Monkey Business Part 2!
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By Dhimbiil — Ottawa , Canada
Just yesterday there was a meeting at our nice and beautiful 4star hotel, the Ambassador. You know the place, with its lush surroundings, fantastic amenities; I hear they have a tennis court too. Very wonderful indeed! All of this and all other developments in Somaliland , written, produced, directed and starring the people of Somaliland .
Somalis from Somalia were brought here or invited by both the Ministry in charge of these issues our “always in some trouble or the other Minister of Qorsheynta” Ahmed Haji Dahir, our local intellectuals in the Academy of Peace and Development and so on and so on and so on.
Now, I was just imagining for a moment these guests, and that is exactly who they were, guests. You know like those guests who come to your house, where, according to our culture we offer tea and biscuits, maybe ask them to stay for lunch, you see the train of thought! The guests are normally very appreciative, saying thanks very much and indeed everybody has a wonderful time sipping the tea…
These guests of ours at the Ambassador, must have gotten first class treatment, I mean where would they get this kind of place, peaceful, lush, with room service and conference amenities. I mean these guys from bushy Jowhar or some other war infested place, must have been stunned at seeing the sights in Hargeisa, with all those colorful people, the restaurants, the jokes, the atmosphere of achievement and the welcoming culture of the people of Somaliland . Again these events written, produced, directed and starring the people of Somaliland and their executive in charge of production Mr. Democracy himself/herself!
When they move into their conference, after having a sumptuous breakfast by gourmet cooks from the Philippines, and after having our famous tea produced by our own culinary experts these representatives of NGO’s from Somalia sat down with a very white man, Mullen, who I believe must have been upset with his supervisor because he was sent to Somaliland instead of staying in Geneva where wine and beer flows…. Somaliland being a very dry country when it comes to those issues…. So our Somali guests, as normal, infuriated by our achievement and the presence of a very white who cannot get a drink in Hargeisa, clearly sets us up for an explosive admixture: one of ignorance and one of pride! Now dear gentle reader that was the stage then come the events….
The EU representative Mullen and these NGO’s came to discuss something called ‘non-state actors’ which is all the rave in development studies nowadays – forgetting that the state in Africa, a democratized state in Africa, is the major hope for change – to help their communities in Somaliland and Somalia where, given the tragedy there that has defied even the most rudimentary forms of human relationships, a brutish life of all against all continues.
Now, they came to Somaliland and somewhere somehow there is someone who signed something to accept this meeting, and here we should be very proud of our track record, of letting these groups come and talk under conditions that they couldn’t find anywhere in their country, however someone again, was sleeping at the post. It was either Ahmed Haji Dahir or the Academy people and someone ought to offer our simple camel herdsman an apology because their dignity was insulted clearly by Mr. Mullen and by those guests who abused our hospitality right smack in the middle of the sitting room of our country – Hargeisa.
I am not going to bother with the details of this meeting save that Mr. Mohamed Rashid Sh. Hassan conducted himself in the most brilliant way and told that white man that he was really illiterate about the issues and the Somalis that they ought to be ashamed by their conduct and finally Somali Landers at the meeting did the honorable thing and walked out of the meeting, refusing to accept indignity as is their custom. They were not violent, they insulted no one, because they have a government and I hope and expect that the government can now offer that white man from the EU an order to get out of the country within 12 hours and cancel the VISAS of all those in the meeting including some small time thugs from, according to news reports, Mbagathi, Nairobi.
In the end, this little meeting continues to show the obstacles we face as far as confronting those who would want us to bow down to indignation and disrespect. We will not, we shall not, bow down!
This little comment about our country is dedicated to that giant of a man who passed away in Hargeisa, Somaliland . Precisely because he never bowed down, like Somali Landers at large, to any indignity and disrespect.
I dedicate this small contribution to the memory of Muj. Hassan Aden Wadadiid!
Dhimbiil
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