A Call To Overseas Somalilanders

By Abdisalam Mohamed

A few days ago, I read an article written by David Ignatius in the Washington Post. The article was entitled, "Will the US Leave Iraqi Allies Behind Like it Did in Vietnam", and it was comparing the American military involvements in the two countries, warning the US not to repeat some of the disgraceful policies that it carried out when it realized that it lost the war. Part of the analysis of those policies inspired me to write this article. It was the part that dealt with the aftermath of its chaotic pull out. The author writes, "The brutal policies of the North Vietnamese [after the pull out] created waves of refugees who became known as "boat people". Many thousands of them made their way to the Unites States, and their children and grandchildren are among the nation's great success stories."

He continues, "The Vietnamese who came to America after April 1975 [the day that the last American helicopter flew out of Saigon] provided a backbone for the investment and political change in their home country. Their superpower ally failed on the battlefield, but the Vietnamese who believed in free markets and modern values ended up as winners." These are the two paragraphs that struck a cord in my feelings and made me to think about what the overseas Somalilanders who escaped Barre's air raids and artillery bombardmenst and ended up in refugee camps in Dulcad and Harta Sheikha before they moved to Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand can do.

I believe they can do as much as the Vietnamese did or perhaps even better. But before I highlight what I think they can or should do, let me digress a little bit and say something about my intentional use of the expression "Overseas Somalilanders". I often read articles in our English media that refer to Somalilanders who fled the country during the liberation war and settled overseas as "Somalilanders in Diaspora". I do not know whether those who use this expression are aware of the religious connotation of the word "Diaspora", or whether they just use it as they picked it from the English media of the host countries in which they live. Be that as it may, it is worth mentioning that "Diaspora, or the Diaspora means settling of the Jews among various non-Jewish communities after they had been exiled in 583 BC from their homeland by the Romans. It may also mean "the places where they settled".

Although the second meaning is appropriate when currently used by writer, I personally incline that we leave the word "Diaspora" for the Jewish people and their history and use "Overseas Somalilanders" instead. I would even suggest that those of us in overseas form "Overseas Somalilanders Association". Perhaps Somaliland Forum who has a semblance of this kind may lead the way. Having established this point let me come back to my call.

I call Overseas Somalilanders who believe in political freedom, economic freedom, and in the universally respected political and social values, to come to the aid of our country. OUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU. It will always need you and you will need it in spite of the painful separation. But it needs you NOW more than any other time before. It is in critical crossroads, and it needs all the resources human, financial, intellectual, and political skills that can be pooled together in order to serve it.

In spite of their faults (faults that are sometimes inexplicable and unacceptable) our people and our government have done many things that can make us feel proud. However, without constant injection of fresh blood into our body politic it may stagnate. And as a people known for their dynamism, we certainly do not want that to happen. Therefore, hurry up, and come to the assistance of your country. It desperately needs you.

email: aymohd2000@yahoo.com

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