Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 23:56:41 +0200
Reconciliation…One More Time!
Horn of Africa
by <http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/author/abukararman/> Abukar Arman | on
July 11, 2013 |
<http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2013/07/01/reconciliationone-more-time/#comme
nts> 0 comments
<http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2013/07/01/reconciliationone-more-time/xeer/>
Beschreibung: Xeer
Ironic as it may seem, it is a statement of controversy to assert that a
genuine national reconciliation is needed in Somalia. To some, that has
already happened; to others, there is no need for it since the country has
emerged out of the transitional period and the current government is the
officially recognized representative of the state; yet, to others, now is
the time for genuine national reconciliation.
Because the first two groups’ argument support status quo, I would spend the
rest of this article highlighting the third group’s argument, which is also
this author’s.
Before attempting to sketch what an organic and holistic national
reconciliation actually looks like, allow me to acknowledge the following
for context: In the past two decades, sixteen different projects painted as
“national reconciliation” were held in various foreign cities. Each one of
them, save
<http://www.irinnews.org/in-depth/72039/54/somali-national-peace-conference>
Arta, was engineered by one foreign nation or interest group or another.
Yet, invariably, each one of these costly conferences ended up with the same
failed formula of haphazard power-sharing aimed to accommodate various armed
actors or clans that did not last long. Future reconciliation, needless to
say, must be driven by counter-historical vision and a strategy.
Reconciliation is a complex concept of settling conflicts and eradicating
perpetual grievances and its consequences. There is no one-size-fits-all
model. It is a highly coordinated public process of dialogue, compromise,
and peace-making. In our case, it may include evacuation of private and
public properties, apology, repentance, restitution, etc.
Who Needs It and Why?
Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed; an estimated one
million are still refugees in Kenya, Ethiopia and Yemen; another 1.2 million
are IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons,) yet, not a single perpetrator has
been tried and convicted nor has a single “reformed warlord,” self-appointed
or elected leader has offered a public apology or a symbolic mea culpa.
In the absence of reconciliation, the direly needed patching-up of the
broken Somali state and rebuilding the national army to provide essential
security proves an impossible task. Though they did not have a say on it,
some groups have openly opposed the recent partial lifting of the
<http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/06/us-somalia-arms-un-idUSBRE92514A2
0130306> U.N. Arms Embargo on Somalia, lest that government appeal was a
conspiracy intended to wipe them out. Perception is reality, especially in
clan politics!
The glittering façade of certain X-Lands aside, each is a duplication of the
very same failed political system or a particular clan’s overt or covert
domination of others- the very same system that caused universal grievance
against the military government.
Strategic Obstacles to Genuine Reconciliation
First, there is a lack of political will by elites who occupy seats of
powers and find status quo very convenient, and others who consider the
complexity or the multifaceted nature of the overall Somali problem as too
difficult of an undertaking. Second, there are those who, either as
individuals or as part of a militia, have partaken in criminal activities.
Third, profiteers who, directly or indirectly, benefit from the
dismemberment of the state and lack of wholly functioning system that
negates impunity. Fourth, political myopia of clan politics [I shall expand
this as most of the grievances are routinely expressed through the clan
prism] Fifth, Machiavellian foreign interventionists and their ghost-lords
who exploit these conditions for their own zero-sum gains.
Impunity of Clanism and AJV Politics
Clan-based wars have been part of the Somali culture since time immemorial.
These wars were often triggered by disputes on grazing territories, access
to water, and by random criminal acts of clansmen, though throughout the
civil war, it was the latter cause that triggered most of inter-clan
conflicts and clashes.
By and large, within the clan structure, individual criminals have absolute
immunity. The Somali clan culture emboldens the criminal as it, by default,
shelters the criminal from facing justice and paying for his or her own
crime. The consequences of the criminal’s wrongdoings are routinely absorbed
by the entire clan. The entire clan donates for blood money to pay off
crimes committed by one of its own. Hence, there is no a direct connection
between the criminal and his actions. The larger the clan, the more
protection one has from justice.
Moreover, when it comes to politics, there is no middle-ground in clanism;
it is a game of winner takes all. The preferred method of dealing is what I
call the AJV, or Aim for Jugular Vein. In recent months proponents and
opponents of “Jubbaland” have been holding various rallies to energize their
respective clannish bases. These events are often spearheaded by various
diaspora-based intellectual militias who specialize in tossing Molotov
rhetoric to enflame clan-based wars.
Paving the Way
The government cannot claim monopoly on the entire reconciliation process.
Those spearheading the process must be independent of the government.
Ideally, the engine of the process should be a collection of visionary
patriots from every critical sector of the Somali society: political,
religious, and social- especially, poets, playwrights, and composers.
The healing process can start as soon as our individual and collective
traumatic experiences are affirmed and the process for psychological closure
is put on tracks. This, needless to say, would not be achieved overnight as
it is a process that, among other things, requires great deal of
sensitivities and relies on clans curtailing their typically self-affirming
narratives of meek righteousness and exclusive victimhood.
The government’s role then would be to initiate massive, well-coordinated
educational campaign to synthesize our collective narrative as a nation and
weave our commonalities back together by neutralizing the prevalent
narratives of distrust, hate, and division. Of course, this would be like
chasing a mirage so long as the citizen rights are weighed by the current
immoral 4.5 clan system. Therefore, the Parliament must demonstrate its
commitment to overhaul the current (highly controversial) constitution…and
reassure the average citizens that he or she will be granted full
citizenship rights and be protected by the law.
As a legal mechanism, the law is primarily designed to protect rights of
individual citizens claiming injustice against specific individual(s) and
also to protect the public interest or common good. That is to say it is not
designed to litigate inter-clan grievances and counter-grievances. The
Somali <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeer> customary law or Xeer addresses
such problems, though it has not entirely been safe from the caustic effects
of post-civil war anarchy.
Just Say Them and See
Affirmation of victim’s grievance and offering healing words of empathy and
sympathy are very rare in the nomadic culture; open display of such emotions
are perceived as weakness.
Universally, words are arguably the most underestimated power in the world.
They are mightier than any military might. They can heal any wound and
bridge any divide. Yes, the same words that are made of letters that are
assigned certain sounds in each language. In and of itself, each letter has
no meaning. It is the deliberate arrangement of a given number of letters
that make up powerful words; words such as justice, peace, and
reconciliation. That is why, throughout history, it is words that formed
reformed and transformed societies and their systems of governance.
The Somali psyche is broken, but not beyond repair. In order to repair our
collective psyche, we must look deep into the Islamic and the Somali
cultural values to find the right framework. In both of these complimenting
value systems, reconciliation of the tongues — or empathic engagement —
precedes that of the hearts and minds.
Imagine the power of these words “I am very sorry for what I (we) have done”
and “I (we) have forgiven you for it,” if they were sincerely expressed by
the right individual(s), at the right place and the right time. Imagine the
tradeoff when we resist our ruthlessly self-absorbed attitudes and express
simple words of healing!
Conclusion
We need reconciliation in order to treat our collective trauma as a nation
and set on the healing process. We need such closure in order to fix our
broken relationships, rebuild our damaged identity and rekindling our sense
of nationhood. We need the sense of hope that the worst is behind us, and
that the future is very promising for all of us.
Now that most are incrementally becoming aware of (and are weary) how we
drifted into a dangerous political wilderness that is full of all sorts of
predators that stealthily monitor and at times influence our moves, should
we not collaborate for our collective survival? Should we not negotiate how
best to make space for one another; especially those in the peripheries who
often get the short-end of justice and enfranchising them as citizens with
full constitutional rights? Should we not learn to separate the individual
criminal acts from clan-coordinated ones?
Lastly, being mindful that there is no conventional reconciliation model
that perfectly matches every aspect of our needs, I hope this piece would
provoke good-faith dialogue and debate on what may be the best (holistic)
reconciliation model for our deeply traumatized society.
Nothing should be rushed for political expediency.
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