Somaliland is often marketed as the darling of Africa; an oasis of peace and stability in a volatile region; a unique example of a homegrown democracy; and a country of resilient people crying for international justice. As true and uncontestable as this may be, it represents only one side of the coin.

The other side of the coin, often hidden from the outside world and often denied by Somalilanders themselves is an ugly one; a bitter reality that any visitor will notice at the first glance. The government is a lifeless scarecrow. Only the structure exists, but nothing functions. Many of the ministers, parliament members and senior officials are alien scavengers who carry foreign passports. Having lived many years in Canada and Europe as jobless refugees, they found the Somaliland project as manna from heaven. They left their families in secure environments living off western taxpayers charity and flocked to Somaliland with only one objective in mind to rob and run. Riding on the wave of the people’s yearning and wish for change and equipped with few political sound bites borrowed from western political rhetoric, they portrayed themselves as apostles of democracy and good governance and won the names they coveted for by ingratiating themselves to the President and unassuming clan elders.

Teaming up with equally power hungry former rebel fighters going by their popular name of Mujahideen, they created one of the most corrupt systems in Africa. They live off the meager revenues collected from the country’s limited income sources and international assistance. They roam in the streets of Hargeisa, Borama and Buroa with brand new SUVs among hungry populace. Each of the three bodies of government, the judiciary, legislative and the executive, smoothly fall into the greased grooves of this slimy jigsaw. Members of the elected lower house of parliament are opportunistic liars who took advantage of the people’s trust to grab their stinky share of the rotten and meager national cake and the elected President sits on top of the stenchy system that stands on collapsing pillars of corruption, nepotism and favoritism. The opposition figures are also scavengers waiting for their turn and share of the national booty.

At the bottom of this rotten heap are the people of Somaliland struggling for air and sunshine, always trusting this bandit government with their lives, their hopes and their dreams for independence, sovereignty, prosperity and recognition. The government amuses them and lulls them like children with the song of “ Somaliland’s Recognition.”

The people are good citizens. It is they who keep the peace and stability not the government; they and not the government who reclaimed Somaliland’s sovereignty; they and not the government who sleep hungry every night and tolerate grinding poverty in order to achieve their goal, an international recognition for their country.

The people, however, are suffering greatly. The country’s public hospitals are in a pathetic state, patients are thrown like astray dogs on stinky beds with blood soaked linen, doctors are scavengers who suck the poor people’s blood by charging exorbitant fees in their private clinics, schools are used as cash squeezing machines for hungry teachers, city streets are punctuated by potholes, water is so scarce that the residents of Hargeisa are lucky to bathe once a week.

Public services are non-existent, garbage dumps grow into mountains at every corner, airports are filthy, sewage water is dumped in the streets, the economy is at shambles, livestock have no markets and there is no system of accountability in place for the tax levied on people. Nomads who represented the backbone of the economy over decades have become endangered species; they have no where to graze their animals as the grazing areas shrink by the day due to illegal land grabs by greedy individuals, the country’s ports are abandoned due to mismanagement and corruption. Most of the Somaliland people survive by the remittances sent to them by their sons and daughters living in the diaspora and humanitarian assistance from the international community, while the rest are fed by women selling Kat or other goods under the scorching sun. Tens of thousands of Somaliland's youth are loitering in the streets without any chance of employment in the horizon.

To add insult to injury, Somaliland’s territorial integrity is at peril. Somaliland government literally rules only the regions of Hargeisa, Sahel and Awdal. Sool and Sanag regions are internationally seen as contested regions and Togdheer is hanging in the air, still using the old Somali currency and relying on former Somalia for its economic survival. The country is internationally isolated, remaining as a pawn and playing to the tunes of its powerful neighbor Ethiopia that will not hesitate to sell Somaliland for a song to its stooges in Mogadishu.

Being good citizens, the Somaliland people have been patient until now. But not anymore as the government has taken their silence for stupidity and decided to drive them like a donkey. Knowing Somaliland people, they can survive without food and shelter but they cannot tolerate to survive without dignity. The illegal imprisonment and harsh treatment of the Haatuf journalists is the latest signal of the government’s misreading of the people’s patience. Previously the government banned all kinds of public gatherings, government representatives attend clan meetings to witness and report back and people’s loyalties are won by threats and arm-twisting.

Well, the government of Somaliland should know that the people’s patience has a limit and by silencing the free press, banning newspapers and imprisoning journalists it has invited people’s anger. And people’s anger will be ruthless and unforgiving when the time comes. So we tell the government, the parliament, the judiciary and the opposition to be forewarned and heed history. We also tell them that they are all guilty of the press-silencing act either by direct action or default and no one can use the Haatuf predicament as Othman’s blood soaked shirt.

Source: AwdalNews, March 07, 2007