A Proposal for Somalis

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Throughout recorded history, war has been used to acquire, to defend, to expand, to impose and to preserve. Majority if not all of the developed nations today have been through some kind of dark era, whether it was under authoritarian governments such as Russia under Stalin, Italy under Mussolini, France under Napoleon, China under Hirohito, Germany under Hitler, mughals and feudalism, slavery, colonization by European powers or even civil wars in USA, Vietnam, Korea, Russia, England, Nigeria, India, Japan, China so on and so forth.

We all agree that in the developed world, war is obsolete today. There was a time when conflict of interests among nations or within nations; people resorted to some kind of violence whether it was in the form of a war or revolution. However in the world we call planet earth, a new dawn has appeared. People have realized that the earth is one integrated system. And Darwin’s theory of the survival of the fittest has been revisited and the new meaning of “fittest” is not the organism that survives and comes out strong rather the organism that contributes the best to the general welfare of the system as a whole.

The knowledge that we are one big system, where every single one of us is a vital organ is the new mode of thinking. Hence the rise of the globalization of all aspects of life whether its trade, education, work or investments.

We Somalis, as a nation are blessed. We are homogeneous in every way possible. We speak the same language, dress the same manner, worship the same God, practice the same culture and even share the same physical features. In this world today, there is absolutely no one that can comprehend the differences we have. It is shameful that the precious lives lost and the gallons of blood shed were for the petty issue of tribe. It is also unfortunate that even after so much loss, stability and peace have not been attained.

I am ashamed, astounded and most of all infuriated by the lack of efforts by all of us including myself. Many of you have contacted me following my articles, some with great enthusiasm and others with complaints. So today I have changed my approach and instead of the usual elevation I have a proposal to make. It is simple and doable.

We all belong to a certain tribe and identify each other with them. We attend their clan gatherings and lend our hard earned cash to the fundraising box. We support our greedy clansman morally and materially. And when he runs for a public office whether it is in the form of a community centers like those in the West or makeshift governments that exist in Somalia we question neither his abilities nor his policies.

My fellow Somalis, I propose that you question his capabilities, his loyalty, his credentials, and most of all his character. I urge you to not be biased against your own Somalis when their only crime is their paternal lineage differs from that of yours. I urge you to ask yourselves a simple question before you lend your hands out to the seductive and cunning voices of the crooks who have mastered ways to rob us with our eyes wide open whether they are just painting pictures of perfection or they have genuine intentions in their hearts.

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