by Ali Elmi Samatar
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: My Lord! Bestow on them thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood. (17:23)
A few months ago, the world commemorated of the final fall of the Berlin Wall that divided East and West Germany. The wall took a few decades to come down, but come down it did in the end with the will of the international community.
Hopefully the world will commemorate the fall of the Palestine wall that divides two people who share a lot as human beings but are sadly divided by politics and religious dogma.
Physical walls are easy to spot, protest against, and eventually bring down when the world unites against their existence. World Leaders lobby for tearing them down as illustrated by the stands taken by President Kennedy and President Roland Reagan against the Berlin Wall. The first lent his moral support to the people behind the Wall by claiming to be a Berliner, while the latter shouted loudly and clearly “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” addressing President Gorbachev of the former Soviet Union.
Invisible walls however are easy to erect, difficult to detect and near impossible to bring down. They eat away at nations slowly from the inside like a cancerous growth that takes hold, spreads slowly and steadily and eventually devours its victim.
Somalia is a country that faces a number of ugly walls that have entrapped its people and since these walls are invisible, the world community watches helplessly as the death of a nation unfolds before their eyes.
The first of these walls appeared when the military dictator overthrew the then elected civilian government and reneged on its promises to bury the ugly clan structure. The regime used clan differences to its advantage towards its last days in power.
The second wall sprang up after the fall of the central government and contributed to the exodus of thousands of Somalis from their beautiful capital with its ancient buildings and rich culture. Marauding gangs started mowing down people and chased them out of their homes. All Somali clans suffered and abandoned the city. Young girls got raped mercilessly even after seeking refuge in mosques. It was an ugly wall that forced out the residents of Mogadishu from their beloved city. Being unable to penetrate the wall to go back to their homes, they spread to all corners of the world seeking refuge for themselves and their offspring. The wall was erected by the warlords thus starting an era dominated by ruthless thugs who enriched themselves at the expense of the Somali people. The world tried to help by sending troops and food aid. However they failed to see the invisible wall that surrounded Mogadishu and left in a hurry when the wall claimed a few soldiers. The wall remained and the world left the Somali people to an ugly fate.
The Mogadishu Wall led to the formation of regional walls that sprang up in several parts of Somalia. These walls are mostly clan-based enclaves that claim sovereignty and statehood at different levels. They entrap large segments of the Somali society and contribute to the polarization and division of the Somali people. A whole generation that did not taste the sweet fragrance of a united Somalia has grown up within these walls.
These Walls will eventually lead to the balkanization of Somalia and contribute to the formation of other Walls. For example, a new Wall whose purpose is to counter one of the existing Walls has recently sprang up in Nairobi. It is the HBM-SSC Wall, an effort by the SSC Somalis to bring down a Wall based on secession but the fact remains that it can grow to become another Wall.
The president of the Puntland Wall has recently called for creating more regional Walls and he offered his help to bring them up. The argument here is nation building from the bottom but it graphically tells the sad story of a divided nation. Some leaders of this divided nation have even disowned their own people under occupation by Ethiopia when they declared that not all people who speak Somali are Somalis. Somali freedom fighters in Western Somalia suffer daily at the hands of some of these leaders to please the de-facto president of Somalia, Meles Zenawi.
The Mogadishu Wall also contributed to the creation of Theological Walls that have divided people further along religious lines. So far we have three major Walls but there could be more after some Somalis adopted Christianity in the Diaspora while others are reported to be fighting alongside the rebel Shias of Northern Yemen near the Yemen-Saudi border. To sum up the religious Walls, we have the Shabab Wall, the Hizbu Islam Wall, the Ahlu Sunna and Jamia Wall, and the mushrooming Somali Christians and the Somali Shia Walls. The last two are still small but are growing slowly and steadily. I will not be surprised if we have another one based on Judaism after some Somali clans claimed to be descendants of an ancient Hebrew clan. You may protest against the fact that I equate the Muslim Walls with the non-Muslim ones. As far as I am concerned they are all Walls that are meant to divide people and eventually inspire them to kill each other. My Islam does not call for indiscriminate blood baths, the chopping off of the limbs of petty thieves and the stoning of helpless women who may have committed adultery, an offense that is difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, to death.
If you think that the above walls are bad, there is one that outweighs them all and I consider it to be the most devastating one as it affects the future generations in the Diaspora and even in the country. It is a Wall that divides Somali parents from their children. It is a Wall that is based on the inability to communicate for one reason or the other.
For example, poor, uneducated single mothers in the Diaspora are fighting losing battles to keep their children in school, away from gangs, drugs and a life of incarceration. Some have lately lost their children to religious zealots who recruit young kids to blow themselves up at the behest of the masters of the Religious Walls that dominate the Somali scene.
This Wall will eventually lead to the suffering of thousands of aging parents in the Diaspora. Most aging Somali parents will probably end up in homes for the elderly after being abandoned by their kids. Some are already being exploited mercilessly by their own children who deprive them of the meager welfare stipends that are meant to help them survive in a harsh world that is becoming increasingly inhospitable. The famous Somali Poet Hadrawi has a poem called “Anuun Baa Hooyadaa ah” in which he talks about an aging mother abandoned by her children. Although the poem was composed in 1998, its gloomy picture seems to be the norm in Somali circles all over the world.
The current status of Somali parents is not limited to those in the Diaspora. It even affects those who remain in the country. The spread of the drug Kat in Somalia has contributed to the weakening of family ties in Somalia. Even nomads who are known for their traditional respect for parents chew Kat that affects their behavior towards the elderly and the weak. The urge to get a fix can outweigh the need to care for a sick or an aging parent. The Kat phenomenon will surely destroy the Somali nation as alcohol destroyed the First Nations in America and the aborigines in Australia. Kenya and Ethiopia could not have used a better weapon to get back at its erstwhile enemy, Somalia.
Somalia used to pride itself with he concept of extended families where the elderly reigned supreme. This is now history. The Wall between the young and the old could not have come at a worse time.
Let us hope and pray that we can identify and demolish these ugly Walls before they destroy us as a nation. Let us hope that we as a people can commemorate their fall like the Berlin Wall once and for all.
Thanks to my niece Shamsa who helped me see these ugly Walls.
Ali Elmi Samatar
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