Mon. Aug 30, 2005 | Somaaljecel

I am not a warlord neither a politician responsible for the daily killings of innocent Somalis; but I am a civil rights advocate whose main objective is to raise the awareness of the plight of the natives in the south of Somalia, in particular lower Shabelle and Jubba.

You might be surprised to read this public letter addressed to you on Somali Websites, but please be reminded that you as a public figure of Somalia, I have every right to question your political action, particularly when it may negatively impact the future of millions of defenseless Somalis in the lower Shabelle and Jubba.

Mr. President, the reason to this open letter is about the News regarding a meeting to be held in my hometown of Barawe that you are organizing aimed to reconcile Mr. Barre Hirale, Gen. Morgan and Gen. Jess. Really, it is a good thing to engage in noble causes, such as resolving disputes between opposing groups and I sure love to applaud you for the effort. However, I like to know what is there to reconcile between these warlords? And why are you holding it in Barawe?

As you are well aware these warlords have destroyed the region and killed thousands of innocent people by engaging themselves in endless wars to gain the control of Kismayu and lower Jubba that have allowed them to exploit the resources and claim the tribal ownership of the area as none of these warlords were born or raised in Kismayu. These are rival gangs who took the advantage of the lawlessness of the country and waged a crusade against peaceful Somalis. Therefore, any reconciliation attempt with the sole intent to enable power sharing and further exploitation of the region would be considered arrogant, disrespectful and an act of injustice against the inhabitants of Kismayu and lower Shabelle.

The despicable acts of these warlords and their destructive nature heavily affected the environment and displaced hundreds of thousands of Somalis in the region. The absence of a system of justice under the rule of notorious warlords of lower Shabelle and Jubba has put the society into a quagmire, where crimes are committed by those in the power with impunity. As a result, the natives of the south are held hostage by these and other self-created warlords who keep them in perpetual fear, and poverty and serfdom.

Former Somali TNG president "As you are well aware these warlords have destroyed the region and killed thousands of innocent people by engaging themselves in endless wars to gain the control of Kismayu and lower Jubba..."

It is really ironic that you are holding this reconciliation meeting in Barawe, knowing the fact these same warlords are responsible for the human, material and psychological destruction sustained by this community during the civil war. It is well-known that the city of Barawe has suffered under the hands of these warlords and others and to hold such a meeting in this ghost city will only add an insult to the existing pain and injury to this community. It is therefore, a clear indication that you do not view the inhabitant of Barawe as humans, otherwise, you would have thought about the moral and religious implication of holding such a meeting.

Mr. President, if you are genuinely interested to reconcile them for the interest of Somalia; I strongly recommend you to hold a meeting in their native regions, Mudug, Galgaduud or Puntland and tell them to lay down their arms and unite under a common cause of rebuilding our nation peacefully. I hate to admit, however, that there are many political analysts who believe that you see this meeting as a goldmine opportunity to strengthen the Jubba Valley Coalition, and thereby allowing you to keep the occupied territories of lower Shabelle and Jubba under your political umbrella. This will be a catastrophic political move that will cause displacement of thousands of natives from their hometown or village and create a new international crisis similar to what happened to DARFUR in Sudan.

Mr. President, I will still like to give you a benefit of doubt and hope that you reflect deeply on the following facts which essentially frame a Kodak picture snapshot of the human condition in the south as a result of the military occupation of tribes from remote regions and then tell me whether it is morally correct to be associated with warlords:

The children in the lower Shabelle and Jubba do not have any meaningful future: no real education, do not have sanitation water, lack basic health care, and not to mention the fact that they do not have a right to life, since lives are snuffed out at whim by the warlords and their militiamen. Most of the children end up of becoming orphans at a very early age of their life. This is due to the economical genocide facing the region as well as the killings that is occurring endlessly. Even those with parents do live under extreme poverty due to lack of jobs and with basically no sources of income. W omen are the most vulnerable population in the society and are routinely subjected to rape and killings. In addition, educated people are forced to flee their homes and not allowed to go back forever even in the events of death in the family.

If the human condition and security of the natives in the south is as bleak as most studies suggest, the state of the habitat and environment is no less promising as you well know. Large swaths of prime agricultural lands and forests are being cut down and burned for charcoal which is then exported at alarming rates . More than 10,000 of hectares of land are cleared every year between Barawe and Jelib with the main purpose of displacing indigenous farmers and animal breeders from their home villages.

If you decide to go ahead with this meeting and held it in Barawe, you will for sure be considered the man behind the misery of the people in the south. You might feel politically strong for a while, but this will not last long. Justice will always prevail. A colonial brain has no skin color and the ideology of colonizing your own brothers is worse than the apartheid in South Africa . If this happens, there will be no choice for the locals, but to seek a military aid from any of the neighboring countries as USC did back in the late 80’s to oust former President Barre.

Mr. President, instead of wasting your time to appease these infamous Satan’s, I rather recommend you to engage yourself in reconciling between the natives of these regions and those who are keeping them in perpetual fear, poverty and serfdom. You have a choice between choosing the extension of the painful history of the people in the south or answering my noble call for a positive change towards peace and stability in these regions. History will either remember you as a man who saved his fellow Somalis from agony and slow death or a man who failed to grasp a golden opportunity and sentenced his fellow country men to a life of unending misery, and suffering.

Dr. Martin Luther King Quoted “ Man was born into barbarism when killing his fellow man was a normal condition of existence. He became endowed with a conscience. And he has now reached the day when violence toward another human being must become as abhorrent as eating another's flesh ”. Mr. President, the choice is between encouraging the wolves engaged in eating the flesh of their fellow citizens or educating them to stop.

Best regards,

Dr. Ali Said Faqi
E-mail: alifaqi@yahoo.com