I rather be writing about my favorite episode on TV, but the current situation in my homeland refuses me to take that indulgence. One time I overheard two Somali men blaming the country's present situation on ignorance, but come to think of it every civil war in history can be traced back to ignorance by one group or another. So ignorance is too broad of a word to describe the problem facing our land.

When we as a people come into terms with what the problem really is then there is no doubt we are half way to a solution. Of course this is easier said than done, but of all talks and articles I read about Somalia none addressed the issue of what is fundamentally wrong with our country. Is it our culture, religion, nature? Personally I believe it is a combination of all the above. Which if true could mean we have a long way to a solution.

We categorize ourselves as clans and sub-clans, and take sides whenever a conflict arises. Since a child's clan is that of his father, and women are allowed to marry men of other tribes or clans there is no genetic basis for difference (LLL groups I usually mock make more sense come to think of it).

Majority of us claim to be Muslims, but most of us no doubt agree that there is a spectrum on how we interpret Islam. If we were all interpreted Islam the same way then there will be no civil war, secondly music and theatre shows would be non-existent. But since there's a civil war, music and theatre are favorite among many Somalis.

Another day I had a conversation with a young Somali, about my age (24), and I asked him, if you had to run the country how would you do it? After a moment of pause, he said; I would run the way this country is run (Canada), but I will not accept certain things. Then I told him; you are not going to run our country like Canada then. Catching himself in a contradiction he replied; I will just make some little modifications. What I learned from this conversation and many like it, is that young people who have come abroad and seen different cultures and people are willing to do changes, although that change is limited by their inherent attitudes.

So can we all take a deep breath, and seriously ask ourselves, what will it take to bring about changes? And if there exists a way to do that, are we willing to take that course. Is the current path we are on fruitful?

Is it impossible to bring all clansmen in one table, tell them this is the problem we have, and the options you have chosen so far has led to these current situations. May be it is time for another route.

Abdulkadir Adan
aguuled@hotmail.com

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