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Ali Gulaid, San Jose, CA
Before the name Hassan Essa Jama became synonymous with the SNM struggle more than any other Mujahid aside the Mujahidin who paid the ultimate price (precious life), Hassan was already an accomplished lawyer, broadcaster and a journalist for the BBC Somali section. Despite these enviable credentials and prospects of no boundaries, Hassan has traded his promising future for a struggle that the end wasn’t on sight; that had the potential to endanger his life; that lacked all the London amenities he has become accustomed to and he risked it not to gain power, not to gain wealth but to regain the dignity of his people.
While there are no guarantees in life, one could spot Hassan’s talent at a younger age and many predicted with reason the chances of his success. Out side home, the attributes and the traits that helped him stay on course were acquired and shaped at an early age in an academic setting in Sheikh Secondary School. It was his grade and not his skills in sports that landed him in Sheikh but it did surprise no one when, by sheer persistence and competitiveness, he earned a spot in the hockey team three years later. If memory serves me, Hassan was a member of the literary and debating society. Like an eagle scout, he was always prepared and never shied away from debate: Quick on his feet, steady on his hand, brilliant and witty in his thinking and always first to take out the sword from its case and first to draw the first blood and last to witness the dragon’s last breath. He never left a task he started unfinished.
By nature, Hassan is exceptionally intelligent but that never fooled him. He studied hard until it hurts and until the poorly lit lights went off and until he assures himself that others were deep sleep. In a country where records are hardly kept especially those of social significance such as birth records, there was always a discernable age difference between classmates and with that in mind one could easily tell that Hassan was one of the youngest in his class, at least he had that baby face and still do and that might have worked to his advantage in certain circumstances. As an exceptionally intelligent student, Hassan soon became the favorite of many of his teachers like Mr. McKinley and Mr. Darlington. That exceptional spirit of competitiveness has helped him secure himself a spot in the much-coveted British Scholarship.
At the height of his profession, Hassan switched to a gear that his colleagues saw as reverse, not forward and not helpful to his profession, which was participating the establishment of the movement that, today, we know as Somali National Movement (SNM). While Hassan appreciated these legitimate concerns, the pursuit of personal gain and professional enhancement, were factors not high enough in his agenda to dissuade him from the more immediate moral deafening call and shrills emanating from a continent away forcing its way into the halls of Bush House, bouncing off the walls, reverberating through his ears, disturbing his concentration and jamming his microphone. Those were the voices of his people being exterminated hounding on him. One might argue the Late Sheikh Yussuf Sh. Ali left lucrative job among others and that is true but Hassan was probably the youngest one to do so and with the highest profile and the best qualifications to be lured by the pursuit of material things that were in his reach.
As the movement went underway, Hassan without hesitation, without regret, and with vigor has quickly and fully immersed himself with the business of the movement. With determination and a messiah-like conviction, he devoted almost a decade of his life with minimal recess to accomplish the mission he set out at the beginning. Through out the decade of struggle, Hassan never doubted the mission, never straddled, never strayed from the path, and never spared an effort to face the challenge of the day. When others become dazed and complacent, lost energy and faith or become out of focus, Hassan was the inspiration to turn to. Without seeking the limelight, he worked behind the scenes, quietly and efficiently to build consensus and to keep the flock focused, in-line and in unison.
Hassan has held many high level positions for the organization including the vice-Secretary, which he held until the movement gave way to the rebirth of Somaliland. As the first Vice-President of Somaliland, as the vice-secretary of SNM and as one of the SNM founders, Somaliland is indeed indebted to Hassan Essa Jama. He sacrificed, served with distinction, and selflessly retreated to the back of the bus and accepted others, less qualified, less visionary and less deserving take the steering, hoping the passengers would arrive home safely and not end up dead in a ditch. You may not know it, but because of his political prominence and long SNM service, anti-Somalilanders have targeted and attempted in numerous times to induce him to switch sides like Boobaa, the late Abdirahman Ali (tuur), and Jama Abdillahi Qalib. Needless to say they all failed.
From Sheik, to the Bush House, to the real bush in the haud and to the
current anti-mujahid and anti-SNM campaigns, a set of qualities that is rare
in today’s Somaliland leaders have sustained Hassan through thick and thin.
Irreproachable integrity, inquisitive and analytical mind, a sense of
fairness, strong mindedness, graciousness, antipathy to trumpet his own horn
to jockey for power but his critics accuse him for bluntness in his dealings
with the elders and inflexibility that alienates some. Tell it like it is,
is his hallmark, tailor it to the audience isn’t. Sincere.
Inflexible may be but never a hypocrite nor a sycophant. Hassan earned in
earnest his stripes. Those who are made of pristine thread (dun Xarrir ah)
like him are hardest to compromise their principle. True to his nature, out
of conviction, Hassan is keeping the fort, holding the torch of SNM high,
and reincarnating the hope alive, while most left for greener pastures.
With Hassan’s solid relevant education and experience, Somaliland shouldn’t
be importing an unqualified Chief Justice from Puntland but that is a sign
of the times and a subject for another day. If one measures Hassan’s success
in material things, one would be disappointed but if one measures it against
the goal he set for himself, sovereign Somaliland, his mission is success.
My heroes and heroines are the countless men and women who sacrificed their
life for the cause but among the living, Hassan Essa Jama is a man of
mission, who never took his eyes off on the bigger price – sustainable
sovereign Somaliland - and he is my hero. Who is yours?
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