A nation without a nation

A poem from Abdi-Noor Mohamed brought Somalia’s plight at the front of my mind again. How would you feel if you lost your property, your wealth and your family? How would you feel if you lost your land, your friends and your job? After this, imagine how you would feel if you lost your country. This feeling is in the heart of millions and millions and millions of Somalis, whether living in Somalia, refugees in neighbouring countries or living abroad.

Somalis ran away for their lives from a scene of death, destruction, devastation and uncertainty. The discussion today is not about building a shelter, schools, a clinic or roads. It is about feeling the agony, sharing the dreams and helping to secure the future. It is about bringing safety and security to a generic “me”, a stateless, homeless and hopeless Somali individual. Please don’t hate me and then smile at me. Don’t kill my father and then offer me food. Don’t burn my home and then shelter me. Don’t destroy my country and employ me.

I want you to really look at me and treat me with respect and dignity. We can help create a state together. Let us go together down this road.

I leave you with the poem that moved me:

Somalia is a nation without a nation
It is a nation without a national unity
There is no place you can call a nation
As the nation lives in a nation of terror

Mogadishu is a city without a city
It is a city merged within the city
There is no place you can call a city
As the city lives in a city of death
Kismayo  is a town without a town
It is a town within a town of no town
There is no place you can call a town
As the town lives in a town of fear
Somalia is a nation without a state

It is a nation lost in the middle of loss
As it is a nation of war at war with itself
It is a nation in endless despair
Fading in a horizon of terror
Thawing away like a wax
As it weeps Without tears
It is a nation in shock
Disappearing like a needle
Slipped in a deep chaotic well
As it leaves behind
Nothing but rings of good-byes
Abdi-Noor Mohamed