“Remembrance &Recognition of Ahmed Jimaleh is much overdue” “Justice Delayed is a Justice Denied” and as said by President John F. Kennedy “A Nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers…”
By Ahmed J Yassin
Somalilandsun- Somaliland nationals in general and Hargeisa public in particular may not be aware of this shameful oversight and as a concerned citizen like to point out in a loud and clear voice that Ahmed Mohamed Gulaid, better known as Ahmed Jimaleh, has not been given yet his stature, recognition, remembrance, and honor in his home town – Hargeisa, and in Somaliland in general.
Ahmed Jimaleh was the first chairman of the Somali National Movement and the last freely and fairly elected Mayor of Hargeisa City before the military led coup that put the power in hands of Siyad Barre in 1969.
He and his family made a great sacrifice in the Somaliland’s civil fight with that regime, and yet ironically there is no single sign or landmark commemorating him in the Capital of Somaliland Republic – Hargeisa and its suburbs while other veterans and martyrs of Somaliland Civil Struggle have been recognized and honored for their devotion and sacrifice either by dedicating a national symbol to them or naming a landmark after them.
To name a few: Egal International Airport in Hargeisa, Muj. Ahmed Weyne Road, Muj. Gabah Street, Muj. Mohamed Ali Road, Muj. Adan Shine Street, Muj. Adan Suleiman Road, Muj. Ibrahim Meygag Road, Muj. Ahmed Dhagah Road, Muj. Hussein Dheere Road, Muj. Adan Dhamac Road, Muj. Mohamed Hashi Dhamac GariyeRoad, Muj. Hassan Yonis Road, Muj. Abdillahi Asker Street, Muj. Yahye Road, Muj. Mohamed Ali Road, and so and so forth. They are in Hargeisa proper and its vicinity.
Watch The first chairman of Somali National Movement Ahmed Jimcaale, addressing the movement’s leadership in Baligubadle in April 1990, just before the surprise attacks on Faqash military installation in Hargeisa and Burao .
The question that might come to your mind is how other Mujahids got the deserved remembrance and recognition from their communities. Perhaps, you might think members of their families, friends, and grateful individuals for their sacrifice took up arms or otherwise to demand recognition on their behalf? But rather the moral obligations and the need to preserve history for generations to come forced us to do so and this case in question should have not been different.
Since Rayale’s administration, Gamal Ahmed Jimaleh, and his sibling, Samater, have been actively pursuing to get an answers for the cloud of indifference shrouding over his legacy from different Somaliland as well as different local municipality administrations. It is a disturbing scar on the face of Somaliland that we can no longer ignore it.
Last month, Gamal appeared as a guest on one of the Somaliland National Television shows known as “The Path to Hope” anchored by Dr. Moha Dahir Farah Jireh where he appealed on the national television to Somaliland administration and to the local municipality to come clean about this or else bestow respect and honor on Mujahid Ahmed Jimaleh – one of the founding fathers of this nation.
Copyright: Somalilandsun, 2016. www.somalilandsun.com
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