We must re-invent ourselves as a people!

[Alpha Blondy]

There is nothing to re-invent. change is inevitable. adam embrace change, stop lulling over the glorious past.

[Mohammed]

There is nothing to re-invent. change is inevitable. adam embrace change, stop lulling over the glorious past.

What a negative attitude

[Centurion]

Dank je wel Adam!
It is good also to see you active again, dont pay any heed to the short-sighted comments that some aim at you and your unfailingly interesting and engaging contributions to SOL- most of them have much less to offer.

[genius pauper.]

^^^ chimera,well said at most. but least you forget, we can attract no visitor at all, and by far, a tourist, many feel 'western'. so, at any cost ,what come may, somali should be left the way it is, and some time in the future something will happen, that will transform 'ourdreams' into realized goals.
hopefully, i dont expect anyone will ask me what that something is.
p.s. somalis are what we can define not.

[Nina Fox]

Inspiring and amazing post btw. We can achieve greatness if only we could denounce our clans and work towards the betterment of our country.

[Persepolis]

Positive, Somalis were re-inventing themselves in the pre-war era, but bad economic policies combined with a war returned everything to zero. If we take the examples of other previously dis-united groups like the Japanese, the Italians and the Germans, all of them progressed mentally and socially when their march towards unity ushered in vast economical transformations across their territories in the form of a Industrialization campaign.

The average Somali man & woman in the prewar era were Africa's biggest nationalists, Pan-Somalism was the most intense movement wishing to change Africa both politically and geographically. Not even Pan-Africanism led by great men such as Nkrumah(who supported Pan-Somalism) came as close to realising their goals the way Somalis were just an edge away from achieving their dreams. These Somali men and women distanced themselves from their petty clans the way a century earlier the Bavarians, Prussians and Saxonians distanced themselves from their petty kingdoms and returned to the international arena as Germans.

We shouldn't ignore this important historical episode, for these were Somali men and women who volunteered to become soldiers and sacrificed so much for a noble ideal that transcends "clan & tribal values". They entered battlefields fighting heavily equipped armies including superpowers to free those oppressed.

There is no doubt in my mind had the Dervish come out victorious in the 1900s, or had the Bevin Plan been realised in the 1940s, or had the Soviet Union not intervened in the 77' war we wouldn't be in the situation we are now. In the first scenario we would enjoy the same status as the newly founded Turkish Republic. In the second scenario there wouldn't be a reason for us to fight wars, and all spending would be directed to societal programmes and infrastructure. In the third scenario the undisputed victory of the Somali Armed Forces would propel any living Somali into a state of euphoria and solidify the forward looking progress that was made so far.

Therefore Somalis are willing to change if there is a real reward. This is where my earlier point in the first paragraph [of this post] comes into play: Industrialization. Somalia's work-force is estimated at 3.7 million, this is based on decades old information. I reckon it's more around the 6 million mark by now, with a population of 11/12 million( many of them self-employed in the form of vendors, shops and groceries). Somali entrepreneurs have the monetary capacity to establish in the next 10 years; 2000 small-medium-large factories & businesses in Somalia( with any person from the Somali Civilizational Network being elligable for the job-opportunities, though Somali Urbanites would profit the most from these investments). Let's disintergrate this a little bit:

- If each of the first 1000 Factories & businesses employed roughly 250 people = 250 000 jobs

- Another 500 Factories & Businesses employing 150 people each = 75 000 jobs

- Another 400 Factories & Businesses employing 200 medium skilled people people each = 80 000 jobs

- Another 75 Factories and Businesses employing 400 highly skilled people each = 30 000 jobs

- The remaining 20 factories and businesses would be large companies similar to Hormuud & Dahabshiil that employ atleast 4000 skilled people each = 100 000 jobs.

- The remaining 5 factories & businesses would belong to Somali conglemerates that each employ around 100k people = 500 000 jobs

TOTAL = 1,035,000 new jobs in the Live-stock & farming sector, Telecommunication sector, Energy & resources sector, Transport sector and many others.

Such a revitalization of Somalia's economy tapping into the immense potential that can be found in the agriculture, service sector & manufacturing industry, would automatically have a positive domino effect on the transport industry(Ports, air-traffic and truck-driving). With families being able to spend more; the domestic markets would grow immensely too, and it would not be far-fetched to say that in such a scenario atleast 40-50 000 jobs are created annually, which is an extremely healthy rate for an African country.

Somalis have another potential ace up their sleeve and that is Tourism. In Morocco, tourism employs around 700000 people. What do the Morrocans have that we don't?
- Epic historic cities? = CHECK!




(two examples)
- Paradisicial beaches and bays? = CHECK!


Garacad


Berbera
- Mysterious sand dunes & other romantic landscapes? = CHECK! 　


Shalambood


Calmadow

Unlike Moroccans and other Tourist powerhouses we have the potential to draw in more visitors in the form of Safaris by rebuilding the destroyed habitats of our Animal Kingdom, and breeding healthy numbers of elephants, lions, zebras etc to prewar levels. I estimate that from tourism alone we have the potential to generate $8 billion a year( that is more than what Sudan makes from Oil, and oh yeah we have Oil too).

With such a robust economy, the infrastructural landscape of Somalia would change into a modern sophisticated network of roads, highways and possibly railways. The fruits of industrialization; people become more mobile, they see more of the country and the world. They become more cosmopolitan in mind, and begin to understand that there is more to the world than their own little tuulo. The economic fortunes generated in turn gives birth to a MIDDLE-CLASS in our society.

The most stable and equal countries in the world are those with a strong middle-class that defend the average person's rights from the upperclass(elite). In Somalia there was always only the working-class and the Elite(government), with nothing in between. I believe this was one of the reasons why everything turned out the way it did.

There is however a bright light illuminating itself through the ashes of war, and that is an increasingly self-reliant Somali society with multiple companies and centers of commerce, a bottom-up approach that strengthens the average person, family and society in general. If this could be combined with long term stability and perfect economical reforms, by the end of this decade the average Somali family would be atleast 15 times more wealthier, secure and content in their lives than today.
　
Which should be the goal of every living Somali man & woman.　
　
　
　

What a beautiful mind you have, I stumbled upon it in google search and now feel alot better about Somalia's future possibilities.

[Persepolis]

Positive, Somalis were re-inventing themselves in the pre-war era, but bad economic policies combined with a war returned everything to zero. If we take the examples of other previously dis-united groups like the Japanese, the Italians and the Germans, all of them progressed mentally and socially when their march towards unity ushered in vast economical transformations across their territories in the form of a Industrialization campaign.

The average Somali man & woman in the prewar era were Africa's biggest nationalists, Pan-Somalism was the most intense movement wishing to change Africa both politically and geographically. Not even Pan-Africanism led by great men such as Nkrumah(who supported Pan-Somalism) came as close to realising their goals the way Somalis were just an edge away from achieving their dreams. These Somali men and women distanced themselves from their petty clans the way a century earlier the Bavarians, Prussians and Saxonians distanced themselves from their petty kingdoms and returned to the international arena as Germans.

We shouldn't ignore this important historical episode, for these were Somali men and women who volunteered to become soldiers and sacrificed so much for a noble ideal that transcends "clan & tribal values". They entered battlefields fighting heavily equipped armies including superpowers to free those oppressed.

There is no doubt in my mind had the Dervish come out victorious in the 1900s, or had the Bevin Plan been realised in the 1940s, or had the Soviet Union not intervened in the 77' war we wouldn't be in the situation we are now. In the first scenario we would enjoy the same status as the newly founded Turkish Republic. In the second scenario there wouldn't be a reason for us to fight wars, and all spending would be directed to societal programmes and infrastructure. In the third scenario the undisputed victory of the Somali Armed Forces would propel any living Somali into a state of euphoria and solidify the forward looking progress that was made so far.

Therefore Somalis are willing to change if there is a real reward. This is where my earlier point in the first paragraph [of this post] comes into play: Industrialization. Somalia's work-force is estimated at 3.7 million, this is based on decades old information. I reckon it's more around the 6 million mark by now, with a population of 11/12 million( many of them self-employed in the form of vendors, shops and groceries). Somali entrepreneurs have the monetary capacity to establish in the next 10 years; 2000 small-medium-large factories & businesses in Somalia( with any person from the Somali Civilizational Network being elligable for the job-opportunities, though Somali Urbanites would profit the most from these investments). Let's disintergrate this a little bit:

- If each of the first 1000 Factories & businesses employed roughly 250 people = 250 000 jobs

- Another 500 Factories & Businesses employing 150 people each = 75 000 jobs

- Another 400 Factories & Businesses employing 200 medium skilled people people each = 80 000 jobs

- Another 75 Factories and Businesses employing 400 highly skilled people each = 30 000 jobs

- The remaining 20 factories and businesses would be large companies similar to Hormuud & Dahabshiil that employ atleast 4000 skilled people each = 100 000 jobs.

- The remaining 5 factories & businesses would belong to Somali conglemerates that each employ around 100k people = 500 000 jobs

TOTAL = 1,035,000 new jobs in the Live-stock & farming sector, Telecommunication sector, Energy & resources sector, Transport sector and many others.

Such a revitalization of Somalia's economy tapping into the immense potential that can be found in the agriculture, service sector & manufacturing industry, would automatically have a positive domino effect on the transport industry(Ports, air-traffic and truck-driving). With families being able to spend more; the domestic markets would grow immensely too, and it would not be far-fetched to say that in such a scenario atleast 40-50 000 jobs are created annually, which is an extremely healthy rate for an African country.

Somalis have another potential ace up their sleeve and that is Tourism. In Morocco, tourism employs around 700000 people. What do the Morrocans have that we don't?
- Epic historic cities? = CHECK!




(two examples)
- Paradisicial beaches and bays? = CHECK!


Garacad


Berbera
- Mysterious sand dunes & other romantic landscapes? = CHECK! 　


Shalambood


Calmadow

Unlike Moroccans and other Tourist powerhouses we have the potential to draw in more visitors in the form of Safaris by rebuilding the destroyed habitats of our Animal Kingdom, and breeding healthy numbers of elephants, lions, zebras etc to prewar levels. I estimate that from tourism alone we have the potential to generate $8 billion a year( that is more than what Sudan makes from Oil, and oh yeah we have Oil too).

With such a robust economy, the infrastructural landscape of Somalia would change into a modern sophisticated network of roads, highways and possibly railways. The fruits of industrialization; people become more mobile, they see more of the country and the world. They become more cosmopolitan in mind, and begin to understand that there is more to the world than their own little tuulo. The economic fortunes generated in turn gives birth to a MIDDLE-CLASS in our society.

The most stable and equal countries in the world are those with a strong middle-class that defend the average person's rights from the upperclass(elite). In Somalia there was always only the working-class and the Elite(government), with nothing in between. I believe this was one of the reasons why everything turned out the way it did.

There is however a bright light illuminating itself through the ashes of war, and that is an increasingly self-reliant Somali society with multiple companies and centers of commerce, a bottom-up approach that strengthens the average person, family and society in general. If this could be combined with long term stability and perfect economical reforms, by the end of this decade the average Somali family would be atleast 15 times more wealthier, secure and content in their lives than today.
　
Which should be the goal of every living Somali man & woman.　
　
　
　

I'm trying to reply, why can't I reply?

[Persepolis]

Love it, love it, beautifully written, i almost wanted to cry!

[xiinfaniin]

Brother Daa'uud you have great imagination and undying optimism. You have every reason to dream of a more united, more progressive , and more stronger Somalia, and believe me it will come. The writings are on the wall. We have experienced one of the greatest tragedy any nation ever faced. And we are to come out of it with a triumphant note

I said this before and I repeat it now; we Somalis have proved that we are indeed a resilient people who withstood a phenomenon unimaginable before, and survived. we've been stateless for more than twenty years and we are still standing. The scars of that experience is visible, the wounds are fresh and painful. But we remain undefeated, still crawling to reach that greatness station as a united people. When our center fell, many wrote obituaries to mark our passage, others schemed to take our national treasuries while countless others stole our maritime resources, and devised modern tools to contain our anger and frustration. But we Somalis are blessed people, always reinventing and surviving. Testimonies to our resilience and creativity can be found in the heart of Africa, Middle East, Asia , Europe and North America. Somali refugees, and immigrants are actively competing in all spheres of life. They are trading in S Africa, building factories in Kenya and Uganda. In North America, they are producing fine doctors and engineers, lawyers and economists. In Asia, the freight industry carry Somali businessman's products to various destinations. The services government would normally carry out are executed by active Diaspora. They dig wells, provide banking services, establish communications and construction companies and create media outlets to propagate messages and broadcast their story.

In other words, with all the national calamities we faced, we have good reason to expect a triumphant ending. We are more experienced, well versed with the ways of the world, more educated, have more wealth and potential to create even more. We have a country with more than 2000 miles of coast , two great rivers, fertile land that can produce surplus and history and religion that no one has been able to take it from us. And no one will take them now from us no matter how weak or divided we are, we will rise again and over come.

Believe me, clan system is dying, and it has no future in Somalia. Everywhere I look I see good and great things. Wars and famines are reality but so are other success stories Somalis are making everyday.

Somalia shall come back again

[Chimera]

Xiin, big brother, our hopes of a better Somalia where our children, sisters, daughters and elderly can live in peace and tranquility with each passing day, each passing month, and each passing year seems more like a fairytale dream than reality. A foreign mega-structure has been imposed on us, in which we aren't deciding our own destiny compared to the indigineous mega-structure that was the Somali Republic which we owned and led. In this current position, any sign of an indigineous mega-structure rising is obliterated at birth, we saw this with the Arta conference, we saw it with the Islamic Courts, and we saw it again with Farmaajo, a shattered Somalia is preferred over a strong and capable Somalia.

Yes, our people are resilient, but how much more can they take before they finally break? While I'm very much aware of the psychological warfare Western think-tanks are waging on the country that is Somalia, there is some truth to their sensationalist articles. Everytime something positive happens, a much more negative situation unfolds. The only little hope that I have comes from meeting several Somali guys and girls from Mogadishu, Beledweyn and Hargeisa, all of them born post 1991, yet they were similar to me in attitude and mentality, same interests and dreams. I imagined them to be severely scarred internally or ignorant but instead I found them level-headed, non-qabilists and quite knowledgable.

I sincerly pray the majority of our people are like that, otherwise I don't think they can handle another five years of conflict, and all the signs point to that exactly, with vultures such as Sharif Hassan and the foreign mega-structure in place benefitting from a chaotic Somalia.

[Taleexi]

Very descriptive and a call of action.

[Carafaat]

inspirational post. thank you Chimera. Someone once said that dreams are the touchstones of our character. I think you must have an fascinating character there.

[Chimera]

[Carafaat]

Amazing, indeed we need to visualise a better future and a better vision of what we can become, if we want our people to talk steps forward.

[Ahmedyali]

Nice pictures

[somalee]

A great read. Everything is achievable.

[Somali philosopher]

i joined this forum because i saw this thread. i hope there is more of this. i still don't know how to post my own post.

[Chimera]

I dare to believe.

[Mario B]

Chimera..bro..you'r simply great.We will make it & is not far off,but there is a lot to be done;education is paramount & we have to be consistant in wiping out that filth(qabil).

Lol, and they say "Americans" don't do irony, the proof is in this comment.

[Maarodi]

Chimera, I'm with you brother! InshaAllah let's hope for the best and work towards a better future, after all the ayah says,

"Verily, God does not change men's condition unless they change their inner selves; "


Just curious, have you seen these videos

[Apophis]

Every once in a while, in the form of an unconcious night time dream or a subconcious day dream, I feel like i'm witness to a Somali reality that is unfortunately not there. It could be the future, or an alternative timeline, which we might have experienced had this or that not happened. In any case, in that reality we are progressing as a people, we are prospering as a nation, were are flourishing as a culture, and we are winning in general!

In the current Somali Civilizational Matrix, it's the direct opposite. The current system is failing. If we want to achieve a different positive reality, one where our people are secure, where our lands are secure, where our skies and waters are secure, we must re-invent ourselves.

We have to analyse what's good for us, and what harms us as a people and country. Then we have to support the good points and eradicate the bad ones. Some of the bad ones are deeply rooted, discussing their removal might be welcomed with suspicion and rejection at first, but eventually the movement for change will prevail. There are many examples in history where people have managed to re-invent and propel themselves into a long period of prosperity after long eras of despair and grief. This is a common theme in Chinese History, where after a significant period of decline a new dynasty rose and completely eradicated many of the outdated traditions that held them back as a people.

In our case the obstacles holding us back are clear and transparent to anyone that has an iota of knowledge about the Somali people; clan system, female exclusion, extremism, poverty and illiteracy. As long as these obstacles are in place, we as a people won't win.

Our greatest ally is "education", through this we can shape progressive Somalis, not shackled by outdated traditions. The type that will transcend petty lineages and see themselves as a unified people instead. Prior to the Meiji Period, Japan was a land riddled with wars, ignorance and general poverty. The Meiji government successfuly managed - through educational programs - to induce in the average Japanese person a strong sense of belonging to a unified people and the vast majority of Japanese from then on rejected their petty clans. Not long after, they as a people rose to the world stage, and have been there ever since.

It would wise therefore for us to revive the Bar ama Baro campaign that made us one of the most literate people in the world. This campaign should include a strong message showcasing our real economic potential. We are the gateway to three continents with many deep water ports, we have many proven (and speculated) natural resources, we have a sizable population that with well planned economic reforms could be uplifted to the level of Chile and the Eastern European countries in just one generation.

To achieve this we must slay the multi-headed Dragon that is the clan system always thirsty for blood. We must unlock the golden box that imprisons the vast potential of human wealth in the form of our womenfolk. We must capture the wild beast that is extremism, for no family can share their house with a savage Lion and expect peace & quiet at the dinner table. Through these measures we can establish a fortress so high and thick, no amount of sieges by the armies of Poverty will cause it to collapse.

The clan-system is useless today in a world sustained by countries driven by ethnic groups with strong unified identities, some ancient but the vast majority shaped recently. I see no reason why we can't drop this hideous institution that in most cases is a recipe for instability. It disintergrates a country into a thousand different groups. It explains why one group part of an ethnic denomination could feel joy in the despair, humiliation and pain of another group of that same ethnic denomination. The clan-system basically has the power to make one Somali person see another Somali as an alien entity, and at times more alien than a non-Somali. Its therefore imperative that we abolish this institution if we want a dignified future.

If there is one positive thing that we can take from the war, it's without a doubt the undisputed evidence that our underrated womenfolk are a immense pool of human wealth, who have proven their weight in gold over and over again. No man, in a future peacetime era, can question their competence, their patriotism, their resilience and loyalty. Us Somali men have to re-invent ourselves mentally and practice equality for real, not just give it lip-service.

Pearl of the Indian Ocean

Mogadishu

At the moment to many people focus on the conflict, not on ways to achieve long term prosperity, and with this I mean centuries of prosperity. There is no point in achieving peace in 2015, and lose it again in 2030, we must aim for better. For this people in power have to see war as less attractive to peace. Understand that today, Somalis of all creeds have the chance to sit down and discuss ways to make the Somali nation flourish. Indeed there are roughly 30 powerful men currently holding 10-12 million people hostage.

Its their myopia and lack of vision about "Somali Prosperity" that is behind the current predicament. They have in their possession some of the most valuable ports in Africa, some of the most arable lands in Africa with two amazing rivers, some of the most serene beaches in the world. They have in their territories and waters potentially some of the largest deposits of oil, tin, uranium, fishery, and meerschaum, just to name a few. There is plenty to go around, if only they could see this and become partners in the name of prosperity, their current thievery is pocket change to what they could be making, while still benefiting the Somali people in general.

In the past we maintained a flourishing Civilizational Matrix of port cities and inland cities that traded with the wider world. The Somali Brand was popular from Venice to Calcutta, and from Beijing to Cairo, Somali merchants were hustling and bustling with a myriad of popular trade items, but the reach of their descendants today in terms of foreign markets or diversity in trade items is utterly disgraceful.

To overcome this Somalis have to re-invent themselves and take up lucrative occupations like for example, fishing by maintaining large fleets. They have to start manufacturing items such as mobile phones, computers and textiles, whether through joint-ventures or in the form of regenerating abandoned Somali factories. There are impressive transnational Somali companies active in various countries but they consist mainly of telecom, money-transfer and construction companies, they must re-invent themselves and branch out into other industries.

Also there are many wealthy Somali entrepreneurs out there who invest that same wealth in non-Somali territories, that is simply unacceptable. Why not build in the peaceful Bajuni Islands? Why not invest in the many serene beaches of Somalia? Why not establish residential houses in the many growing Somali cities of today? It's bad enough that we are losing billions in Foreign Direct Investment, we cannot afford to lose this aswell.


Bajuni Islands, Somalia(example)

Though this a residential project in a non-Somali country by non-Somalis, many Somali entrepreneurs are constructing far grander infrastructural projects today in foreign countries. Places like the Maldives, Seychelles and Mauritius are smaller or the same size as any of the Somali Islands, so there is no excuse why they couldn't build it in the lands of their ancestors!

Somalis have the potential to provide a good life for their children and grandparents, they only have to re-invent themselves and shape a new destiny, one where they are winners! We can't continue the same path and do nothing:

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. " - Edmund Burke (1729-1797).

One of the most inspiring piece I have ever read. Have you thought about expanding on this and publishing it?

[walaalkis]

interesting read indeed!!!

[Chimera]

Chimera's Somalia: (videos I made ages ago)

[DoctorKenney]

What an interesting thread.

I'm gonna have to show this to some of my friends in the near future.

Somalia has a bright future. As long as our people have the right mindset, we can achieve anything.

Adam, do you feel more optimistic about Somalia's future since you originally wrote this post 2 years ago? A lot has changed in the last 2 years.

[Tallaabo]

Brother Chimera I love your ideals but to be honest with you I along with Xaaji Xunjuf and about 4 million other folks don't want to go back to the past (the former Somali republic). We believe that entity should be left alone to rest in peace