Clan Names

[thefuturenow]

We should be able to use them because we're here to discuss a clan-based political system.

 

Admins. Please give us your well reasoned arguments as to why clan names are not to be used.

 

 

Thank you.

 

 

[Khayr]

I agree.

 

[Tillamook]

Bloody amateurs

 

Every Somali clan on sol has a unique alias which can enable you to speak of Somali politics and whatever clan you want without directly mentioning their respective forbidden names.

 

For instance, just yesterday the Pirate president of Puntland signed an agreement with the Kacaan prime minister of the Somali Federal government. Naturally Bililiqo Inc. in Xamar were not happy about this agreement and so decided to hold their own press briefing to condemn said agreement.

 

See how easy that was...

 

Now give it a shot without breaking the rules of the website! Tell us why do you suppose they went against the Garowe agreement between The Feds and Puntland?

[AbdiJohnson]

Absolutely not. The clan system has destroyed your country and made you refugees. SomaliaOnline is doing our people a valuable service unlike Somalinet, a place where famine victims are treated with derision and the mods do nothing about it.

 

I am,

 

Abdi "I applaud SomaliaOnline" Johnson

[thefuturenow]

Tillamook--That's precisely the problem.

 

On a practical level, the euphemisms (region-based or otherwise) function in the same manner as clan names. Therefore, why ban clan names and allow these euphemisms which are worse than the actual clan names?

 

Secondly, I fear the type of sentiment expressed by Abdi Johnson. It can be summarized as refusal to acknowledge clans because "clans are responsible for ALL SOMALI atrocities."

 

This is a dangerous thought. It is an impediment to peace because it fails to acknowledge what it claims to be the very problem.

 

Thus, how can one deal with a problem that one refuses to acknowledge? Not

 

SOL--censorship prevents reconciliation. Trust the posters on this site to have a mature discussion about what is undeniably-- a clan based political system.

[AbdiJohnson]

Somalis don't know the meaning of reconciliation. It needs to be banned. Anyone who speaks of it should be jailed. It's a waste of time and it promotes competition and violence. I can't believe we are talking about this in 2014. We have bigger things to worry. You want to talk about Somali politics? Talk about how we can implement universal health care or build our institutions. Be inclusive. You don't build a country revolving politics about reer hebel.

 

Clans are responsible for all our problems. They are counter productive. I want to see Garbaharey diaspora building a hospital or Borama diaspora building a school. No one wants to hear reer hebel doing this. All towns and villages in Somalia have more than 1 clan. Even in construction efforts it's useless. How many people have been hesitant in donating for a project in their own town because it's a reer hebel project. Its a disease. It's not helpful whatsoever. How many duplications of poor quality do we see because different clans do the same thing that is supposed to benefit their community?

 

The clan system excludes and belittles minorities as well.

 

Once proper institutions are built, this clan system will be finished.

 

Clan is the reason why there is another airport being planned in a town of 50,000.

 

I am,

 

Abdi "We are a nation of Somalis, not clans" Johnson

[Tillamook]

Rubbish.

 

Only laangaabs try to hide and seek shelter under the Somali umbrella!

 

If you wanna reconcile with me: come on out in the open without cloaking yourself with this nonsense known as somalinimo.

 

Come out in the open. Who are you? Why are we at odds with one another? What do you want? What do I want? Let's talk man to man, family to family, clan to clan! Only then will we reconcile.

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Qabiilada magacyadooda la sheeg sheego faa'ido laga helaaya ayaaba iska yar. Only qabyaaladists addicted to qabiil qurunkiisa ayaa ka maarmin qabiil iyo magacaabidiisa. Waa ceeb weyn nin weyn maanta dhan ka hadlaayo qabiilkaan iyo qabiilkaas. It also says more about himself, about how low and less self-confidence he has, instead ku gambanaayo qabiilkiisa and fairy tales. Only dadka nolosha ka dhacay, la dhacday ayaa qabyaalad iyo qurunkeeda xiiseeyo.

 

Having said that, as a moderator, let me take you back to 2001, when this forum was new. Naming clans and discussing them were allowed in those early months. It then attracted kuwii nolosha ka dhacay, initiating cyber clan wars, insulting qabiils explicitly. That was when the decision was made. And it worked fine for those 13 years, even though qabyaaladists are still on here iyagoo gacmaha cun cunaayo to name clans and insult.

[Tillamook]

^

Anigu kuwa gacmaha cun cunayo ayaan ka mid ahay?

 

 

Lol @ MMA

 

Nice one.... Thanks for editing my post.

 

Talk about low self- confidence.... Ha ha ha

[Tallaabo]

<cite>

@Tillamook

said:</cite>

 

Come out in the open. Who are you? Why are we at odds with one another? What do you want? What do I want? Let's talk man to man, family to family, clan to clan! Only then will we reconcile.

Only to come up with the failed 4.5 formula :-D

[Tillamook]

Au contraire, Mr. Tallaabo,

 

The 4.5 formula did achieve its intended purpose because it established a nascent and faltering Transitional Federal Government into an internationally recognized and Legitimate Federal Government of Somalia in Mogadishu.

 

So I totally disagree with you that it has failed. It brought Somalia out from a place and time that we all would rather not return to, or maybe in your case, the secessionists would prefer the warlords of Xamar and the conflicts of the south to return?

 

So there you have it: 4.5 has served us well. It stabilized the politics of the country. It helped us agree to run our country under a federal system of governance, where eventually every region will directly send its own representatives to the federal parliament thus rendering the 4.5 formula obsolete.

 

This will take time, of course, and will take a lot of headaches and disagreements before it is realized. But ultimately Somalis will share their country and resources under a federal system which at the moment is the most fair and pragmatic way to govern Somalia after all we've been through.

[thefuturenow]

MM & AJ--You are tainting the word "clan" with your own prejudices. Somalis did not kill each because of tribe; they killed each other because various leaders wanted power.

 

These leaders used clan to get support because that's a power base. That's no different than Obama firing up a democratic base or Uhuru visiting his Kikuyus.

 

Today, Al-Shabab is using a different unifying factor--that of religion. This was politically prudent move when they're fighting foreign gaalo armies.

 

Tomorrow are you going to ban the word "Islam" from these pages because Somali blood has been shed over it?

 

I assume not. We shall reclaim and restore our Religion just as we should reclaim and restore our family names. And there is no way to do that if we think "clans" are a bad thing that should never be mentioned.

 

 

 

 

 

[AbdiJohnson]

I come from one of the larger sub clans so there goes your nonsense. I don't seek "shelter". Its quite pathetic when your country's most exciting political news has to do with what clan the new minister or PM or President is. Clan has made platforms and policies unimportant in Somalia. No one can tell us HSM, Silanyo or Abdiweli's policies. We don't even know if they are liberals or conservatives. But we know their abtirsi. Clan is the reason why accountability and transparency is non-existent in Somalia. You people have to let certain things go if you want to see Somalia advance and catch up with the rest of Africa and the world

 

You cannot surround politics with "family names". That is not inclusive. That is not how you build your institutions and your country.

 

I am,

 

Abdi "We have tried your way and it failed" Johnson

[DoctorKenney]

Abdi Johnson, I'm presuming you grew up in the West, so of course you don't have a lot of these "clan tendencies" that Somalis back home have.

 

Maybe we should use clans as a tool for genuine reconciliation. If our country fell apart due to clans, then we can also use clans to bring each other closer again. Building real institutions will take time and in the absence of these institutions Somalis use clans as a substitute.

[Tallaabo]

The clan system can actually be an asset for us if our people just understand how to democratise it and use it in a fair way.

For instance, greater legitimacy, accountability and transparency can be brought in to the role of our clan leadership if we decide to elect our clan leaders using the ballot box. Also for the sake of equality, both men and women, and teenagers should elect their clan leaders and not just old grey-haired men. The incompetent or corrupt clan leaders can also be removed by casting a vote of no confidence.