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Baadiyoow: Islah Propagandist or Somali Peacenik?

Lately, a fellow by the nickname Baadiyow – loosely translatable as a country fellow in Somali – wrote several pieces of proposals and opinions both in Somali and English and posted them to some Somali sites. Baadiyow claims to be an authority and to “have occupied higher offices in the Islah movement” and being “the chairman of the board of Trustees, Mogadishu University.”

Baadiyoow, the Islah promoter seems a very rationale, educated, well-informed and engaging in the topics he writes about as it pertains to basically two themes: the Somali Conflict and the evolving pseudo-Islamic Movements in Somalia. His primary purpose is to present Islah, the group he associates with or belongs to – as an alternative political grouping: moderate Islamists who recognize the rights of women, participation in the democratic process , multiparty systems and so on. He tells his audience that Islah believes in non-violent transformation of the Somali people and thus elaborates and dons their Islah’s so-called credo and canon of non-violence and social transformation. These articles the Islah spokesperson is flooding on the net seem to have another subliminal message: all political groupings and initiatives in Somalia, be they clan-based or faction-based failed (unquestionable fact) and the logical salvation of Somalia may lie in the Islah program of moderation and non-violence (appealing). Another underlining message seems to be intended to recruit disheartened and disillusioned Somalis who are fed up with the continuous violence and failures of the so-called Somali leaders, petty politicians, the warlords , the militias, the extremists and their ilk. The message of non-violence coming from Somali Islamist is quiet appealing and Baadiyow is persuasive and knows how to make the most of that novel yearning. in his articles. After all, Somali people are all tired of the senseless violence. For that one; is forced to applaud this fresh message from self-proclaimed Somali Islamist. To many ears that sounds impressive and progressive. One gets the impression that this emerging Islamist group is thousand times better than the extremist fanatics of the defunct and defeated Islamic Courts Union and their offshoot terrorist gang of Al-Shabaab. But wait a second – as they say all that glitters is not gold! Some digging is needed to uncover who the real Islah is and their ulterior motive.

One would have to be skeptic and not blindly clap for the policies of any Somali grouping. Why is that? for two simple reasons? Somalis can’t afford to trust any one any more and secondly most Somali groups tend to have hidden agendas that are portrayed nationalistic, holistic and encompassing first but in reality are partisan, regional and worst of all clannish. And here is where the problem lies with Islah or with any other Somali group.

Few inquisitive calls I made to some shrewd and knowledgeable Somalis was sufficient enough to know what Islah is all about and how they come to be such an unusual assemblage of Islamists.

Islah, as we are taught, is a “moderate” Islamist group loosely affiliated with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and thus is said to be promoting an alien/foreign/external interest in Somalia. Its detractors point out that it lacks the indigenous ingredient to be a viable national group. Somalis suspect organizations with foreign backers and sponsors. This makes Islah not a grassroots organization open to all but, as Baadiyoow tells us , an organization that was formed secretly.and thus has exclusive membership. Its top officials are said to hail from one particular sub-clan. The cynics also point out that most followers of this movement are recruited from Mogadishu and surroundings. Islah have no known or open shops in Northern regions: Somaliland and Puntland for the memonet

Another question many are asking is what made Islah embark on this public relations campaign and why now? Where they have been during the long suffering and chaos of the Somali masses? Why they have never joined the righteous insurgency against the Abyssinan occupation of the homeland? were they ignoble to the ideal of Jihad? or were they aware of the consequences of such violent insurgency? Where they part of the solution or the problem? The probable answer is they were in their formative years and their concentration lied somewhere else as providing social services or building schools. So one could say they were part of the solution. Not a bad thing to bank on.However, the political answer would be that the group is campaigning to have a say or share in the next rounds of the notorious political reconciliations and get its share of power. Baadiyoow and his group know that the warlord TFG is in its dying stage, accomplishing nothing of its transitional mandate and creating worst humanitarian conditions with the help of Somalia’s historic enemies, committing war crimes and being a bunch of dysfunctional traitors who are remotely controlled from Addis Ababa.

Islah knows that Somalis are very much disgusted with the extremist of the Shabaab. They are aware of the ineffectiveness of the clan fiefdoms of the North, the degeneration of clan elders, and the disunity of the Diaspora refugee groups. Islah Spokesperson knows his audience, target market and the product they yearn for which is peace and divorce with the primitive culture of the sub-clans and violent sectarianism. Majority of the educated and younger Somali generations who grew up in the diverse and modern societies of the West are disillusioned with all the backwardness of tribalism and religious extremism.

Islah should know one thing, no matter how they sweeten or make attractive their Islamist group, things have changed and times are changing. People have questions and suspicions; the time of blind loyalty is over; we blink and second guess; thus we would make critical inquiries of any Somali group and their policies. Circumstances and past experiences made us practical pragmatists and our souls, if they still exist, are hardened. Islah and its spokesperson should take comfort that inquisition is not exclusive to their organization but any Somali political faction would be subjected and put on the spot light.

But in the meantime, the field of public propaganda is open, people’s perceptions can be influenced and peace promotion is an honorable crusade. Let us give credit where credit is due and thus congratulate Baadiyoow, regardless whether he is a group propagandist or sincere peace activist for the fresh and alternative voice.

Ato – abaadir0@gmail.com

Bold and Brave Pirates of Somalia.

The crazy Somali pirates did it again. They got a huge oil tanker owned by Saudi-Aramco this time. Loot on board: quarter million barrels worth of $200 million plus the huge tanker itself.

They managed to outsmart all the Nato ships on patrol in the Somali coast to ward them off and protect the ships.Their record before this was the hijacking of the Ukranian ship with the 33-Russian tanks. Just the thought of all that plunder tells me this is enough for the pirates to form their own pirate administration and maybe resurrect the failed Somali state with all that loot. 33-russian tanks and other ammunitions for the Somali military; the oil could last for years for the poor country and could be used to power engines to dig wells, power clinics and schools and so on.

The pirates are better than the cowardly and ruthless warlords who prostituted themselves to few pennies from the Italian Mafia to dump nuclear toxic waste on the Somali coast or the other warlords who are on the CIA payroll who made Somalia what it is today: Hell on earth.

Somali skeptics don’t buy all this stuff. How can a ragtag skinny militias can so easily hijack a supertanker that was in international waters (450 nautical miles off the Somali coast) with all the NATO and US Navy patrol ships in the area. This could be an excuse to takeover the Somali coast by the powers that be or some kind of insurance scam or maybe a plot for oil companies to raise oil prices again. As soon as this attack was heard on Wall Street, the price of the barrel spiked $3 dollars more; from $56 to $59.

People are worried that the US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is stunned and had news conference about the incident… makes you think what is next?

Let’s hope that this hijacking to not end in armed confrontation and create disastrous oil spill. No sane Somali condones this but it sounds cool and sometimes it makes you wonder to see the resilience of these Somali Robin Hoods. – that is what the pirates are claiming to be!

The Suffering Of Somalia

Women and children wait to be fed by the World Food Programme in Mogadishu. Getting help to hungry and homeless Somalis have become progressively harder as the violence has risen, claiming the lives of many U.N. staffers and aid workers.

For Somalia, it was just another long weekend of mayhem. Shortly after midnight on Friday, Nov. 7, pirates seized a Danish cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden; on Saturday night an aid worker was shot and killed as he walked home from evening prayers in a village 270 miles (435 km) from Mogadishu; on Sunday, fighting between insurgents and African Union peacekeepers left at least seven dead in the capital, and a senior government official was killed in the south of the country; and in the early hours of Monday, bandits crossed the border into Kenya, where they kidnapped two Italian nuns. Somalia is not so much a failed state as a didn’t-even-try one. It hasn’t had a government since 1991, when warlords took over and embarked on a series of intractable clan wars that have produced one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises: hundreds of thousands dead and 3 million people desperately in need of aid.

Related

Photos

Photos: Somalia’s Face of Modern Piracy

But aid is almost impossible to deliver in a place as remote, dangerous and complicated as Somalia. Those who try to help too often come to grief: according to the United Nations, eight of its staffers and 24 aid workers have been killed this year. As a result, “the humanitarian space is effectively closed,” says Ken Menkhaus, the U.S.’s leading expert on Somalia and a professor of political science at Davidson College in North Carolina. The 3,000 African Union peacekeepers don’t stray far beyond their base in Mogadishu for fear of being slaughtered by insurgents–remember Black Hawk Down? (See pictures of Somalia’s Pirates.)

Offshore, a growing flotilla of warships from the U.S., Russia, the European Union and India has been trying to keep Somali pirates from taking their pick of the 16,000 mainly cargo ships that pass through the Suez Canal annually. There are several gangs of pirates; armed with Kalashnikov rifles and traveling on small fishing boats and skiffs, they have attacked more than 80 ships and hijacked at least 30, collecting anywhere from $18 million to $30 million in ransom, according to the British strategic think tank Chatham House. Big paydays have made them progressively bolder: one gang is still holding on to the MV Faina, the Ukrainian freighter carrying a consignment of Russian tanks that was hijacked on Sept. 25.

As the navies of the world are rediscovering, catching pirates on the high seas is next to impossible. So far, the warships have warded off some pirate attacks but not enough to scare the gangs. “We hijack ships every opportunity we get,” says pirate commander Sugule Ali, speaking by satellite phone from the bridge of the MV Faina.

Somalia’s problems have spilled beyond its borders, with a constant flow of refugees being smuggled in by leaky boats to Yemen and even more walking south to Kenya. There are more than 200,000 people crowded into the world’s biggest refugee camp, at Dadaab, 62 miles (100 km) south of the frontier; some 5,000 new refugees arrive every month.

But Somalia’s most dangerous export is terrorism. Before the Bush Administration’s Iraq digression, Somalia was target No. 2 in the war on terrorism, behind Afghanistan. After all, it was a Somalia-based al-Qaeda group that killed 224 people in the twin bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998. But it wasn’t until the end of 2006, when Somalia was invaded by the U.S.-allied Ethiopia, that American covert missions targeted the embassy bombers. One of the masterminds, explosives expert Abu Taha al-Sudani, is now dead, as is Aden Hashi Farah Ayro, an Afghanistan-trained former leader of al-Shabaab, Somalia’s homegrown Islamist militia.

But as in Afghanistan, such successes are undermined by resentment of U.S. military activity and civilian casualties–and the blowback empowers the extremists. Al-Shabaab (Arabic for Youth) now controls much of the south of the country, in the manner of the Taliban: on Oct. 27, 1,000 spectators gathered at a sports stadium in the port of Kismayo to watch al-Shabaab stone to death a 13-year-old girl, Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow. Amnesty International says al-Shabaab arrested her and convicted her of adultery after she complained she had been gang-raped.

Al-Shabaab is taking its brand of terrorism to new territories. On Oct. 29, members detonated five car and suicide bombs outside U.N., Ethiopian government and local administration buildings in the autonomous northern regions of Puntland and Somaliland, killing more than 30 people. “They are willing to expand their war,” says Menkhaus. “And Ethiopia, Kenya or Djibouti are next.”

The one encouraging development in Somalia is the emergence of Iraq-style Awakening militias made up of moderate Somalis, who have taken on al-Shabaab in street battles in recent weeks. If Ethiopian and African Union troops withdraw as expected in the next few months and Somalis increasingly have to fend for themselves, the chances are that this will grow into a full-scale conflict. Still, an Awakening would also offer Somalia’s best hope of keeping its extremists in check. Perhaps only in Somalia could the prospect of more war be a sign of hope.

By far the most exuberant election party of the night was along Cedar Avenue, right in the middle of the street. People from the Somali community, the Nomad Pub, and the nearby Bedlam theater led groups of little kids, young adults, immigrants and older folks–more than 250 people in all–in chants and dances.
Dancing in the streets: Cedar-Riverside after Obama win (photo by Molly Priesmeyer)

Dancing in the streets: Cedar-Riverside after Obama win (photo by Molly Priesmeyer)

One guy appointed himself traffic director, ensuring honking cars were able to weave through the rivers of dancers. Another was a self-appointed band leader, blowing a whistle that turned onlookers into instant dancers and marchers.

When I first arrived at around 11:15, one man, a Somali immigrant, told me he had been dancing in the street for an hour. His friend, with tears in his eyes, hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. “I have no shame,” he said. “I am not ashamed. I kiss everyone. I am so happy.”

Nearby, a group played drums and buckets while about 25 people danced in a circle around them. Nearly all of them were waving plastic American flags. Many held Obama signs.

Cars crept though the huge crowd, many filled with passengers giving the dancers high-fives. Two street musicians played trumpets, one of them playing Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street” over and over, the other playing celebratory college-fight songs. At one point, a group of young Somali men held up an American flag. They got nearly everyone–guys dressed in overalls, others in biker gear, and women in hijabs–to chant “U.S.A! U.S.A.!”

Moments later, when a police car arrived, its siren blaring and lights flashing, people waving signs and flags danced around it like it was a bonfire. The cop sped off, and dancing and traffic-directing ensued. Later, three cop cars arrived, and an officer issued an order to “get out of the street or we will disperse you.” People moved back, dancing on the sidewalk and crosswalk. One police officer, the only African-American among the six or so officers, told a young guy dancing in the crosswalk he “was so excited, too.” He gave the kid a high-five. And people all along the street continued to dance and dance.

The celebration lasted into the early morning, with police maintaining traffic flow for motorists and gently coercing dancers to the sidewalks without major incident. MnIndy’s Andy Birkey captured video of the lively, happy crowd — a diverse cross section of Minneapolis.

SA mourns Makeba, musical ‘mother’ of the nation

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA Nov 10 2008 17:12

Nelson Mandela praised Miriam Makeba as a “mother” of modern South Africa, who gave voice to the anti-apartheid struggle, as tributes poured in on Monday for the legendary singer.

Makeba (76), who was widely known as “Mama Africa”, collapsed on Sunday after a concert in Italy. She later died of a heart attack in hospital.

“She was South Africa’s first lady of song and so richly deserved the title of Mama Africa. She was a mother to our struggle and to the young nation of ours,” Mandela said in a statement.

“Her haunting melodies gave voice to the pain of exile and dislocation, which she felt for 31 long years. At the same time, her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us,” he said.

The African National Congress, which spearheaded the anti-apartheid struggle, hailed her musical contribution to the fight against the white-minority government.

“The passing of this African songstress leaves a gaping hole in the cultural life of our country and the African continent,” said party leader Jacob Zuma.

“Miriam Makeba used her voice, not merely to entertain, but to give a voice to the millions of oppressed South Africans under the yoke of apartheid,” said Zuma.

“Miriam was an indefatigable African patriot who used her immense talent in the service of her people and the struggle for freedom and democracy, not only in South Africa, but in the continent as a whole.”

Fellow African musical giant Youssou Ndour mourned her death as a loss to the world’s music.

“It really is a great loss for Africa, for African music and all music,” he told a Senegalese radio station. “She was somebody who did a lot for Africa, and in general for black people. It is a great loss.”

In Sierra Leone, where Makeba was well known for frequent weekend shopping trips or playing concerts when she lived in neighbouring Guinea in the early 1990s, radio stations played her songs, including her famous hit Pata Pata.

“We have received the death with shock as she has no comparison,” said Samuel Richards, a senior Culture Ministry official.

‘We will surely miss her’
Cote d’Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo said one of the continent’s finest voices had disappeared, while the South African government also mourned her.

“One of the greatest songstresses of our time, Miriam Makeba has ceased to sing,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.

Fellow artists remembered her as someone who nurtured young musicians.

“She is a legend. We will surely, surely miss her,” South African diva Yvonne Chaka Chaka said.

“She was a mother, a friend, an extraordinary woman who survived many tribulations in her life. She was an icon,” said Gugu Sibiya, the arts and entertainment editor of the Sowetan

Veteran Congolese musician Ray Lema praised her for taking African music to the world.

“She was the first great African singer to take the voice of Africa beyond Africa. She was a passionate artist and a great activist,” the 62-year-old jazz pioneer said in Paris.

“It was a beautiful death, worthy of her memory. I would be proud to go like that,” he said.

Makeba, famed for hits such as Pata Pata and The Click Song, died of a heart attack in a Naples hospital after she collapsed as she left the stage at a benefit concert in Castel Volturno on Sunday.

Born in Johannesburg on March 4 1932, Makeba was one of Africa’s best known singers. While Mandela was in prison, she took up the battle against apartheid through her music.

South Africa revoked her citizenship in 1960 and even refused to let her return for her mother’s funeral. Makeba spent more than three decades in exile, living in the United States, Guinea and Europe. –

Source: Mail & Guardian Online
Web Address: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-11-10-sa-mourns-makeba-musical-mother-of-the-nation

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She died just after having sung for half an hour for the young author of “Gomorrah” at Castel Volturno near Naples along with other singers and artistes.

She was taken ill and was quickly taken to a clinic in Castel Volturno where she died of a heart attack, ANSA said.

Secretary of State’s office says laws may have been broken in Somali translator voting incident

addthis_pub = ‘minnesotaindependent’; By Molly Priesmeyer 11/6/08 3:11 PM

Mahoumad Wardere (in red) talks to voter at Brian Coyle Center

The Minnesota Secretary of State’s office says that if Coleman staffer Mahamoud Wardere was at Brian Coyle Center for most of the afternoon on Election Day, that Minnesota election laws were “potentially” broken. According to Beth Fraser, director of governmental affairs at the Secretary of State’s office, a translator can only be inside a polling place if they are assisting a specific voter. They cannot remain onsite, as we reported Wardere did, acting as a go-to interpreter.

Wardere, a paid staffer in Norm Coleman’s office whose title is listed as constituent policy liaison, was called in by two GOP challengers at the site after they told an election judge they wanted to bring in their own translator. Wardere remained onsite for at least four hours.

Minnesota statute 204C.06, regarding conduct in and near polling places, states that “no one except an election official or an individual who is waiting to register or to vote shall stand within 100 feet of the building in which a polling place is located.” Fraser says that if Wardere was there throughout the afternoon and not aiding an individual voter with translation, then it’s possible laws were broken. “That is up for the county attorney to investigate,” Fraser says. “And I do not have all the facts. But if that happened, then potentially laws were broken.”

What’s more, the GOP conceivably violated election laws by at one point having three challengers as well as Wardere on site. After being asked by an election judge to leave, Wardere told the Minnesota Independent that neither he nor the election judge were certain if his role at Brian Coyle was to act as GOP challenger or translator. Wadere did not leave the building, and instead remained in the foyer or entrance of Brian Coyle Center for most of the afternoon. He later told MnIndy that he was only there to help voters with language issues. One GOP challenger, whose counterpart called in Wardere to act as their translator earlier that morning, refused to speak with MnIndy about allegations of voter intimidation or Wardere’s role at the site.

“Only one challenger from either party can be on site at one time,” Fraser says. And according to Minnesota statute 204C.07 regarding challengers, “[Challengers] shall not converse with a voter except to determine, in the presence of an election judge, whether the voter is eligible to vote in the precinct.” If Wardere spoke with voters while he was acting as a challenger, this is also a potential violation of the law, Fraser says.

As MnIndy reported on Tuesday, voters charged that translators on site were persuading voters to vote for Norm Coleman. According to another Minnesota statute regarding voter assistance, 204c.15, “A voter who claims a need for assistance because of inability to read English or physical inability to mark a ballot may obtain the aid of two election judges who are members of different major political parties.” And it goes on to say, “An election judge or other individual assisting a voter shall not in any manner request, persuade, induce, or attempt to persuade or induce the voter to vote for any particular political party or candidate.”

The Secretary of State’s office responds to written complaints, Fraser says, which are then forwarded to the county attorney’s office for investigation. So far, the SoS has not received complaints in writing regarding conduct at the Brian Coyle Center.