Somalia

Present day Somalia is the union of two former colonies that gained independence a few days apart—26 June is the anniversary of the independence of British Somaliland; following hot on the heels of this, 1 July saw Italian Somaliland gain independence, uniting with British Somaliland on the same day, forming the Somali republic. Continuously inhabited for the past two and a half millennia, the region had trading links with the Greeks and Romans, saw the establishment of Islam in the 500 years from 700 to 1200, with European influence arriving in the 16th century, though it was really in the 19th century “scramble for Africa” that European-style imperialism arrived, with Somalia divided between the territorial claims of Britain, Italy and France. (Former French Somaliland didn’t form a union with Somalia, but is now the separate country Djibouti.)

With Somalia’s position on the Red Sea, across from the Yemeni port city of Aden, British interest in the region was all but guaranteed—the Red Sea being an important region for sea-connection to India. Italy didn’t have as much experience in colonialism when the scramble was on, and while they ended up with the largest claim in the country, it was the least important strategically.

Resistance to imperialism got under way in 1899, and a guerrilla war, lasting over two decades, ensued. (Somalian dervishes were fundamental in this resistance movement.)

Following World War II (in which Italy first conquered British Somaliland, then Britain in turn took back the region, and administered the whole of Somalia) military control in Somaliland began to relax—the question of the future of Somalia became was debated from 1945 onwards. While this was being debated, a commission of the Allied nations granted the area of Ogaden to Ethiopia, leading to war years later. The UN decided in 1949 that Italian trusteeship would continue for the next decade as a result of the economic benefits their presence brought to the region—aid money, Italian administration in the 1950s did see significant infrastructural development in the country.

With independence, the dormant issue of Ogaden arose, and the divide between the formerly British and Italian regions also became an issue, with language and cultural differences becoming apparent. A secession movement started in the formerly British area of Somalia, exacerbating the divide. By the late 1960s democracy was beginning to crumble and 1969 saw a coup d’état, and the Supreme Revolutionary Council take over government—who promptly prohibited the existence of political associations (other than, presumably, their own) creating a one-party state.

In 1991 the north declared its independence as Somaliland—this hasn’t to date been recognised by any foreign government. Civil war led to the presence of UN peacekeepers. The 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, in which a number of peacekeepers were killed, became the basis for Black Hawk Down. A further secession took place in 1998 in the northeast, with proclamation of the state of Puntland—not seeking full independence, this region considers itself an autonomous state. Another secession followed this with a southwestern region declaring the state of Jubaland—its status is unclear.

More recently conflict broke out in 2006, internally and with Ethiopia, and hasn’t been resolved.

On the bright side, Somalia has one of the lowest rates of AIDS/HIV in Africa.

Today’s poem is by Ismael Hurreh and comes from the Wole Soyinka-edited Poems from Black Africa.


Foreboding

Solo:
My brother you sealed on us your sighs of hypocrisy
My brother with magnetic eyes for these cactus faces on us
And for these wrinkles of contempt on the face of Somalia
We will chant you necklaces of dry bones:

Chorus:
What we are (we should have said)
Are empty voices in the dark
Emptier than our chants in crises
What we are (we should have said)
Are dangerous rats scuttling in dry paths.

Solo:
My sophisticated brother with mountains of kinsmen’s power
Our gory spears awaiting spears of other tribesmen
Arrayed with blue loincloth and white star-shaped shields
We will chant you hymns chanted to Sheikh Abdulkadir
Mourning the death of corn fields at your hands
Your hands sublimer than distant clouds
When dry mouths gape and drop dead of thirst.

Chorus:
Do you not hear these blind drums in our voices?
Do you not see us prostrating with blind hearts?
Do you not find us cold-blooded?
Do you not fear us causing plagues?

Solo:
And at the onset of pain pangs of Africa’s birth
We have heard you fluting ominous tales
Behind bank doors barred to us
We have heard you counting biles and eyes

Of dead bats and mouths drivelling your praises
And soon we will see you dismantling our kidneys
In parlours for diplomats
And in conjugal parties.

—Ismael Hurreh
from Poems of Black Africa