Somaliland is standing tall on this silver jubilee, a quarter of century post since nullifying its union with its southern neighbor and reclaiming its independence and still undeterred by the lack international recognition.
As Somaliland celebrates this milestone, its neighbors in the north and south are also both celebrating their own milestones of sorts and the contrast could not be any greater. In Djibouti, Musevani-junior dictator Omar Guelleh was sworn in for his fourth term as President, And in Somalia another unflattering milestone reached when for the first time ever ISIS proved that it was not only present but operational .
Back to Somaliland.
Every 18th of May, the festivities are animated in Somaliland, just as the euphoria was back on the 26th of June in 1960, when Somaliland became an independent sovereign state and recipient of congratulatory messages from 35 countries bestowing their wishes to the young nation.
In the first year of this millennia, back in 2001 a resounding 97% of Somalilanders reaffirmed their independence in a referendum vote that cumulated from the learnt lessons of the previous generation that so easily in 1960 forwent their statehood for the greater idea of unity and the brotherhood of united people, nothing is ever given that easy, even our elders in 1887 formulated the framework signed with Britain for the formation of the Protectorate of the British Somaliland.
Somaliland remains steadfast and resolute in its quest for Self-determination, as the ideals and the idioms it profess now are shaped by its historical context of crawling out of the rubble without any assistance.
Come the next 25 years with or without international recognition, Somaliland will still be standing and our values and virtues will continue to radiate. As an unrecognized nation with enormous internal constraints and burdens of economic-woes, monetary inflation, nascent institutions, climate change, severe draughts, the loss of youth to the allure of economic-migration, and the strenuous unemployment rate, We welcomed the Yemeni refugees fleeing the war with open arms, we extended our hands to the famine stricken Somalia couple years prior to that. Somaliland will always stand for humanity and mankind even if the world refuses to stand with Somaliland.
Somaliland is not Prosperous nor Perfect but it is Peaceful!
As long as we have peace, the resilient and ingenious people of Somaliland will find the solutions to the problems confronting it, just as they were able find the mechanism for the conflict management by looking inwards and relying on its indigenous traditions that were already available.
Somaliland’s sovereignty is not up for discussion, come famine or feast, and the sooner the international community realizes that, the sooner Somaliland can start contributing solutions to the myriad problems facing the world.
Samo Ku Waar
Geleh Ali Marshal
