The Color of War

Dhawaqan

Dhawaqan is a political poem that analysis Somalia's current governance roadmap:

From Somalia to SCSU: Recent SCSU Graduates Share Refugee Stories

The article below authored by Vicki Ikeogu and first published on The University Chronicle highlights the challenges three siblings faced from displacement from their native land to finding a new place to call home in the State of Minnesota, U.S. It is not always easy navigating change across multiple levels but Abdikadir, Anab and Farhiyo Idifle have against all odds overcome great challenges to achieve their American dream in accessing higher education: Earning a college diploma may seem challenging to some, but three recent SCSU graduates have faced far greater challenges in order to even get to that point. Leaving their war-torn homeland, living in a refugee camp in Kenya for nearly two decades, flying half-way across the globe and being transplanted into mainstream American society, siblings Farhiya, Anab and Abdikadir Idifle have struggled with adversity in adapting to their new environment and the desire to maintain their national identity. After being born and spending the early years of their lives in Somalia, the Idifles were suddenly thrust into the chaos of Somalia’s civil war, which broke out in 1991. “Everyone was escaping for their lives,” said Ahmed Ali, Farhiya’s husband. “Everybody took flight. It was either fight or flee.” The Idifle siblings soon found themselves displaced persons. Without a home, Farhiya, Anab, and Abdikadir were forced to move into the Dadaab Protected Refugee Camp across the border in the neighboring country of Kenya. “Everything was taken away,” said Farhiya. “When you’re living there, it is difficult to survive.” The siblings described their seventeen-year stay at Dadaab as one of unknown dangers and constant concern. “Life was a struggle,” said Abdikadir. “There was not enough food.” “There was not enough healthcare,” said Anab. “The most difficult thing was security,” Ali said of the Idifle’s experience. “There was looting and rape. Without the protection of a government, people were vulnerable.” As a refugee, Ali explained that people in the same situation as the Idifles were essentially trapped. There was limited movement between the refugee camps; one was basically stuck there. “Your rights were not protected. You have lost your nationality,” Ali said. However, about five years ago, the Idifles got the chance they were hoping for; a chance to leave their refugee camp home of seventeen years. Ali explained how the process of relocating to another foreign country works. Ali said that each year, the foreign nations, such as the United States, allocate for a certain number of refugees they are willing to allow to stay in their country. Then, it will be decided which people are eligible to leave, and according to Ali, it’s those that have priorities, such as those who cannot go back to their home country, or those that have been in the camp for a long time. Those that are eligible, go through a lengthy process of interviews, background checks, medical screenings and security checks. Refugees that successfully meet all of the criteria are allowed to leave the camps for a new life. That new life, however, brought about a new series of challenges for the Idifles. Landing in Chicago, the Idifles stayed there for about three months before relocating to Minnesota, which houses a growing population of Somali immigrants, with nearly 10,000 in the St. Cloud area alone. “Everything was new,” said Anab. “You had to become dependent on someone,” Farhiya said. Ali explained the dependence on the existing Somali community was to help with the transition to life in America. “You don’t know the social norms or the culture. You have no navigation of the school or health care system. The community helps with financial aid, shows you where to go for a primary clinic, and how to apply for jobs.” “It’s all about the support system we get from the community,” Farhiya said. “One of the signs of our culture is to help each other,” Abdikadir said, “Even if we fought them back home, we still help them.” After being settled in the St. Cloud area, the Idifle siblings were able to enroll in college to discover and fine tune their passions. Farhiya, the oldest of the three, majored in Social Work with a minor in Human Relations. “I’m passionate about helping people,” she said. “After all, I was helped by a social worker.” Anab, the middle child, majored in Community Health and Biology. “I had a very strong interest in public health,” she said. “I want to work with health issues in the community, health promotion and health education.” Abdikadir, the youngest of the Idifle siblings, graduated with a degree in Statistics. “Growing up, I always had an interest in math and science,” he said. Abdikadir was also involved in an undergraduate study that involved recidivism rates in Stearns County, which is how the county handles and supervises repeat criminal offenders. While these degrees are important for Farhiya, Anab and Abdikadir, they are also concerned with the issues facing their former homeland. “My uncle, my dad’s brother’s children, still live in Somalia,” Farhiya said. “We feel we have a responsibility to our people,” Abdikadir said. While in the last few years, the Idifles have said Somalia is starting to stabilize, it is still an uphill climb. “The whole country is a little upside down. It will take time to rebuild,” Farhiya said. “I will definitely go back, but not right now,” Abdikadir said. Because of their education at SCSU, the Idifles feel that they can make a difference in the Somali community here in St. Cloud, and assist in rebuilding their country. “Who they were five years ago and where they are today. Now some of them have families and a very promising future. This is a country where you can come with nothing and have a dream,” Ali said.

Jubbaland State-building Conference Opens in Kismaayo

A state-building conference in Jubbaland has officially opened in Kismaayo on Thurs. Feb. 28. Efforts to form a new state has been expected to start since October last year but has faced many hurdles before including a sustained and continuing interference from Somalia's Federal Government. The participants in the conference come from the various sub-clans that live in Lower Jubba, Middle Jubba and Gedo.

The Somali National Basketball Beats All Expectations

The Somali National Basketball (SNB) team beat their Burundi counterparts 98-80
on Wed. Jan. 23 to move the next stage of the African Cup of Nations held in Tanzania.

This comes a day after they beat Kenya 81-78 in this tournament series.

The SNB’s performance is amazing given the lack of security in Somalia and the
inability to maintain a professional team thereof.

Somali President Visits Minnesota to Cheers, Protests

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the president of the Federal Republic of Somalia has visited Minnesota on Sat. Jan. 19 and met jubilant crowds.

Over 4000 people,most of them Somali-Americans, have welcomed the president at Minneapolis Convention Center.

The president spoke for an hour as the crowd waved flags and cheered on as he outlined his agenda for bringing Somalia back to the community of nations.

"We will open our embassy in Washington and a consular office in Minnesota," said the president.


There were about 50-100 people protesting outside of the hall where the president gave the speech. Some had banners that read "we need a president who respects the constitution."

France’s Somali Misadventure

Five helicopters carrying elite French forces have, in the cover of darkness, attacked a house in Bula Mareer, Somalia to rescue Denis Allex, a French spy at 2 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 12.

A French soldier was killed and another injured after facing a stiff resistance from the militia holding Allex.

Allex had been held as hostage since July 2009 when he was captured in Mogadishu by Alshabab forces.

Early reports show that Abdikadir Mohamed Nur,the governor of Lower Shabelle, has provided intelligence and facilitated the operation.

 It appears however that the federal government might have been kept in the dark about the planning and execution of the operation.

This would mean that France violated Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, a violation also of international law.

17 militia members were also killed in the fight, said French defense ministry. Sources on the ground however confirm over 25 people, many of them civilians have been killed in the combat.

France has carried out similar operations in the past. Four French nationals were freed and two Somalis and a French killed on Friday April 10, 2009 when commandos stormed pirates off the coast of Somalia.

An Amazing Kid

Watch Anas, a nine-year old Somali, welcome at an event Somalia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs,Ms. Fowzia  Adan, on her first official visit to the U.K.

Insecurity, Rape hit Dadaab camps

The residents of Dadaab refugee camps, particularly those in Ifo 2 camp, have taken to the streets this week demanding improved protection from the Government of Kenya and the U.N’s Higher Commission for Refugees.

 Some of the residents contacted told The Somali Homeland that they face constant threat of rape, extortion and torture.

 The rapists, as the refugees said, have attacked at night, targeting women including elderly women, women who recently delivered babies and girls as young as eight without any discrimination.

 In a related incident, four bandits attacked Dagahaley camp yesterday at an early evening, three of which were captured alive and one killed in faceoff with the police.

 Ifo 2 was created in 2007 but opened for settlement in 2011 to accommodate the influx of refugees escaping from famine and the escalation of war between the rebel militia Alshabab and the Somali National Army with support from the Amisom Forces.

 The camp lacks adequate police presence and most crimes go unpunished.

The Somali Police Force Turns 69

For the first time in two decades, The Somali Police Force (SPF) celebrated, on Dec. 20, 2012, the 69th anniversary of its founding at General Kahiye Police Academy in Mogadishu.

The Police, in groups of specialized units as marked varying dress colors and with their commanders leading, marched on the grounds of the academy to impress a city that has known no law and order for over twenty years.

If anything, this signals an improving return to normality and a promising strength for the premier law enforcement agency that was disbanded in 1991 at the onset of the country’s civil war.

While still under reconstruction, The SPF have shown a growing capacity to maintain security of various neighborhoods in the capital city including taking part in special operations, crime prevention, managing traffic, investigating crimes and protecting government institutions and VIPs.

Sharif Sheikhuna Maye is the current chief of the police.

What's Next for Somalia After the Transition?

Watch some of the current members of the Somali Federal parliament explain the goings-on in Somalia's post-transitional governance. Main points: 1. NGOs monopoly of power and malpractices: the danger of attracting and managing NGOs 2.Non-functional public institutions and their fight for power 3. Incompetent public leaders 4. Wide spread clanism 5. Mindless corruption and theft of public covers 6. Lack of civic consciousness 7.Low quality human capital 8. non-existent quality standards whether academic, institutional and individual 9. Rich natural resources in the midst of wide spread poverty 10.Locals versus diaspora competition for jobs and power

Will Sandy Hook Gun Violence Change U.S Gun Culture?

If you have been following the news this weekend, the tragic death of 26 people in Newtown has dominated the news cycle.

Adam Lanza, a 20-year old gunman took away the lives of 20 kindergarten children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut on Friday, Dec. 14, throwing the hearts of the nation into a sudden grief.

This massacre comes in the wake of July 2012 Aurora shootings that killed 12 people, the August 2012 Wisconsin Sikh temple murder of six people and the 2011 Tucson Arizona terror in which congresswoman Gabby Gifford was shot in the head and six others killed.

But the saddening truth however is none of the earlier mass killings has resulted in any action to control civilian gun use. Worse even, you wonder when the collective conscience of the American public will rise up to say enough is enough in order to save more lives in the recent future.

It remains to be seen whether Friday’s gun violence will act as a catalyst to enact stricter gun laws and thus change the gun culture in the United States.

Somalia Moves Forward

The Somali Federal Parliament has, in a very bold move, passed a legislation to form house committees on Saturday, December 15, 2012 to expedite the nation-building task ahead.

When filled, the new committees shall offer the Somali people much needed services and the government a functional legitimacy.

Approved, with an overwhelming vote, are the following committees:

1.      Broadcasting, awareness, culture and telecommunication

2.      Budgeting, planning and government accountability

3.      Constitutional review and implementation

4.      Defense

5.      Education, labor and sports

6.      Finance, trade and industry

7.      Foreign affairs and international cooperation

8.      Humanitarian, women’s and human rights

9.      Internal affairs, regional governments and national security

10.  Justice, corrections, endowment, and religious affairs

11.  Natural resources

12.  Parliamentary conduct and ethics

13.  Roads, ports , airports and energy

14.  Rural and livestock development

15.  Truth, reconciliation and property restoration

  This is the first major legislative undertaking since the new parliament assumed power in august of this year.

When will Somalia’s faction leaders account for their crimes?

Ali Said Hassan’s documentary, Inside the Somali Civil War, depicts graphic scenes of some of Somalia’s unfortunate military confrontations in 1991. The documentary published on Keyd Media’s YouTube channel on November 1, 2012 shows atrocities committed by militia leaders and the ignorance of their fighters, some of who were duped to believe that they were fighting a holy war.

What’s more disturbing, however, is that the architects of these bloody conflicts, many still alive, never had to account for their war crimes, crimes against humanity and for their role in instigating and sustaining the war.

Embedded below is a copy of Hassan’s film:

How Somalia Won the 2012 Olympic Games

If you have been following the current affairs of the world, the 2012 London Olympic Games are the latest ‘big-story’ across the globe.  Of the 204 countries involved in these games, Somalia deserves my mention.

Two athletes, Zamzam Mohamed Farah and Mohamed Hassan Mohamed, represented the Somali republic at the games. Mohamed competed for 1,500 meters but didn’t qualify for the 5000 meters race while Zamzam competed for the 400 m. both didn’t go past the prequalification stage though Mohamed Hassan beat some nations in his track. Then how did they win, you wonder.

Background knowledge of the two athletes and what they are up against may help broaden your understanding of their chances to have a shot at glory.

Most Olympians come from countries that are more politically stable than Somalia. They enjoy a regular professional training schedule lasting over four years; most have access to state-of-the-art wellness facilities, highly nutritious foods and better healthcare infrastructure, all of which are either nonexistent or limited supply in Somalia.

In addition, Somali athletes dodge bullets in order to train. When your life is threatened everything else becomes almost nonessential.

For those who, while seated on sofas sipping juicy fruit cocktails, bash Somali athletes on the internet I tell you ignorance is bliss.

Nonetheless, it should be clear that Somali athletes have braved a lot of hardships including great insecurity to participate in the Olympics with pride.

Most countries have a huge number of athletes to choose from and those who get selected are the cream of their fellow countrymen. In lawless Somalia, volunteers are a welcome bet.

If anything, those who would want to see a better Somali Olympic team this is your chance to build that team for 2016. You can do so by making your donations available to the potential gold medalists.

It shouldn’t be lost to the public that Mo Farah who won the men’s 10,000 meter race for Britain is also from Somalia. Also, Abdi bile became the fastest 1500 m champion in 1987 Olympics and remained a formidable Olympian until 1996. This is where training infrastructure makes all the difference.

All in all, Somalia’s participation at this difficulty time in our history must be lauded as a win and the athletes cheered up wholeheartedly.

Kids and Television

Check out a professional medical advice on how early exposure to television affects kids:

This and other related videos such as newborn checks, developmental screening, feeding and safe sleeping are made for Somali parents with limited  English proficiency thanks to Centracare health system and the St Cloud Somali community.

A Portrait of You!

Miles away you may be

Separated by masses of snow

And cold wintry blasts

Yet fresh is your memory

A memory cemented in my heart

By the love of you

 And the joy of our relationship

Every day

And on the screen of my laptop

Appears a photogenic portrait of you

With a face glaring like the light of the sun

And with a smile that’s the envy of the world

On a face whose gaze evokes an adventurous romance

And a nature trail down the lane of ageless beauty

If anything

The black scarf wrapped over your head

And the fine prints of henna on your hands

Inspire courage

Demand respect

Command modesty

And most of all win admiration

WHERE’S MY HOMELAND?

Dislodged I have been

Camped in temp settlements

With no flag over my head

And I have seen it all

A country fragmented

Protracted in war

Villas shelled with mortar fire

Bodies dismembered

Innocent children bleed

Mothers maimed, raped

Dads separated

The elite abroad, frustrated

And the nation pillaged with greed

Its resources auctioned underground

For cash

In a dash

And for less

A nation on the brink of extinction

Its leaders too divided to agree on policy

And its people displaced, self-destroying

I know I don’t belong in this camp

I know I aint a-forever-refugee

I know I was born into a state

Sovereign, dignified,

But where’s my homeland

IMPLICATIONS OF KENYA’S INVASION OF SOMALIA

A clear departure from its regular diplomatic tradition, Kenya has, on Sunday, Oct. 16, sent its armed forces, equipped with over 30 tanks and trucks, deep into Somalia with a mission to root out Al-Shabab. The army has since marched over 120 km and has secured about four towns.

The government of Kenya has not yet made clear its strategy to start, escalate and wind up this war. As a result, it’s difficult, at this moment, to measure and by extension to analyze the scope and the duration of this military operation.

Top government officials explained that the army is “in hot pursuit of Al-Shabab,” an enemy which threatened Kenya’s $750 million tourism industry by abducting visitors.

Al-Shabab has denied any kidnappings allegation and no evidence of direct connection exists so far.

Nonetheless, the regional implications of this war may be catastrophic to both nations.

On one hand, War is not a party where people go to sip coffee or bite a juicy cake. The cost of war is immeasurable. It’s real bloody. There’s loss of lives, there are casualties and there’s collateral damage, not to mention the aftermath psychological trauma and environmental degradation.

Already loss of lives occurred before there’s any military face-off. Five Kenyan servicemen died when their helicopter crashed at the border town of Liboi.

Additionally, reprisal attacks can occur in Kenya’s heartland. Al-Shabab has threatened suicide attacks unless Kenya withdraws its troops. I’m not a prophet of doom but the writing is on the wall if July 2010 Kampala bombing is anything to go by.

The Somali nation still mourns Al-Shabab’s Oct. 4 blasts of a ministry of education building in Mogadishu where over a hundred people died and hundreds of others wounded.

Another consideration may be the real cost of war on Kenyan taxpayers and on the economy of their country. For instance, the U.S wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have, to a large extent, undermined its economic standing in the world.

In other words, increased military spending takes gigantic amounts of resources away from public spending on education, healthcare and infrastructure. Closed as the military budgeting and oversight may be, avenues for corruption may open up as well.

Also, Kenya has been a restive economic hub in a region notorious for chaos. But that image may soon change. Kenya’s involvement in war and the likelihood of reprisal attacks may scare away the confidence of investors and affect all sectors of the economy not just tourism.

On the other hand, this war is, in essence, a breach of international law. It violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia, a neighboring state. 

Further, lack of clear military mandate and with no international oversight means that widespread cases of rape, human rights abuses, further destabilization of the already fragile security situation and an exacerbation of the humanitarian crisis currently unfolding in Somalia may be in the making.

The kidnappings, the proclaimed cause of this invasion, must be treated as criminal acts and the perpetrators pursued, arrested and prosecuted in a court of law to answer for their crimes.

Crimes committed by a few individuals should never be a justification to go to full-scale war with long term socio- economic and geo-political implications for the two neighboring states.

While the overwhelming majority of Somalis support the removal of Al-Shabab yet how that should occur is another thing. In fact, Somalis are extremely averse to foreign incursions. U.S Operations of early 90’s and Ethiopia’s invasion five years ago all ended unsuccessfully despite the mismatch in intelligence, military training, and equipment.

 The pursuit to fight Al-Shabab, though noble, might finally be a futile exercise. Chances of Al-Shabab standing up against an organized, conventional military with a better command of the air are slim. They have shown, in the past, an ability to melt down among civilian populations and remerge as a hit-and-run force capable of causing enormous damage to personnel and installations.

And such a tactic may provoke indiscriminate shelling of civilians by Kenyan army, an act that will work in Al-Shabab’s favor by fuelling local resentments against the invading army. If so happens, Kenya’s Linda Nchi mission will be not more than a pursuit dead at the start.

It’s no secret that Kenya has been under external pressure to show its military might in the wake of successive kidnappings of tourists and aid workers. Bolder foreign policy doesn’t have to involve waging wars on foreign soil. Rather, strengthened policing capacity in its homeland and a beefed-up border security may help.

Finally, media personalities must be cautious in beating the drum of war and in presenting it as a romantic encounter to the public. Remember war is not an evening at a movie theater.

Author's contact: ahmednajaah@hotmail.com 

DEFYING FEAR: SOMALIA REFUSES TO DIE

This morning on my way to work, I grabbed a local daily from a newspaper box. On the  cover page -printed black- was a picture of a white apple, the logo of Apple Inc, with the portrait of a bespectacled man tacked inside the bottom of the picture. The words “STEVE JOBS, 1955-2011, THE GENIUS” also appeared on the lower quarter of the apple shot.

While I walked a block farther toward the train that will get me to work, my mind submerged deeply in a sea of scattered thoughts and has thus become a nuclei of activity, roving between places, comparing and contrasting people. Here was a man, Steve Jobs, who became an American household name for creativity, innovation and for quality of high-tech products his company, Apple Inc, has engineered, but above all, a man who had a country that was ready to reward him for his work. Steve was today mourned not only in the news media but also in family circles.

Then-and on the contrary- another event occurred to my mind. The latter happened a day earlier, in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, when, Bashar Abdulahi Nur, a young Al-Shabab fighter drove a truck filled with explosives into a government ministry building, blowing off half a square mile area, killing over a hundred people and wounding nearly 200 others. Most of the casualties were students waiting for the result of a scholarship selection exam that would have taken them to Turkey Universities. Other victims included area business owners and government soldiers, thus denying Somalia of its most productive workforce, the type that would have grown up to become the Steve Jobs of Somalia. While both events described above are extremely sad news for both nations, nonetheless, the cause, scope and magnitude differs. While Steve Jobs died peacefully, albeit the much pain to his family and nation for his loss, of pancreatic cancer, the deaths in Mogadishu were sudden and chaotic, and represent an unfortunate continuum of two decades of horrific bloodshed which catastrophically impacts on the people, educational infrastructure and socio-political progress of Somalia.

Most of Somalia’s elites have already fled the country. The appalling loss of lives in Mogadishu’s bloody explosion on Tuesday frightens those educated Somalis who glamour for an opportunity to return to rebuild their homeland. Already, Diaspora Somali entrepreneurs, scholars, athletes and artists are building other countries which provided them home away from home. Examples are abound but a few such as Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, an American citizen who returned in 2010 to become a prime minister, Abdisalam Ibrahim, the first East African to play in the premier league, Mo Farah, described as the Greatest British long distance athlete of all-time, scholar and writer Abdi M. Kusow, also a professor at Iowa State University, listed in Who’s Who in America in 2010 and whose article on Normative Order was ranked as one of the 20 most read papers between 2004 and 2009 to Nurrudin Farah’s literary prowess, come to mind.

The question that demands an answer is if we Somalis keep on killing each other aimlessly for two decades and counting, where the hell are we heading? Why are we denying our geniuses, our own Steve Jobs, a place to call home? Why are we denying our young educated folks an opportunity to build the examples of Apple and Google? Why are so many obsessed with ‘my clan is better than yours?’ And why do we worship personalities in our political system instead of focusing on policy issues that improve lives, on principles which promote the dignity, integrity and territorial sovereignty of the Somali nation? Somalia will live on. In spite of Al-Shabab’s ugly bombing mission and AMISOM’s indiscriminate shelling of civilians, Somalia refuses to die. Somalia will live on through this painful, shameful carnage but the legacy this lives will forever stay.
Author's contact: ahmednajaah@hotmail.com