Somaliland: A Nation of Integrity and Liberty
By Mohamed A. Mahmoud (Barawaani)
Somaliland is a nation that has attributes of full Muslim – Suni, associate with Arab cultures, and share some thoughts with Somali Ethnic, no emblematical African peculiarities is seen in this backdrop. Somalilanders are very proud egalitarian society, pretend many good practices of western advanced political trajectory as role model of state-building and democratic ambitions, other distinguishing features can be testified that this society is very generous, honesty and peace loved people. To some extent supporting each other is a distinctive classical example in the Somaliland context because the daily family income is shared among families and friends, and although this can be an economical burden at household level but this is so significant scale in the true Islamic model to help each other because Allah helps those who help themselves. Moreover, this society is viewed as envisioning, truthfulness and resilience people, noting that this society cannot be revised their political aspiration on diplomatic pressuring, international isolation and political terrorization.
People of Somaliland are enthusiastic to be a nation of freedom, equity and integrity. Remembering the strong resistance raised in the onset of the colonial period, Ahmed Guray, Sayid Mohamed Abdulla Hassan, Farah Omar, Sheikh Bashir and among many others devoted their lives to eradicate colonial powers where Somaliland territory had become first African country that was launched air strike by the British Government. In addition the SNM fighters also succeeded to oust the dictatorship regime and subsequently most Somali Ethnic in the Horn of Africa had become liberated. However, the people of Somaliland had made many historical mistakes due to the hasty decision and political miscalculations to came in the Union with Italian Somalia in 1960, which was aimed to accomplish full liberty and consolidate Somali Ethnic in the Horn of Africa included Djibouti, Ethiopian Somali region, Kenyan Somali region, Somaliland British protectorate and Italian Somalia. Regrettably this patriotic notion had aborted immediately and left negative impact throughout the region where Somaliland has successful terminated this Union in 1991.
1. Somaliland is full Muslim – Suni Community
In contrast, to many Muslim countries particularly Sunis Nations – Islamic religion is raising at this time in Somaliland dramatically, thousands of Mosques built or rebuilt over the last two decades, learning unconventional school of Qur’an has noticeably marked the peak, because the post –Siyad Barre period the integrity of Islamic religion was the highest phenomena in social 2
contemporary evolutions and attaining the sustainable peace and Somaliland being as a sovereign independent state admitted Islamic religion to grow rapidly with free environment and this was one of the desires of being a society of integrity and freedom. In this essence, Somaliland is faithful to expand the Islamic religion with more credible manner because Islamic religion stands with peace, integrity, equality, and justice, it keeps the rights and dignity to everyone in the world either Muslims or non –Muslims, so the recently widespread propaganda against Islamic religion is either baseless or thoughtless.
2. Cultural and Traditional Roots
People of Somaliland are relied on their own cultural and traditional values with more than anything else. Cultural and traditional elements are even boosting the state enterprise and without them, no longer, state to survive. Political consensus, compromise and customary resolutions are overwhelming to determine the prospective of the nation’s cohesions. The viewpoint of this culture is so amazing to fulfill both social and political responsibility, simply because the customary system was acknowledged as competent factors streamlined across daily life of social, judicial and political settings.
Presumably, there are some motives why the Somaliland culture becomes momentous to influence both state affairs and social contemporary evolutions. First, this society is self –reliance, indigenous, and clean in mind, no prejudice, no resentment among themselves and even with others, and one classical example can be the forgiveness and compromise among themselves and beyond. Somaliland has hosted many people from Somalia and they live here without any fear, intimidation and tracing, and they are recognized as Muslims elsewhere and as neighboring society akin to Ethiopia and Djibouti but Somalilanders encountered many difficult times in between 1980-1990, so this comparative exploration is visibly demonstrating how Somaliland’s cultural is not identical with Somalia and this is where scholars indifferently confused to sort out the precision.
3. Somaliland: A Nation of Rebellion of freedom
Since Ahmed Gury struggle a nation proved to be a society of freedom, justice and equality. The nature of the society and their aspiration of the integrity and independence is an indicative of the long term prospect. There are true symptoms that this society cannot be referred as pure African society first in practice the people of Somaliland don’t behave and appear as true African society, in sense of being proud and free in mind society, second, people of Somaliland disproved two epidemic diseases in African as regards these pragmatic notions of statehood innovative patterns that this essay shortly intends to figure out.
(a) Authoritarian Regimes can be one of the epidemic disease in this continent, remember in everywhere of Africa, there is a forcible power dominion where few people control, dictate and manipulate everything and this is what people of Somaliland had scarified to their lives, properties and valuable time to fight against it and ultimately succeeded to overthrow the most 3 dictatorship regime in Africa led by Mohamed Siyad Barre indeed, some of the massive evidence of the genocide and crimes against humanity are explicitly showing us the cruelty of the Siyad Barre regime because enormous destructions occurred across the main cities of the country. However, the aftermaths of this catastrophe, this society proved their readiness to forgive each other, reconcile their differences and conduct genuineness dialogue that contributed this immediate remedy and exceptional great deal of solidarity made by the people of Somaliland.
(b) Inequality is another widespread disease in Africa where the socio-economic and political patterns adopted such a great tragedy of social and political disparity. In contrary the people of Somaliland had fought against the inequality, nepotism and demoralization, so far there is political, economic and social equilibrium and no gestures yet predicted to arise. Nevertheless, this society values the guests and never kill the hostages because of its Islamic faith, in which we are very proud and also our long term heritage and cultural preservation.
On the other hand, there is obvious tendency that the Somalilanders are in between different advanced cultures of Arab and beyond but only physically look like as black and unproductive as Africans. Since Ahmed Gury, Sayid Mohamed, Farah Omar, Sheikh Bashir, Mohamed Ibrahim Egal, Maykal Maryam, SNM and among many others, were all struggling for the freedom of expression, integrity and sovereignty, in order to get rid of any colony and dictatorship backward mentality? In Somaliland, people don’t like many political and social habits that nations in Africa accustomed and materialized included apprehension, intimidation, detention, inequality, political conspiracy, resentment, totalitarianism, colony, and insanitary.
Somaliland is a nation of inspiration, democratic and factual of Africa, Somaliland is a nation of Islamic optimistic society, a nation endured and had the stamina in this long term international injustice and isolation, a nation was punished by the international community due to their good deeds and aspiration of being sovereign independent nation.
It is precarious that there is some sharing of cultural aspects between Somaliland and Somalia, and in the oral dimension it is indifferently figured out that Somali Ethnic is presumed as same society with same culture and language in this spirit. But two nations have very few sharing values, for instance people of Somaliland consciously understand someone from Somalia or sometime may not understand the pieces of words. In this regard, there are very apparent distinctive ingredients in the Somali language and many cultural aspects; hence these obvious dissimilarities in socio-economic, political and cultural lifestyle deserve to be known by the outsiders and scholars must also verify this great distinction. Particularly in the political aspect Somaliland has made remarkable improvement over past the two decades because of, it lives within its cultural preservation and realities on ground where Somalia is looking for only international help and ignored to live what it has and yet far beyond to recover with more than three decades of ruin. 4
4. Conclusion
Ultimately, Somaliland’s dream of emancipation should be unavoidably promoting African nations to wipe up the mentality of the tyranny to equality. In the meantime Africans must deeply and vigilantly aware of that Somaliland is oldest son in Africa, in terms of independent sovereign states in 1960 where Somaliland was third independent nation in Africa and first Somali Ethnic in the Horn of Africa. Meanwhile Somaliland again reborn in 1991 where international justice misguided and manipulated by very myopic diplomatic personalities and the post – Cold War era dramatically affected such strategic place in Somaliland. In the meantime, there is no doubt that this society has made extensive contribution to Horn of African nations and continent in general and they deserve international community to appreciate and allow their rights of identity, humanity and sovereignty and without further deception and delay they must be promoted to fully attain their inalienable rights of international recognition.
Mohamed A. Mohamoud (Barawaani) Independent Researcher and Horn African Analysist, Author of various academic papers about Somaliland, Somalia and IGAD countries: Email: mohamed.diiriye@gmail.com