By Noah Arre

I like journalism for its bluntness, for its integrity and for its inherently invaluable place in the society. Unfortunately, my current profession is in a different field and at this stage in my life I can in no way establish a new career in this challenging area (journalism). Journalists can easily make you understand about any thing they talk about. To me, their eloquence; their simple, yet powerful language in the stories and news they report; their impressive telling of tales as well as their sacrifices in acquiring them, all make me envy them yet enjoy and admire!

For instance, back in the early nineties, I read a scholarly article in the Chicago Tribune. And I am rehashing it here today after of course blending it with my own relating experiences. That article was impressive. It was blunt. Yet it was simple and factual. And surprisingly, it is similar and applicable to what is happening everywhere in today’s world. Excerpts of the article are as follows:

“…I hate doctors who put you on the balance when you come to them only with a broken toe. I hate medical doctors who send you devastating bills for just visiting their offices for a common cold. And I hate those who say money is evil but who forget to understand or confess that it is money lovers who are evil.

“In addition, I hate all governments because their services are always weeks if not months behind schedule just because ‘authorization letters’ have not been signed by the authorities. I do in fact hate bureaucracy as a whole. And I would certainly hate giving public health services to the government. If it were, you would probably have to book for appointments… even on serious medical ailments, weeks if not monthly before date. And unfortunately, even then you would probably have a chance to see your doctor for only a few minutes. And unfortunately, even those doctors may, for one reason or another, never show up!

“And finally, I hate politicians who want you to believe them during the election year with their deceptive slogans but leave you again out in the cold when they are done. I do especially hate those politicians who try to deceive you by taking seemingly noble actions at the end of their term, and for re-election purposes, behave and preach like the messiah...”

By the same token, I too, hate bureaucracy as a whole like I hate opportunism. I do for instance, hate modern technology that disserves man-kind and especially when it is used to sideline mankind or hunt him. I do also hate machines that took over all human jobs. And I do especially hate answering machines of hospitals and other emergency centers that work in place of mankind and repeat only a recorded message: “if you are in trouble, please dial 1; if you are sick, please dial 2; if you are seriously ill, please dial 3; if it is an emergency, please dial 4 and if you are dying please dial 5. And when you are done, do not hang up; please stay on the line. Your call is important to us. It is in queue. And it will be answered in the order in which it was received”. All those scenarios are sorrowfully true in today’s world and are certainly the signs of the times.

On the other hand, I hate Western World Governments that sold humans as slaves to acquire wealth but today, close their doors even to the few who cross over to their countries and in fact watch them die either in the high seas or on their sea shores.

And I hate “Humanitarian Organizations”, which for unknown reasons, are indifferent to the plight of people who are struck by natural and man-made catastrophes such those that devastate most of the Third World…particularly wars, famines, floods and the food shortages that ravage communities, compounding their misery.

I do certainly hate biased people and especially those who believe in the Orwellian theory of the Animal Farm. And based on that, divide humanity into A’s, B’s and C’s and in the process believe that some A’s are more A’s than others or some B’s are more B’s than others, etc. And I hate those who are your best friends only when they have interest in you. And I hate anyone who out of inferiority/superiority complex doubt about everything you do, including of course your selfless sacrifices, simply because they (sacrifices) were not endorsed by them in the first place.

And I hate Somali warlords who hold their country and people hostage for over sixteen years. And I hate their die-hard mentors who themselves acquired power by the barrel of the gun and their other supporters! I hate the hypocrisy of the Arab World that says it cares about Somalis but refuses even to buy Somali livestock mutton despite renowned for its high quality … the sole hard currency earner of that poor nation. I hate those medieval type mullahs who misrepresent Islam and in the process slaughter innocent people.

Furthermore, I do certainly hate heartless dictators of the Third World who like to hang-on to power come what may. I hate them when they bribe you during election times or else intimidate you at the polling stations just because they (dictators) do not want you to vote for others. I do really hate bogus leaders who misuse government power and funds for their own good and refuse to use those meager resources to rebuild the nation and let their noble achievements speak out for themselves! And I do certainly hate interest groups that blindly support “their politicians” by crying foul over anything criticizing the shortcomings of “their leaders”! And I do hate those people who cannot differentiate constructive criticisms from negative ones.

And last but not least, I do certainly hate those Somali politicians who play one clan against the other just to hang on to power. And I do hate them when they play and practice the stick and carrot game. And I do truly hate all invertebrate Somali clanists who view and evaluate everything from their myopic clan perspectives. And I do truly dislike those who never see clannsim as the ever-splitting syndrome that goes all the way to the village level. To them therefore, I must recommend a copy of Mr. Bashir Goth’s poem:

“Tollaayda qabiilku

Maxay dad qareena

Xumaan qabadsiisay…”

Fortunately However:

noah.arre@gmail.com

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