By Abdirahman Mohamed Dirye
Somalilandsun – Hearing Harbi’s illegal takeover of the library in Adan Siro’s Friday’s sermon shocked many audiences, I used to read books soon after its inauguration in the city where public educational facilities are quite rare, I spent a lot of time reading in it than going schools caring about money regardless of education integrity and quality or even whether the subject has a demand in the labor market. It’s a library within reach of all readers regardless of location they live.
The Gandi family paid much effort to bring books far places as Canada to educate, de-radicalize, and enlighten youth live in environment awash with Jihadists books from all over the world.
Many students come to it to read in enjoyable setting rather than wasting time in cafes.
“MPs (and occasionally some Sultans) are like lorries waiting for hire or charter to go to where to told to go by the charterer” Silanyo’s amateur press secretary wonderfully stated truly reflecting the level Sultan reached as well as the MPs fed and run by the ruling party. It also reminds me of a story of a great man Malcolm X who said to a French visitor “do you know a man can be castrated more than one way? ” mo ogtahay ninka siyaabo badan xiniin yaha looga saari karo” or another great man said to say “a Sugar tempted the man whom a bullet couldn’t beat him”. Ali Warana’ade too once said to MPs ” Hangoolkii dhameelka laydiinku ruxi jiray ayaa naaga jabay” mean what? Meant the government unable to lubricate your palms; I can’t translate, you do it.
I wish the buyer should refrain from turning the public library which is the benefit of all into warehouse serving for few individuals for the sake of the greater good.
Harbi company that took brothel for free in disguise of turning a mosque but later the warehouses operated, they also bought open market of Sareebada Octoobar, Indian ex-store buildings at the time of war violating international law on real estate. The act makes the company look war profiteering and exploiter of the society vulnerabilities. Because the library is the common good neither for the shouting tribe nor other tribes conspiring with the government looting officials.
So called governments sold all public offices, health centers, only mosques left to sold, and on the other hand, all democratic rights of the people including peaceful demonstrations are striped off by Silanyo-led government. We should exercise the social media which is beyond the control of RRU and Waran’ade’s tyranny.
Therefore I encourage youth which are 70 percent of the masses, readers and students to boycott all Harbi’s goods if sale of the library proceeded.
The voices of grand influential figures supporting the sale are stooges whose hands are lubricated. The library isn’t about x tribe nor dirty stooges; but is about us as community, you can’t fool us by saying y tribe bought all government building to divide us though maybe true, we want our library to stay. But claims that one tribe alone is against the library being turned into Camel meat Restaurant or biscuit outlet proves Hargeisa’s Republican Institute’s controversial published research analysis a year ago or so that at the least 60 percent of Hargiesa residents who belong to the same tribe are highly educated.
For the sake of the common good to spare of our remaining public place, let’s unify our front to force big companies to retreat from their disastrous decision, if you’ve facebook account please post my article and encourage your rational friends to do the same. Let’s lobby against greedy, immoral firms to abide by the laws of our community. See your potential to change for better, together we can change brutal regimes, together we can make giant companies insolvent, together we can build the country. Beware divided we fall. Let’s put our tribal differences aside for second to save our greatest common asset, the Gandi public library.
The writer Abdirahman Mohamed Diriye is a Somaliland Social Activist and Political Commentator, mrdirye@gmail.com
