Changing the Conversation, Moving Somalia Forward A Just, Fair, and Truly Inclusive Somalia
It is by no means an exaggeration to say that the Somali people, and therefore, the nation is in the midst of its most difficult and trying historical moment. The signs of this difficult moment are revealed in the total resignation that characterizes the everyday Somali individual everywhere from Cape Town, South Africa to Calgary, Canada. It is specifically revealed in Maana Faay’s life, the mother whose husband, a friend of one of our colleagues, was killed in 2006 in Mogadishu by unidentified assailants. Just few month ago again, her oldest son and only financial support was ambushed and killed while walking back from the mosque after Isha prayers. And when asked if she knew who was behind the killing, she responded, I never even bothered to ask, and said in resigned voice, what can I do even if I knew his killers? She said, Ilaaha Wayn, Isagaana noo Ciidan ah.
The story of Maana Faay is not unique in any way, but the experience of millions of Somali mothers whose sons are killed, and/or forced to become child soldiers. It is the story of the Somali mother in that out of sight, out sound, and environmentally difficult space known as Kakuma refugee camp, who is up all night every night to fend sexual predators from her 14 and 16 year old daughters with no success at the end. It is the story of all the refugee mothers and daughters in the refugee camps throughout the region who are ransomed and raped without any accountability. It is the story of the hundreds of thousands Somali refugee mothers and their children “torn between hunger in Dabaab and uncertainty in at home in Somalia.
It is ultimately the story of the entire Somali people whose misery is by now a global public knowledge. A knowledge which I do not want to bore you with, but suffice to say that Somalia and the Somali society is fighting an existential war, one that has been slowly gathering clouds. The cloud starting gathering as early 1967 when more than 60 political parties, almost all clan based vied for power. It exploded twenty three years later on January 1, 1991 of a spontaneous mass up rise that led to the overthrow of the then military regime and created a huge power vacuum and one of the most spontaneous exoduses in the history of modern Africa. We, of course, admit that the source of this difficult historical moment is multiple, and has roots in both external and internal forces. Specifically, Somalia remains a victim of competing regional and international interest. Internally, the Somali people are victims of proxy clan, economic, and religious conflicts. The Somali people are duped to constantly think of the conflict in terms of a never ending cycle of war between clan y and x, warlord a versus warlord b, and/or which clan controls which region now, rather than discerning the fundamental social, economic, and demographic transformation that is occurring in the region today, and that will ultimately affect the geographic and social boundaries of Somalia and, by extension Somaliness. There are already amble data that show Somalia is both economically and demographically overwhelmed by it larger and more economically powerful neighbors. We already see larger numbers of people/immigrants from both countries in many regions of Somalia, and an increasing economic dependency on our neighbors as well. We, therefore, note that unless these demographic and economic forces are fully understood, and Somalis can figure out how to subdue the current conflict and the disintegration of Somalia, the ramparts of the nation as we know them will severely tested, if not hinged, by the demographic and economic forces of its neighbors. The purpose of Somali Siman is to change the Somali conversation from an obsession with a never ending everyday clan conflict to the larger and more existential issues that face the Somali nation today.
Our mission therefore calls for: A just Somalia in which every individual and each community is treated equally and embraced fully as members of the Somali nation. This mission is based on the conviction that unless the Somali are able to embrace and celebrate each other, the disintegration will continue and ultimately no one individual or group will be saved.
Our vision: We want a Somalia that provides a just, fair, and truly inclusive environment for every Somali citizen or group regardless of their social and/or economic background.