Runtu ma fantaa, Through the course of my life which have been tarnished by the ongoing somali civil
war forcing me to change countries and encounter different cultures, I have always been self-conscious about my identity. Truthfully being Somali is not fancy nor does it give moral or intellectual satisfaction of belonging, for the challenging mind its constant discourse and search of virtues in the light of abundant vices...Although I was drowning in a false sense of PRIDE (Geel-Jire mentality) implanted into me not by our abominable culture but my father's constant favorable and optimistic insight into the Somalis, somewhere deep down, I harboured an innate feeling that we were simply WRONG. That feeling grew with every time I became more worldly, it was not self-hate as I loved being Somali and more importantly -UNFORTUNATELY, ashamed to admit- inaan ahay ina-aabihii oo reer hebel ah. (OLD habits die hard)I once heard this pun.. ""The Nations of the globe decided to devise and invest in the making of a Super-Computer , capable of computing minute data and performing complex calculations in super-sonic speed. After a panel of scientists, years of high-tech work and Billions of dollars, the Super-computer was finished, it was unveiled in the most neutral place possible, The UNITED NATIONS! and First question to be asked publicly was rather bold, Which country will rule planet EARTH after 500 years?! with slight certainty, the computer uttered, SOMALIA, silence ensued, ask again few dignitaries suggested to repeat the question,Alas! the answer was the same SOMALIA..........the chief scientist then asked , O' wise computer, Why would somalia rule planet earth after 500 years?...in a rather ominous monotony the computer replied; According to the data provided every country in the world has a positive progressive development going for them and due to the inevitable climate change which would render life on earth difficult to bare, Nations will devise cosmic posts outside earth for their people to reside, on the other hand Somalis will be left alone to scrounge the lonely derelict planet and thus will be Earth rulers by default; Said the wise (Wordly Incorportated & simulated Electronic)Computer""
I slightly smiled, not because of the tasteless joke but because of the far-fetched reality, then I grinned meh! I am pretty sure there are others doing far worse than us.
I like Somali poetry (most of my cyber contributions are about Somali literature) and I admire the simple ways our ancestors survived the harsh environment they called home!! (Although not harsh as Arabian Sahara or Siberia)..My heart swells by the generosity of Fellow Somalis,their cordial demeanor and hospitality... Our culture was right once, but incompatible one in the contemporary world.Many are scrambling to shape the Somali peninsula to their own liking and agendas whether it is the illiterate tribal chieftains, the contracted narrow-viewed religious cultists, the rusting stomach-minded politicians or the recently emerging foreign-culture-saturated diaspora and at last and probably least the poor terribly aging fellows deep in the somali countryside keen to revive nomadic Somalia.
Other than the widely shared human trait of innate admiration of one's homeland and the nostalgic connections we have for what it embodies, our home peninsula! did not provide enough to qualify as the land that owes us a sense of nationalistic rhetoric or loyalty for that matter.A home should be place where you feel protected, wanted, fed and nurtured, for many the Somali peninsula was everything but a home, more like a lion's den, where the cubs leave as fast as they can fetch an antelope for themselves. Leave or die. Against all odds, I still consider myself one of the lucky lot that believe the Somali peninsula has invested in. That duty might keep me shackled to contribute and go back one day. I say that but who knows!. Ilaahay baa og.
