By Dahir Abdi Jama

I am a fellow Somalilander currently living in London. After observing recent social trends and changes taking place in the Somaliland communities abroad, I have decided to write this article.

In this paper, I will be analyzing the effects of living abroad, or "Qurbe" on Somalilanders by dividing them into three groups: teenagers, young adults, "Dhalinyaro", and the intellectuals. All three groups include both sexes.

In the long history of immigration, there have always been gains and losses associated with it. Since the eruption of the Civil War in Somaliland in 1988, our people have been fleeing their native land and seeking refuge in "Qurbe" (Europe and North America in this context). With good reasons too, as there were little alternatives.

Having arrived, however, in countries that offered us opportunities and alternatives, it is unfortunate to say that our people have neither made use of the opportunities they were presented with, nor taken the viable alternatives. The state of the majority of Somalilanders is indeed very worrying, and doesn't look to be getting any better. It is a sad fact that family values are becoming a thing of the past, and culture is becoming something associated with nomadic behaviour, or to put it differently "badownimo". Furthermore, it will not be false to say that we are actually worse off today then we were 10 years ago.

Before going any further, lets clarify one thing at the outset. The emphasis of this paper is not on the Somalilanders who have succeeded in both contributing to their respective communities and achieving their own goals. It is rather on the unfortunate majority of Somalilanders who have failed in their respective tasks

The problem we face today started with the breakdown of the family as a unit. This had many complications, especially in regarding our children and "dhalinyaro". In the case of our children, they were mostly affected by absent fathers who did not come with their families to "Qurbe", either due to their financial circumstances or other reasons . As a result, the majority of the people who came to "Qurbe" were women and children. This had the profound effect of forcing mothers to take on the task of being a father and a mother at the same time.

As we all know, this is an almost impossible task for a single parent to fulfill, and in the case where that single parent is the mother and the children consist of many males, the task becomes harder. This, in turn, produced the generation of teenagers we have today. The reality is that most of our teMenagers rarely finish high-school, and in the cases they do, they lack any ambitions for aiming for greater goals. They see their culture as inferior, because of the western culture they have been exposed to and that the only role models they have been exposed are musicians and sportsmen who are themselves from broken homes. A 14 year old Somali boy and his 14 year old Somali girl-friend with two beer bottles in the hands, have become a common sight outside London's Somali soap opera, or "Riwaayado", and you can not stop but wonder whether these people have any parents at all.

In addition, anti-social habits and destructive behaviours have become part of the norm. Anyone who thinks that this is an exaggeration of the situation, only needs to make careful observations or ask around Somali communities - if at all they keep records - about the complaints and reports they get about Somali youths, either involved in crime or something else. As a result, an entire generation is lost and this has very damaging consequences for the future of Somaliland.

The misery of our people, however, does not finish there. It goes further and also effects another important - if not the most important - group of our community. This is the "Dhalinyaro" of Somaliland who are the future mothers and fathers of the future Somaliland generations. Their actions and misery, therefore, are even more important as they effect an entire generation that has yet not been produced. The "dhalinyaro", both male and female, are the worst hit group of our people.

Many men in this group have avoided their responsibilities as husbands and men, and took the easy way out. Thus, they looked for answers in chewing Khat. On the other side, "Hablo" or women have deserted their culture and identity and followed an alien culture. Others seeked comfort by foreigners. Now, one can argue that the two examples of our "Dhalinyaro", which I have cited in this group, are two extreme examples, but nothing could be further from the truth. If we are willing to face reality, we would be able to admit that the number of men pre-occupied with the Khat and the number of Somali women married to foreigners, or "Ajaanib", are extremely very high for any standards.

The marriage situation of the "dhalinyaro" also suffers, as we said earlier, from the highest divorce rate we've ever seen. Marriages that last a year or six months are common nowadays. Indeed, four-week long marriages are also common. I felt compelled to include a very short story that recently happened near the community I live in, which is also relevant to the subject. A young Somali man divorced his wife and arrived at the house he used to share with some of his bachelor friends. As he was coming in the door, he shouted: "Guys, guys aren't you gonna congratulate me". When asked why. He responded: "I've just divorced my wife."

One of the main factors contributing to the high divorce rates of our "dhalinyaro" is the chewing Khat. Men have always been chewing Khat. But not this way. Here, if you are a regular chewer you cannot work or do anything else, let alone help the family.

Another important factor is also the reversal of traditional roles. Women in Western countries nowadays have many so-called rights. The State provides them with everything they need, thus diminishing the traditional role of the husband/man. As a result, this situation leads to women becoming ever-more independent and taking decisions alone, which in turn the male partner finds difficult to accept.

The ironic factor contributing to the demise of our community, however, is education. Under normal circumstances, education empowers people to succeed in life, but, regrettably, in the case of the Somali community, it seems to have had the opposite effect. Common sense is the ultimate intellect, and mentality is the basis for the well-being of every individual's humanity. Having said that, we must also recognise the importance of education in helping build the mind. The yields of education can be enormous, yet it can also be devastating.

For many - though not all- Somali intellectuals, a university degree has only helped re-inforce their inferiority complex. Some of our brethren and sisters, after having gained a degree, look down on their culture and start behaving as though they were superior to the rest of the society. They start flirting with Western ways of life and ideologies, and behave accordingly in order to be accepted.

In the traditional view and in the Islam, the the social roles of the women and men are very clear. The man was always considered as the "head" of the family and woman as the "heart" of the family, and there were no conflict and competition. In modern society, however, our intellectuals - both male and female - seem to be adopting the flawed ideology of equality of opportunity. A woman with a degree complains of not having had equal treatment and promises herself to be equal in her relationship - insha'allah - when married. In turn, an educated man nods in agreement and passionately talks of the inequalities women have suffered in our society and how much he wants to undo them.

Well, I think this is very commendable. But lets please not misuse the term "equality of opportunity". In the sense that it means mutual respect for both sexes and each accepting their respective roles, there is nothing wrong with this definition of equality of opportunity. Furthermore, in the sense that it means 'our women's roles/achievements' have always been undervalued and we must change them, it is also fine. But in the sense that both partners dream of equality and pursue their respective professional careers, there is bound to be a clash.

"Why one may ask, such a relationship cannot survive". Furthermore, why, sisters may argue, 'have I spent all that time studying if I was not going to make use of it, and work". Well, finding the answers to both these questions demand the use of common sense. And common sense tells us that Allah (swt)has designed marriage/relationship so that there are two tasks, which are equally - if not caring for the family/children is not more important - important, thus neglecting one role produces negative effects.

In order to understand this argument, one only needs to look at the ever-increasing trends in Europe and North America, where conservatism is on the increase and mothers are staying at home and looking after their children, thus recognizing the importance of the family. After a long and brutal experiment, it took Western societies thirty odd years to realise that the 'back to basics' was the only alternative. And the results of that experiment is only evident in today's Western societies, namely - falling birth rates, no moral values, high crime rates and the disappearance of parental-children relationship - all due to lack of parental guidance, as both parents are busy pursuing their careers. This should be a lesson for us, and to embark on a journey that we already know its outcome is counter-productive.

This illustration has an important message. We must distinguish between being educated and Westernised. Unfortunately, some of our brethren and sisters cannot make this distinction. For them the two go hand-by-hand, and being educated means being Westernised. To sum this up, let's say "Knowledge feeds the brightest minds and destroys those less able ones". Mentality and basic common sense, therefore, are very essential in approaching such matters. Nevertheless, it must be said that education is and will always remain the best way forward.

Now looking back at the last two pages of this paper, it is evident that we are in a very critical times of our lives, it could also be classified as a 'state of emergency'. Our teenagers are a lost generation, and there is certainly a bigger crisis in our "dhalinyaro", because they are the bearers and nurturers of the future Somaliland generations. And, certainly, though a lesser crisis, there is also a problem amongst our intellectuals. One may conclude that those people are themselves to blame and in turn the losers and one may also conclude that it is society as a whole who is the loser. The latter point is certainly more closer to the truth then the first, and the only way we can do something about this is by starting with ourselves because as we all know that 'charity begins at home' and then may be trying to help and make a difference in our communities.

I would be grateful for any feedback or discussions on these issues.

Dahir A. Jama may be reached at
[Dahir@Dahir.Freeserve.Co.UK