The Somali Youth must stand up!!!
A Proclamation to the Somali Youth: By Mohamed Suldaan Gurbis
Oct 10,2007
by Seattle-GEDO-NN
““I know of no more encouraging fact than the ability of a man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.”
-Henry David Thoreau
First and foremost, with this point in time being the ending of this blessed Ramadan month and the beginning of Eid festivities, I wish to extend my humble felicitations to all Muslims and my Somali countrymen wherever they maybe with a particular regard to those who are the youth, and as a result, my fellow peers and audience block to whom this proclamation concerns. With that said, I wish to take the rest of this opportunity to address my fellow Somali Youth peers and colleagues about the state of our nation and the future of our people.
O’’ youth, history is replete with knowledge and guidance if we are willing to be dedicated students. There comes a point in time when such stagnation occurs and deplorable is the affairs of a people that any patriot who loves his nation and wishes to see his people in peace and prosperity, free from want and insecurity, must arise and attempt to embark on a conscious endeavor. O youth, there comes a point in time when the steady accumulation of despair must be lifted and the forces against us conspiring to cripple the natural growth of our nation must be defrocked. There comes a point in time when we must make our hearts beat and our veins run even while the lights are diminished and hope has all but vanquished. O youth, there comes a point in time when the Youth must rise and sway the affairs of their people thereby steering their nation towards the promised path of unconditional freedom and prosperity. If ever there was a time, it is now my fellow peers; it is now the time to find in ourselves the courage to give voice to the voiceless and the desire to rise and resist the forces who have kept our nation in strife and anarchy for over 17 years, throughout most of our lifetimes.
Ever since the overthrow of the Somali Government in 1991, our nation has been the scorn and laughingstock of the free and developed societies of this earth. Even when measured against the developing world, the once glorious Somali nation pales in comparison and has become the litmus test of what not to be. Where is the famed dignity of ours? Where is the antiquities transcribed honor that was the Somali Honor? Where is the natural Somali intelligence and fierce pride in being a free Somali kith and kin to all Somalis that had the habit of intriguing travelers and explorers alike for over a millennia? Where is our shame of allowing our nation to be pillaged and raped by few opportunistic fiends who have clouded our saner judgments through cajoling whispers of clan solidarity?
It is time to rise Youth, it is time for us to rise and say enough is enough. It is time for us to say we forgive each other and forget all that has brought us to this point. It is time for us, the Youth, to take the initiative and say no more hatred, no more clannism in the political and social affairs of our people. We must lead Somalis in forgiving and forgetting. Forgiving each other for what we may have done to each other in the civil war and forgetting all that is a source of division and suspicion for our disillusioned peoples. It is a new day to rise and resist, more so now than ever with the occupation of our homeland by the tyrannical Ethiopian dictatorship that subjugates our people throughout the Horn in this present time of division and civil strife.
It is time for us to raise the battle cry “WE RISE FOR THE RESTORATION OF THE SOMALI STATE” and work towards the reemergence of our nation as a free and enterprising member of the international body of sovereign nations thereby taking back its place amongst the international community. Only then can we redraft the pride that was in being a Somali, that wiry intelligently respectable man that is from the Horn of Africa. Only than can we live free in peace and prosperity, employing the term “what are you capable of rather than to whom are you related to”.
We must do this first and foremost by educating our selves, by taking advantage of the opportunities presented to us as citizens of this world. There is a lesson to be derived from everything and life at every turn is a source of moral, spiritual, and academic motivation. We must be informed and keenly aware of the socio-political happenings of our homeland and should be preparing ourselves to combat those problems as effectively and as efficiently possible. Whether we become businesspeople, medical doctors, or go to technical fields and even liberal arts, there is a place for each and every one of us. It is our responsibility and manifest duty to reconfigure the fractured pieces of Somali society that affects all industries and sectors. We are spread across the corners of this world, speaking a multitude of foreign languages, and having familiarity with diverse foreign cultures which will lead our nation to be touched by all systems and peoples of this globe, deriving the best from everywhere. We must find ways to communicate so to build flourishing networks that are capable of transitioning to our homeland as smoothly as possible. Last but not least, we must keep hope alive and we must dream the impossible and make it the possible.
The future of our nation and the state of the affairs of our people is potentially in our hands and it is up to us whether we want to embark on this course and undertake this conscious endeavor. I am confident we can rise and I trust we shall rise to this occasion. Let us rise my fellow youth countrymen and steer our nation back to the promised path!
Yours sincerely,
Mohammed Suldan Gurbis
