The purpose of this article is to share with my fellow Diaspora the importance of supporting the common interest among all the people of Somaliland regardless of the region of origin. First of all, I am sharing my feelings that my heart goes out to all those who have died in Lasanod protest. My deepest condolences to the victims. Human lives are precious and I hope that a lesson will be learned to avoid similar tragedies in Somaliland.
While the Sool conflict was going on, I personally received hundreds of messages posted by other Diaspora people mainly from the region itself. These messages were in support of armed forces, encouraging them to carry out violence against the innocent people of Lasanod and the wider region. The message I want to share with the Somaliland Diaspora is since the beginning of the conflict in Sool especially Lasanod, we have seen many of the Somaliland Diaspora inciting violence and fanning the flames. Many of the Diaspora from this region have extensively used social media tools to harm the harmony of the Somaliland people by spreading lies, rumours and fake news. Some Diaspora communities from the region held fundraising campaigns a in the USA and Europe in order to mobilize forces to fight against Somaliland and feed terrorist organisations willing to enter the region.
We are aware that the Diaspora residents in western countries live safely with their children and are doing their best to give their children good education. It is unfortunate that the same Diaspora are destroying the future and the lives of children and families living in their region of origin. It is morally difficult to justify the call for war which leads to loss of lives and to the destruction of the educational system for thousands of children.
We should be advocates for the Somaliland people to live together in peace, harmony and stability. I am sure that everyone’s relatives back home would like to live in peace without any fear. We need to have positive communication and encourage our people to live with their dignity and their rights protected while at the same time ensuring that we do not destroy our security and government system. Our people already have enough problems such as the high cost of living, droughts and also the instability in the Horn of Africa region. With all the problems in the region, it is not fair for us to encourage our people back home to solve their concerns through violence and war. Using the experience and knowledge we have gained from our host countries we are expected to be a community against things that threaten the harmony of our people. The real truth that every one of us needs to understand is that Somaliland is part of Sool and equally Sool is a part of Somaliland.
In my view it was good that the Government of Somaliland has given an opportunity to the traditional clan chiefs (Garaads) to hold their conférence in Lasanod. Therefore, the Somaliland Diaspora needs to constructively share their positive views with the traditional clan chiefs. It is important for all of us to realise that traditional clan chiefs to work towards maintaining the peace and stability of Somaliland.
I commend that the Government of Somaliland showed its maturity by pulling out the military forces from Lasanod to avoid bloodshed and encourage dialogue and mutual understanding. I also commend the government for sending a heavy delegation to the region, including the speaker of the Parliament, Government ministers and members of the parliament who have been in the area for a while to find a peaceful solution.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that Somaliland stakeholders, despite their differences, have supported the strengthening of unity, stability and the independence of Somaliland. During their meeting they expressed clearly the importance to prevent anything that could cause conflict and encourage actions which strengthen the harmony of the Somaliland people.
It is also important to mention the positive calls coming from different sections of the Somaliland communities who have been conveying encouraging messages to the people of Sool with the aim of resolving the conflict through dialogue and understanding.
Finally, I hope the gathering of traditional chiefs in Lasanod will be productive and positive. As they are the traditional chiefs of Sool region, they have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. Due to these responsibility traditional clan chiefs of Sool are not expected to make light decisions. I expect that the meeting of tradition chiefs will produce decisions that will strengthen the peace and the development of the regions and Somaliland as a whole. Today we need to resolve any problems or concerns internally so that we can build a better country for the present and future generations. We all have to be aware of the fact that it is not in anyone’s interest that the security of Sool gets out of control and become a base for terrorist groups. We all want peaceful Sool where people live with dignity and good life, and we need to work together to get there.
Abdirahman Abdullahi Jibril (Awliyo)
UK
Jabdi35@yahoo.com
