My Name is Silanyo and My Name Is Silaanyo and you are Mine By Safi Abdi Jan 16, 2012

          Prof.  Khalif is a seasoned politician, so if you were listening to that interview you  most probably didn’t hear the term Dhulbahante. Nor did we hear the word Isaaq or  Habarjeclo dropped, at least I didn’t hear it this time around…Instead we heard  the terms ‘Somali-land’ and ‘Punt-land’ many times over.

          We  heard the term ’Beesha’ SSC., if you were listening you’d have heard names of  certain towns dropped… Hargeisa…Burco…But nowhere did we hear terms Isaaq-land or  Darod-land mentioned neither on the VOA interview nor from the recent anti-Taleex  rants that’s emitting from Hargeisa.

          Now,  the Teleex Conference has elicited many questions and people are talking and asking  each other questions. The neighborhood is concerned, and we’re asking our Isaaq  brothers, dear brothers in Islam, what’s your story? What do you want from your  neighbors?

          We  know for sure what Silanyo and every small time politician of Somali stock  wants…..They want to keep up the misery of the  poor Somali people….that’s really what they want. By now, there isn’t a single  Somali woman that doesn’t know that for a fact.

          Coming  back to the neighborhood, there are those who say all that there is to the Somaliland  syndrome is an Isaaq clan that wants total isolation from the rest of Somalia.  Consequently, the only reason the Dhulbahante and others in the North are being  terrorized is for the sole purpose of merely keeping up appearances to the  outside world….appearances of a peaceful   North (Isaaq-land- aka Somali-land).

Then  the question that comes to mind is, then if all our brothers want is a  recognized Isaaq-land then why is Silanyo beating around the bush? why doesn’t  he say it just like it is: As we very well know, the Zionist state calls  Palestine, Israel. So why is Silanyo tongue-tied? If his interests are (as some  believe) clan-based what is preventing him from declaring a Sovereign  Isaaq-Land? Wouldn’t that be just perfect for all concerned? Isaaq get their independence from the rest of  us small folks. And we get to chill from big brother terror campaigns. I for  one find unending conflict rather unsettling.

          But  then there are those in Hargeisa that believe the Beesha SSC as being simply an  extension of the Isaaq clan….But then again if that’s so, why isn’t Silanyo in  Taleex? Every Garaad and Isim worth their salt were invited to the Party….why  was the gentleman not invited? And if what he thinks  is true and the Beesha SSC are his bondmen  and slaves, what prevented him from gate-crashing the Party?

          Incidentally,  and I know I maybe  digressing, but isn’t  every land in the Somali peninsula a Somali-territory….Or is  the term reserved only for the occupying Clan  and the occupied territories in the North?

          Unfortunately,  our Isaaq brothers have failed us but  why  is the Somali Ulema silent on this issue? We enjoy fine Qutbas from notable Somali  Ulema beamed from Hargeisa and elsewhere why are these Ulema not telling us  about the Fitna that has beset the neighborhood? Shouldn’t they be the first to  fear Allah? What’s the use of these preachers if they can’t tell the people  right from wrong? Remember the saying from our beloved prophet…help your  brother whether he is the oppressor or the one oppressed? Now did we ever hear  our Sheikhs implementing that wise saying?

          Coming  back to what the honorable Prof. said about the Teleex Conference of the Beesha   SSC. I totally understand where the Prof.  is coming from: The Telex Conference was born out of a great need.  And  Taleex should better be applauded for standing up  in the service of the people, women and children and the young people who are  daily terrorized in Las-Anod and elsewhere. This is their land. This is their  ancestral land. When the colonial powers left the land they did not appoint any  clan to take over the reins. And they were smart enough to read the signs. So when  they could no longer turn a blind eye they packed up their bags and called it a  day. These were reasonable occupiers. Will we ever say the same about our  homegrown ones? Time will tell.

          Taleex  has spoken, Dhulbahante wants peace, and an end to the conflict and Fitna that  has plagued them for so long; from within and from without. These people are saying  they’re Somalis and they’re not going anywhere. The sun has risen on Dulbahante  Land. Those that can’t bear the glare of the sunshine, Taleex said: Pull down your  curtains.

          What  the people of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn have gone through the last four years can  be at best likened to what Palestinians suffer under the Israeli Occupation: Imprisonments,  killings, horrors, siege, you name it, the only difference that  one can see is that Hargeisa is a Somali town,  and Las Anod is a Somali town. Both towns are populated by Somali people who  profess the same faith,  dress the same way, eat the same kind of food.  Their camels look the same, their goats you can’t separate, their sheep have  the same black head….they even munch their narcotic shrubs in the same fashion..

          We’ve  to admit, this is a weird occupation. And none other than the Somali weirdness  of the day will ever hope to make a head or tail of this Occupation.

          Safi  Abdi         E-Mail: barni12001@yahoo.com

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