Written by Ahmed Bashe
Hargeysa, Somaliland
From archeology to banking to linguistic appeal, France has successfully invaded the public consciousness of the Somaliland people.
On January 26th, BCIMR, a French-owned bank, became the first ever international bank to open a branch in Somaliland. Most likely to boost job and economic growth, its presence has further signified a major trend in the strengthening of relations between Somaliland and France, albeit abstract and unofficial. But nonetheless, a RELATIONSHIP does exist.
For example - long considered to be a straggler in the race for the most popular language in Somaliland (surprisingly, according to statistics from the Ministry of Education, English is currently No.1 closely followed by the national language Somali, and Arabic), the French language is slowly being adopted by the younger and more expressive generations in Somaliland.
Case in point, Nuradiin - a local school in Hargeisa – have recently released figures that show that hundreds of young children are enrolling into French-language classes each year.
Mr. Mohamed Du’ale, a one-time teacher at Nuradiin, puts this wide embrace of the French language by the Somaliland youth to “the very romantic nature of the language which has always been an attraction for young people around the world. It is just now that the Somali teenagers are discovering that to their enormous delight”
Ahh, Mr Duale - not just a fine man to interview, but vous pouvez compter sur ce qu’il dit; il appelle toujours un chat un chat. But this wasn’t, always, the case for us.
The Somali people (from the borders of Somaliland to the far-reaching refugee camps in Northern Kenya) have always been apprehensive about the French. An apprehension that stems from the belief – in Somali minds - that France is behind the very ruin of, what was once a fine nation, Djibouti.
A country, whose known attributes, regrettably, now seems to oscillate between American-styled discotheques to French-fashioned burlesques.
And in anticipation of those who seek to defend Djibouti on the basis that these attributes were an unfortunate legacy passed down by the involuntary colonization of Djibouti by a foreign power. Remember, we, too, were colonized by a foreign power whose ideas of a set of morals basically gave the world, the Swinging Sixties.
But I don’t see us opening pubs, snorting cocaine and generally acting like a bunch of hippies, now, do we? But the problem of Djibouti does not necessarily mean it could be that of Somaliland.
Somaliland has a great opportunity to show-case its potential, for the first time, to a developed nation that is seriously willing to consider engaging that potential –a deep contrast to what we know to be currently happening in Africa.
In a recent article published in the Modern Ghana newspaper, Philippe Leymarie – a French journalist - describes France as “vanishing from the lands of Africa”. He claims that “The level of French public development aid in Africa has hit a record low. China has overtaken France as sub-Saharan Africa’s main resource’ ‘The new French government’s policy, embodied in a ministry of immigration and national identity created after Nicolas Sarkozy’s victory in May 2007, draws constant censure.”
So, if France is seeking an overall disengagement from Africa, then what is the deal between them and Somaliland? A perfectly legitimate question to be asked, I suppose.
But to be frank, I really don’t care why - for isn’t it said that Entre deux coeurs qui s’aiment, nul besoin de paroles.
Ahmed Bashe is a young Somali student and can be contacted at his email ahmed2ash@hotmail.com
 

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