Monday, October 21, 2013

The Power of Hindsight; Lessons from The Past






 
 
 

Somali President (1969-1991)
“We shall go and stand before a mirror, look and reflect on ourselves. Let as ponder and ask ourselves what our interests, the interests of our children, and the interest of our people are? What kind of honor and dignity are we striving for to have in the world? ... The gun bullets you hear are not anyone’s interest. Guns are only made to take life and not to rear life.” Mohamed Siyad Bare 1991.


 “We drive into the future using only our rearview mirror” Marshall McLuhan.
George Bernard Shaw said that we learn from history that we learn nothing from history. This is indeed true reflection of the present day Somalia. January 26, 1991 Mohamed Siyaad Bare was ousted from power by armed clan-based opposition. Little did anyone knew, what was lurking beyond his ouster. This is not, to say the least to engage in any blame game; but rather, to reflect on the past objectively, with hindsight advantage.
next January 26, 2014 marks twenty four years since Mohamed Siyaad Bare left Mogadishu en route to his birth place in southern Somalia; notwithstanding, the military regime of Siad Barre, was it the right decision in ousting him? What went wrong in the aftermath of the collapse of Siad Barre’s regime? And you, our readers, if you knew what were to follow suit in the aftermath of the collapse of the military regime, would you have taken a different approach then? And to pose to the younger generation, what are you doing or not doing in order to bring an end to this protracted and intricate conflict? His last speech, while leaving the Mogadishu, President Mohamed Siyad Bare spoke heartily to the citizens and those responsible of the 'violence' as he called upon them, he said those words which speak to us all directly today as if spoken yesterday.
 “…We should understand what our interests are?  We should understand who we are, and what we want as people? 
 "Affluent man, who is either here or abroad, should not be killing the poor by arming one another with guns. Even uglier, very embarrassing, those looting the wealth of the citizen
 “I wonder, I can’t understand why should anyone enter government offices and pour the government papers on the streets. Where is he going (what is he doing)? What is he benefiting of that action? Who is he giving (those government files)? Even more painful, uglier, the poor Somali citizen running away from those looting and bullets, fleeing,  hungry  and scattered,  along the way (roads that exit- out of Mogadishu).

“You belief in Islam, you are Muslims, You are Somali, you used to have pride and dignity.
 If you must (destroy) throw what is yours, do not destroy everything, and do not destroy all. Reaching a level where you act beyond the Islamic principle is forbidden” 
(Listen to the whole speech in Somali, link below)
  
Twenty two years ago these words were spoken, yet, still they echoed, without either their meaning or their target audience, being worn-thin by time.
Twenty years later and we are still unable to comprehend these words of wisdom, we can forget past, as we can’t go back and change it. The past is a history for our admiration, atonements or ability to acquire understanding and experience. But the future is unclaimed and ahead of us with indefinite potential opportunities it present.
We can’t change the past but we can learn from it and alter the course of history in the future. Through our actions and decision we can write our history by claiming our future, our nation’s future depends on the collective effort of all of us, so let us all work towards that goal of altering and shaping our future

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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