A NEW VISION FOR SOMALIA!

I have read Ms. Sindiya Darman’s article “Somali First or Somali Only?” about the issue of clan identity and how one responds to it. It reminds me of my own challenges as a Somali and the past encounters I have had.

I must say that clan identity is real among the Somali people even in the 21st century and comes up in most discussions especially among men at cafes, business points and other places where people meet. How people respond to it depends on their level of education, age, lifestyle among other factors.

I was a late comer to the city I now live in. I mean there were significant numbers of Somalis present when I moved there. However, I realized that they were not organized and they faced socio-cultural and legal challenges including education, immigration and security. So I decided to make a difference in my community and thus joined a group of seven who were already trying to form a community organization.

Two of the group members came to me at my apartment one late spring day in April and they explained to me how they wanted to form a community-based organization and that they needed me on their team. As if I knew this was going to come up, I accepted their invitation but on the condition that they won’t discriminate among themselves and among the members of the Somali community who we wanted to serve, in accessing services and employment opportunities. And they all agreed with me. So I joined the team. I must have been naïve then. As I would learn later, the team of seven had one Hawiye, one Rahan weyn, one Isaaq and four Darod clan members.

The work began and we registered an organization with the appropriate state agencies and the effort to build it from the ground took off with a smooth start. As the process materialized, two people, one darod and one Isaaq refused to show up for assignments much less bring ideas and money to the table. This however was out of poor performance and poor organization of their priorities rather than anything else. They may probably and, erroneously so, have believed they could still be part of the organization because they belonged to clans that ‘would have to’ be represented at the table no matter what. Not really.

We were down to five. Four months later, the Rahan Weyn brother exited because he believed in his own words “the Darod and Hawiye who swallowed his clan -caused his clan so much havoc- in Somalia wanted to be his president in America and that he couldn’t allow to happen.” I was shocked to hear this because it’s the one condition they promised me will never occur. I tried to persuade him otherwise but he would remain adamant and has thus quit the organization. It’s true and it saddens me as a Somali that the Rahan Weyn community suffered so much in the early 1990s that Baidoa was declared the city of death but how long can we be trapped in the past.

So, four of us remained on the fast moving train. The president and vice president, both darod, began to fight over the replacement of the Rahan Weyn brother, until their rift became irreconcilable. Each wanted to bring someone from their sub-clan on the board. I felt betrayed. I felt that I was on the wrong team and decided to quit. The president and VP each tried to win my loyalty but I knew it was over and never entertained to be treated to such low level politics. I wanted to bring people together and wanted to build a united, stronger Somali community but I realized that I didn’t have the right players on my team. So it was time to call for an end to the game. We timed out. And the organization collapsed with my departure.

Several months later, the Somali residents in my city called for a general meeting and I was invited to participate and was in the end elected to an 11-member team commissioned to build an organization for the community. It took us three months to put up all the structures necessary to build the organization. I then became a founder and the Secretary General of the organization out of a consensus.

When the organization opened an office center, it took many people by a surprise that a young man unknown to most long-time residents of the city was now an executive secretary. Word went around and people started tracing my clan origin. Those who couldn’t find out and of course they were over 98% of them decided to call me that I was from their clan just to give themselves credit or take pride in me while many others also began to call me mean things or clan names just to demean what I stood for: a Somali vision where ideas, education, merit and strong character matter without any need for clan allegiance.

I realized that some people were not interested in the beautiful ideas I had, in the colleges I attended, in the degrees I earned, or in the direction I wanted to take them to and where I wanted them to be in 10, 50 or 100 years, much less what legacy they wanted to leave their kids. Nonetheless, Two years later, the organization we founded is fully operational, providing services for all and sundry.

My decision not to honor clan allegiances comes from my parents. They always told me to make the world my family. To treat other people including those who come from a different clan, faith group etc, like they were my mom and dad if they were senior to me or like a sibling if we were age sets. This is more profound than anything I could learn from anywhere else. Then came my schooling with people from all the nations of the world, all faith groups, varying walks of life or skin color, you name it and we coexisted without stepping on each others’ toes; much more even helping each other when necessary.

As I learned in my working relationship with Somalis, clan divides. People trust you more when they know you don’t have allegiance to your clan because then they know you can dispense justice squarely. It’s up to the young Somalis to envision new pathways for our society and to inspire the change we want to see to happen. I also think that the young, educated and the wealthy are less clannish than others who are neither. One thing i certainly know is that liking and standing up for my clan over others gets me nowhere further than if i treated everyone equally and made everyone a player in my team. Actually, bringing every Somali on my team opens me up for more ideas and more opportunities than if i just stuck with my clan-mates. It's time we begun thinking outside the box especially those who hope to change the direction of Somali politics. And like Ms. Darman, I hope my wife will come from a different clan than mine when that moment finally arrives.

Author's contact: ahmednajaah@hotmail.com