NSPU

Abdulkair Idan's reaction to Ali Bahar's article in Awdalnews.com , entitled “Whispering Nationalists: Breathing Life into the Dying Somali Nationalism” was pompous and in some places downright insulting (his reference to Somali parliamentarians appointed in Kenya as “baboons”!!). What Mr. Ali Bahar lucidly stated was merely to underscore the fact: that our common bonds as Somalis, such as our race, religion, language, culture and shared territorial homeland in the Horn of Africa, had been in the past at the heart of our nationalism and were the driving forces that brought about the liberation and unity of the former British and Italian Somalilands in July 1960. The undeniable trend towards integration, both economic and political, that has been sweeping many regions of the world was given by Mr. Ali Bahar merely as a reminder of our own tragic disunity and collective self-destruction when most other people in the world were moving in the opposite direction.

Mr. Abdulkair Idan, in contrast to Ali Bahar, sees the world through the distorting glasses of a secessionist for whom unity and integration among the Somalis or any where else in the world are an anathema. Thus, for him, the world reality is dominated by the absence of nationalism or unity, even among regions that otherwise speak the same language such as North America (speaking English) and the Arab world (speaking Arabic).As he sees it, these regions are going their different ways despite sharing common heritages. For a proof, he cites the recent rejection of the constitution of the European Union (EU) by French and Dutch voters which he presents as a rejection of the EU treaty itself. That is not the case. The rejections of the constitution in both countries were not against the European integration per se, contrary to Abdulkadi's assertion, but rather an _expression of discontent with their governments on other issues such as unemployment, immigration to the EU (especially Muslim immigrants) and the possible enlargement of the EU to include Muslim Turkey.

As for the Arabs, it is true that they have not succeeded to create a union of their member states. But all the same, there are many cooperative arrangements among them in the economic, political, social, and cultural fields. In South East Asia , ASEAN is a successful regional economic and political grouping and it is not the only one among Asian countries. North America has its own economic grouping as do a number of Latin American countries. So what Ali Bahar has said is basically true even if nationalism is not every where the main driving engine towards economic and political integration in these regions of the world.

Even if some regions or countries unfettered by nationalism and common heritage were going their different ways, as Abdulkadir would have us believe, what has this got to do with the case of Somalia ?. Nothing. Somalia is not a region but a single independent country, which is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Conference and the African Union. What Abdulkadeir and other secessionists would like is simply Somalia 's disintegration so that what he calls Somaliland can then go its own way and be recognized as the only functioning entity. For all secessionists, our common shared heritage is irrelevant. What counts most for him is the fact that we were once upon a time two distinct colonial countries prior to the union. As they see it, the history of the land he calls “Somaliland” begins from the date of British colonisation and ends on the date of its independence on the 26 of June Its history before colonisation as part and parcel of the overall Somali homeland with no borders is conveniently forgotten. The inviolable act of union is now unilaterally considered by the secessionists as null and void.

Needless to say, there was no such a land called Somaliland before colonisation. Like everywhere else in the overall Somali homeland, the clans now inhabiting the N.W region had no separate identity different from other Somali clans in the Horn. Loyalty was not to a non-existent Somaliland but to the clan and related wider clans beyond their traditional grazing areas.

Our common bonds are indivisible. They cannot hold for Somaliland and not for the whole of Somalia . We are either one people or nothing. For the secessionists, it is the British connection which counts and nothing else. How can the mere common experience of having been former British subjects in the last century serve as the basis for national identity and outweigh our common heritage of shared religion, language, race and culture?. And if you reject our common heritage, then you automatically reject the basis of a nation state. And without the attributes of a nation state, we will simply remain scattered clans- Isaak, Darood, Hawiye, Digil, Gadabuursi, Issa, etc,-just as we had been before and during colonisation.

A better example of disintegrated countries is not those given by Abdulkadir but rather the former Soviet Union , the former Yugoslavia and Ethiopia . When the Soviet Union collapsed, the former satellite nationalities become independent. Yugoslavia was similarly composed of various nationalities having different languages and religions. They too fell apart after the death of President Tito and the subsequent bloody civil war is now a matter of history. Ethiopia is an empire that had swallowed other territories and nationalities including our own. Eritrea has succeeded to liberate itself through armed struggle. As for the Ogaden liberation movement, it had admittedly its ups and downs but is all the same alive and kicking, and it is only a matter of time before they too liberate themselves. Only the pessimists, defeatists or downright secessionists can doubt this.

The Somali case, now as it is, or as it was during its colonisation, cannot be compared to those regions or countries that are either integrating or disintegrated. A good comparison for Somalia would be the case of the former East and West Germany . Following the end of the Second World , Germany was divided by the victorious powers into two parts: West and East Germany . When the Soviet Union collapsed, East Germany , which was nothing more than a Soviet colony, immediately reunited with West Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Somali homeland had gone through more or less similar experience. The European powers together with Ethiopia had partitioned the Somali territory into five parts. When two powers, Italy and Great Britain , gave independence to their respective parts, their former colonies immediately reunited thereby ending a century -old artificial colonial division. Just as East Germany , or parts of it, cannot today secede from the rest of Germany , so is the case with Somalia . The former British Somaliland or parts of it cannot break away from the union despite their declared secession. That is why no single country has recognized the secessionists' self-declared independence.

Mr. Abdulkadirs article is full of animus towards the Somalis in general other than his Somalilanders (a camouflage for his secessionist clan). His condescending sermon is particularly directed at the Southern Somalis who he sees as good for nothing. This arrogant, chauvinistic attitude is common among certain clans in the North West . Apart from his objectionable attitude, he claims that it was the Somalilanders who culturally civilized the Southerners (gave them the national anthem) or brought nationalism to them. Bravo! Such is the distorted view of our history - a mixture of sheer ignorance and clan chauvinism. Every one should read the brilliant article by Ismail Ali Ismail which appeared in WardheerNews few days ago.

Needless to say, it was the South, through the S.Y.L movement, which has spawned and spread Somali nationalism throughout the Somali homeland in the Horn Africa. And it was Sayed Mohamed Hassan before them who fought the British for over 20 years but was finally defeated by overwhelming superior forces and technology. Mr. Abdulkadir's heroes in British Somaliland , were at that time mercenaries for the British. He should listen to the Sayid's poems and what he had to say about what he considered as traitors. Those of us who come from the cradle of the Darwish movement have much to be proud of as true nationalists. As Ali Bahar advocated, let us breathe life into our dormant nationalism.

Mohsin Mahad

Email: mohsinmahad@yahoo.co.uk