Memorable Impressions

Pt.2

By Jamal Gabobe, September 2, 2006

As stimulating and thought-provoking as the exchange with Tani was, it was not totally unexpected, because I already knew his topic and had given some thought to it before I came to the convention. I had given no such forethought to what, in my view, was the most important event of the convention: Ambassador Abdulrahim Abby Farah’s speech.

I actually came a bit late to his speech and by the time I arrived all the seats were taken. Therefore, I stood by the door with a couple of other guys who were in the same situation I was. I tried looking at it from the positive side and played up to myself the fact that it gave me the advantage of quietly slipping away whenever I decided I had enough. But any further thoughts of leaving were banished as soon as I heard the cadences of Abdirahim Abby’s voice. It was a richly textured voice, a cultured voice, the sort of voice that draws you close. But it wasn’t the voice alone that kept me mesmerized. There were also the words and the concepts behind the words.

My earliest memory regarding Abdulrahim Abby goes back to Aden, where I grew up. In the early seventies, it was widely believed among Somalilanders in Aden that Abdulrahim Abby was ordered by Siyad Barre to leave his job as Somalia’s ambassador to the UN, and come to Mogadishu to undergo ideological and military training like so many other Somali diplomats. This story struck a deep chord among Somalilanders in Aden and many of those who heard it applauded Abdulrahim’s perceived defiance. Somalilanders in Aden were a very patriotic lot, and were not against a legitimate government recalling its diplomats for consultation or even sacking them. But they knew Somalia was headed by a brutal, insecure and cunning man who felt especially threatened by people with knowledge, principles, or both. They were convinced that sending the country’s finest diplomats to boot camp was not about military training, or even communism, but about humiliating people of stature, such as Abdulrahim Abbi, and reducing them to the level of Siyad Barre’s Guulwades or militias.

Much later after the conference, I asked Abdulrahim Abby about this incident and what I heard in Aden. Abdulrahim replied, “That was not exactly what happened. There was an attempt to remove me from being a UN ambassador, but Omar Arteh who was foreign minister at the time stood by me and fought for me. He said over my dead body, it won’t happen while I’m foreign minister.”

It is a long way from Aden to Los Angeles, but memory can travel such distance within no time. So back to the Los Angeles Ballroom at the Hilton.

Abdulrahim spoke about many things. He said Somaliland has survived against great odds but he was concerned about the internal situation. He talked about the constant bickering between the political parties and suggested a government of national unity as a possible remedy. He bemoaned the deterioration of the natural environment, the widespread chewing of qat, the poor work ethic and the corruption. But if there was one idea that tied all of these themes together, it was that of governance. He stressed that Somaliland will stand or fall depending on the type of governance it has. If it chooses good governance, it will endure, but if it opts for rotten governance it would perish.

Abdulrahim Abby was reminded three times by the organizers of the conference that he was either about to, or has already gone over his allotted 15-20 minutes. The first two times he was sent a note as a reminder, he acknowledged the notes but continued speaking. The third time he was reminded verbally, Abdulrahim Abby declared, “I have waited for a long time to say this,” and continued.

I was happy he continued. The man, an elderly statesman, had an important message to deliver and was making sure he delivered it. I respected him even more for that.

Sitting here and writing these lines, I realize what made his ideas stand out. They were not mere theoretical speculations and wishful thinking but had a practical quality, such as: his suggestion to allow the diaspora to vote contingent upon paying a nominal tax and to use the revenue from this tax to create a fund for helping Somaliland; his list of steps that Somaliland’s parties should take to strengthen the democratic process; the lessons he learned from his failed attempt to establish a youth and adult education center in Berbera; his proposal for the creation of a directory of qualified and trained Somalilanders so it could be tapped by potential employers in Somaliland.

In my last conversation with him a couple of days ago, Ambassador Abby, in his characteristic practical style asked: Since Somaliland’s government says it needs the help of the diaspora, and since our best educated people are in the diaspora, has Somaliland’s government made any attempt at recruiting from the diaspora? He also posed this question for SOPRI: what was done about last year’s resolutions and what is the objective of this year’s conference?

Source: Somaliland Times