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Editor; Yusuf Abdi Gabobe - Asst. Editor: A. Dubad & Abdifatah M.Aidid - Sub. Editors: Hasan Hosh - Layout and Design: Ahmed Jama

Issue 38, Oct. 12, 2002

 In this issue:

 Poles Apart.Them Southerners and us Northerners are not the same people. Period.  By Ahmed I. Hassan, ahmedihassan@hotmail.com. Comments and feedback welcomed.

Introduction to Somali Poetry. By Martin Orwin (Modern Poetry in Translation, New Series, No.17, 2001)

 

 

Norwegian Students Conclude Study Tour Of Somaliland

 

Hargeisa (SL-Times) A group of Norwegian students are going back to their country today after concluding a study tour that took them to many places in Somaliland.

The students (3 boys and 2 girls) arrived here early last month to gain knowledge about  Somaliland’s society and to study how Somalilanders live. The study tour, sponsored by their school, the Oslo University College, Oslo, Norway, lasted about 35 days during which they visited Hargeisa, Borama, Gabilay, Allay-baday, Berbera, Sheikh, Buroa, Erigavo, and other localities.

 

The Oslo University College students are in their 2^nd year and are expected to major in Social Science.

 

The students told the Somaliland Times, that while in Somaliland, they met with hundreds of    people. The Norwegians were also overwhelmed by the way they had been welcomed by Somalilanders. “Wherever we went, people have been friendly, warm and helpful” said Raghild Bruun. During their stay in Somaliland, the students had affectionately taken some Somali names and had put on Somali attire. Raghild became Asha and another girl, Birgitte Dodgson, was dubbed Sahra. Henning Hertland Torma and Espen Wangensteen-Haugen were given the names of Mohamed and Gulaid respectively, while Anders Mathiesen was nicknamed Omar Dheere.

 

There are about 8000 Somalis who are currently living in Norway. The Norwegian capital Oslo, is home to about 5000 of them. It is through this community that the students have become introduced for the first time to the background of Somalis. “The idea of coming to here was to enable us gain more practical knowledge and understanding of the real Somali society in action,”  Anders or Omar Dheere explained.

 

Asked whether Norwegians know the difference between Somaliland and Somalia, Birgitte or Sahra pointed out that people of Norway as elsewhere in Europe, usually associate Somalia with Somaliland. “Because they didn’t know the difference and that it was peaceful in Somaliland, people felt very worried when we told them about the trip we were planning to make up to here”. It took the Norwegian students one year before their tour finally materialized. “I would feel more safe walking the streets of Somaliland towns than in many big cities in  America or Europe,” Birgitte added.

 

The students said they were sad that they had to conclude their tour. “No matter how we try, we can’t fully express our deep gratitude to ordinary Somalilanders who treated us so nicely during our stay,” Espen Wangensteen-Haugen or Gulaid said in a voice cracking with emotions. While in Somaliland, the Norwegian students received many offers of help. “As we leave, it is deeply regrettable that we couldn’t possibly avail of all the support we have been offered,” Henning Hertland Torma concluded.

 

The group also thanked the Somaliland Red Crescent, the Norwegian Red Cross and the Somaliland Ministry of Health for facilitating their trip to Somaliland as well for assistance rendered them while here. After their return to Oslo, the student group will write a report of 40 pages on their study of Somaliland society.

 

But according to Asha Ragnhild, the group has learned so much about  life in Somaliland, it will not be possible to include all the information gathered in a report of that size.

 

KULMIYE Takes its Election Campaign to Borama

 

 

Borama (SL-Times) It was only 2 weeks ago when the political organization, KULMIYE, wrapped up its election campaign in the major districts of Hargeisa region (North West). Last Thursday however, KULMIYE went farther west and took its compaign to Borama, the capital of Awdal region, which also happens to be President Rayale’s hometown. 

“I don’t intend to get less votes from Borama than Mr Rayale would get from Buroa,” joked Ahmed Sillanyo, the chairman of KULMIYE, as he addressed an audience that gathered in downtown Borama.

 

The KULMIYE delegation is also expected to visit Zaila at the Somaliland Djiboutian border.

 

Since last month, KULMIYE has been waging a vigorous campaign aimed at promoting its programme and winning supporters from the Somaliland electorate. So far, it has shown some considerable successes. KULMIYE leaders have recently adopted a policy that calls for the full active participation of the organization’s members and supporters in the forthcoming elections.

 

AET to Develop a Literacy Newsletter

 

 

Hargeisa (Sl-Times) African Education Trust, an organization based in Britain, will soon launch a newsletter for informally educated people in Somaliland.

The newsletter, which will be distributed freely to people who have learned how to read and write from other, AET programmes.

 The AET is also going to support an educational programme for the disabled people that will be broadcast through the Radio.

 

Veteran Politician Jama Saleh Dies

 

 

Dubai- (SL-Times) Jama Saleh Ahmed, a prominent politician and member of ASAD, died last Thursday in a Dubai hospital where he was undergoing medical treatment from acute case of stomach ulcer.

 

Jama Saleh was a veteran of Somaliland’s struggle for freedom from colonial rule during the fifties.

He also took part in the armed struggle for the liberation of Somaliland from Siyad Barre’s dictatorship during the eighties.

 

 

TNT found in stricken Yemen tanker

 

 

French investigators have found traces of TNT explosives on the Limburg oil tanker, providing the strongest evidence yet that Sunday's explosion was due to a terrorist attack.

President Chirac of France has called on the Yemen authorities to find and punish the terrorists responsible for the blast, which killed one crew member and sent 90,000 barrels of oil pouring into the Gulf of Aden.

"Mounting indications show that the hypothesis of a terrorist attack is very plausible," said Mr Chirac's spokeswoman Catherine Colonna.

"France will not let itself be intimidated," she said.

The French defence ministry is now heightening security for French citizens in the Middle East, and considering military escorts for French commercial vessels in the region.

Terrorist hunt

Earlier on Friday, French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie announced that "parts of a small boat and traces of TNT were found inside the tanker."

The findings backed up an earlier discovery of fragments from a small marine vessel on the deck of the Limburg.

Both discoveries are strong indications of a terrorist attack.

The Limburg is now thought to have been rammed by a small boat noticed by crew members shortly before the blast.

This style of attack resembles the suicide bombing of the US warship Cole in Yemen's Aden port in 2000, which killed 17 American sailors - an attack blamed on al-Qaeda militants.

So far, the investigators have not determined who was responsible for this week's attack.

The militant Yemeni Islamic group Aden-Abyan Islamic Army has claimed responsibility, but the US is sceptical of its claims.

The group sent a statement to the daily Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, saying a US frigate had been the original target.

It was quoted as saying the attack on the French tanker was "no problem because they are all infidels, and infidelity is one and the same."

But American officials maintain the attackers are more likely to be linked to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda organisation.

Al-Qaeda background

Yemen initially tried to dismiss reports the blast was deliberate.

But on Thursday the government conceded it could have been an act of terrorism.

"It might have been an arranged and deliberate act, and a meticulously planned one, for that matter, " an unnamed Yemeni official told the Associated Press news agency.

In the past, Yemen has been a major recruiting ground for al-Qaeda.

But after the organisation was blamed for the attack on the USS Cole, the government has been co-operating with the Americans in cracking down on alleged terrorists

 

U.S. to move more Armour to Gulf

 

By Stefano Ambrogi

 

LONDON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy is seeking two large merchant ships to carry more armour and tracked vehicles from the United States and Europe to the Middle East as the build-up for a possible assault on Iraq gathers pace, new commercial shipping tenders show.

The U.S. military already has a massive quantity of heavy armour and ammunition aboard 17 of its own enormous pre-positioned ships near the British base of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, within a few days striking distance of the Gulf.

They carry heavy equipment, including tanks, for the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army.

At a speed of 25 knots the ships can steam within sight of Iraqi shores some 2,800 miles (4,500 km) away in five or six days.

The navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC), in a new commercial tender seen by Reuters, has ordered a commercial roll-on roll-off vessel to move an immense 99,000 square feet, 867 separate pieces of "hazardous rolling stock" to the Gulf.

The vessel is due to discharge no later than mid-November, according to the solicitation document from MSC, the branch of the U.S. Navy charged with transporting armour and military supplies.

The U.S. Senate early on Friday joined the House of Representatives in giving U.S. President George W. Bush strong backing to use military force, if necessary, to disarm Iraq.

The latest shipping order appears to signal that the Bush administration has not slowed preparations for a military effort aimed at ousting Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, should Washington decide to strike.

The ship, due to load on the west coast of the United States in mid-October, will carry the largest quantity of military equipment to date using merchant shipping.

"That's a big vessel and the biggest I've seen them request," said one shipping source familiar with MSC operations.

The heaviest item aboard the vessel would weigh 35 short tonnes, while the total cargo weight is 5,000 short tonnes.

MSC submitted a separate order for a roll-on roll-off ship to carry 52,869 square, 253 pieces of "wheeled, track vehicles and containers", loading at ports in Belgium and Italy between October 14-21 and discharging at two undisclosed Middle Eastern ports.

The two new commercial tenders bring to six the number of large roll-on roll-off ships known to have been chartered by MSC since August.

The Pentagon has said publicly that all the recent movements of equipment aboard merchant vessels are in support of military exercises in Kuwait and Jordan.

Akin to floating armouries, eight of the pre-positioning ships at Diego Garcia can each carry 58 Abrams battle tanks, 48 other track vehicles and 900 other trucks. MSC says they are laden with enough equipment to support a heavy U.S. Army brigade of up to 3,500 troops.

Six of the other 17 carry enough equipment and supplies to support 17,300 marines for 30 days.

MSC also is believed to have chartered a ship to carry a much smaller load of some 30,000 square feet of supplies from the Gulf to the United States, according to shipping sources, though this could not be immediately confirmed.

 

 

REGIONAL AFFAIRS

 

ERITREA: Isayas calls for regional summit on Sudan

 

 

NAIROBI, 9 Oct 2002 (IRIN) - Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki has called for an urgent regional summit to discuss "current problems" in Sudan, according to Eritrean radio.

In a letter to Libyan leader Col Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi - who is chairman of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (COMESSA) - Isayas warned that the Sudanese peace process, as well as security and stability in the region, were threatened.

Sudan has accused Eritrea of involvement in attacks in eastern Sudan last week by the Asmara-based opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in which Sudanese forces lost control of the religiously significant town of Hamashkoreb in Kassala State. Khartoum has since closed the border with Eritrea. The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) is a major component of the NDA.
Eritrea has strongly denied the claims, accusing Khartoum of "violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Eritrea, and declaring a situation of war".
During talks with visiting Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday, Isayas described Sudan's accusations as "irresponsible".
"These accusations have always come as a consequence of the Sudanese government trying to bring a military solution to a conflict that could have been solved by non-military means years ago," he told a joint news conference with Obasanjo.

He added, however, that Eritrea remained committed to helping broker a peace agreement between the warring sides in Sudan.

Stalled peace talks between the Sudanese government and the SPLM/A, brokered by the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), are due to resume in the Kenyan town of Machakos next week.
Meanwhile, the acting head of the African Union, Amara Essy, on Wednesday appealed for calm as tension increased between Eritrea and Sudan.
He urged both countries to "exercise maximum restraint" which, he said, was vital for peace in the Horn of Africa.

 

Gun battle 'normal accident'

 

 

 

Sana (Yemen Times Oct 7) Sheikh Abdullah bin Hussein al-Ahmar, Speaker of Parliament and Chairman of Islah Party, says the shootout between his sons and police in Sana'a last Sunday is no big deal .Varying reports suggest at least two and as many as four men - three soldiers and one Yemeni passerby - died in the firefight that erupted near

the British embassy in Sana'a.

Al-Ahmar, however, describes the incident as 'a normal accident,' pointing

out in press statements that some people in the government have tried to

make a mountain out of a molehill.

He said the government is making the issue part of electoral propaganda.

The shootout, which lasted at least 30 minutes, erupted after two sons of

al-Ahmar wanted to park their cars in a closed area near the embassy.

The son of al-Ahmar, Kahtan, and one of his escorts were among the

injured.

Official sources have accused al-Ahmar's sons of breaking the law and

starting the gun battle, which sheikh al-Ahmar denies strongly. He holds

the policemen accountable, claiming they are unqualified and unable to

perform their job well.

His press office also accused the Ministry of Interior of being unable to

ensure security and safety for people in Yemen.

He said his sons were presented to prosecutors following orders from

President Saleh. He also said that President Saleh interfered to stop the

shootout when he ordered the withdrawal of government troops.

The official investigation continues.

Sources told the Yemen Times that the government did not allow Kahtan

al-Ahmar to go abroad for medical treatment until the issue of injured

soldiers is settled.

It's believed the incident did not target the British embassy, even though

it was showered with bullets during the fight.

Such incidents happen frequently in Yemen, but most are not reported. It

is believed that this incident gained more significance because it

Occurred near a Western embassy.

Yemen has been suffering from the spread of weapons for decades. However,

The problem became more dangerous recently because it resulted in several

Violent incidents that damaged Yemen's reputation abroad.

It is estimated that 60 million pieces of weapons are in the hands of Yemenis, which indicates that on average, each Yemeni carries three pieces of weapons.

 

Believing America's word

 

 

President George Bush set the United States two great tests of its resolve in his speech Monday night. The first was expected, that the nation might have to go to war to destroy the ability of Saddam Hussein's to threaten his own people and the world with weapons of mass destruction. The second was that the war itself would be but part of the job.

"If military action is necessary, the United States and our allies will help the Iraqi people rebuild their economy and create the institutions of liberty in a unified Iraq at peace with its neighbors," Bush declared.

This confirms earlier promises of commitment from high officials. Secretary of State Colin Powell has pledged to Congress that a post-Saddam Iraq will have a "representative, democratic model as its political basis." National security adviser Condoleezza Rice says the United States would be "completely devoted" to the reconstruction of Iraq as a unified, democratic state, and that Iraq is just the first step of a much grander project -- "the march of freedom in the Muslim world."

These are grand words that carry even grander price tags. And unless something has changed in the nature of American political resolve and in the lifespan of American strategic patience, they are all too likely to prove hollow. Because the sad fact is that all too often American promises of future commitment and support have proved worthless.

Take the example of Turkey, an essential ally in the first Gulf War of 1990-91, and equally essential for the next round. In financial terms, Turkey was the big loser of the first Gulf War because it did the decent thing and did its duty under the United Nations sanctions regime and closed the Iraqi pipeline. At the time, it was promised "full compensation and support" by the first Bush administration.

The Turkish government says that its dutiful following of the sanctions rule has cost the country some $40 billion over the past 11 years, a major factor in last year's financial collapse. At least the second Bush administration pushed the International Monetary Fund to loan Turkey the money to recover from the disaster visited upon this loyal NATO ally by the first Bush administration.

Take another example that illustrates the devaluation of American promises. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze have both claimed that they were promised by the first Bush administration that if they swallowed German re-unification, there would be no enlargement of NATO. The former President Bush and his national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, in their co-authored book of memoirs "A World Transformed." squirm around this point without ever quite denying it. (The first enlargement of NATO took place in 1999; the second will take place at the Prague summit next month, and will include the incorporation of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, three Baltic states that were parts of the USSR when Gorbachev understood Bush to have made that pledge.)

Russia's readiness to believe American promises is important as the Iraqi crisis unfolds, and not just because of its United Nations veto. Russia is owed $8 billions by Saddam's regime (for unpaid arms bills) and has contingency contracts for Iraqi oil that come into force once the U.N. sanctions are lifted. Russia is not unreasonably seeking U.S. assurances that its debts will be paid and its contracts honored. But niggling at the back of Russian minds is the phrase Jackson-Vanik.

It was Bush the Elder who first promised Gorbachev to lift this 1970s trade restriction (initially linked to the freedom of Soviet Jews to emigrate), at their Malta summit in 1990. Twelve years (and 1.5 million Russian Jews in Israel) later, his son is still promising, and Congress still does not budge.

Let us pass over in shamed silence the gap between the promises made by Presidents Bush (the first) and Bill Clinton on what good things the United States, would do for Somalia, and the promises Clinton also made about "an enduring commitment" to Haiti. We had also better avoid even thinking about the promises of American support made to the Kurds in the Nixon-Ford years, and the fine words Bush the Elder spoke about "freeing the Iraqi people" in 1991, promises that still cast shadows over American hopes of Kurdish and Iraqi Sunni support today.

The point is that American presidents seem to be accustomed to thinking that all promises are like those hollow but ringing pledges that are routinely made on the campaign trail. But statements of intent that are spoken on the international stage have far wider consequences -- if anyone is still gullible enough to believe them. But they do, because against all the evidence, people want to take the word of an American president seriously. Maybe Bush the Younger can restore this devalued currency; post-Saddam Iraq will be the test.

Copyright © 2002 United Press International

Putin rejects Blair's charges against Iraq

By Mike Peacock

 

 

ZVIDOVO, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has left open the possibility of a new U.N. Iraq resolution, but dismissed claims by Prime Minister Tony Blair that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.

Blair, who on Thursday arrived with his wife Cherie at the Russian president's hunting lodge outside Moscow, had hoped to gain Moscow's support for a tough U.S.-drafted proposal on Iraq.

Putin has been reluctant to back Washington against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and said he had no proof of Baghdad's alleged arsenal of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

"(Russia) has not received persuasive proof from its partners of such weapons in Iraq. This thesis is confirmed by information sent by the CIA to (the U.S.) Congress," Putin told a joint news conference after extended talks on Friday.

Putin said Russia would consider a new proposal, however, if it was necessary to aid inspectors, absent from Iraq since 1998.

"Russia's position has always been that no new resolution is necessary, but we need to take account of the negative experience of the work of U.N. inspectors," Putin said.

British officials rejected suggestions that the visiting delegation had failed to sway the Kremlin, emphasising instead success on the issue of U.N. weapons inspectors.

Blair, who has actively supported U.S. calls for coordinated military efforts against Saddam's Iraq, said the two sides had agreed on the need to return monitors as fast as possible.

"There may be different perspectives about how sure we can be about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction," Blair said.

"The stronger and clearer the signal the international community gives...the less likely conflict will be."

Britain last month issued a dossier which it said proved Iraq held chemical and biological weapons and was willing to use them.

NOT A BARGAINING PLACE

Russia's opposition to U.S.-led strikes on Iraq has been widely linked in part to efforts to recover billions of dollars in debts run up by Iraq during the Soviet era.

Last month Iraq said Russian firms had won deals worth $40 billion (25.6 billion pounds) on scores of long-term oil and infrastructure projects.

But Putin said Russia had not set a price on cooperation.

"I would plead with you not to perceive our meeting as a bargaining place. I have not invited them (the Blairs) to an Oriental bazaar," he said.

Blair and Putin spoke on Friday after a relaxed evening in secluded Zavidovo, 125 km (80 miles) from Moscow, where the Blairs were greeted with warm embraces.

The talks coincide with efforts to push through a new U.N. Security Council resolution that would give sweeping power to inspectors in Iraq, backing it with a threat of military action.

Hawks in Washington have demanded that Saddam be removed from power in Baghdad, regardless of any new weapons search programme. Blair, Washington's closest ally, is insisting the U.N. route is the way forward, without completely ruling out unilateral military action if Saddam fails to comply.

But Blair has denied his visit aims to establish Moscow's price for cooperation with the United Nations.

Though Moscow has reoriented its foreign policy behind the United States since the September 11 attacks, it initially said no new resolution was needed to resume the inspectors' work.

But Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov this week pledged to support any proposal "aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the activity of the international inspectors".

Blair said he would not avoid raising human rights concerns about Russian action in rebel Chechnya, but said the world must realise Russia was under attack from extremist rebels there.

At least 23 people were killed and several others injured after a bomb exploded in a police station in the Chechen capital Grozny on Thursday night.

 

Poles Apart

 

 

It is the conventional wisdom that the peoples known universally as “Somalis” who are inhabiting in the Horn Of Africa and parts of East Africa are one and same people. That they derive from the same ancestral stock. That they possess the same culture. That they share the same history. That they practice the same religion. That they speak the same language. That they subscribe to same values and customs. That they are of the same race, et cetera, at cetera…

           

Nonsense!

Quite on the contrary, there are two distinct and probably three or four peoples in the said geographical area. One is in the north; in Somaliland, Djibouti and northeastern Ethiopia. The other or others are in the south; from the so-called Puntland down south all the way to northern Kenya and parts of southeastern Ethiopia. Let me categorize these peoples as   “us” Northerners and the “them” Southerners. They have nothing in common except that misfortune has made them neighbors.

Grouping all of them as “Somalis” is a freak anthropological mistake the origin of which I cannot fathom but the propagation of which is sinisterly used by those who have not the interest of both peoples at heart. These pretenders, some from “us”, most of “them” and many from foreign countries argue that since all “Somalis” are one and the same people, they are, or at least most of them are bound to be united under one unitary entity. Never mind that the same pretenders dismantled that unitary entity, the former Somali Republic, when it existed, and now that it does not exist, they want to revive it for the same motives that destroyed it in the first place. Nor do they take into account the fact that the identicalness of people do not obligate them to be united (witness the Arab countries; same people over 20 states) or that ethnic diversity is no bar to a union of peoples in one political state (most countries in the world are inhabited by ethnically diverse peoples. Witness USA).

But my intention here is not to discuss the pros and cons of  “Somali” unity, or how to resolve “their” present day problems. My argument is that there is no such thing as homogenous “Somalism”. It is totally a myth; a stereotype. The sooner all concerned realize and accept this first and foremost cardinal fact the better for the same all concerned. Everything else is secondary. For those who wish to promote peace and stability in this region, this fact should be the starting point: These are two different peoples; if they both want unity, they will unite; if one or both do not desire unity they will stay separate.

The origin of “Somalis” is a gray area. No member of either people (them or us) can trace his lineage for more than an average of 20 generations, which means approximately 500 years back. Neither people have a written history by themselves. What are available on origin of “Somalis” are what was researched and written by others; Europeans and Arabs. And this changes from time to time or is sometimes doctored to suit vested interests and political agendas. Sometimes the “Somalis” are Cushitics; sometimes Hamites, and still at other times Arabs of Semitic stock. This can change again; it is a matter of time and fertile imagination.

But if culture and values are any indication of shared heritage and ethnicity, it is very clear that “them” and “us” have none. Values are the unwritten rules of how an individual, a community and a people conduct themselves, amongst themselves and towards others. Southerners’ values are egocentric, selfish and covetous. In pursuit of wealth or power the end justifies all means. Conning, cheating, lying, robbing either by stealth or failing that by open and often violent means are second nature to them. Let alone others far away, they will not even spare the near, the dear or the neighbor. Virtues and vices have a very thin boundary here.

In 1960, when Somalilanders by way of naivety and emotion gave up their independence and without conditions merged with the South in the name of brotherhood, the Southerners had the insolence of shamelessly taking all the major positions of government: the presidency, the prime ministership, the ministries of defense, interior and foreign affairs, the commands of the army and police and every other important post in the wheels of power. It was as if the northerners were a vanquished people and victors were sharing the spoils amongst themselves. Such is the difference in the two peoples’ values and traditions that if the circumstances were the other way around and the Southerners came to Hargeisa with their independence and soul in the bag, the Northerners would have gladly and willingly given all these posts to the Southerners anyway. One thing is called greed; the other is called grace.

The graciousness and generosity of the Northerners especially towards strangers borders on prodigality or perhaps stupidity and is in stark contrast with the characteristic selfishness of the Southerners. Even the destitute nomad in the North is known to kill the sheep that he had denied his malnourished family for the strange traveler who had camped near his settlement for the night. In teashops when friends, acquaintances or even strangers sit around the same table, it is normal that one them would make a point to foot the bill though no prior invitation was given. Friends, relatives and indeed strangers can call on a house at lunchtime and share food and drinks. If one is hard up he can count on his relatives and friends to pitch in. It is a kind of social security system that allows no one to be really rich but which never leave any one to starve.  Would such things happen in the South? You bet your boots not.

Indeed the Southerners, when they discovered this Northern trait, have typically put it into maximum use. If you befriend a Southerner, he or she would expect you to open your purse strings. If you don’t, he or she would swear that you are not a Northerner; that you are a pretender. Usually they do not get disappointed but do not expect gratitude. Behind your back he or she will congratulate himself or herself on his or her ingenuity and laugh at your foolishness.   

Sincerity is another area where we vastly differ. Smooth talking and flattery are their forte, but they are often not earnest in what they say. “Aboowe macanow or Abaaye macaanee” (Sweet brother or sweet sister) is what they call you while they may be devising your demise. In the North ‘Brother” and “Sister” are reversed for the real ones. If you happen to be in their house they would say “Soo dhawoowhay, ninanku minankaagii waaye” (welcome, the house is yours), but you are expected to thank them and go away. If you are dumb or uninitiated and take them at their word by making yourself at home, you create an ugly situation. Embarrassed glances will be exchanged by the hosts and silence will be deafening. You will soon realize that you are imposing yourself and going out of the door as quickly as possible will be a merciful relief for both you and hosts alike.

Titles in the South are also very loose. I am reminded of an episode that occurred to a friend who was educated in the States to the Master of Arts level.  On his return he became a ranking official in Mogadishu Municipality. After a few months his American wife joined him. She noticed that everybody was addressing him as “Dittore”. Thinking that she must have missed on her husband’s academic advancement or that he had deliberately misled people on his educational achievements she asked him:

“Abdillahi, since when did you attain your doctorate?”

“I didn’t, but everyone calls me ‘Dittore’ anyway.” He told her, “I know it is embarrassing, but it is useless to protest or to correct them.”

In the South, the graduate is a “Doctor”, the technician is an “Engineer”, the clerk is a “Manager”, the military officer is a “Leader”. Anyone appointing himself a title gets away with it. If one is in a position of authority, one’s subordinates will certainly oblige one with a fancy title and one will see no sarcasm in the whole exercise. In the North, a person throwing around his title or rank or accepting an undeserved one is considered egotistic and lacking in substance.  

In the former Somali Republic, public and private wealth accumulated for scores of years were invested in the South as a matter of government policy. Revenues generated in Somaliland were routinely transferred to the South. All new factories, plantations, hospitals, schools, universities were built only in the South, while the North was denied even funds for proper maintenance of the existing public facilities at the time of independence. Northerners were even prevented to invest their own money in their hometowns. In Hargeisa there a regulation that barred residents to construct buildings more than two stories high. Soon the two tallest private buildings in Mogadishu were owned by Northerners (Jirdeh Hussein and Abdillahi Omar). The upscale suburb of Casa Populare was almost exclusively a Northern community. Today there is no vestige of national and Northern owned property in the South. Whole factories were dismantled and sold as scrap in the UAE, India and Italy. Private residences, school buildings, farms etc in the Mogadishu and other Southern areas are occupied by squatters who have killed or driven away the rightful owners. Ethnic cleansing occurred in Somalia before Yugoslavia made it notorious. Yet this is deemed as nothing out of the ordinary. People who do this are considered smart and brave.

Islam and any other of God’s religions have in my view two fundamental tenets. One, Piety, is the devout worship and devotion to God. Its inherent conspicuity draws respect and reverence from fellow men. If one is devoted to God, it goes that one must be benevolent to his fellow humans as that is the express wish of Him. However it is only Almighty who really knows whether one’s piety is genuine or not. God Himself has warned us of those who are pious only to gain acceptance and respect in the society and then do untold harm to God’s unsuspecting people. He said they are worst kind of hypocrites and their place hereafter is the flaming Hell.

Which leads us to the other tenet, which is Righteousness. This has more to do with morality and the laws God laid down to govern His beings. Human regeneration and sustenance of life would be chaos without righteousness. The institution of family and relations of man and woman are regulated by these moral laws. Indeed, the laws of men themselves are also derived from this tenet. God is very particular of the preservation and protection of the lives, freedom and properties of His people. A righteous person, therefore shall not for instance, kill or rob or cheat or deny freedom from another person.

Thus, Piety is apparent, but Righteousness can only be authentic. A person can be righteous but not necessarily be pious. There are atheists who are righteous. However a truly pious person is also inherently righteous. A righteous but not pious person can at any time in life repent and God has in his power to forgive him. But God has made clear that He will not forgive those who have sinned against His people.

Now we the Northerners call ourselves Muslims. The Southerners also claim to be Muslims. But I am leery to put myself in the same league with those whom committing atrocities or condoning them is a matter of course. One or the other must be outside the perimeters of Islam.

Before the seventies, after which, all sorts of “Somalis” took to emigration in droves, the Somali communities in foreign countries - in the Arabian Gulf, East Africa and Europe, except Italy - were almost exclusively from the North. Then the Somalis were known in their host countries for their upright values, pride and respect of local laws. The hosts’ only complaint was the Somalis did not assimilate into the new societies, kept their distinct traditions and were easily bound turn violent if their dignity was offended. This in some cases became an advantageous reputation rather than a weakness as it bestowed to the Somalis respect and cautioned others against pettily picking on them. Thus it was easy and rather pleasant for Somalis to live and travel around in these countries.

Then came the waves from the South and with them crime. Robbery, forgery, prostitution, human trafficking, racketeering, beggary - crimes never associated with Somalis - have been repeatedly committed by “Somalis”. With the fall of the “Somali Republic” and Somaliland lacking recognition, nations around the world view “Somalis” as people without government. Yet many countries have been considerate enough to allow them to travel and sometimes settle in their countries. However this kindness has been grossly misused. Recently for example, almost a planeload of teenage girls from Mogadishu with 15-day visas went to Dubai. “Merchant” said the profession space in their passports. It is only in the South where a young lady of fifteen masters the intricacies of commerce, but seriously I hate to contemplate on what business they were taken there. They were detained and returned and their male guardians were imprisoned. The authorities and people of these countries are dumbfounded by these un-Somali activities. These are not the same Somalis they had known, they lament. Today a “Somali” even one traveling with a non-Somali passport is viewed with suspicion. Many countries have enacted regulations barring “Somalis” to come to their shores. I do not blame them.

Now, the problem is: for most foreigners a “Somali” is a Somali. They do not know the difference between “us” and “them”. A Somali passport or looking like a Somali? Kaput. The result is that straightforward Somalis with legitimate reasons to go to foreign lands bear the brunt of their officials’ wrath. Reinstating internationally recognized government to the former Somali Republic will not restore the image and good standing of the “Somalis”. A name once spoiled stays spoiled. For Somalilanders the only available option is to educate the world on their separate and different identity as opposed to that of the Southerners. Redoubling our efforts for recognition is the first step.

Northerners love for democracy and aversion for dictatorship are well known. It is manifested in our traditional pastoral Shirs (meetings) under the tree where the affairs of the community were discussed and consensual agreements were always reached. It is implanted in the short and modern history of independent Somaliland where democracy flourishes in ways that is rare in most parts of the world.

It is the opposite in the South. There autocracy or group supremacy is the order of the day. In the sixties groups originating from present day Puntland dominated the higher echelons of power. They believed it was their right to rule. Then came Siad Barre, himself a Southerner from another part and the Puntlanders turned against him, not because he was a bad leader but because their vanity and egoism would not allow them to stand any one except them to be in power. Siad with characteristic brutality made short work of them. Having shown his rough side, he then enticed them to come to his fold. Unprincipled as they were and with tails between their legs, they later joined him to commit atrocities in other parts of the country.

It is no secret that Siad himself did not intend to give up power even after death. He groomed his son, Maslah to take it over. Only his hasty flight in a tank from his palace with with freedom fighters at his heels spared the country of the formation of the Siad Dynasty a la Jean Bokasta’s Central African Empire.  When Aidid proclaimed himself President over the blood of so many innocent people, he cleverly gave positions to members of other communities. His vice president Abdirahman Tur (who ironically was the first president of Somaliland) and foreign minister Jama Yare were Somalilanders. However misguided they were and disloyal to their own people, these men and others in the Aidid government were seasoned, competent and mature politicians. Yet when he died, baby Aidid was installed as president and no feathers were rattled. In the sham conference of Arta, there was no question that the post of president should go to a person from a particular area; the question was who from that area to give it to. How insulting!

Since the Southern despotic leaders have the uniform tendency of never willingly giving up power (real or imagined) before death (usually violent) or overthrow, Abdiqasim Salad’s imagery realm will certainly need a family successor sooner or later. Now I do not know if Salad has a teenaged or older son, but if he does not, his subjects, few as they are, need not despair. He must have a brother or a daughter or a nephew or an uncle to fill his shoes when the inevitable arrives.

Furthermore, the poor public is not spared the weight of the leaders’ spouses and other relatives even before death. I am told that the Musa Matan ladies, one of them wife of Somalia’s first president were the most effective lobbyists in the corridor of power in their time. Siad Barre’s foreign minister was his brother. His intelligence chief was his son-in-law. Close relatives held most of the sensitive commands in the army. His wife, Mama Khadija, was reputed to be the second most powerful person in the country. World-class ministers and gallant generals commanding battle-hardened armies were known to suddenly go weak in the knees in her presence. Salad’s wife is said to be his real finance minister and central banker.              

 

Language per se is no proof of homogeneity. English has become the native language of many diverse peoples and races. Swahili is spoken from Kenya to Zimbabwe. Somali literature is a northern domain. All classic and contemporary poets -Seyid Mohamed Abdulla Hassan, Ali Jama Habil, Salan Carabe, Qaman Bulhan, Ali Dhooh, Ismail Mire, Abdi Gahair, Omer Austeralia, Tima’ade, Hadrawi; I say all were or are Northerners. As were and are the songwriters and popular singers: Abdillahi Qarshe, Ali Sugale, Abdi Idan, Balayo As, Shimbir, Mohamed Ahmed, Mohamed Sulaiman, Omer Dhule, Abdi Qais, Madeq, Hibo, Sahra Ahmed, Bahsan, Khatra Dahir etc, the list is endless. Even Magool, a Southern, found her fame in the North. The only Southerner worthy of mention in this context is Arees Ise and he was more notable for the amusing female back up melodic chorus of “Runtaa!” (“True!” - agreeing with his utterances) than for thought provoking verses.

Northerners who went to the South during the first years of the “Union” found hard to comprehend dialects. Since the mass media, such radio broadcasting, the mass culture and the profession of teaching were dominated by Northerners; the Somali Language as spoken in the North became the magna lingua of both North and South. In short we taught them the Language.

The fact of the matter is we do not celebrate the same way. We do not grieve the same way. We do not play the same way. We do not have same birth rituals or funeral rituals. We do not dress the same way. We do not have the same marriage traditions. (By the way, speaking of marriage, there is in the South something called Qudba Sir and Qudba Shardi  -secret marriage- that is a discreet and conditional marriages for a specific period and on specific conditions. No such thing in the North. And when I asked our religious scholars if Islam sanctions this, they reacted with horror. They said it is nothing less than adultery in the name of religion; a grave sin.) We are something and they something else.

The first time a Somali flag was hoisted in liberty, it was in Hargeisa. It was a Northern creation. Abdillahi Qarshe’s descriptive song of that flag (Qolaba calankeedu waa caynee -every nation’s flag has a different color-) and Abdillahi Timade’s flag welcoming poem at independence (Kaana siib; kana saar -lower that, and raise this-) were truly moving and classic odes. Yet, Somalilanders have now discarded that flag not because they hated it, but because they did not want to be associated with the Southerners. I agree. We had made that flag. We made another. We can make a third if we need to.

Similarly, I believe that the name Somali has it origin in the North. As Somali culture is Northern oriented, the name could come only from that area. Some say it is derived from camel milking (Soomaal). In that case first camels in the Horn Of Africa were brought to the North from Asia. However, Somalilanders are not ones to make a fuss out of a name. As the adage goes: “what is in a name?” It is the character of a person or society that is important, not what the person or the society is called. In order to delete any remaining association with the Southerners, I propose that we change our country’s name to something not containing the word Somali. I have no doubt we will find some name that is unique, descriptive and beautiful. Let the contest for it begin.

I am not naïve enough to say that the Northerners are all angels. Nor do I want to imply that you will not see some good people in the South.  After all they must be people. But I would like others to point out to me where the Northerners are at fault. You can count on me to admit them if they truly exist. And if there are verifiable Southern virtues, I am open to hear them as well.

I am aware that I run the risk of being accused of expressing radical views. I tried my best to base them not on sentiments but on facts. I stand to be challenged on these facts.

 

Somali Poetry

Introduction to Somali Poetry

 

Anyone who has come in contact with Somali culture will be aware of the central role poetry plays in that culture. For as long as we know, poetry has been the core form of cultural expression and is the basis upon which some other forms have been developed, in particular Somali theatre. Traditional life in the eastern Horn of Africa, where the Somalis live, has poetry woven into its fabric. Many of the day-to-day tasks which people carry out in the countryside have poetry associated with them in the form of work songs, each type with its own metrical structure and associated tunes. A young girl might sing songs about the sheep and goats she is tending, weaving into such a song her feelings for the animals and what they mean to her family; a young man may praise his camels in a watering song, a woman tease her neighbour in a mat-weaving song and so on. Many such worksongs are of common heritage, but it is also the case that people compose their own lyrics reflecting concerns and events in their own lives. All these types of poems are generally described in Somali as hees and are part of what might be termed Somali folklore. In addition there is poetry which is composed by poets with the intention that the poem be heard more widely as a comment on something of importance to the community, whether that be the immediate kin or the whole Somali nation. Such poetry is termed maanso in Somali and is characterised by the fact that any particular composition is always associated with the poet who composed it and that anyone reciting the poem must do so with the aim of reciting it word for word as the poet composed it. This verbatim memorization is a particularly important characteristic of the oral poetic heritage of the Somalis and such poetry is generally held in higher esteem than the hees type.

 

It is important to bear in mind that Somali poetry is still primarily experienced through listening rather than reading; there has been some publication of collections of important poetry (mostly of poets from the past), but these are not widely distributed at all. The language was first written in an officially recognized script in 1972 and, prior to that, poetry was, with a very few exceptions, composed, retained and performed solely in oral form. Most poetry composed today is still essentially oral, although instead of memorization playing the major role in its dissemination, cassette tape and radio broadcast are more prominent. Cassettes are particularly important and the recording of performances of poetry and subsequent duplication of the tapes is very widespread and is not regulated through copyright laws. The identity of the poet must always be made clear however and plagiarism and inaccurate recitation of a maanso poem are frowned upon and would lead to the ridicule of anyone trying it on. The matter of oral versus written poetry has become further blurred in recent years when we understand that some poets now use writing in the composition of their poetry. Hadraawi composes using writing and when performing his own poetry does so by reading a written text. There are other poets who continue not to use writing at all and who retain their poems in their heads and pass them on through recitation and recording on cassette.

 

Maanso poetry is very much of its place and time. A great amount of poetry  which is composed by people throughout the Horn of Africa (as well as in the diaspora) relates to events in the life of the poet and in his or her community. Thus as time goes by poets are constantly addressing new situations, and since there is no instituted way in which poetry is preserved, it is easily lost. Little poetry is remembered from before the turn of the century, but now, given the technology of cassette recording and also the development of writing, poetry is more readily kept for posterity. Work was undertaken towards preserving the poetry of some of the most important early poets by Somali poets and scholars in the 1960s and 1970s and there are now some published collections of such early poetry. Of recent poets, few have published works. Hadraawi's collected poems (1970-1990) were published in 1993 in Norway (1), an important contribution to Somali literature.

 

Another consequence of the importance of the context of composition is that some poems are very difficult to understand if one is not aware of the people and events involved. Some poems, however, are composed on general themes and this makes them more readily accessible to a wider audience and allows them to be understood through translation with a minimal amount of associated annotation. Such are both of the poems presented here.

 

The last two decades in the Horn of Africa have been times of great upheaval, culminating in the early Nineties in horrific violence in some parts of Somalia and the consequent displacement of a great number of people throughout the world. Much of the poetry which has become widely known over these years has been concerned with this and some imaginative and powerful poems have been composed. As has been the case throughout Somali history, some of this poetry is partisan, supporting or denigrating according to the allegiance of the poet. Poetry which becomes most widely known, however, tends to be that which deals with the situation as a whole and speaks to a wider section of society. As a result of these political upheavals, many people have found their way to the United Kingdom where there is now a large Somali community. Poetry remains an important part of that displaced community's life and the concerns of the people are naturally reflected in it. For some, a nostalgic reflection through the appreciation of the poetry of past times is important. For others the development of new forms and use of new language is a major part of their cultural life in expressing their new experience and in assimilating new influences from the communities around them. The use of language in poetry is a matter of concern to many who now live in the UK. Younger people are sometimes unable to understand the language used in some of the poetry of the great modern poets, let alone the great poets of the past, because of the prevalence of the use of vocabulary which has its roots in the traditional pastoral way of life. The most widely known poetry comes from those background, if not directly then indirectly, is associated with the pastoral nomadic way of life. The language and experience of this life, of the camels, the weather, the environment, the daily chores, continues to provide a rich source of allusion and metaphor which can be lost on younger people who have grown up in a large city in

Europe. Even in the Horn of Africa, people who have grown up in an urban environment with

little or experience of life in the countryside can have difficulty  in understanding some

poetry. There are some younger artists in the diaspora who are now developing new voices

and ways of expressing themselves, but their work has not become widely known amongst

the Somalis as a whole as yet.

 

The two poets whose work is represented here have both been resident in the UK during the 1990s. Although Hadraawi has now returned to the Horn of Africa, whilst living in London he made a number of public appearances reciting his poetry. His poetry has been widely known since the early seventies and has provided an important commentary on the life and political situation in the eastern Horn of Africa from those times to the present day. Cabdulqaadir, who still lives here, is from a younger generation of poets, but his manipulation and skill in addressing matters via the traditional pastoral imagery is appreciated by those who have heard his poetry. Samadoon is particularly appreciated for these qualities.

 

There are two formal features which are compulsory in Somali poetry: metre and alliteration. Metre is vocalically quantitative with a particular metrical pattern being defined in terms of the number and patterning of long and short vowels. Each genre of poetry (of which there are many) has its own particular metrical template. As for alliteration, there is an alliterative word in every line or half-line, according to the genre, and the same alliterative sound is sustained throughout the whole poem. For example in the poem Samadoon, an example of a genre known as gabay, there is at least one word in every half-line beginning with the sound 'd'; in Jacayl Dhiig Ma Lagu Qoray, as the metre is different (it is a Jiifto metre type in a poem genre known as hees (2)), there is an alliterating word in each line, 'dh', (a retroflex plosive). A sensitivity to these formal features is most important in any attempt at translation, but how are they to be acknowledged and reflected in translation? This is a common enough decision to be made in poetry translation, but there are two factors which need to be borne in mind when considering this question for Somali. On the one hand these formal features define the piece of language as being poetry and on the other, given the skills of a good poet, the imposition of such strict features on the language used provides one means of developing movement in the domain of the poem as a whole. This is certainly the case in each of these poems. In Samadoon, for example, although each of the the 179 lines of the original has the same metrical and alliterative structure, as is prescribed by convention, Cabdulqaadir skilfully weaves the strictures of the form with other facets of language structure and style such as syntax, repetition, additional alliteration etc, to develop the ideas and emotions in the poem and to bring a wider sense of phrasing to the tone of the poem as a whole. This is also the case in Jacayl Dhiig Ma Lagu Qoray where it is achieved in particular through the series of negative questions which flow across the strict metrical lines.

How, then, is one to deal with this in translation? The gabay line is 20-21 vowel units long, the Jiifto metre of Jacayl Dhiig Ma Lagu Qoray on the other hand has 9 vowel units and this difference in length has been reflected straightforwardly in line length in the translation. Some attempt at the use of half lines has also been made in the translation of the gabay Samadoon. I have chosen not to keep to a strict metre in the English, but have tried to use a style which presents a rhythm in keeping with the phrasing and movement  in the original poems as I perceive it. One major aspect of the translation has been to try in some way to reflect the aural nature of the poem. Given that Somali poems are not essentially written pieces but are composed to be heard (even though writing was used in the composition of both of the poems presented here), I have tried to move away from certain aspects of the written form, hence the lack of punctuation. It is hoped that the words speak simply for themselves, as they need to in the Somali original in recited form, and that the line divisions are enough to supply the whole with some structure to aid understanding. Such rhythmic and line structure is clearly perceivable in any performance of the original Somali versions of these poems and is not therefore here an imposition of the written form.

 

I wish to thank Hadraawi and Cabdulqaadir for their assistance in helping me to understand their poems and also William Radice and the editors for some valuable comments on draft translations.

 

1- Maxamed Ibraahim Warsame 'Hadraawi', Hal-Karaan. Den Norske Somaliakomiteen, Kleppe, Norway, 1993.

 

2- The term hees in addition to referring to the work songs and dance songs as mentioned above is also used as a term for modern poetry which is performed in a singing style to instrumental accompaniment. Such poetry may be composed in one of a number of metrical styles.

 

Cabdulqaadir Xaaji Cali Xaaji Axmad

Translated by Martin Orwin

 

Cabdulqaadir Xaaji Cali Xaaji Axmed, born following independence in northern Somalia in 1962, is one of the younger generation of Somali poets. He was educated at intermediary and secondary level in Hargeysa until 1982. He taught for a year before leaving to join the Somali National Movement (SNM) base in Ethiopia. In 1987 he joined the SNM's radio station, Radio Halgan (Radio Struggle), and while working there he began to compose poetry.

The poem translated here was composed and first performed in London in 1995 after he had moved to the UK in 1990. It is a powerful comment on the civil war and the destruction of much of Somalia at the hands of the previous military regime and the various militias. Its first public hearing was at a poetry reading in the East End organized by the Multicultural Arts Consortium at which Hadraawi also recited his latest poem of that time (Dabahuwan). Samadoon is composed as an oral epistle to a friend of the poet, Hirsi (Xirsi in Somali), who is entreated to pass on the message to the people. Most of the text comprises that which Hirsi says to the people.

 

This poem is of a type known as gabay, which is a genre used to deal with serious subjects. Each line in the Somali follows the gabay's metrical pattern which divides the line into two half lines, each of which must incorporate an alliterating word. The poem makes great use of pastoral imagery and allusions to the countryside, the plants and livestock. Some usage is in a negative sense:

 

         they enter the shade    of the dead wood

         the forest's been destroyed    by scorching sand

         rotten brush    dense dead thicket

         silvered tree stumps    calls of help help

 

 

These lines call to mind the hot arid landscape in the dry season at a time of severe drought, a great threat to the lives of the livestock and the people. Such times are often alluded to metaphorically in poetry. Good times in the countryside are also referred to:

 

        the place where all points    to milk full udders

        the meadowland views unspoilt    clumps of grass

        'dihi' in fresh growth    the plant life and verdure

        the mossy shoots    with roots reaching deep

 

Here the countryside after rain is pictured. Such times are good for the people, plenty of pasture for the livestock means plenty of milk for food and people are more able to gather socially.

 

Such allusions to life in the countryside can be difficult to understand for people unfamiliar with that way of life. This, of course, also makes the translation particularly difficult in parts. For instance, the originial Somali line:

  

        Inaad delewo haaneed tidhaa   Adi dantaa maaha

 

has been translated as:

 

        giving them the milking responsibility   it's not in your interest

 

A literal translation of the line would read:

 

that you say 'Delewo' at the haan side    it's not in your interest

 

Delewo is the proper name of a camel and haan refers both to the container used when milking and to the side of the camel which is milked by the person who is holding that container. This person would be the more experienced one of the two milking the camel, and the one, therefore, who takes the greater responsibility for preventing any loss of milk. It is this basic idea which I have tried to bring out in the translated line. It is not as detailed an image, nor as powerful a statement as the original line in the context of the poem, but one which hopefully renders both some of the image's substance and its role in the poem.

Explanation of some of the Somali terms and other allusions in the poem may be useful to the reader.

aloe - this plant is known for its bitterness and is a metaphor here for malignancy.

bull elephant - here this is a name given to Hirsi.

Barre - the former president and dictator of the military regime of Somalia, ousted in 1991.

'd' - the sound of alliteration in the original Somali poem; in the original it is given its Arabic name daal.

Daabad - the proper name of a burden camel; such proper names are often used in Somali poetry to represent the animals generically.

Daylo - a name given to a female sheep with a half black head as opposed to the full black head of most sheep; used here generically.

Awl, Daydad, Dirirad - sub-seasons in the Somali system of weather lore (Awl is spelt Cawl in Somali).

Dayr - the main rainy season in the Somali territories and when the rains are good a time of plenty.

dihi - a type of pasture plant which grows in salty areas (spelt in Somali: dixi).

duur - this is a herbaceous plant with a long stalk.

Deleb, Diirran, Doorran - are names of camels, again used generically; Deleb refers to a game played with small sticks, the other two mean 'eager' and 'chosen' respectively.

Koofil and Doofil - Koofil is the Somali pronunciation and spelling of Corfield who was a commander of the Camel Corps in British Somaliland, killed in 1913 in battle and the subject of a very famous poem by Sayyid Mohamed Abdille Hasan, the Dervish leader he was fighting. Here Koofil stands for the British imperialists and Doofil is a play on the sound of Koofil but using the poem's alliterative sound ('d') to represent the Italian imperialists.

Go'e - literally means 'the one who is dying' and is used as an insult. I                                                                                                      have not found a correspondence in English, and feel that the tone of the original word is appropriate in this context.

Chosen, Outstanding, Support - where these are presented towards the end of the poem with initial capitals they refer to camel names. The names represent camels which in turn represent the poem. The camel is the most important animal in Somali pastoral society and is often used in poetry as a symbol for what is valued. Here the meanings of the names themselves are also of significance in the context and have therefore been translated.

Samadoon

Hirsi

  the oppressed deceived    hobbled from behind

  screened off enclosed    absent perpetually dangling

  disowned killed buried    stick thin destitute

  slaughtered for those    without compassion

  astray saddled for greed    empty of the grace of God

  neglected bound up    for the bitterness of the aloe

  from resentment sitting    head and hands on knees

  the water trough's absent    even from the well good sense is refused

  the ratatat and bomb booming    calls for the lost

  compliantly igniting    troubles and provocation

my bull elephant

  people sheltering    engaged ever bethroted

  to mucus and weakness    of all diseases

  malaria tuberculosis

  they're led astray by killing's admirers    son of Barre and his lot

  in ignorance following    the mistaken animal haired humans

  for my people    with wickedness poured into them

  i pass you this message    alliterating in 'd'

 

  to ring to pour forth harmony    forging the path

  setting to rights    easing the poem's affirmation

  to spread loyal honesty    i summon you ring it

  be it perhaps God willing    a balm accepted

  at dawn recite it    if truth only heals

  press it into those stubborn one    that they descend

  from mindlessness

                                         and you will say:

 deranged people    a huge hole is screened from you

 gulleys and eroded water tracts    obstruct descent

 paths set with hidden mines    disturbing the eye

 traps scattered for you    intending your misery

 as you suddenly topple into them    this is not in your interest

 clashing together is success    soothing fat

 to satan and his injustice

 the professed law of God    and religion states

 when a murder is committed    and the blame is clear

 is to be tried in law    blood money and hanging

 will settle but before  the accusation is made

the discussion conducted   the acacia watered

for the gifted and wise       he enters - peace - refuser

evil brings things     sweet to his saddle

 

the gun and the ratatat of its bullets  this is not in your interest

denying the search for truth    this is not in your interest

these good young men of yours dead    this is not in your interest

the women wear again and again the mourning scarf      this is

                                                              not in your interest

your cow bears each time a donkey   this is not in your interest     

sheep suffer from worms and bloating     this is not in your

                                                                     interest

cholera kills you one and all       this is not in your interest

the typhoon trawls you down to the ocean   this is not in your

                                                              interest

your bodies float away on the floods    go'e this is not in your

                                                                interest

dizzyness a world cracking your knees   go'e this is not in your

                                                                interest

 

 To be continued in the next issue.......