In a note of September
19th, 2001, an individual named, Dr. Ali Mohamed
Apollo "Dalfure", responded to the presentation of
Yusuf
Osman Samantar, during the opening ceremony of Somali Women
and Children's Association that took place on June 26th, 2001. Mr.
Samantar has refused to answer to the inappropriate remarks that
were made at the ceremony because he believed to them to be baseless.
However, Mr. Samantar is drafting this written response in order to shed
some light of the truth and provide a personal opinion with regard to
the issues at hand.
1. If the Common language of a
particular group of people is the one spoken by the majority of
the people living in a specific area; if in every country there are
particular districts and/or provinces that have particular accents; if
it is true that the written language is the official language of any
given country, it is then true that Somalia has an official language,
and that Somali People share one common language. May be that someone
may not know that given language, but this doesn't justify lack of
official language.
I would like
also to call to the doctor's attention that Barawaani and Baajuuni are
not independent languages, but part and parcel of Swahili, which is the
language spoken by the majority of the East-African Countries, and by
part of Central African Peoples, which are also praised by specialist of
Swahili language, like Julius Nyerere, the former competent
President of Tanzania and others, as well as there is no language called
Af-Mushunguli. If you know the origin of Mushunguli people, you will
remember that British Colonial Power occupied Jubba-Land at the end of
the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, bringing with it an
agricultural workers population from East Africa - particularly from
what is known today as Tanzania. With respect to Jiido, Dabarre and
May-May, I think what I said about majority and minority is valid, if
any one of them constitutes majority its language will be
considered the official language of the Country, otherwise the majority
rules the minority. If Hawiye, Issak, Issa, Gadabuursi, and or others
constitute the majority their language should be the language of the
majority, therefore it will be the official language of the entire
Country.
2. It is
not true that if people speak different languages, then they have no one
psychological conformation. Psychological conformation does not regard
language, but tradition, customs, uses, religion etc.. If people share
the same common religion, they also share same culture, and if they
share same religion, and same culture, they should share also same
tradition, same customs and same uses: that is what psychological
conformation means, and I hope that you will understand in the future
the words you are using.
3.
You hold that all Somalis are not pastoral, and consequently they do not
share a common economic life. I believe that Mr. Samantar has traveled
in every angle of Somalia on trucks, on land-rovers, on land-cruisers,
and some times on motor-launch, including those parts of Somalia
that are under Foreign rules, and according to the conversation, I had
with him 99,% of the peasants are seasonal cultivators as they are
seasonal shepherds, sheep-rearing, cameleers, and the one percent that
is sedentary has some cows, some sheep and some
goats.
Therefore,
all Somalis are considered pastorals, even if less than one percent of
them is sedentary. Everybody knows that fishermen, craftsmen and farmers
are also shepherds, and that primary occupation of every Somali was,
before Colonialism,
pastoral.
4.
The problem you have with Digil & Mirifle, with Bantus, with Eyle,
with Banadirs is non-existent. The Somalis share the same history,
because they live in the same spots, they themselves dedicate the same
economic activities, as we have seen in the preceding lines. I will tell
you that more than 200 years ago a man by the name Khalaf Farah came
from an area between Doolo and Ceel-Cad to study religion in Baidoa,
without necessity of interpreter, without necessity of passport, and
with him and before him were others. His brother came to see him
and probably take him back home, after he had finished his studies.
And on their way to home married a women who was a daughter of the
Iimaan in the area between Cadalle-Aden-Yabaal and Jowhar. This is the
real Somalia and not the one, you want to portrait unconsciously, or the
one historicized by the sorcerers of the last military regime and
educated by its demigods or by its pseudo-intellectuals, and by its
would-be men of letters or scholars.
In this regard, I
would advise you to read Vladamir Illich Ulianov "il diritto dei popoli
all'auto-determinazione", Friedrich Engels "Le Origini della Famiglia,
della Proprieta Privata e dello
Stato".
5.
About the Sultanates you are speaking of, I am sorry to tell you again
that I was referring to Sultanates with effective institutions at least
1) administrative, 2) Judiciary, and 3) sort of legislative, even if
they were primitive, they had with them territories on which the
Sovereignty of the Sultanate extended itself on it. In that era the
Ajuuraan Sultanate was already extinguished, and other Sultans of the
different gentilitial groups had no institutions or separated
territories where sovereignties could extend themselves. It is not true
that the Sultanate of Obbia was the same of Mijurtenia, you should know
that Obbia is in Mudugh and the Capital of the Sultanate of Mijurtenia
was Alula. One can accept if you said that the Bogor and Sultan
Kenadid were two cousins and from the same gentilitial-group, but not
the same person or the same Sultanate.
6.
I do not know why you didn't read that Samantar said in his presentation
that: " the Biyamaal forces stopped the Italian forces from disembarking
in the harbor of Merca for 15 years". In this regard go back to
Enrico Cerulli, and other Italian Authorities in Somali history, M.
Lewis, other British Authorities, as well as many French and German
writers in this subject. What is also very strange is that the doctor
calls repeatedly the names of Bay and Bakool faction leaders giving them
sonorous and high-sounding appellations like Hassan Mohamed
Shaati-guduud or Sheikh Aden Madoobe. They are known as their
political positions, the role they have played for their survival
and the survival of their people; and that is enough, I think, we do not
see reason that their names should be always stressed
inopportunely and inconveniently.
7.
About the history of Somali liberation movement, it is not true that
Abdulkadir Sakhaawa -El-Din was the founder of S.Y.C., or was the first
thinker of its foundation. No living historian or died historian will
say so, but if you said that he was one of the first 13 members of its
Central Committee, who were later on called founders, that would be
true, and he lived from the foundation only 8 months (1943-1944).
Furthermore, Abdulkadir Sakhaawa El-Din was a religious sect leader
"Qaadiriya" more than intellectual, and no one denies that he
participated the National Liberation Movement, during the period of his
life from the foundation of Somali Youth League to his death, but
to say that the idea of political movement was his, would discredit his
role in the Somali Liberation Movement, and Mr. Samantar, as he told
me, is not ready to do that: that is not to minimize his struggle,
but to defend his role in the national arena. Mr Samantar has also lived
in that era, and he didn't heard from others as he say. Some times the
identity research of someone may easily damage the identity and the
personality of another one, I hope that will not be the case of Dr.
Apollo. Mr Samantar, in that specific presentation never spoke the
ethnicity of the personalities he mentioned in his presentation. We do
not know why ,"Dalfure, the doctor" wants to bring forth the ethnicity
of every individual he speakes of; he puts every where Hisbia Digil
& Mirifle and so on. The gentleman, Dalfure, speaks
about Ustad Osman (Professor Osman) and his assassination, holding that
he was the inventor of federalism. He also mentions Abdulkadir Mohamed
Aden Zoppo. I want to tell to Dr. Dalfure that Ustad Osman was a teacher
of Samantar, and as every body knows Abdulkadir is a good friend of
his also. However, the argument in the discussion was not federalism or
unitary system of Government, but will Somalia take its independence
within the limit of 10 years, which was the decision of the United
Nations. End of 1949 beginning 1950, then, the position of Hisbia was no
independence or not less than 30 years of Italian Trusteeship (go back
to the record of the U.N.). The minutes of the proceedings are in the
record of the United Nations, Trusteeship Council. Mr. Samantar knew
also Geilani Skeikh Bin Sheikh, when he was President of Hisbia Digil
& Mirifle, when he was ousted from the Government Employee, and when
he was taken back by Abdirashid as Government Civil
Servant.
I'm
afraid that the Gentleman will say that Mohamed Sheikh Hassan of
Bur-Acaba was not in the Central Committee of S.Y.L. But Mr. Abdi Nur,
who became permanent member of National Assembly, before the Coup the
Eta't of 1969, or Mr. Ali Alio' and who knows who else, was the real one
who was member of S.Y.L. Central Committee, as he may say in the future
that Aden Abdulle Osman, Haji Farah Ali Omar and Abdirizzak Haji Hussein
were not Presidents of S.Y.L. in different period of times, or that
Ottavio, Ahmed Allore or Ahmed Haji Soleiman were not active members of
this Political organization until to the Independence, or worse yet that
Jama Dhoof, Kutuba Xoor, Ahmed Dahir and Ali Shido Abdi were not
the succeeding or following group of the founders of
S.Y.L.
I believe that the
doctor has psychiatric problems, I do not know if it is a consequence of
the Civil War that caused post-traumatic stress, if it is genetic or it
is normal accidental illness. It may be also a desperate seeking of
identity, but it should be looked up.
In my opinion, which is
also the opinion of others, a person to be successful in politics, not
only in the course of his life time, but also in the history to come,
should have a philosophical faith, which he must transfer to his
political conviction that will consent him to draw or to sketch, and map
out a program that will be his line of action. Without such map, and
without the vision of the after-life of his generation, hence with
the vision of the problems of the generations to come, it is impossible
to leave for the history something inheritable to those generations to
come. That will also give you the will and the force to bear many wrong
doing from your political adversaries, like imprisonment, torture,
isolation, hardship and many material privations to undergo on your
route to spiritual, moral and conscience liberation. You should give up
from your passion, emotions, feelings, enjoyment and other delight and
pleasure. Without being armed with these means it is better to you not
to go to the ground scene.
Mr. doctor Dalfure, Italy
occupied Benadir and up-to Bulo Burti between 19th century and 1926-27,
while the occupation of the rest of what is known as Italian Somali-land
was completed in 1927, therefore, Mujertinia and Mudugh were occupied by
Italy between 1926 and 1927. Go back to the books.
If your aim is to get some
personal gains from the politics of those people that you are
supporting, or you yourself is trying to obtain a position that will
realize your personal ambition, your destination is inevitable failure,
both presently and in the history to come.
I hope
this is not political nanism, intellectual vileness or psychiatric
problems, but simple lapsus.
I thank to the
readers.
Ciise Cali
"Qaloocan"
The opinions contained in this article are solely those of
the writer, and in no way, form or shape represent the editorial
opinions of AllPuntland.com.
