AbdiGeedi
To keep your balance, you must keep moving.
A respectable analyst and content creator from the Rare Earth channel visited Somaliland a year ago. Here is what was his conclusion about Somaliland. I took the liberty to type up his final remarks at the end of the video starting @ 8:38 min mark.
The reality is that there is simply nothing in it for us. Freedom is not free. As I said in the beginning, I don’t think this video is going to please anyone. Because although I am willing to stand here and say that Somaliland is an independent nation, it is not what it claims to be. It claims to be a functioning democracy. A nation with a constitution, founded on the principles of freedom from oppression, and independence for those who desire it. But for many of the minority groups locked within their borders, this is not a reality they would recognize. Calling for reunification with Somalia in enough to get a prison sentence. Poets and journalists sit in cells today, simply for expressing their political opinion.
Massacres of smaller clans have taken place in both Eastern and Western regions, and will no doubt continue in the absence of international pressure. The principles that drove the Somalilanders to rebel are being repeated by the Somalilanders. No matter what else I say, that can not be ignored.
So, yes Somaliland is a country. It deserves to be able to make its own choices about how to govern its land. We, as the international community, should recognize the incredible feats it took to get them here. We should understand what it means when when we leave them out in the dark. Oppressing minorities, no matter how awful it is, does not negate statehood. Locking up journalists, as much as it pains me to say, does not negate statehood. Many states oppress their minorities and many states have no true freedom of expression.
But as I am sure that many of their citizens will be watching this video, I want to speak to the country directly. If you are a citizen of Somaliland, I want you to take a look in the mirror. You deserve statehood as much as anybody. You don’t have to be a perfect nation to be a nation. But if when you look in that mirror, you even for a second see a hint of the ghost of Siad Barre, I want you to realize that there is more to a nation than independence alone.
You know what it is like to be oppressed. You know what it is like to have your voice silenced, to be put in jail for your opinion, to be killed for your clan. So, take a look at those in Awdal, in Sool and Sanaag. Those crying out for justice in your own lands. And remember what it was like for you. Don’t just be a nation, Somaliland. Be a nation worth supporting.
The reality is that there is simply nothing in it for us. Freedom is not free. As I said in the beginning, I don’t think this video is going to please anyone. Because although I am willing to stand here and say that Somaliland is an independent nation, it is not what it claims to be. It claims to be a functioning democracy. A nation with a constitution, founded on the principles of freedom from oppression, and independence for those who desire it. But for many of the minority groups locked within their borders, this is not a reality they would recognize. Calling for reunification with Somalia in enough to get a prison sentence. Poets and journalists sit in cells today, simply for expressing their political opinion.
Massacres of smaller clans have taken place in both Eastern and Western regions, and will no doubt continue in the absence of international pressure. The principles that drove the Somalilanders to rebel are being repeated by the Somalilanders. No matter what else I say, that can not be ignored.
So, yes Somaliland is a country. It deserves to be able to make its own choices about how to govern its land. We, as the international community, should recognize the incredible feats it took to get them here. We should understand what it means when when we leave them out in the dark. Oppressing minorities, no matter how awful it is, does not negate statehood. Locking up journalists, as much as it pains me to say, does not negate statehood. Many states oppress their minorities and many states have no true freedom of expression.
But as I am sure that many of their citizens will be watching this video, I want to speak to the country directly. If you are a citizen of Somaliland, I want you to take a look in the mirror. You deserve statehood as much as anybody. You don’t have to be a perfect nation to be a nation. But if when you look in that mirror, you even for a second see a hint of the ghost of Siad Barre, I want you to realize that there is more to a nation than independence alone.
You know what it is like to be oppressed. You know what it is like to have your voice silenced, to be put in jail for your opinion, to be killed for your clan. So, take a look at those in Awdal, in Sool and Sanaag. Those crying out for justice in your own lands. And remember what it was like for you. Don’t just be a nation, Somaliland. Be a nation worth supporting.
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