This means that tribalism in our society has a much deeper root than all other human relationships and interconnections, and will continue to be the only thing by which, at the end of the day, clans measure trust and security. The successful struggle for independence and the tribe-based traditional governing systems that followed has failed to explore pragmatic approaches to the problems of tribalism, government corruption, nepotism and the inequality that existed in the system. To the contrary, they encouraged widespread social disarray that emboldened their inherent leitmotif social thought of concentrating public resources in the hands of a few individuals or families, even when these individuals were criminal warlords. Tribe-based governing systems strive on the mindset of controlled social dynamics by bidding groups against each other and causing them lose sight of what is important-the big picture- for the success of their nation. It is a copycat strategy of the divide and rule tactics of the colonial masters in disguise ---- but we are fighting for the same tribe-based governments again and again, even today. Unfortunately, unless we understand how this destructive tribe-based formula is destroying our ability to govern our nation, we are doomed to surrender to such a dividing culture, which diminishes our ability to formulate good governing system that is based on one-man one vote in order to elect the right people with integrity and ability to run the nation. Only when we can convince ourselves that electing the right person to the appropriate position in the government is as crucial as having a prosperous nation, we can then talk about accountability and leadership.
However, corruption reflects more than the character of those who commit it. It reflects the character of the entire society. It is inherent in our traditional tribal allegiance and is a systemic problem transmitted as a deep social malaise. No one refutes the diagnosis of the absence of ideological extant to replace the terrible tribal system that took a deep root in our society. Conflicting explanations of the role of power and the need for tribal segregation in our society are involved in a wide spectrum of issues. But power in the sense of direct force and violence against our people is involved not only in issues of war and peace but also in issues of crime and punishment. Political power and its efficacy are also seen by the warlords to be the storm centers in conflict reconciliation and peace process. None of these war criminal warlords are willing to pay any price for their action, and that is why they are fighting hard to stay on top. Unhappy social circumstances are more readily condemned morally by allowing someone�s exertion of power to divide us into breakable tribal lines to his advantage and his plan of keeping the our country in the hands of few powerful men, thus offering fewer opportunities for moral judgment and fewer prospects for sweeping reforms that could help us become successful in achieving our goals. We, as an intelligent and able people, could fundamentally change this by creating a force of unity to combat the force of tribalism and warlordism that are working against our unity in order for us to change things to our advantage of a society that lives with harmony and guided by democratic principles.
But instead of creating forces of unity, we have welcomed a man with guns (many of them) to establish himself, organize his followers among his tribe, and even to force others to carry on his orders in order for him to attain his personal goals. He rewards himself with land, money and with stolen public resources and property --- he becomes stronger, richer and powerful-- he becomes a warlord with influence that mainly stems from his power, intimidation and wealth. And in a society where social status is increasingly associated with wealth and the barrel of the gun, the warlord is the hero, thus he is the next president of the nation. He creates a government that looks like him and protects the interests of the privileged few- the warlords and their close circle of cabinet members. It is the interest of this gang of warlords, those who are fighting for power in Kenya , to secure their seats in the would-be government before they even agreed on real peace. And they intend to become richer and remain on the top for whatever it takes. They are taking government positions not because they are democratically elected officers by the people and for the people, nor are they with special intellect and integrity, or with education and experience in government, but because of the sheer power and the influence they command. They opposed to all peaceful negotiation and reconciliation processes unless they are offered the exact number of seats that each wants, without which they wouldn�t endorse the birth of peace in the regions they control. Seats and high government positions or else, they threatened!!
How on earth one could possible get away with such atrocity and crime against humanity and yet succeeds to run for the highest office in the state, you may wonder. Such government system exists only because of the tribal system and its opportunistic of Me- -Against-My-Brother-scare tactics, which created an atmosphere where trust among tribes and individuals is a thing of the past. Rewarding these warlords because of the power and influence they command regretfully reflects a very disturbing fact. Values and goals in terms of which success is defined by how strong one is, even when one is clearly a criminal element in the society, and to the extent the rest of the society legitimizes atrocity of such magnitude or, at the minimum ignores it, is very troubling.
These misplaced values and blind tribal allegiance are contractions in our culture that create aspirations, which, by their very nature, can only be realized by the few; thus denies or destroys the aspirations of the rest of the society. The weak and the poor find the door shut on their faces when they seek help or attempt to realize their potential, and the gulf between the �haves� and �have nots� widens as the �haves� develop a distinct circle or class that controls and dominates the weak. The tribal system creates such contradictions. The ambiguity of status recognition according to wealth and power that legitimizes the disparities have given rise to and promoted the corruptive lineage of clan system. This is perhaps not surprising since tribal or a clan lineage system is an ideology- void system with no intellectually defined social welfare agendas, unlike all other defined and debated optimistic social systems like Marxism, Leninism, Neo-Marxism or Capitalism, which are built around academic phenomenon of social philosophy and ideologies of dynamic changes within the society. The impetus or the fueling force of tribal systems is never about promoting an idea of development and social welfare as a whole, but rather one of individualism under the disguise of clan allegiances�a system with no moral judgment that commits the ultimate sin of destroying the human character, grossly undermines the opportunities and further advancement of its people, and consequently diminishes the sacrifices of building a nation. Look everywhere in Africa , and Somalia is no different, where tribal wars dominated all other social and national interest. More than half of its population has already experienced mass starvation, diseases and displacement of millions of people, as well as shattered economic systems and other crucial social structures. It is one of indignation and humiliation of its own people, who are practically forced to have become beggars on the streets, feeding on the handouts from the rest of the world or condemned to refugee systems. It is a demoralizing system with evil intension written all over it, like force and violence, war and crime, corruption and nepotism, all in the name of clanism, to which the Somalis can attest to it. We are the only nation without a recognized state and government�even writing about our state of government at this present time is overwhelmingly a gut crunching emotional feeling that begs for the question of how did we let this happen to us, and I am ashamed of what we have become in the eyes of the civilized world.
Tribal systems have become the leprosy, the curse of our nation. The palpable government corruption, the extortion and the sustained violent repressions all have their roots to our traditional tribal systems. Tribalism, as an unarticulated social structure that functions as a system with its own mechanics of exercising the power of corruption and nepotism, explores rifts between tribes and carefully mobilizes and finds the weaknesses of human capacity where men, individually or collectively, ignore or lack the understanding of both the intellectual and the moral prerequisites for leadership in nation building. Our nation inherited men who spent public resources for personal gain and amassed a wasteful consumption, which exemplified how unprepared these men are for governing a nation. The outbreak of violence and anger and with such high virulence in our Somali society today is understandably the outcome of the practices of that corrupted leadership, who deprived our society a good share of its potential of becoming a prosperous nation.
II: The lost generations
For more than a decade our history has been marred by bloodshed, led by strong men and warlords. This left deep scars on our societies, and nowhere is more apparent, more visibly pronounced than on the faces of our children of today.
How do we even begin to educate our children about the history of Somali unity, the Somali nation and Somali nationalism? How much do we expect the next generations in our society to carry on responsibilities based on systems of equality, justice, integrity or duty bound deeds that could serve the nation better? To expect them to even understand this mess we created will be unfair to them and irresponsible of us. Because of the situations and the happenstance that are growing up, they will have hard time relating themselves to the past in order to understand what it feels like to be part of whole picture of a nation and people that you identify with, that takes care of you when you are young and needy or sick and homeless, and raises you and lefts you up to become a successful and productive citizen in the society, who loves his country ant its people, sacrifices his/her life to defend it from enemy when need be. What happened to our young generation, the future of our nation, is totally in comprehensible. Thousands either die, are suffering from a lifetime and irreversible psychological scars and physical disability, or grew up and are still growing up in villages, cities and in rural areas where no help comes to safe their lives, or educate them in order to become the leaders of tomorrow. Many, at a very early stage in their lives, experienced unimaginably tough life of mass killings and crimes on the streets and in their own homes, displacements and misplaced values in refugee camps, which included criminal activities, like rape and extortion in the hands of their own kind as well as foreigners who see them as something less than human. We are failing them by destroying their hope and the nation that was supposed to nurture them and help them understand the significance of being Somali, to be proud of their heritage and to be ready to take the lead when that time came for them to lead. No one set the stage for them to step in, and no one gives them shoulders to stand on. That is the future of our country, something all of us lost sight off while supporting the warlords of the day, and we put our future in the hands of warlords and their Ethiopian agents of crime.
Haunted by the war�s horror, terrorized by the preventable deaths of many of their love ones, hindered and hammered by the lost years in their schooling, or the years some of them spent in refugee camps, the surviving children in Somalia today are having hard time adjusting to life. They have some critical questions about the war, their lives and their future. It was [and still is] a war, which our children cannot even tell who won and who lost; except the horror they will remember and the psychological lifetime scars left behind. Our children in Somalia today live the legacy of the war, but know nothing what it�s all about. This war is bitter and complicated experience for the entire nation, especially for young children. Somali children were drawn into a war that they never understood, much less demanded to know the full truth about it. Before they were able to make a personal decision on whether to risk their lives and the lives of others, someone else (a warlord) made that decision for them. Do they know whether this war was noble or immoral? What are their personal values and how are they prepared to keep these values when faced with difficult decisions tomorrow?
Most children in Somalia today consider that taking a gun and attacking other tribes, to safeguard his "tribe", as a good and moral cause--- a moral judgment. This is their experience in which they invested heavily, both psychologically and physically-----their reference point. They are inheriting mistakes made by their forefathers and their fathers. This is the past and present. This is the great march their nation took on its way to self- destructive suicidal act-----and they are the future.
Is this the future that those so-called independent states in Somalia are excited about?
But does anyone care? No, we rather worry about seats in the government and how many representatives of our individual tribes are sitting on it. A government that has no plan or intension of addressing the critical questions our children are asking us. That is far more important from the standpoint of Somali politicians than worrying about the future of this country.
Children succeed when their communities and their country support them, but fail when their country abandons them. We abandoned our responsibilities and failed to articulate enough the importance of patriotism and nationalism through examples and deeds that our children of today could relate to. Instead of having the opportunity to be in school and learn and dream about their the future, about leadership and responsibilities, they are blinded by the consequences of this war of choice in which they are victims, a war that benefits only the warlords of today. Rewarding the same warlords who denied our young generations their opportunities is another insult to injury, and will not bring a democratic system of justice and equality in our society. This gives our children a sense of misinterpretation of what is right or wrong in life, and the sense of lack of history of fair governments and democratic systems. Those who grew up with guns in their hands or at early ages, witnessed crimes against them or sometimes by them, look at the world with a different perspective, with a dismay and with guarded optimism than those of us who grew up in the sixties and seventies with unlimited expectations for our future, even though many of us never realized that dream because of the power of government that worked against our full potential to realize our dreams and to reinvest in our communities. Nevertheless, unlike the young generations of today, we didn�t suffer in hands of warlords over the watch of our communities and the nation as whole.
Our children are the tomorrow leaders. They will be called on to use creative problem solving skills, good decision-making approaches, and critical thinking of new paradigms. Steady, consistent, and credible rationale for their actions that is based on sound moral judgments will serve us best. These good decisions and commitments that are true to their own insights and understandings of their responsibilities may help them lead this country out of the mud. It is never too late for all Somalis to start teaching their children that there is no glory in a war against your own. That war is not just a simple affair of shooting, but involves an understanding of who the enemy is. That fighting is never the most effective way to achieve goals. That people shouldn�t go to war for the mere reason of killing their own despite the predictable outcome---death and destruction. Death or injury is an awfully terrible thing to deal with, but death or injury in needless event is even worse.
The best gift that any Somali family can give to their children is NOT to teach tribalism. Save them from the questions of �Qolamaad tahay or Cidee tahay�. Save them from the horror of tribalism.
To those who advocate for tribal enclaves, persons of narrow views and observation, who readily believed and accepted whatever happened to prevail in our society, it is my view that nothing must be sustained because it is ancient, because we have been accustomed to regard it as sacred, or because it has been unusual to bring its validity into question. The practice of tribalism and regional chauvinism cannot be the method by which to decide issues, especially something as serious as the proposal of dismembering Somalia or slicing the cord of national unity and let it bleed to death.
To borrow a phrase from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, �The test of man�s character is not where he stands during peace, but where he stands during struggle and crisis�.
The polemics of those who are against our unity and existence as a Somali nation, all failed to include a concrete and a reasonable discussion that could bring us to the table. Social science scholars of the day failed to explore if there exists a sympathetic revolutionary temperament that could resuscitate nationalism among the Somali nationals. None have been able to organize some intellectual discussion among the Diaspora and to delineate a pragmatic approach to interpret the collapse of the government, while others have exercised some misplaced individual interests or perhaps misinterpreted the dynamic changes that our society has experienced, in part, from a lack of a sense of history and lack of understanding some fundamental concepts and principles that we yet have to grasp.
The virulence of some angry groups who are advocating for secession, mostly, to some exceptions, stems from acclaim that their regions have been deprived a good share of utopian potential to prosper after the creation of the Somali republic. Some even argue that they are better off today- an argument that lacks evidence.
An intellectual debate examining the validity of the advocacy for secession was never put forward or played in public arena for all of us to have a voice on its implementation or dismissal. A debate on this radical proposal to departure from Somali nationalism and unity should come to the forefront in the intellectual arena where Somalis should debate the merits of such proposal. Their radical critics and their anti-unity movement in its fullness ignore the critical fallacy in their argument. The attack on unity, in large part, evolve around narrow mindedness of today�s myopic thinkers who tend to avoid the real hard questions of how to establish an ownership in dealing with our own future collectively. It is an argument that lacks a serious analysis, both qualitatively and quantitatively, and presents no valid basis to justify the proposal that endorses regional and tribal cleavages that could practically dissemble the nation.
To create a nation with resolve and with commitment to democracy, we should embrace our differences but yet seek for a common goal. And as much as I disagree with those who are advocating and working against our unity, I understand their rights to disagree with me. All of us have the right to disagree on policies related to tribal lineages and its importance or disadvantages to our common goals, but the center of gravity of our ideas and efforts should be the focus of building a viable nation and people that is respectful of the law of the land and that of human kind, but not a society that is defined by the deliberate of power of destruction of its own people. And for all practical purpose, no matter how small we try to fracture our nation and how far one tries to move away from the rest of Somalia and form a government of one�s own clan with his kinship, the reality is that we are not going to wipe away the ugly reality of tribal sentiments and its inherent hate, because it exists everywhere, even within individuals of the same family. The role of power in social decision-making tends to be much more in the tribal-based tradition of government, and has no boundaries nor protects anyone from the ugly practice of clan tactics. Force and violence take many forms, from crime to war, and that could be found within a clan or subclan. The notion that dismembering our country into small circles of tribes and regions would somehow make some of us stronger and prosperous is totally unrealistic and surely unacceptable to many of us.
Secession of some regions from the union, though not the factual argument of the majority, is nonetheless, a debate that has been on the screens for a while. Given the horror of war, and the frequent outcome in which there are no real winners, those arguments tend to explain the existence and the recurrence of this man-made catastrophe in terms of either misunderstanding, in an intellectual sense, or with hostile or paranoid emotions raised to such a pitch as to override rationality. War, at least in our case, resulted from a failed government that lacked oversight, criminal activities against decent law abiding citizens, corruption and misappropriation of our meager funds, long existed tribal interest that were waiting a straw that could break the camel�s back, and finally because of lack of communication of our social engineers and civil leaders, some of whom reacted with overriding emotions that undermined our collective power, which ultimately gave rise to today�s warlords.
To their credit, however, the amalgam of multi clans in northern Somalia (known as Somaliland now), fortunately understood the initial step for peace early enough to save whatever little that has left from the self inflicted wars, and done so immediately to create an atmosphere of peace among its people; which has had definitely eased the tension across tribal lines. They did this without much help from the outside world and resolved it peacefully, at least so far, without an arm-twisting by a third party. Though not exclusively one big tribe, they yet succeeded to see the need for peace and agreed on that single but important premise alone. They should be commended for their approach to their local problem and should be encouraged to maintain peace in the region, lest things get out of hand again. The lesson in here is that the new leaders of our civil society of today, in every region of the union, should take an overview of the experiences of the horrible wars that torn our society apart and the corrosive hatred that the Somalis developed for each other. Finding an antidote to this poisonous atmosphere or at least addressing this primary problem should be in the minds and hearts of all Somali individuals, especially those who took the leadership posts. It is the first step towards a long road of healing process and to a peaceful coexistence and trust building among the Somalis. Stress should be placed on societal formation, conflict and problem resolution and achievements. I am an optimist and a believer of Somali unity, and I am confident that Somalis will find a way to resolve their differences if they have the will. Given our present situation, I believe we should at least entertain the idea of federalism and try to reach our common goals as a nation than proposing the dismemberment of our nation.
The next step is to create the foundation for a democratic society, and it is the responsibility of the governing body to lead the way in order to facilitate the birth of new thinking and the promotion of democratic principles that could better serve the society. Analyzing the current situation seriously and honestly will help them understand what is good for the future of the people and how to infuse these new paradigms into the society. It won�t be easy for everyone to see these new social changes and embrace it, but it is, nonetheless, imperative that the new leaders of today push for social changes and help the introduction of new and refreshing social conscience built on democratic ideologies and justice for all. It is the first important step for re-establishing trust and the revival of dignity in this badly bruised society. And quite frankly, those in the north have already tested a process of elections and are committed to improving on it. But they could do and should do more by becoming the role model for peace in Somalia, or at least show the world that they tried to help before they throw the towel and walk away. They should engage dialogues and appeal to all civil society in the region to consider peace as the first option. The fact that the support for greater Somalia has seemingly lost impetus and interest is because of lack of trust and interest in government systems, and our failure to articulate the dreams of yesterday that the pioneers of this nation once embraced. The efforts and the work of foreign agents like Ethiopia and Kenya, who made no secret of their desire to sabotage any endorsement of the creation of greater Somalia, have also played a key role and succeeded because of our directionless and self-destructive behavior. Nonetheless, the outright rejection and sabotage by some to dissemble and weaken the idea of unity, and the blame of the Somali nation for the mistakes and the greed of the few who squandered and have stolen our future, will only encourage and strengthen the enemy of our nation and definitely help the opportunistic few who support clan dominance.
We are witnessing a social phenomenon where the unchallenged views of the few decision-making warlords effectively and spontaneously pervaded the wisdoms and virtue of the many. Through coercive power, the freedom of the individuals as well as that of the masses are deemed to be under the influence of moral corrupt few warlords who are so far succeeded to sabotage the process of reconciliation and peace processes. We are waiting for decisions to be made for us and handed to us without even attempting to bring about progressive social changes based on free elections and democratic ideas that are free from clan. Where is the leadership of the moral-intellect in our society? Where are the prerequisites for leadership like knowledge, virtue, experience and wisdom that matter most when running a nation.
The role of the likeminded intellectuals and the peace loving civil society, including Israaca, even when in variances in approaches, must be emphasized as a potential center for the revival of discussions and debates. Moving the national debates from the emotional stage of anger to a higher level of philosophical enquiry on how to analyze our crisis and resolve our disagreements, if any, but most importantly to find a way to gracefully and collectively approach our problem and turn this thing around, should have been the focus and the spirit of our debates. For the most part, Somalis are for unity and reconciliation and nothing has been long decided to stop us from achieving our goals with conviction as a nation, as a united people.
Organizing grassroots of concerned and misinformed civil society to participate public discourse and intellectual discussions on how to save the nation and its people has yet to take root in this tribally segregated society. Popular participation in organized protests or marches, demonstration against tyranny; disruptions of unwanted domination, and even civil disobedience are all the very foundation for the definition of democratic civil society. Marches, like the one led by Abwaan Mohamed Ibrahim �Hadraawi� during last year is an example of peacefully assembled petition to redress grievances with our current state. We owe to our children and to the generations after them to voice our support for the creation of a strong Somali nation. Our independent thinking and individual freedom in our society can only be assured by democratic systems that encourage dissent and protect our individual rights. Time to reexamine who we really are.
It is time for new leadership, new direction, and a renewed hope.
