Somali Region of Ethiopia: A population living under a cloud of fear
Ed/Op-
From the president of the region Abdullahi Hassan Lugbur, to his cabinet members, to region politicians, to academicians, all the way down to the average person in the region, no one and I mean no one is spared from pervasive fear that has gripped everyone living in the Somali regional state. Whether this fear is perceived or real, people living in this region are scared out of their wits and seem to be acting out of fear paranoia. The fear and the negativity hanging over everyone from leaders to regular citizens these days is so high that it makes it hard for anyone to a risk of any kind or speak the truth or even answer your questions. As a reporter, I have the first hand experience of being able to talk to leaders, security officers, regular regional bureaucrats and regular people. The level of fear and the fear-producing culture of the region are making me to question whether this level of fear is real or perceived.
The existing culture of fear and paranoia is not confined only to those living in the Somali regional State but also exists in the Diaspora community where natives from the region will not carry a normal conversation or express their personal political opinion with you openly and freely. I have had the experience of people looking at you suspiciously even the people you have known for a long time and won’t be forthcoming with their honest views and opinion all the while feeling restless and uncomfortable. Leaders from the region including the President Abdullahi Hassan lugbur and his cabinet members, the people you will expect to be the least fearful, do have the same level of fear and paranoia to the point where they are not willing to answer even non-political questions and will ask you, I guess, without knowing, several fearful questions about your encounter with them, even, social encounters. This culture of fear does exist equally in the ONLF leadership and their supporters, and their patterns of fear and paranoia are expressed in similar fashions. And this brings me to my questions.
So how does this general climate of fear affect political discussions? What about the effects of our collective thoughts on our collective health as a society? Does this culture of fear stem from Ethiopia’s crack down on the ONLF organization and opposition parties? Why does it affect equally even those living in open and free societies such as the U.S and Europe? What can we do to stop this oppressive fear that seeks refuge in a false conformity? Does this cloud of negativity and fear hanging over our society these days make it especially hard for anyone to speak the truth?
As Einstein so wisely said, we can’t solve a problem from the same level of consciousness that created the problem in the first place. If we are acting out of this deep paranoia, and deep fear, what makes us believe that the region’s leaders from the president to the lowest level, will be exercising their own judgment while discharging their duties? Does the constant firing of regional officials and cabinet ministers in any way connected to this culture of fear and back stabbing? How are people expected to think freely out of clouded and fearful minds to solve problems or find a common ground in a polarized political views and ideologies? How can we break through the clouds of fear and suppression, so we can think more clearly and discover the deeper causes of the anger and hopelessness that we find our selves today whether we are living in the region or in the Diaspora?
My conclusion after talking to many leaders from the region and the region’s natives is that the culture of fear that is pervasive has its roots to the control of the state power by the federal government and Ethiopian security forces that deny the region’s leaders and citizens the space to think and act freely without any consequences. Most of these fears are actually real according to most. Federal government directives through the federal security forces in the region are directly responsible and are involved in both fomenting and escalating the current culture of fear in the region. There are evidences that show how surrogates working with security forces have used and continue to use the now common and dreaded “anti-semisitism” word, against few of the independent minded leaders of the region, to strip them of their positions or to put them in jail. There are also many instances where regular or ordinary citizens are terrorized by the use of the word.
The current climate of fear in the region isn’t only suffocating regular people and regional leaders but it’s now affecting Aid workers who complain of being monitored and all their movements followed and sometimes restricted. This is now affecting Aid distribution. Its not coincidence that the U.N is now warning a looming famine and shortage of Food and water to three quarters of the region’s population. And this has nothing to do with shortage of Aid but its delivery to the population that urgently needs it. It’s getting ridiculous. The current level of fear fostering by federal security forces in the region is reaching to a point that can’t be tolerated by people of good conscience and by people of free loving. The Ethiopian federal government has gone with its security concerns beyond its limitation. These security concerns are now suffocating and starving the region’s population both from their daily basic needs such as food and water and from their liberty and freedom. It has reached a point that can’t be tolerated anymore.
The constant scape-goating, and the ease with which the federal government blames the plight of the region’s population on the ONLF and its opponents is only meant to distract us from its war on the region’s civilians and from its inequality and injustice policies toward the region. The continuous control of the region’s power by the National Party regime allows it the space to deny and cover up the role of the regime, its surrogates, the state security forces and the police in fostering and fomenting a culture of fear and violence. There are now compelling evidence implicating senior federal officials and elements from the region’s administration and security organs in the orchestration of this culture of fearfulness. Its time the federal government takes responsibility for its policies and rolls back its harsh heavy handed policies toward the region’s civilians. Failure to do so will be disastrous for the Ethiopian government both for the short and long term.
The federal government will be much better off if it allows enough space for people to dissent and voice their displeasure with the federal government and allow a system of political governance whose decision-making power is subject to the controlling influence of citizens who should be considered political equals rather than political subjects. A democratic political system is inclusive, participatory, representative, accountable, transparent and responsive to citizen’s aspirations and expectations. Fundamentally, it means a government of, by and for the people. Free elections alone are not sufficient for a country to become a true democracy; the culture of the country's political institutions and civil service must also change. All forms of government depend on their political legitimacy, that is, their acceptance by the population. Without that, they are little more than a party in a civil war, since their decision and policies will be resisted, usually by force and the Somali region’s is at cross roads at the moment. The Somali region is headed for difficult periods unless the government reverts its harsh policies and allows some of the region’s citizens some political space to both vent and dissent
Farhan Mohamud
Kilil5, Minneapolis.
VOA 13pm GMT
IslamOnline
