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51. The Internet and the Somali Diaspora: The Web as a Means of Expression

Author:
Abdisalam M. Issa-Salwe
Publication Date:
07-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
The disappearance of the Somali state from the international scene in 1991 is seen as a unique phenomenon in this nation-state era. This experience was expected to leave Somalia “out of the loop” of new global technologies, markets, politics, and cultures. Contrary to this expectation, Somalis have not been so excluded. In fact, with the impact of globalization during the close of the 1990s, the World Wide Web presented an opportunity for the Somali diaspora to communicate, regroup, share views, help their groups at home, and organize activities (e.g., development projects).
Political Geography:
Somalia

52. Dedication

Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
In the scales of concentrated sadness, the sudden loss of an exceptional compatriot is one of the most acute. In the early morning of July 11, 2005, Mr. Abdulkadir Yahya Ali was assassinated at his residence in Mogadishu, and in front of his wife. Activists come in a variable quality; Abdulkadir was sterling—that is, he was a tireless, courageous, reasoned, and optimistic devotee of national reconciliation and peace, and a founding member of the National Civic Forum. He joins the unsung heroes whose lives have been cut short by murderers antithetical to the return of national solidarity and justice to Somali time. We pray that Allah will reward him for his noble earthly deeds on behalf of the Somali people.
Political Geography:
Somalia

53. Editor's Note

Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Volume five of Bildhaan is a tad different than earlier issues. First, we are pleased to offer, in print, pieces that appeared, though updated, on electronic sites that cater to readers on Somali affairs. Second, we are formalizing a section that, in the future, will record documents, no matter how controversial, that we deem to be of critical value for constructive debates on the nature and directions of the Somali people and society. Third, Abdi and Ahmed Samatar's writings are overrepresented. Though we promise not to make this a habit, we feel the pertinence and timeliness of all three pieces to be compelling enough. Fourth, Bildhaan, as we promised in the inaugural volume in 2001, is open to both scholarly and artistic contributions. Fifth, in the spirit of the editorial essay in this volume, we plan to occasionally publish opinion pieces—including responses to the editorial included here—that reflect on contemporary and substantive issues. Consequently, we invite our readers to submit well-written and carefully reasoned pieces (around 3,000 words) for consideration.
Political Geography:
Somalia

54. Transition and Leadership: An Editorial

Author:
Ahmed I. Samatar and Abdi Ismail Samatar
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Let's begin with one fundamental assertion: We both feel deeply for Somalia and its people—our people. In the heat of this moment, some might dismiss such a sentiment as rather anachronistic. But even if there is some grain of truth to that judgment, we hold firmly that the instinct is a viable and deliberate mistiming commensurate with the imperatives of the long durée. Our loyalty, therefore, is to no individual or political group. On the contrary, we define ourselves as civic scholars whose sole interest is to make whatever small contribution our modest talents will allow to the revival of Somali national identity, dignity, and purpose. This brief essay's central concern, then, is the direction of the country in the wake of the recent announcements of a new leadership and political institutions. We offer these thoughts, though somewhat melancholic in word and tone, with the hope that our compatriots will use the new tidings as a potentially valuable development (albeit not a tabula rasa as one would have wished for); that is, a fleeting opportunity to be used to move out of the current morass and positively forge ahead towards an authentic renewal.
Political Geography:
Somalia

55. In Limbo: Dependency, Insecurity, and Identity amongst Somali Refugees in Dadaab Camps

Author:
Awa M. Abdi
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Somalia is still in a protracted political limbo as it enters its fifteenth year of “statelessness.” Despite the precarious situation of Somali refugees scattered across many parts of the world, both the country and the plight of its refugees remain off the radar of the world media. The atrocities committed in the process of the overthrow of Siyaad Barre's regime in 1991, and the clanistic power struggles that followed, led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Somalis. The refugees initially fled to the neighboring countries of Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Kenya, subsequently moving on to countries near and far. Those who were fortunate enough to escape the trials and tribulations inherent in exile in countries such as Kenya, where existing resources are barely able to meet the basic needs of the native population and where most refugees still remain in closed camps, moved on to more prosperous countries where they obtained refugee status. Most were not so fortunate, however.
Political Geography:
Kenya and Somalia

56. Ethiopian Ethnic Federalism and Regional Autonomy: The Somali Test

Author:
Abdi Ismail Samatar
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
In the 1990s in Africa, two sharply contrasting models of state-society relations and the role of ethnicity in national affairs have emerged. The first is the unitary dispensation that rejects the ethnic classification of its citizens while cognizant of the ill effects of a race and ethnicbased apartheid order. The African National Congress (ANC) and its allies in South Africa opted for a strategy they thought would ensure the country's political and administrative restructuring but would not perpetuate sectarian ethnic identity at the expense of citizenship. Consequently, the post-apartheid regional administrative structure and boundaries are not based on ethnicity. Further, the populations in these regions elect their provincial councils, and have gained some degree of fiscal autonomy, although South Africa remains a unitary state. A key manifestation of the system's competitiveness is the fact that opposition parties have governed two of the wealthiest and most populous regions for most of the past decade and the ANC has been unable to dislodge them until the most recent election in 2004. Although the ANC won the most votes in Kwa Zulu–Natal and the Western Cape, it lacks a majority in these provincial councils to unilaterally form regional administrations. This openness of the political process has made possible a significant degree of regional autonomy in a unitary system.
Political Geography:
Africa, South Africa, and Somalia

57. In Siyaad Barre's Prison: A Brief Recollection

Author:
Mahamud M. Yahya
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
In my view and in the view of many witnesses of Somalia's recent history, an important element of the terrible abuse of power and authority during the dictatorial regime of the late Gen. Mohamed Siyaad Barre was the arbitrary and widespread detention of dissidents, political opponents, and even ordinary Somalis who just expressed an honest opinion on the state of affairs in their country. These incarcerations were usually without any charges, and, in the end, without trial. For this reason, men like Aden Abdillah Osman, the first President of the Somali Republic; Premier Abdirazak H. Hussein; the late Mohamed Ibrahim Egal, ex-President of the self-declared Somaliland Republic and former Prime Minister of Somalia; Abdillahi Issa, First Foreign Minister; Gen. Mohamed Abshir Muse, former Commander of Somalia's Police Force; Michael Mariano, pioneer nationalist, Parliamentarian, and distinguished civil servant; Col. Abdillahi Yusuf, current President of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia; the late Gen. Mohamed Farah Aideed, former USC leader; and Col. Jama Ali Jama, one-time president of the Puntland region; each had to spend months or years in detention, some in solitary confinement. But they were never brought to a real court of justice because they were simply being persecuted for reasons that included possibly rallying righteous disapproval and discontent, competition for power, or because Siyaad Barre disliked them personally.
Political Geography:
Somalia

58. A Thorn in the Sole: Short Story

Author:
Ahmed Ismail Yusuf
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Mayxaano was a twenty-six-and-a-half-year-old revered writer, though I have to remind you there were many people who reviled her, too. She debated with men about politics, philosophy, and religion with gusto. She wore her hair loose, without the Muslim head-scarf. She ran track and field, leaving most men in the dust, and, worst of all, it was rumored that she dared to write critical articles about the repressive regime in Somalia in newspapers abroad. Women vilified her publicly yet admired her privately. Men of all shades, however, would stumble over each other to have her attention for even a minute.
Political Geography:
Somalia

59. For the Record: International Crisis Group Report on Somaliland: An Alternative Somali Response

Author:
Ahmed I. Samatar and Abdi Ismail Samatar
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
The International Crisis Group's (ICG) most recent report on the Somali Republic deals with developments in the Northern region (Somaliland). It narrates what the informed knew all along: (a) that peace has been restored in most of the North for the past decade while the rest of the country, particularly Mogadishu and the southern third, are mired in violence; (b) that some semblance of constitutional order and administrative structure is in place; (c) that most of the public refused to accept naked force as a political instrument to deal with political problems; and (d) that corruption is pervasive among the political elite. Conceptually, the ICG report is divided into three parts. First, it provides a brief review of Somali political history. Second, it sketches the evolution of the region since the collapse of the Somali government in 1991 and the declaration of the region's breakaway status from the rest of the country. Finally, it focuses on three elections organized in the last three years, in order to buttress the claim that the region deserves to be recognized as a sovereign country. This information raises pivotal questions about the profile of the region as well as the fate of the Somali people. Together, these two points invite a timely, wide, and thoughtful debate among Somalis and others concerned. After serious cogitation upon the details of the document, we submit that the Report presents important points for the international community to come to the aid of the people of the region to consolidate their communal achievements—particularly in the areas of stability, economic advancement, and institution building. However, the Report fails to clinch the argument for international recognition of a new sovereign Somaliland state in the Horn of Africa. The rest of this critical assessment elucidates this proposition.
Political Geography:
Africa and Somalia

60. Foreword

Author:
Ahmed I. Samatar and Lidwien Kapteijns
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
This issue of Bildhaan is dedicated to some of the commissioned proceedingsof an international conference, “Somalis in America: TheChallenges of Adaptation,” which was held at Macalester College, July15–17, 2004.
Political Geography:
America and Somalia