They instead went ahead with making June 26th their independence day. Now the claim that the north brought independence to the South is ridiculous. It was a matter of paperwork and working out the terms of the new govt that took until July 1st being proclaimed the National Holiday with the joining of the two parts.
I’ve long wondered what, Somalilanders would have done had say, Great Britain or Italy colonized the whole of Somalia by itself. Then it would be just one big former “Somaliland” what then? lol.
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing AfroLens through Twitter, reading her other articles and understanding her point of view.
Yes, In my opinion I think she’s a little bit more right leaning towards Somaliland, just like I’m way left leaning towards Somalia.
But at the end of the day the issue of Somalia vs Somaliland won’t be solved through blogs or twitter or facebook.
It’ll happen one day in the Somali Parliament in Mogadishu, with a simple yes or no vote.
And again in my opinion, it’ll mostly likely be No. But Allah knows best. Salaam.
Your statement lacks any genuine foundations.
I won’t go into too much detail but I will touch on some of your points as a rebuttal.
Firstly you mentioned Somaliland has been seeking independence for 19 years, rather it has been now for 21 years since 18th May 1991.
You then mentioned the Somalilander term is specific to the Ishaaq clan, which is again inaccurate as the longest serving Somaliland elected President of 9 years Dahir Riyale Kahin (2003-2010) hailed from the Awdal region as I do too myself and as you know full well he was non-Ishaaq. Rather the term Somalilander is similar to that of Djiboutian and does not have any ethnic connotations, rather just political/national connotations.
You then fallaciously claimed that the whole Somaliland ideology is based on a disdain for Somalis and one’s own denial of Somali ethnicity. Again this is a false premise which is spread by people of your ilk. Somaliland and people who hail from there are Somalis before anything and they share ethnicity, language and culture with fellow Somalis from Djibouti, South Somalia, Ogadenia etc. However, the Somaliland nationality (Somalilander) if you will means that one identifies politically and in a national identity with Somaliland. This does not make one an anti-Somali, in the same way that you would dare not call a Djiboutian anti-Somali if he chooses to refer to himself/herself as Djiboutian.
You then fail to recognize that unlike Texas, Somaliland gained its independence on 26th June 1960 before any other Somali speaking peoples. Yet as you yourself acknowledged the people of Somaliland chose to forfeit their independence to join in a union with South Somalia (Italian Somalia at the time). Therefore, the case of Texas trying to secede and the case of Somaliland have no basis as both have different backgrounds.
You then said the name Somaliland shows colonial love. Well then if that is true so too does Somalia (as it was referred to Somalia italiana at the time of colonialisation.). Then with that same token so too is The Sudan (as called by Arab traders centuries before and formalized by the British) and Madagascar and Djibouti along with other countries which have long kept their colonial name.
You then mentioned how the dream of Greater Somalia died when Djibouti or Ogadenia opted out and you seemed indifferent to this. So why then isit that people of your opinions harbour virulent disdain towards Somaliland when it too opts to leave the notion of Greater Somalia.
I agree with what you have said that like East and West Germany Somalis from Somalia and Somaliland should forgive one another. However, at the same time people who say this will praise the late dictator Siad Barre in the same breath and deny the many gross human rights violations committed against the people of Somaliland. People say everyone suffered which is true, but the North was the only place whereby the army actively tried to kill its own people, Hargeisa had the unfortunate distinction of being the only city where a fighter plane from the same country took off from its run way to bomb the inhabitants of its city which led to well over 50,000 deaths of civillians (see Human Rights Watch: A government at war with its own people: 1990) for an objective account of the human rights abuses committed by the late dictator.
You then ended your statement with a self-fulfilling prophecy which has proven how you think when you stated; “But at the end of the day the issue of Somalia vs Somaliland won’t be solved through blogs or twitter or facebook.
It’ll happen one day in the Somali Parliament in Mogadishu, with a simple yes or no vote.”
The fact that you believe it is up to Mogadishu to decide the fate of Somaliland shows why Somalilanders look back at anger when recalling the union created on the 1st July 1960. The said experience was that Mogadishu and the South were the hub of development which led to the political, economic and social marginalisation of the Northern Somali region. My mother recalled how if one wanted to get a simple passport stamp or go to a decent hospital or enter university they would have to make the long, ardous journey all the way to Mogadishu to do so. So well before Siad Barre, the seeds of Northern discontent in the union were sown and for you to say a Mogadishu parliament will decide everything is a foolish statement indeed. Did Addis Abba have free reign to decide the fate of Eriteria? Did Kharthoum have permission to decide the fate of South Sudan? It is a shame that people like yourself who despite all the ills of the union and the prevailing civil war of the 80s and 90s want to relive the inequalities of the union at the expense of Somaliland and its people’s right for self determination and development.
I believe that there are genuinely people who are sincere and believe in Greater Somalia but sadly often I come across people like yourself who use Somaliweyn as a cloak to advance their own bias and opinions. Surely as a fellow Somali you should be proud of Somaliland for building up its state and community via grassroots and an inclusive process (see Boorama conference 1993). In the same way I am proud of the former might of Mogadishu and the same way I hope for Mogadishu to retain its former peace and splendor. I mean what was Somaliland to do in 1991? Collapse and begin a civil war, it is almost as if some people are angry at Somaliland for putting its house in order, there is a difference between ideology and concrete facts, even if you dislike the Somaliland ideology as a fellow Somali you should at least applaud its achievements. I realise Somalilanders are not perfect and often come across as arrogant and insensitive but at the same time people like yourself are in that same bracket.
May Somalia find its peace and may Somaliland long continue to succeed.
Mate (jamac with the farrax complex fella) you stated; “The second example was Germany, ah.. Germany a major player in both World Wars we’ve had to date… and what happened there? East Germany (the Nazis) and West Germany it became… the East lead by Hilter and their secret police.. in effect was a police state. We all know how that end. The Nazis got defeated and at one point in time, Germany was hit with the largest tab in the history of the world… one that would make it bankrupt for centuries but then the ppl of West Germany forgave the ppl the East (spiritually) and the WALL separating the two was brought down during the Reagan Era.”
I don’t know who taught you GCSE History, however, the Nazis preceded the spilt up of Germany and for you to say Hitler led East Germany is indeed strange considering he died a full 4 years before the establishment of East and West Germany in 1949 under the Cold War rivals (the US and the USSR).
Also when you mentioned that the Nazis were defeated and Germany was hit with the largest tab in the history of the world, this never happened under the Nazis, rather this happened to germany at the end of World War 1 under he Treaty of Versailles (1919) which led to hyperinflation, bankruptcy major debt and above all the EMERGENCE of the Nazis and Hitler. You then said that the West Germans forgave the East Germans when there was nothing to forgive as Germany was divided against its will by the USSR and the USA.
I’m not trying to come across as pretentious but if you are going to try to discredit the achievements of Somaliland, please at least get your historical facts and analogies in order please, to make for a decent debate.
Blue and White, you say I will never let my people and my country split, goodness gracious who are your people I wonder? Not me of course and not the people of Somaliland. I can feel your mouth foaming with hatred for us. Shame on you, keep dreaming. Somalia was yesterday and Somaliland is tomorrow. We have already moved on with our lives but you seem to be stuck in your glorious days of nepotism during Barre’s rule. Save your crocodile tears for the circus in Mogadishu.Learn to live and to love and let other’s live. I will also take this opportunity to ask Allah to cleanse your heart of the hatred for Somalilander’s . Ameen
You see people, this IS the problem! How can Mo Farah’s achievements lead to discussions about Somaliland/Somalia/Germany/texas/Nazis? REALLY? Can we not just be happy that a fellow canjeero-eating-rice and banana having, macawis wearing dude made history! and has somehow dispelled the notion that Somalis are a bunch of good for nothing, lazy welfare scroungers?
You had me at banana! my sister from another mister!
U sheeg Hodo! Lol! So true sister!
LOL, whenever Idil is called out on her BS she accuses the opponent of being emotional, irrational and qabilist..and she also pulls the victim card by accusing her opponent of attacking her personally. Yet, Idil is always the first one to resort to personal attacks whenever she´s challenged and called out on her BS.
@ Idil, before talking about Puntland I suggest you learn the history of Puntland and Puntlanders…and NO you don´t get a free pass to spew BS by claiming to be a Puntlander or by having been there once in your entire life time, and no darling, having relatives with war wounds doesn´t make your claims any more legitimate. You still need to get your facts and history straight.
And btw…Puntland ha noolato.
Dear someone with knowledge of my first name and well versed in my travel movements,
Clearly you have access to my opinions via my personal facebook account, and I’m sorry that I’m so inaccessible that you couldn’t express your discontentment with my style of rhetoric, and had to bring it to my blog..I’ll work on being more accessible to you in the future.…i’m not impervious to critique, and again, we gotta remember, this is only the opinion of one blogger amongst many blogs…So fair enough walaal, I’ll let you have your moment, and know that my inbox is open if you wanna talk 🙂 In the meantime, use this opportunity to educate us on the real history of Puntland, and give us your take on this issue..That’s what a blog is for..Space for discourse, exchange of ideas, and sometimes it gets heated..Not to take shots at people you couldn’t have the courage to take shots at without anonymity
I read through this article, and i found it rather comedic and enlightening more than anything else. It tries to shed light on how our tribalist, and regional mentality have divided Somalis.
I would like all Somalis to understand that the rest of the World moves on, and Somalia goes unnoticed. Our people are displaced, and dying of famine, and corruption, yet here we are on our fancy couches and laptops prescribing hate to other regions/provinces of our country. I am fortunate enough to have been raised in a western nation, and commemorate the development and the progress of Somaliland.
Nevertheless, I can understand where the mentality of ‘Somali-weyne till death do us part’ comes from. However, i find people hide behind this label sometimes to project their tribalist views. I myself want a unified Somalia. To be fair, i also notice that when a somalilander accomplishes a great fleet like our beloved Mo Farah, suddenly every northerner identifies themselves as a Somalilander and not from Somalia. When someone from the south accomplishes something great (maybe K’naan or *insert who ever comes from the south here*) they identify as simply a Somali *viva a unified state* It’s human nature to want to be associated with something that is successful and dissociate from the fallen state.
But what i’m trying to advocate is a unified Somalia..when i say Somali, i NEVER think south. I think that wonderful Number Seven shaped nation on the world map: all tribes, regions, and dialects included. What the hay, let’s throw some ogaden and Djibouti in there too. We need to stand up, and commemorate the north for it’s attributions yet advocate a unified nation and eradicate this seperatist mentality without speaking of tribes or doing it in a manner that seeks solely to associate with the better part of the country, and dissociate from those who lag behind. That is utter regretion, and hasn’t done much for our nation so far. Lets pray for our Fellow SOMALIS (i mean every somali) and hold hands and work towards rebuilding our nation through Hope and Effort. If one part of Somalia fails, every part fails. We need to be there for each other. Eradicating al-shabaab helps 🙂
Sincerely, a logical teenager
Dear logical teenager,
I think you just taught us all at your young age a lesson in reason and civilized discourse. If we Somalis could get together and convey our experiences and views in a similar manner, we’d be unstoppable.
It´s clear to me that this afrolens chick must have taken Puntland history lessons from her Isaaq boyfriend. This entire spoof is nothing but a declaration of love to her Isaaq love interest. Why else would the author stoop the ultimate low of projecting Somaliland/Isaaq mentality onto Puntland? Denying privileges under the socialist regime? That would be the Isaaq, who will claim that they were barred from ministerial posts in the government (false, ask Silaanyo) that they were barred from Universities (false, ask Hadraawi). Also why don´t you enlighten us on how Puntlanders were privileged during the Barre regime? Where dowlada kacaanka erecting skyscrapers and five start hotels in Gaalkacayo, Garoowe, Eyl, or Bosaaso? Was there sa huge influx of government funds to that region, funds that were denied other regions?
Warsame, eat your heart out,Somaliland does exist, was exisistng and will forever exist. Layazidu dhalimuna ola khasara, indeed with all your hate, you shall gain nothing.
HasanPuntlandi, xanuun xun ayaad qabtaa ee ilaahey ha kaa daweeyo! I did not realise how sick some of us are! Bisinka! Your comments and accusations are just disgusting and you are in denial. It is like when I try to raise awareness about racism and somalis like you tell me, ‘she must be going out with a dhagax!’ to put it in a polite! Your mentality is UF and aqas! I am so glad that my sister provoked you and many others in coming outr of your hiding places and airing your tribalism and hatred and disrespect in the open. For that, she is my QUEEN sister and a great hope a reason for all somalis.
You guys are brilliant! LOL I love these people, as they’re making my job alot easier. Its like they read my blurb on extremist qabilists and decided to become a caricature of a caricature. But thankfully, there were so many nuanced and brilliant comments (even those that disagreed provided a well balanced political analysis), and trying to not let those who will be left behind in our state building initiatives get the best of us…Let them rant and roar…Atleast this blog can give them a sense of freedom denied to them by their own tribal overlords.
At Samiyaah,
That’s how this political blogging thing works. Political satire parodies an object/subject
with the hopes of making a greater political/social commentary, and people argue, discourse is had, and
kittens win. But sometimes, something great happens, the satirized object/subject comes into the
discussion and dances to the tune of his own caricature. This is a great moment, because the best of them
will realize, ‘wait a minute, I’m the punchline aren’t I?’, and eureka a moment of introspection is born.
This is a good thing, and nothing to fear.
You then said something about bashing my ‘own’, and I couldn’t get through the rest of the sentence, because
its that mentality that I’m arguing against. I support any Somalis working for political stability,
and while not technically a Somalilander, aren’t we all one people? are we not Somalis? this ‘your own’ rhetoric is quite alarming.
I can understand some people are quite attached to their parochial ties, but not I. I try to
pride myself on my love for a form of political understanding that is two degrees above, ‘thats what my daddy taught me’.
Then you went onto to write some contradictory/almost latin based rant about writing someone a fan letter, and I suspect
even you lost your train of thought there. Something about Silanyo, and gold medals.
I’ll just let you win that point, as I can’t comprehend what your thesis was, but you then…oh man…then, you wrote this gem of a sentence,
“anywho, say what you please about your own, but don´t exploit Somaliland in anyway. Even the way you went out of your way to declare your support for Somaliland was suspicious and not credible.”
Ohhhhhhh…Eureka. So You’re a Somalilander concerned about the treatment of my ‘own’, and are hip to my motives. The plot thickens. You can see
beyond this. You’re onto me aren’t you? To you, this isn’t some blog entry to call for unity, and a sense of self-awareness about how we all play a part in this, but rather a sneaking ploy to desecrate the honour of my ‘own’ by pretending to be a Somalilander. I like you. And I suspect
some of the extremist Puntlanders might like you even more. Your conspiracy theory is more paranoid than theirs, and really gets to the heart of
the complexity of mutinous puntlanders. I like that. This is refreshing and hopeful. Actually, you exemplify hope. Evidence that despite your Somaliland loyalties, you can still keep a watchful eye for traitors amongst Puntlanders. If one Puntlander and a Somalilander can be united in their thought that the Afrolens chick is quite suspect, then i’ll happily be the sacrificial lamb, and hoping more strides are made. Thank you for restoring a little bit of hope today.
That’s progress to me.
P.S. Also, just so no one suspects my motives and doesn’t out me like you just brilliantly did, what can I do
to bring home the message that I’m for Somaliland. Should I change my blog background into the those royal colours? help a sister out.
@Afrolens: “You guys are brilliant! LOL I love these people, as they’re making my job alot easier. Its like they read my blurb on extremist qabilists and decided to become a caricature of a caricature”
Very convenient for you, isn´t? To make a satire of something that you (hopefully) know is volatile and is likely to stir emotions and engender some level of controversy, only to say: “look, I told you so, they´re getting emotional and they´re showing they´re qabilist colors”, and have a laugh at it? Very irresponsible and immature of you, I must say.
I just wished you kept Somaliland out of your mouth. If you want to hate on your own, be they Somaliweyn or Puntland, you can do so without envolving us.
Also, if you want think that Mo Farah´s historic olympic win wasn´t the time to for Somaliland/Somalia issues, then write an angry fan letter to Mo Farah, who went straight to Somaliland to recieve an honorary diploma from Mudane Siilanyo himself. The clip is youtube and you can clearly hear that Mo Farah is a proud Somalilander.
So tell us, Did Mo Farah try to ruin his own win by going to Somaliland as a Somalilander who won Gold for Britain?
Anywho, say what you please about your own, but don´t exploit Somaliland in anyway. Even the way you went out of your way to declare your support for Somaliland was suspicious and not credible.
You are not serious.
What you said makes no damn sense at all. You said that she was trying to bad mouth Somaliland when in fact she equally criticized Somaliland, Somaliweyn and Puntland advocates all together,
Secondly, once you said; “if you want to hate on your own….”. What do you mean by that? I’m all for Somaliland but correct me if I’m wrong, but are we not all Somalis regardless of whether we from Puntland, Somaliland, South Somalia etc.
You’re actually embarrassing yourself when you talk about Mo Farah and him going haregisa etc etc. This is not about Mo Farah but about what people saw and believed from their bias viewpoint.
You keep saying; “your own” as if we are not all Somalis. Even though I am what you would call a pro-Somaliland supporter, I can see why people are so against Somaliland when I hear uneducated comments such as yours. From your use of the term “your own” I can infer that you are a Somaliland supporter probably because of tribalism and you probably support it because your tribe does. This is what annoys me, there are so much good things about Somaliland; such as the grassroots state building it achieved, genuine democratic elections and a burgeoning but vocal civil society. Unfortunately it is people like you that give Somaliland a bad press and make it an easy target for all.
To be honest, it is because of people like you that Somaliland has a bad rep, you use nonsense to justify your arguments and beliefs and you constantly use the victim mentality. The people of Somaliland back in Africa and the Somaliland advocates in the diaspora are no match, the people back home just deal with their lives, state building and show no hate or bias against fellow Somalis from Puntland, South Somalia etc whereas many in the diaspora just talk about hate, paranoia etc etc.
Tbh you are just as bad as all those extreme Puntland advocates that are commenting on this blog and that you guys are most defo the people who should stay far, far away from these kind of debates as you are clearly people who are not intellectually mature enough to have these discourses.
Excellent point Carlito. I was in Somaliland, was blown away by the diversity of its people. Amhara restauranteurs next to Somalis from Baidoa, and all proud Somalilanders. I think people fail to understand that Somaliland is a state in the Horn of Africa, and gone are the days of reducing that nation to one qabil. It’s diverse, and honestly, most of the qabilist rhetoric are spewed by diaspora folks, some who’ve never set foot in Somaliland. The locals in Hargeisa, Burco are not concerned with any of that and I was only asked my qabil so they could find some sort of commonality, or tell me a time they were in Xamar to make a connection. I think Somalis back home, irregardless of their region are over this, and just want peace, and some sort of reconciliation with their kin.
Samiyaaaa, Carlito responded very well to you by saying :
‘Tbh you are just as bad as all those extreme Puntland advocates that are commenting on this blog and that you guys are most defo the people who should stay far, far away from these kind of debates as you are clearly people who are not intellectually mature enough to have these discourses.’
So I will not bother adding more to respond your ignorance and obvious tribalism. You are exactly the type of Somalilander highlighted in the article!
Keep doing what you do Afrolens! Bless up!
@ Carlito: I support Somaliland because I am from Somaliland. Somalis like yourself and Afrolens seem to be the only ones who have problems with Somalilanders who are supportive of eachother and our country. What do you want us to do? Wallow in self-destruction, self-pity and self-hatred? No, we won´t do that. That is not the Somaliland way. Somaliland has proven herself to be able to rise from it´s own ashes like the Phoenix. I´m proud to be a Somalilander, I´m priviliged to have a country called Somaliland as my own. I´m also proud because I contribute to this great nation.
I made no mention of tribes in my post, Somaliland ers are the only Somalis woth multiparty system and we´re the only ones who are moving away from tribalism on our terms. Not on terms dictated by the International community. Your government is based on 4.5 tribal system, so please don´t talk to me about tribalism, when you know where the cancer of tribalism is the most malignant.
@Afrolens: ****Applause***, so you´ve been to Somaliland? How many times? Let me guess: only one time? And now you´re an all knowing expert on all things Somaliland?
,A colonized mind such as yourself wouldn´t understand what loyalty to a country means. Somaliland is prosperous because of many people like myself who believe in it, and we will continue to support and contribute to our country no matter how much a colonized hater wants to begrudge us and belittle our success, a success which includes, a national identity, effectively conveyed by people not very different from the ones you “satirized”. LOL, and please stop saying you support Somaliland only to support “reer magaalo” points among your own,
Anyway, I hope you find the help you need for your issues, hating on others through a blog won´t solve anything. The real battle is out there. I´m only 23 and not far from my master degree, after that I will make Somaliland my permanent home, instead of just working/volunteering there on summers and x-mas holidays, I will devote all my time and energy to make Somaliland a better place.
I guess you will be doing the same old nothing, writing half truths, ranting and hating. Good luck.
@Zaynab, have some self respect..don´t be a dabodhilif for someone who using your community for self promotion.
I you want good satires go to Amiin Arts, he has real talent, and his suff is hiliarious,
Loool! Are you for real!??
You said:
‘Somaliland ers are the only Somalis woth multiparty system and we´re the only ones who are moving away from tribalism on our terms. Not on terms dictated by the International community.’
In which Somaliland you live in?? Loool! It is based on anything but multiparty system who are moving away from tribalism!! The people maybe trying but it is still converned by tribalism. People over there could have made a choice more based on who is actually going to help the progress of the country but at the end of the day they have a leadership stuck in tribalism. So, people are brainwashed and endoctrinated so they vote for their reer representative and not for the one who actually can create a better society, education, health and infrastructure for their country. It is all about who is near to you by qabiil. So take your bs and denial somewhere else.
Lool! I am so amused! You must defend somaliland with these baseless and illeducated arguments rather than defend it in an intellectually critical manner. You are certainly not helping Somaliland so do not delude yourself into thinking you have dignity or self-respect. But thank God I know Somalilanders who do have dignity.
I’m at a loss for words. What on earth is your grievance? What is your thesis? I’ve really tried to make sense of your position, but between your incomprehensible sentences, and amusingly declarative statements like ‘colonized hater’, i’m left scratching the proverbial head.
So far I’ve pieced together that perhaps you may feel slighted by my characterization of zealot Somalilanders, and saw a bit of yourself in that parody? If so, say so. You can’t go from zero to 60 when you haven’t made your point or grievance clear. Here’s a hint, should you embark on any future expeditions to political blogs; Start with a declarative statement so your audience knows what you’re talking about. Perhaps something like, “Dear Afrolens, I think your characterization of Somaliland nationalists is flawed, biased, and offensive, and here’s why, 1)….2)….3)…., etc.” Then I could respond, and you respond, and eureka, an exchange is born.
LOL@your ‘im 23 and going places’ speech. That’s so cute. Congratulations on the forthcoming masters degree, and hope you follow through with your promises of returning home and assisting your community. But a little unsolicited advice, I would work on your rhetoric and conversational skills a bit. Irregardless of your position, it never looks good if you sound incomprehensible or irrational. There’s nothing wrong with being passionate, but making sense is the first step. I’m assuming an ambitious young lady such as yourself will inevitably encounter critics and dissidents and its best you brush up on your skills now and be done with any talk of ‘haters’. Calling a political opponent a ‘hater’ is a sure sign that one is 16 year old who poses with the two finger peace-sign on facebook pictures; not a good look. Other than that, good luck.
P.S. relax, we all wanna see Somaliland win. Is Aruuri.
This girl has problems lol. What strikes me is how she debates like a little kid, why an earth do we care how old you are or what you are doing in life? This ain’t a dating site love. To be honest if I spoke to someone like you about Somaliland I would hate it too, you think you’re praising somaliland but really people like yourself are the reason somaliland is hated by many in the somali community because you make no damn sense and are completely and utterly irrational. Somaliland or Somalia does not need your kind frankly.
Seriously this girl has issues, even though I’m what some people refer to as a “Sessecionist” whenever I meet uneducated and irrational somaliland supporters such as yourself I cant stand them equally as much as all those extreme SOmaliweyn and extreme Puntland advocates. You all have one thing in common, being uneducated and tribalistic.
Good riddance to the lot of you I say.
Booramaboy, its hopeless. She’s in full caricature mode. Now if we could only convince Samiyaah to leave political discourse alone, everyone would win. Just show up to the May 18th events and leave the politics alone. I need to write a separate piece on the enigma that is the dhayuus baro (diaspora).
LOL! I laughed so unbelievably hard while reading this piece! I absolutely loved it. I loved the part with the favourite activities of Farax and Halimo Somaliweyn til death do as apart Shirwac. Had you added “stockpiling wadani songs and poems by Careeys Ciise Karshe,Sayid Mohammed Abdille Hasan and Timocadde” I would´ve become paranoid and convinced that Afrolens was watching and spying on me! Great spoof, honestly. As much as I recognized myself in this spoof, I also understand why I´m barred Somalia/Somaliland discussions. Since I´m not savvy in politics ( I love conspiracy theories too much to ever be a great political analyst), I manifest my love for Somaliweyn by partying like it´s 1999 every July 1st. Innocent fun which harms no one.
Love to all my Somali people !
Hahahhahaha….Somaliweyn was yours truly once a upon time..Its my favourite demographic. I literally peed the blue and white flag colours. Btw, there’s no way your a member of that group, because you have one important quality they lack: introspection. All these caricatures of these zealots all lack introspection. Maybe you’re a recovering Somali-weyn addict like yours truly 😛
@Afrolens: A political blog? LOL, really? Is that what this? I could´ve sworn that this blog was nothing but the diary of some 30 year old bitter woman who´s currently suffering from an early mid-life crisis.
And thank you for explaining twice what satire is, even though I think anyone with western high school diploma/ is familiar with South Park or Family Guy knows what satire is these days. LOL
Anyway, I wouldn´t even have bothered with this non-sensical piece of yours if you´d kept 1988 and Somaliland out of your mouth. What kind of Somali “satirizes” and makes comedy of 1988? I´ll tell you: A Somali who has completely internalized the idea that Somali lives are worthless and that our tragedies can be served up as comedies for the world´s amusement.
How many Americans “satirize” 9/11? How many Jews “satirize” Auschwitz? How many Rwandans “satirize” the Rwandan genocide in the same tacky way which you chose to satirize 1988?
Leave it to self-hating Somalis to make a mockery of Somali tragedies either to score reer magaalo points within their own tribal groups or with their non Somali friends.
@ Zeynab, Somaliland has a multiparty system and our former president Kahin was a non Isaaq. We´re moving on, wether you like it or not.
“Leave it to self-hating Somalis to make a mockery of Somali tragedies either to score reer magaalo points within their own tribal groups or with their non Somali friends.”
There you go again with these nonsensical statements. What are you talking about? Do you proofread your statements or just speak from the heart? Unfortunately, what you just wrote fails make an iota of sense. You literally stitched together meaningless words and said ‘boom, checkmate’. Huh? This is what we’re all talking about Samiyyah, you don’t make sense. No one is challenging your opinions; We just don’t know what you’re talking about. Can someone help me out here? and what on earth are these reer magaal points she keeps referring to? and more importantly, can you trade them in for visas?
And I did not satirize 1988, it seems you’re also at war with reading comprehension and context clues. But what I did do was satirize how tribalist zealots use that historic event to spew vile hatred at their opponents, and derail any form of dissent, and how this event is often used to silence discourse between opposing camps..I’m satirizing the zealots here, and yes Americans do satirize Americans who use 911 as a propaganda tool, have you been asleep the last 11 years? American politics is based on this, and yes Israelis satirize zionists who use the holocaust to justify their current transgressions. Following the pattern here? I’ll give you one more clue..Its like John Stewart proclaiming to his audience, ‘”favourite holiday of neoconservatives? 911″. Did he satirize 911 there? or did he make a satirical comment about the irrationality of certain americans when it comes to hijacking an event to suit their political agenda? Light bulb going off or darkness still?
Anyway, I’m glad you finally understand satire, now you need a lesson in the difference between political satire and propaganda. Actually nevermind….
Hun, go finish that master degrees of yours and do your people proud. Stay away from politics. I know your intentions are good, but your misinformed and amateur opinions do nothing to give credence to folks who’ve worked hard to make Somaliland the great nation it is…Its a new world where rhetoric is a powerful political tool, and folks are in the business of building bridges and gone are the days of mindless ‘ha nolaato’ sheeko. Just love your nation, but please do it in silence. A 23 year old member of the dhayuus baro(thats what they call you back home, not my words) is really not qualified to speak on behalf of a Nation…Just finish your degree. do well, and prosper long. I’m trying to be really sensitive to you here, but you sound like a 15 year old just discovering wifi access..Your understanding of politics is just juvenile, and like many of your fellow Somalilanders have advised you, please remove yourself as the spokesperson for this country, and stick to your community work. I think you’ll do great in that. Please do keep us posted on your work in the region!
Dayuusbaro, is that what they called you when you visited Somaliland as a tourist? LOL, it´s quite hilarious that a 30 something year old woman, with a broken af soomaali (and who btw is a diaspora dweller herself) is trying to call me out on being a diasporan. You´ve only paid one visit to Somaliland, so please stop acting like you´re an authority on the region, especially when you´re talking to a Somalilander.
Jon Stewart kulahaa, now you´re comparing Somalilanders who insist on not forgetting about 1988 to Neo-Cons? ( I hope we get our own Neo-Cons in Somaliland soon, I think they are great!) Not only that, but you´re also sugesting that Somalilanders are hijacking 1988? The hijacker here is you, a non Somalilander whose trying to tell Somalilanders how to handle 1988.
Samiyah, walaal, I’m now officially worried for your mental sanity. Your writing style and your obsession with the personal details of my life, speculations and theories about where I live, my age, my travel movements should’ve sounded the alarms, but instead I thought you were just a passionate commentator. For anyone reading this exchange, this what Samiyah wrote earlier this week under a different pen name (same I.P address, blog details reveal all)
Observer
Innocentiousqxdv@hotmail.com
Submitted on 2012/08/17 at 1:27 am
LOL, whenever Idil is called out on her BS she accuses the opponent of being emotional, irrational and qabilist..and she also pulls the victim card by accusing her opponent of attacking her personally. Yet, Idil is always the first one to resort to personal attacks whenever she´s challenged and called out on her BS.
@ Idil, before talking about Puntland I suggest you learn the history of Puntland and Puntlanders…and NO you don´t get a free pass to spew BS by claiming to be a Puntlander or by having been there once in your entire life time, and no darling, having relatives with war wounds doesn´t make your claims any more legitimate. You still need to get your facts and history straight.
And btw…Puntland ha noolato.
Oy vey…Now this is new…She was a Puntlander, and now is a Somalilander, Both of your personalities (the puntlander and the Somalilander) are deeply disturbed, and this is where the music ends. Samiyah/Observer/whoever you are, I didn’t think it was possible to become obsessed with a blogger, and I have no idea where you think you know me from. but you’ve proven that anything is possible these days. If you continue your harassment, I will expose your I.P address on my blog and report you to the authorities, because stalking someone is actually a crime. Please get professional help, as I’m genuinely worried for you. Just shut off the computer, and deal with whatever demons you’re battling.
* SIGH*
ditto!
LOOL Wooow.
Yeah I kinda suspected the extreme puntland people and this extreme somaliland chick were the same person.
Its actually really sad that someone would stoop that low just to try and attack someone, somalis have officially lost the plot.
Good blog, keep it up
LOL Right? seriously worried for that person’s mental health. She literally made up two email accounts and identities to do this. Damn! We got a country in turmoil, and folks are wilding out like this? I think you’re right. We’ve lost the plot.
Well done, as usual! Witty and sharp comeuppance to the ‘dogs of war’. Will they/we ever learn?!
You can definitely see your expertise in the work you
write. The sector hopes for even more passionate writers like
you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe. Always go after your heart.
“Denying the horrible legacy/privileges under the Siad Barre regime. Presenting themselves as the sole victims/victors/intelligentsia of this entire region. Longwinded stories of ‘Mogadishu’s glory days’ (no one else seems to remember this period except them). Nurradin Farah novels. Secularism. Cabdulahi yusuf. Comparing their plight to that of the Jews. Khatuumo state parties.”
This is by far the most devastating quote, and probably the erroneous, particularly the first 3 sentences. I think she thought she came off as witty and factual. I gather the author is the girl from Twitter. You might want to go back and read a few books that cover the most elementary of history surrounding our country if you spout something like that.