VOL. I, ISSUE II AUGUST 2017

NEWYour Somali current DALKA affairs and culture monthly Contents Letter from the Editor Another month, another issue of to representing the views of its Aren't we sick of Dalka. The overwhelmingly positive predecessor, the Dalka of the 1960s. experts?...... 2 response to the inaugural issue has It was, and remains, editorially left us in no doubt as to the potential independent from it. In order to make this publication will enjoy. Letters to this distinction crystal clear and to avoid On Youth the Editor—some published in these any ambiguity, this publication will Development...... 2 pages—found their way to our henceforth be known as New Dalka. The mailbox from around the world. prefix of 'New' is particularly apt since Letters to the While the correspondence the Dalka of the 1960s was modelled on Editor...3 received was full of praise, we would the British weekly magazine of the left, have liked to see more (constructive) the New Statesman. criticism directed our way. What do What's in a The only (modest) claim we do you, our readers, want to see more of make is to revive the spirit of the free name?...... 5 in future issues? What worked well press—brave, bold and fearless—in last time—and perhaps more which Dalka thrived. This spirit of course BBC Somali Service importantly, what didn't? was not limited to Dalka; competition for at 60: 'Codka That said, some readers did readers and space on the shelves of cabiran' or just take to certain websites to make their 's bookshops came, in those competing with views heard. Some of these however days, from the Italian-language La Cairo?.....10 were deemed so digressive as to not Tribuna, which stayed the course, and even warrant a response, delving as other more short-lived publications. So they did into scurrilous diatribes. far, we have not heard of any rival Social media: On In Dalka, as opposed to other publications yet but in the interest of writing in English— quarters, it is ideas, not personalities, vitality, we would heartily welcome this. and not Somali!....12 which concern us most. We are It's worth repeating the usual therefore extending an olive branch disclaimer. New Dalka does not subscribe “Workers of to all those who wish to mend their to any political or ideological positions. Somaliweyn: Unite! ways and begin to challenge us on the We address each issue, in turn, on its plain of ideas. If they wish to engage own merits. All articles represent the Unite! Unite!”....13 with ideas, our pages will serve as views, not of the publication, but its their canvas. Unlike practically respective contributors. Nor is each Photo essay: anywhere else, even if someone wants contributor necessarily an affiliate of the the to criticise our articles or features, we publication: they are simply using our region...15-18 will give them a spot in the Letters pages to reach our wide audience and page or even their own page spread. equally, to contribute to something Honouring Prof Lee The Editor dearly hopes they will avail which they feel is worthwhile and themselves of this opportunity. Cassanelli...18 exciting. For that, the Editor thanks But all clouds have a silver them. If anything, the Editor, the lining. Some of these comments made contributors and (hopefully!) you, our us realise the need for a clarification, readers, share in at least one conviction: Editor: which at the time we last went to the importance of free and fair debate, a Haroon Mohamoud press, seemed so obvious as to not free press and the conduct of discussions www.dalka-magazine.com need any mention. At no point did within the boundaries of respect and [email protected] this publication make any pretension common decency. NEW DALKA Your Somali current affairs and culture monthly 2 On Youth Aren't we sick Development AbdiWahab M. Ali

of experts? We are doing “Youth sobriquet 'Tarsan', former NISA Two events in world politics, Development” wrong: The chief Bashir Jama and former which took place last year, culture of focusing on the presidential candidate, served as a warning sign to the symptoms. political elite. The first—the Mohamed Abdirizak, count themselves among them. referendum verdict delivered If you travel across in June for Britain to leave the Somalia, you will realise Interestingly, in its EU—was most unexpected. that the most common The reputation of report on these “experts”, approach of youth pollsters was yet again Radio Dalsan consulted development or fighting delivered a striking blow, “protocol experts”, who against unemployment when Donald Trump beat clear suggested that most used by many NGOs or favourite and former First Lady appointments were done to development agencies are: Hillary Clinton to the Oval settle political scores or reward skills development, Office chair, in November's political allegiance. vocational training, presidential election. awareness-raising or civic Some have read both Are these appointments a engagement etc. These these events as the rebellion of reflection of the short-lived ALONE—even if properly the marginalised against an terms of politicians? After all, delivered—wouldn't solve increasingly distant “elite”. most politicians serve in stints the many problems faced British politician Michael Gove, of a few years before finding by young people across the campaigning for a Leave vote themselves replaced by yet country. in the referendum campaign, another generation. Are the famously said in a live 'corridors of power' saturated This, because we have audience television interview with quasi-retirees, looking to allowed the symptom— that “people in this country make themselves 'useful'? unemployment or tahriib have had enough of experts”. The need to recruit the to be mistaken for the But this derided specie old guard might also be driven underlying systemic may well have found a new by practical considerations. Not problems: injustice, lease of life. so long ago, I heard a well- corruption, exclusion etc. Earlier this month, Radio placed source lament how very Dalsan, a Mogadishu-based little is methodically Symptom management broadcaster, reported that the documented for each will not tackle the source of current administration in generation of civil servants to the problems. Building Somalia has appointed the pass onto the next. Does stronger institutions that highest number of advisors in governance rely, not on the are capable of executing its Somali history. At present, files inherited and passed on, mandates would help us Villa Somalia—the president's but the on-hand oral come over the many office—and the Office of the recollection of “elder problems faced by this Prime have at forty advisors statesmen”, those politicians great nation. between them. Former who formerly ruled those Mogadishu mayor, known by hallowed corridors in which And this should be done by his childhood they now serve as advisors? none other than Somalis. NEW DALKA Your Somali current affairs and culture monthly 3 Letters to the Editor Every issue, we will try to publish a selection of letters and emails received over the last month. Here, readers from around the world react to the magazine's inaugural issue (July 2017). Dear Editor, It is with a glad heart that I read the first re- issue of Dalka Magazine, a Somali cultural Congratulations for reviving the legacy institution. With its revival, I am hopeful for of the magazine after 48 years, one of the the future of Somali culture. Keep up the pioneering magazines after independence. good work. Keep up the spirit of addressing all issues A.S., Hargeisa concerning Somalis. Editor, M. D., Mogadishu It is gratifying to see Dalka returning to the public after so long. Dear Editor, As a regular reader who enjoyed the magazine in the 60s, I cannot wait to get my As someone who read the original, copy. having been in Somalia when it was published, it has given me great pleasure to see this M. T., Rome relaunch of a forum that was once at the very forefront of its times. May it signal a return to Dear Sir, the optimism and unity of purpose that characterized the first years of Somali I am congratulating you for reviving independence. Somalia hanoolato! Dalka magazine. I remember very well when it was first published and my English G.T.W., language teacher (who was an Englishman) Oakland, California was very proud to see Somalis writing perfect English. I just know from your editorial that the Dear Sir, old issues had been republished in 1997. I did I'm extremely delighted to see the not know this before. I would be glad to know DALKA Magazine revived digitally after so where I can get a copy. many years. I would like to congratulate the DALKA Team for this great work. I look Warsame Dahir, Dubai forward to reading many interesting stories and refreshing articles about the history, politics and people of our great nation. It was good to see that Dalka had been Sincerely, revived after so long. The new generation Abdihakim M., Riyadh need to rediscover the intellectual fire that made this magazine relevant during the It is great to see this magazine re-emerge. I'm 1960s. The timing could not have been more sure the team will work to offer in-depth appropriate. analysis on current issues but also hold firmly to its history. All the best, Abshir, London S.A.S., Nairobi

Do you have words of praise or (criticism!) for the magazine? Or do you want to tell us what you want to see more of in future issues? Direct all correspondence to: [email protected] NEW DALKA Your Somali current affairs and culture monthly 4 Around the world Kenya: A profitable ITALY: Somali election season? archives As the results of Kenya's as a profitable season, with general elections came in, accusations of corruption and restored elements of continuity could vote-rigging. This time Somalists and other researchers be discerned. The presidential however, one business-minded will be glad to hear that the election saw Kenyatta, the African turned the narrative resources from the Library and incumbent, elected for a around for the better. archives of IsIAO (Istituto italiano second term. His auspicious Hoping to cash in on the per l'Africa e l'Oriente) in Rome prospects had been well- high turnout, he set up a stall have again be made available to advertised since last summer selling cups of tea and bur, the public. The Institute, when an Somali-style, triangle puff established in 1995, was IPSOS poll (conducted pastries, around polling liquidated in 2011. between 4 and 18 June) gave stations. Since then, the material— him approval ratings of over With a number of including documents from sixty percent. elections due on the continent throughout the Italian colonial period and decolonisation in The opposition leader before the end of the year, will Somalia—have been sadly Odinga refuses to accept the other Africans fall suit? unavailable. They are now being election results, alleging a case Whether or not they do, this transferred to the Biblioteca of 'massive fraud'. That aside, could be a much-needed Nazionale Centrale di Roma [the the election also saw paradigm shift and antidote to National Central Library]. something of a novelty, which claims that elections in Africa Italy's Minister of may bode well for the can only be profitable through Foreign Affairs and reputation of African illicit practices such as vote- International Cooperation, democracy. Election period on buying. Angelino Alfano, remarked that the continent is usually seen Photo: BBC Somali Service 'the reopening of one of Europe's most complete collections on the history and culture of African and Asian civilisations', made possible by the cooperation of both Italy's Foreign Ministry and the Ministry for Cultural Heritage, Activities and Tourism, would 'safeguard the valuable legacy of the IsIAO'. A friend in Rome reports that transition of material to the Biblioteca is ongoing. In short, this development is heartily welcomed by us at New Dalka and hope our readers will be gladdened by this too. NEW DALKA Your Somali current affairs and culture monthly 5 What's in a name? This article was prompted by the request of one This fact is all to familiar for the of our readers asking about the name Somalia. Somali people. In the late-nineteenth century, their home on the eastern Horn Readers may well recall the of the African continent was, as is well- memorable scenes of Alice in the known, divided into five at the behest of Wonderland. I refer of course to the the European colonial powers meeting at encounter between the young Alice and the Berlin Conference. As Somali people the Caterpillar. Reasonably enough—or would lament, then just as well as now, unreasonably, as the reader may judge these boundaries were little more than moments into the conversation—they haphazard: dividing people who, generally begin by identifying each other. 'Who are speaking, shared (almost if not entirely) a you?' asks the Caterpillar of Alice. Rather common language and a cultural heritage. shyly, she responds, 'I—I hardly know, Sir, just at present—at least I know who I was When in the next century, the when I got up this morning, but I think I Continent would be graced by 'Winds of must changed several times since then'. Change', inaugurating self-governing states in the place of colonies, in 1960, it The Caterpillar persisted. 'You!' said would be only two out of these five Somali the Caterpillar contemptuously. 'Who are territories which would unite to form the you?' Unhelpfully, the conversation has new Somali Republic. As ever, it was the gone full circle to where we began. decisions of the master—the departed Deflecting the question—displaying true coloniser nations—which would mean, as signs of being clueless at a seemingly Somali premier Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke straightforward query, in this tale in the lamented in 1962 that Somalis in the literary nonsense genre—Alice quipped, 'I Republic would have as their neighbours think you ought to tell me who you are their fellow Somalis, differentiated from first'. them by little else but lines on the map.

That feeling—of waking from a Now, when so many years have stupor—and feeling a bit different is passed since those events, many attempts perhaps not unique to Alice. Whole have been made to write a history of the nations and societies can feel this too. Somali people. The state of the field Indeed, in his sequel Through the Looking- certainly feels a far cry from October 1965. Glass, Lewis Carroll this time detailed the In that month's issue of Dalka, the young confrontation between the young girl and Sulleman Mohamoud Aden, a history a rather large Egg. Exasperated after so graduate then working as a civil servant in much apparent prevarication on the part Mogadishu, in a book review of I. M. Lewis' of the Egg, she objected: 'The question is', The Modern History of Somaliland, said Alice, 'whether you can make words commended it for being “probably the mean so many different things'. 'The most complete to date”, fulfilling a “great answer is', responds Humpty Dumpty, need”. 'which is to be master—that's all'. In other words, it is the master—the more powerful Artwork on page 7: 'Advice from a Caterpillar' party—who defines the terms and sets the by Arthur Rackham. boundaries. NEW DALKA Your Somali current affairs and culture monthly 6 Subsequent histories, however, have the “sahan”, the scout sent forth by the enjoyed varying levels of success, often reer [the camp] to explore better grazing written by non-historians (perhaps taking areas before any relocation is undertaken after Lewis' own lead, himself an by a party of nomads.) anthropologist!), in consequence, often putting into circulation or even pedalling Readers may also be interested to popular misconceptions. Although, as the note that in 1325, when the fabled jurist phrase goes, the facts do speak for and traveller Ibn Battuta visited themselves, this is only the case when the Mogadishu, a large, thriving town, he was exponent has the necessary grasp and dazzled by the show of opulence and presents the information in a coherent hospitality. He noted how, besides serving and lucid way. (On a side note, it was 'side-dishes, stews of chicken, meat, fish pleasing to hear, in a recent conversation and vegetables', the locals 'cook unripe with a Somali politician, who was a bananas in fresh milk, and serve them as a member of the opposition in the 1960s, sauce'. (Almost eight centuries on, little that he is working on a memoir.) appears to have changed, with the Somali's partiality for the tropical fruit One significant misconception, now well-known.) in wide circulation, is around the name Somalia. Who coined it? When and how The documents they produced as was it first used? Which boundaries part of their travels helps us date the early marked it on the map? uses of the name Somalia and its The name Somalia—as signifying a precursor, Somali. Somali—being a geographical space—was in popular use in demonym, that is, the name used for the Italian, Somali and Arabic in colonial inhabitants of a particular area—was in times and subsequently. It was only the use before Somalia. The European British, perhaps because they called their explorers then labelled the eastern Horn territorial holding , who of the African continent on their maps, referred to the Italian-controlled south as with slight variations, as Somali or Somal, . after the people they came across there. The Arabs had been using the name To appreciate how the name Somalia came 'Soomaal' for even longer than their to be popularised, in that exact form, we European counterparts, going back many need to briefly look back into history. In centuries, a notable example being in a 1899, Rudyard Kipling published a poem sixteenth century war chronicle. titled 'The White Man's Burden', which From there, it was a small leap from was understood as morally justifying labelling a territory on a map by the name imperialist expansion. A whole philosophy of the people who lived there to that name arose around this 'Burden', exhorting 'sticking'. On the explorer's map, then, the Europeans to spread 'The Three Cs of eastern Horn went from 'Somal' or Colonialism', namely, civilisation, 'Somali' to Somalia. Christianity and commerce. By the turn of the twentieth Before making advances on a territory to century, the name 'Somalia' was in colonise it, explorers would be sent to popular use, at least among European survey it, collecting valuable ethnographic travellers and colonial officers. One extant and topographic information. document from 1908, an official decree (Interestingly, these 'discoverers' or produced by the Italians, is a good 'explorers' played a role comparable to example of how early Somalia was being used.

NEW DALKA Your Somali current affairs and culture monthly 8 A map produced by the Italian Foreign linguist and scholar, Mohamed Diriye Ministry from four years later, in 1912, is Abdullahi, pointed out Somalia is quite labelled L'amministrazione Italiana nella simply 'a popular name for the Somali SOMALIA [The Italian Administration in Republic'. Somalia]; its depiction stretching from And while the popular name has Kismayo [Chisimaio] to Hobyo [Obbia]. It is remained unchanged for all that time, the clear then that although the name Somalia official name has been refashioned a number was in use at this time, officially designating of times. After the civilian administration an Italian colony, the Italians had not made was overthrown in 1969, reflecting the their advance further north, beyond what is socialist inclinations of the new now central Somalia. government, the official name was altered to In the colonial era, differences in the Somali Democratic Republic. Now, with language mattered. With the start of federation on the books, it has become the European colonisation of the region in the Somali Federal Republic. All the while, the late-nineteenth century and subsequently, country has been called Somalia. the British used the names Italian Somaliland In other words, the official name and British Somaliland, whereas the Italians points to the form of government in a used the corresponding names, Somalia country while its popular name is a italiana and Somalia inglese. Variations on geographic signifier, its proper name. The the same names were also prevalent: to the official name of a country—the longer French, for instance, they were known as version--is only ever invoked to remove any Somalie anglaise and Somalie italienne. possible ambiguity. A good example would be the Congos. One—the Democratic Fast forward to 1960. The ten years set Republic of Congo, known for short as the for the Italian tutelary administration in the DRC—was formerly a Belgian colony; the south had drawn to a close. Thus, the Somali other, the Republic of Congo, a French one. Republic was formed out of the Union of both Of course, here, one can appreciate the Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland. purpose of calling a spade a spade for one The name, the Somali Republic, then was would otherwise risk confusing one's inaugurated in 1960, with independence, audience as to which republic they were becoming the official name of the newly- referring. unified country. But for all intents and In all other cases, the one-word name purposes, the country was more popularly suffices. By analogy, there's little need, upon known as Somalia. Between 1912 and 1960, first meeting someone, in listing one's abtirsi the same name now came to represent a when first names seem to do the job well much greater geographical expanse. This enough. reflected two developments: the Italians' So France, instead of the French northerly advances, which took in more and Republic; Iran, instead of the Islamic more of the Horn and secondly, the union Republic of Iran; China and only ever rarely, between the two former colonial territories in the People's Republic of China (PRC); Russia, 1960. By July 1960, then, the name Somalia rather than the Russian Federation; denoted the territory from Ras Kamboni to Ethiopia, rather than the Federal Democratic Aluula and Bereeda, the two towns on the Republic of Ethiopia. northeasternmost tip of the newborn So, to return to the question of the republic, to Hargeisa, Berbera and Zeila. headline: what really is in a name? It was The common misunderstanding is to think Juliet, in Shakespeare's play, who, love- that in 1960, the country formed out of the struck, claimed it mattered little that Romeo union, was not called Somalia. For as the was from her family's rival household, the NEW DALKA Your Somali current affairs and culture monthly 9 Montagues. From a window overlooking the family orchard, she calls out: 'What's in a name? That which we call a rose, / By any other word would smell as sweet'. The names of things, in Juliet's eyes, did not NEW DALKA change their essence: Romeo, by any other Yo u r Somali current affairs and culture monthly name, would still be the object of her adoration. Love is, as they say, truly blind. It is clear that the legacy of New Dalka, now in its colonialism casts its shadow over the Somali people. This can be seen most second month, is a starkly in the colonial language inherited in different parts of the Horn. In the monthly magazine with Protectorate, formerly administered by the British and where English was the colonial an international language in use, the names British readership. It covers Somaliland and Italian Somaliland are most familiar. Head due south, into the former Somali current affairs Italian colony where Italian was the main colonial language in use, and the names and culture as well as Somalia italiana and Somalia inglese were in circulation. carrying features on history, politics and There is a Somali adage which declares, 'Magac bilaash uma baxo'—in comment. other words, a name carries meaning, in pointing to and capturing the essence of that which it denotes. Now, in the twenty- first century, alongside the many pressing questions of the age, people are Readers are encouraged increasingly asking: 'Are we postcolonial yet?' After all, what does self-governance to send feedback and all (autonomy) amount to, if not accompanied by the sharpening of one's critical and other correspondence to intellectual faculties and the ability to [email protected]. appreciate the nuance of each and every word they deploy? For, now, when one writes about contemporary history and politics using the names Somalia and Somaliland, they Article submissions and run the risk of falling into a sort of pitches should be tautology. These names, by their very nature, carry history, pointing as they do directed to the Editor at to the different colonial legacies and [email protected]. colonial languages which bequeathed them. Fifty-seven years on from independence, perhaps we're still lost in translation. NEW DALKA Your Somali current affairs and culture monthly 10 BBC Somali: 'Codka cabiran' or just competing with Cairo? 'Gathering round the speakers'— the Service and how its the act of family members at By Haaruun emergence reflected the home or customers at a local has been 'received' by its target wider regional and global teashop huddling over a radio set audience. Is it fair, as some have political forces trying to —to catch the latest news was, done, to dismiss the Service as make themselves heard in for much of the twentieth simply being the British Colonial the Horn. century, a uniquely memorable Office-- or later, Somali pastime. In his memoir, the Foreign The Suez Crisis of 1956 has the seasoned diplomat Mohamed Office been seen as an key moment Osman Omar noted how even in grinning in the British involvement in the depths of the nomadic areas, from the Middle East, read b y herdsmen would carry small behind many as the end of British transistor radios on their a predominance in the region. shoulders. micro- Besides its geopolitical It was hardly surprising then phone? significance, it served as an —in spite of the limited important trigger in the educational opportunities world of broadcasting. afforded to him—that, almost unlike his peers on the War of words continent, a Somali nomad or Almost since the birth of farmer could speak about world radio, the airwaves have been politics with self-assuredness and used as a political weapon. verve, skills sharpened in group The Germans and the conversation, discussing items of Russians had been pioneers news in the earlier broadcast. in this area. Soon after the This summer, the BBC Somali Russian Revolution of 1917, Service—first broadcast on 18 messages were being directed July 1957—celebrated its sixtieth. abroad by the new For long, the Service had an administration to explain the inimitable reputation as a motivation behind the event. reliable source. As the saying Within two decades, went, if the BBC hasn't reported broadcasting to the Arab it, it can't be true! world was undertaken on Photo: As the Service marks sixty witnessesofwords.com behalf of the Axis with the years of its existence—spanning Readers may, of course, recall Fascist government in Italy, three years of colonial rule, three that a Somali president, in a pithy from 1935, using a radio decades of an independent wordsplay on the Corporation's station in Bari, southern Italy, Somalia and now, almost three initials, is alleged to have to carry out a bitter campaign decades since the civil war broke sardonically labelled it 'Been Been against British “imperialism”. out—it seems an ideal time to Sheeg'. After Suez, in order to take stock. Delving into the archives counter what the British to The headline points to the and utilising previously unseen be the anti-British, age-old question about the broadcast reports, this article inflammatory broadcasts, Service and how it was explores the early beginnings of NEW DALKA Your Somali current affairs and culture monthly 11 the hours of the BBC Arabic Service were increased and the Corporation began broadcasting in three African languages: Hausa (for West Africa), Swahili for East Africa and Somali. And so the Somali Service was born. In diversifying its language output, the Service then was reaching newer audiences. In so doing, it presented an antidote to some of the inflammatory and politicised broadcasts from Cairo. If Britain could be accused of having certain aims it wanted to see fulfilled Source: James Cridland in Africa, then Egypt, itself a broadcast (19 June 1957), for premium the BBC placed on regional power, was little instance, claimed to its impartiality. A young man different. Somali listeners that the applying for a job in Bush The Service's main proposed Legislative House (not necessarily the rival, Radio Cairo's Sawt al- Assembly in British Somali Service) was asked Arab [The Voice of the Arabs] Somaliland would be how he would treat a news preceded it by four years, 'inconsistent with item which reflected badly having also—incidentally— democratic procedures' on Britain. 'I would judge it first broadcast in July. Sawt since the very formation of only on its news value', he soon found its Somali voice, the assembly would be said, adding after a when its Somali section was 'under the thumb of the seemingly long ominous established. British governor'. pause: 'That may be the It was a product of its A later Cairene wrong answer, but that's time, the era of broadcast (14 November what I should do'. He duly decolonisation, and as a 1957) reminded the got the job. result, its anchors (perhaps 'esteemed listeners' of how On Sawt, there inadvertently) spread the Europeans had hindered continued talk of message of Nasserism, which Somalis' progress, before “conspiracies” by “colonial often hid behind an recalling—not without some consulates” against the admixture of pan-Arabism, misplaced self- Somali people and their socialism and anti- congratulation—that the impending independence; colonialism. (We shall leave Somali peninsula had, prior the presence of imperialist the debate of whether to Partition, been ruled by lackeys and even allegations Somalis are Arabs for another Egypt, 'which was primarily that there was a fifth issue but suffice it to say that, responsible for [its] column at work in the at the time, Somalis were progress [and] for the nationalist movement, considered Arabs particularly establishment of a good supported by funds from the by the Egyptians.) government'. “colonial powers”. The British were rightly One anecdote might This may all seem concerned. One Sawt help put one at ease, fanciful but for the British, illustrating as it does the Cairo's coverage prompted it NEW DALKA Your Somali current affairs and culture monthly 12 to act and establish a rival broadcaster. On writing Both Somali Services of Sawt and the BBC shared similarities. in English—and For example, as noted before, both were first broadcast in July—in not Somali 1953 and 1957 respectively and AbdiWahab M. Ali both, in their first decade at least were staffed by Somali students in Cairo and London respectively. First they would ask “Why do you always post & write in English not But between them, there are your mother-tongue, Somali?" And I also stark differences. keep saying "That is my choice". While Sawt appears to have disappeared into a mist, the BBC Then, I post a few stories in Somali, Somali Service lives on. To the every now & then—just by my own present author—having not only will. And you know what they say? surveyed written records of radio “That Somali you are writing is damn broadcasts but also interacted broken”. Some will even go so far and both with former broadcasters and declare “Soomaliga budka kadaa, loyal listeners of the BBC Somali ninyahow” [Stop beating the Somali Service—there is little doubt that language with your stick!—or the Service has survived, where idiomatically, your language skills are Sawt has not, because it discovered horrendous]. As if they're the self- the magic formula. Unlike Sawt, appointed custodians of Somali which focused almost exclusively language, trying to religiously carry on politics, colonialism and out this role. intrigue, its BBC opposite number And guess who am I talking diversified its output. about? SOMALIS. They keep Programmes such as reminding me of Nurrudin Farah's 'Todobaadka iyo Afrika', words when a journalist asked him 'Qubanaha' and 'Fanka' became about the witty, proud and sometimes iconic in their celebration of rude Somali characters in his stories. Somali culture and music. He smiled widely and started the And so, to return to that response with, “You're talking about image of 'gathering around the my good Somali people”. Yes! That speakers' with which I begin. ‘good' is of course meant with heavy Sitting around the family radio set sarcasm! at home, or a loudspeaker at a local cafe, Somalis not only use the opportunity to discuss current Would you like to review books affairs and politics. They also relating to Somali politics, culture delve into music, poetry and and society? culture. Contact the Editor at (Gathering round the speakers is the [email protected] title of Suleiman Mohamoud Adam's book on the history of Somali broadcasting, 1941-1966.) NEW DALKA Your Somali current affairs and culture monthly 13 “Workers of Somaliweyn: Unite! Unite! Unite!” By AbdulKadir Ali Bollay

The Somali trade unions have a long history, having been founded in 1949, in the colonial period. Their role in securing workers' rights in Somalia is undeniable, despite the fact Somalis were still under colonial rule. As historians have illustrated, trade union movements in the Global South played a formative role in anti- Bollay, in the 1950s, giving an interview colonial nationalism, about the Somali trade unions particularly in mid-twentieth yoke, were mistreated, with expectation that employers— century Africa, as it was graced no group or body to secure who at this time largely with winds of change. their rights. constituted Italians, it being the In July 1955, The Somali late-colonial period—should Trade Unions (hereafter, STU) Soon enough, the respect what had been agreed. —known then by its Italian trade unions succeeded in These provisions name of Sindicato di Lavoratori implementing the Labour included that: a minimum wage Somalo—held free and fair Code. It was also decided should be set; workers should elections to elect its leadership. that henceforth both the have statutory annual leave; Ahmed Gurre Maamun was government and the trade health facilities should be made elected as the chairperson and unions should work available for workers and that I, Abdulkadir Ali Bollay, as the together to ensure that this workers should have access to Secretary-General. legislation was a pension upon their Following my implemented, it being retirement. appointment, I set out to work, recognised the importance In October 1955, the to find solutions for the these safeguards held for Somali trade unions entered its problems that faced Somali the interests and common first agreement this time with workers. Over the years, our good of the Somali people. the sugar factory in Jowhar, organisation achieved tangible when the city was still known results. At the first ever Later, trilateral as Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi. meeting of the Somali Trade negotiations were It was famous for its Unions, it was decided that a inaugurated, which agricultural fertility, in Labour Code should be brought together particular sugar cane. established to guarantee representatives of the At the time, the sugar workers' rights, at a time when government, the trade factory was the largest in the such action was imperative. unions and employers, who whole country, having the The reason for this being, agreed to work together to highest number of employees. Somali workers, still living achieve these aims. These It was also agreed that the under the colonial objectives were soon put workers at the sugar factory at into writing, including the NEW DALKA Your Somali current affairs and culture monthly 14 Jowhar should receive a pay rise be established, tasked with we met the Secretary-General of 30%. addressing the difficulties of the organisation, Mr. In the following month, the facing African workers. Pastore, who congratulated us Somali trade unions took part in The ICFTU published on the role played by the international conference articles and regulations by Somali trade unions in the organised by the International which the RAC was to be development of our country Confederation of Free Trade managed and it was agreed that and the opening up and Unions (ICFTU). It was at this the RAC should have its base in expansion of the economy. convention that the Somali the Ghanaian capital, Accra. The following year, Mr. Elmoi, unions became a member of the In early June 1956, I was Mr. Rafele and I once again ICFTU. Through its membership, part of the Somali delegation to attended the Conference. I and with the support of the the International Labour reported on recent Confederation, the Somali trade Organisation (ILO)'s annual developments. One of the union movement developed meeting, the International notable outcomes of the further, going from strength to Labour Conference, which, as Conference was that the strength. The Confederation ever, was held in the Swiss city Italian representative agreed provided indispensable support, of Geneva. Mr. Isse Elmoi to the enactment of the particularly in the training and (Cisse Ceymooy) was the Labour Code, which was a rallying of workers. government's representative to monumental piece of On 10 January 1956, as STU the Conference and Mr. Rafele, legislation. It brought Somalia representative, I attended the the delegate representing in line with developed parts of founding meeting of the All- employers in Somalia. the world in setting a national African Labour Organisations in Over the course of the minimum wage for Somali Accra, Ghana, a conference which Conference—held every year in workers as well as other took place with the assistance of June over two weeks—each of measures to better workers' the ICFTU. This event can be us had separate meetings with living and working conditions. rightly considered the first pan- representatives from the ICFTU There were also measures to African conference of sorts, as well as the Italian try and encourage the having brought together—for the Confederation of Free Workers' country's productivity, an first time—the African trade Unions (CISAL, Confederazione area where the Somali trade unions. It also had the distinction Italiana Sindacati Autonomi unions contributed a lot. of being presided over by Kwame Lavoratori), discussing how to Immediately after our return Nkrumah, the pan-African advance the cause of Somali from the International Labour visionary and later President of workers. There, I delivered a Conference, in July 1957, the Ghana. detailed report of the many heads of the Somali trade In the opening speech, speedy changes taking place in unions set up a summit known Nkrumah urged the African trade Somalia at the time and the as Dopolavoro, which was held unions to unite and work tangible successes the Somali at the Theatre, opposite the together. His incisive mantra was trade unions had achieved in Guglielmo Marconi primary that unity is a force which cannot the short time since their and middle schools (later be vanquished and its antithesis, inception. I also mentioned renamed Yassin Osman). disunity, the precursor to failure. that God willing, soon the The conference was duly Somali people would achieve concluded on 13 January, with the independence. At the Part Two will appear in main points of agreement reached Conference's conclusion, the subsequent issues. being that the African trade Italian delegates from the unions work together; that the CISAL extended to us an This article was translated regulations agreed by both invitation to visit their from Somali by the Editor. A employers and employees be headquarters in Rome, Italy Somali version is available on enforced and that a Regional and we accepted their gracious our website. African Confederation (RAC) hospitality. At the CISAL's HQ, In this photo essay, Mohammed Ibrahim Shire captures some of the natural beauty found in the Sanaag region and around Djibouti's Goda mountains.

The famous Afro-Arabian Rift System which is a junction of three tectonic plates (Nubian, Arabian and Somali), two of which are moving apart at an average rate of 2cm a year, creating new land in the rift between them. It is the only place on Earth where the rift process is remarkably visible, as all other constructive plate margins are under the oceans. Camping at Djibouti's Day National Forest. The oldest national park in Djibouti, it is quite isolated, surrounded by endless semi-deserts and the deserts of the Afar region. Close to 30 years ago, this forest used to be lush and filled with plants. The Goda Mountains—part of the Day National Forest—rise to a height of 1750m and are a spectacular natural sight.

Perched atop one of the only two remaining lighthouses in Africa: Ras Bir. The French colonial government installed it to monitor ship traffic in the Bab el-Mendab strait, a strait which connects the Red Sea to the . (Above) Untouched paradise: Gudmo Biyo-Cas. It’s an unexplored area in the deep hinterland of Sanaag region. It boasts of pristine springs and cascading waterfalls.

Lac Assal is the lowest point on the African continent and the most saline body of water on earth. The lake experiences summer temperatures as high as 52 °C, so extremely hot! NEW DALKA Your Somali current affairs and culture monthly 19 Honouring Lee V. Cassanelli

Mohamed Haji Ingiriis pays tribute and memoirs. Although he utilised them to Professor Lee V. Cassanelli, the and ultimately presented his findings in a historian who put Southern Somalia compelling way, I would have liked to see him doing at least archival work either in on the map. Italy, the United States or Somalia.

Aside from festschriften, people Fortunately, Cassanelli conducted rarely pay tribute to academicians before extensive oral interviews with the then their passing. In a similar vein, there is a dying elders in Afgooye and around Somali dictum which advises, ‘Haddii aad Bariire, Beledul Amiin and Buulo Mareer doonaysid ammaan, dhimo; laakiin haddii aad in the region in Somalia. doonaysid caay, guurso’ [If it is a praise that you seek, you ought first to die, for only Rarely does distinction come then will you get it; if on the other hand, without the necessary hard graft to you want to be dealt insults, you should precede it. Conducting fieldwork and get married!]. Indeed, in one of his journal interviews—that vital tool in the toolbox articles, the subject of this tribute, of a historian—under the watchful eye of Professor Lee V. Cassanelli, himself the post-colonial African state could prove acknowledged a Somali aversion for difficult. It was shocking for Cassanelli praise-poems aimed at individuals. when attempts were made by the incumbent regime to induce him to stop Flouting such conventions, in this his historical research on the Afgooye area piece, I proceed to pay homage to the and instead study the northern regions work of a living scholar. If there was a (1). He was bluntly told that this is where Somali state, able to devote more of its Somali history was born. He was even time and resources to scholarship, it offered generous sums of money and a would have to honour Professor government vehicle to carry out his Cassanelli. His seminal book, The Shaping of research. Nor were the limitations placed Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a on academics and researchers the Pastoral People, 1600-1900, is unparalleled in preserve of the military regime. After all, terms of originality and argumentation, I. M. Lewis, the veteran doyen of Somali except one chapter on the history of studies, admitted how his writings on drought incidence which is a bit boring Somalia were not free from the influence and dull. of the post-independence civilian When Cassanelli was doing his field administrations, recalling, as a research in the early 1970s, there was consequence, that 'I have sometimes unique, untapped archival material in tended to be less critical and objective... Somalia at the time, such as those held in about the policies and actions of the Garessa [Fort] of Barqash bin Said, successive independent Somali next to Al-Uruba hotel in Mogadishu. governments'. He also made the point that Rather than draw upon Italian archives to the post-colonial authorities tried hard to present the perspectives of the Italian influence his work more than the Somali colonial officials, Cassanelli instead chose authorities under decolonisation process. to draw upon their published accounts However different to Lewis in NEW DALKA Your Somali current affairs and culture monthly 20 their methodology, and more importantly interrogation of the concept of the Total their conclusions, subsequent Somalists Genealogy in the Somali clan system in proved to be, they were working under the volume, Milk and Peace, Drought and similar, if not, identical constraints. War: Somali Culture, Society and Politics, edited by Markus Hoehne and Virginia Critically, Cassanelli refused to Luling as a festschrift for Lewis (4). In this accept all that and continued to book chapter, Cassanelli shows how the investigate the history of southern Total Genealogy was not Lewis’s new Somalia in Afgooye and its environs. innovation, but rather was of Somali Ultimately, it is for this brave display of origin. I will briefly explore this theme. integrity and commitment to his subject for which we pay tribute to Cassanelli's To prove his point, Cassanelli cites a work, particularly in distilling for case of the Italian explorer Luigi Robecchi posterity much of what may otherwise Bricchetti, an Italian traveller who toured have been lost. the Horn of Africa in the 1890s and chronicled his reflections in almost two Overall, Cassanelli did a great job in dozen books. When, in 1899, for instance, his field of historical research. However, I Brichetti visited Hobyo, he gathered would highlight at the same time that his important oral data at focus group doctoral thesis, when submitted, was very discussions attended by knowledgeable rough and needed major revisions. But elders who told him that all Somalis, Cassanelli would resolve this superbly wherever they lived, would finally come when he later converted the thesis into to one total genealogy in the all- his classic book, The Shaping of Somali encompassing abtirsiga qabiilka (clan Society. I always say to myself that genealogy). Cassanelli would have been more prominent and powerful than Professor I. Other scholars too have noted that M. Lewis if he had at least written four the concept of the total genealogy, in the more books on the massive data he had case of the Somali clans, originated with collected, bringing the total to five. Somalis. The impression that Somalis, in their different clans, ultimately descended A natural consequence of his from a common ancestor could prove to numerous field trips, Cassanelli's work is be of inestimable utility in forging durable noticeably more nuanced and sensitive political alliances or entities. One could than most other non-Somali historians. note, for instance, that in his unpublished Whenever Cassanelli writes something dissertation, The Arab Factor in Somali about Somali history, he presents his Society, Ali Abdirahman Hersi contended sharp analyses and shrewd insights in an that the sultan Yusuf Ali Keenidiid created fascinating way. Most of Cassanelli’s the first non-clan-based state. Although wonderful contributions are buried in the sultan's own sub-sub-clan had the book chapters, such as his well-researched upper hand in the polity, the role of other studies on the history of slavery in sub-clans and clans was not negligible. southern Somalia and the 1948 UN fact- Here, too, we can turn to other examples. finding mission to Mogadishu (2, 3). Above In so doing, I propose a caveat, originally all, the most recent of Cassanelli’s of Cassanellian formation, found in the chapters provides an interesting opening pages of his masterly The Shaping. NEW DALKA Your Somali current affairs and culture monthly 21 To illustrate a point about the Total References Genealogy and 'for the sake of clarity and (1) Ali Jimale Ahmed, ‘A History of Tigrinya accuracy, I use clan names'. Literature in Eritrea: The Oral and the Written 1890-1991, by Ghirmai Negash’, Research in If one considers the case of the Geledi African Literatures, 43, 1 (Spring 2012), pp. 58-64; Sultanate in 1843, the power rested with the (2) Lee Cassanelli, ‘The Ending of Slavery in Italian eponymous clan, while other resident Somalia: Liberty and the Control of Labor, 1890- communities exercised considerable clout, 1935’, in Suzanne Miers and Richard L. Roberts such as the local Digil, Jareer-Bantu and (eds.), The End of Slavery in Africa (Madison: Hawiye, who not only functioned as poets University of Wisconsin Press, 1988), 308-331; and partners but supplied the bulk of the (3) Lee Cassanelli, ‘Somali Perceptions of Colonial polity's fighters. Certainly, without their Rule: Testimonies of the Four Power Commission’ backing and contribution, the Geledi in Robert W. Harns, Joseph C. Miller, David S. Sultanate would not have succeeded in Newbury and Michelle W. Wagner (eds.), Paths defeating the Baardheere Jameeca in 1843. Towards the Past: African Historical Essays in Most notably, the Sultanate could have been Honor of Jan Vansina (Atlanta: African Studies something like a nation-state if it had Associations Press, 1994), 143–155; consolidated its rule and seized the two (4) Lee Cassanelli, ‘Speculations on the Historical most important adjacent economic hubs – Origins of the “Total Somali Genealogy”’ in that is, the port towns of Mogadishu and Markus V. Hoehne and Virginia Luling (eds.), Milk Merka. and Peace, Drought and War: Somali Culture, Be that as it may, the concept of the Society, and Politics: Essays in Honour of I. M. Total Genealogy—that Somalis share one Lewis (London: Hurst, 2010), 53–66. single fatherhood—is a total invention. This argument is further propped up by the fact Prof Lee Cassanelli is Associate Professor of the concept did not achieve widespread History at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. subscription; different clans and clan groups His book on the early , The claim different origins. For example, (1) the Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the Isaaq and the Daarood claim Arab ancestral History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900 was heritage; (2) the Digil also claim the Arab published in 1982. He has published numerous ancestry (but I don’t know what the Mirifle articles on nineteenth- and twentieth-century claim in their original ancestry); (3) most of Somali history, from a variety of perspectives, the Hawiye claim they hailed from Oromo including the social, the cultural and the and (4) there is no need to mention the economic. He was a co-founder of the Somali claims of the Reer Hamar, Reer Merka, Reer Studies International Association, which Barawe and Asharaaf since their names give celebrates its fortieth anniversary next year. them away (as Somalis say ‘sadar muuqda su'aal ka dhan’ [an obvious sentence does not An Oxford doctoral candidate, Mohamed Haji need explanation]). Ingiriis was born in Mogadishu, where, in the thick of the civil war, he began working as a staff In short, Cassanelli has bequeathed to writer for the newspapers, Qaran (State) and Somalis and the academic community alike Ayaamaha (The Daily). Later, after studying an enviable intellectual legacy, principal philosophy in Belgium, he settled in the UK, where among his achievement of quite literally he undertook postgraduate studies at Goldsmiths putting southern Somalia on the map and London Met. He has published widely on through his framework which looked at Somalia and serves as the Book Review Editor for Somali history and culture through a both the Anglo-Somali Society and the Journal of regional perspective. Somali Studies (JOSS). He specialises in Somali history, politics and society.