A Project By Anas Mohamed

Mission

Create social awareness and education campaigns about the disadvantages and backwardness of the patrimonial system of Clannism (Qabyaalad).

Problem / Need

The issue this project concerns is clannism, which is a social justice issue in Somalia and amongst Somali people. According to Wikipedia, clannism is a “system of society based on clan affiliation.” It is a social justice issue because it divides people that would have otherwise gotten along, and encourages prejudice against one another.

For generations, the concept of identifying with a clan has played a major role in the Somali culture.

Clannism undermines democracy. Starting in the early 1980s, a number of armed conflicts occurred in an effort to ouster the military regime at the time. The problem, however, was that these movements were led by clan-based liberation fronts, not exactly “united”. In 1991, the military regime collapsed, creating a power vacuum. In the following years, Somalia entered “an era of lawless anarchy, chaos and clan conflicts” (Ahmed, 2020).  According to the World Bank, an estimated 250,000 civilians died during these times. Today, the adoption of a federal government based on clan identity “has caused political hazards in Somalia and has created an endless political rivalry within the federal government and federal member states, most of which represent clans” (Ahmed, 2020).

It is important to acknowledge that clannism holds ancestral, historical, and heritage values. I’m not saying we should erase that. I’m saying we shouldn’t let it get the worst of us. Ahmed M. put it best: “The young and educated generation who have been  and witnessed the role modernization played in cultural reformation must lead massive social awareness and education campaigns about the disadvantages and backwardness of this patrimonial system.” In other words, the good old days and ways have become obsolete, it’s about time for cultural transformation. And I’m trying to kick start that with this project.

We rise from the soil,

Yet we’ve built fictitious borders towering,

Casting a dark shadow over our humanity.

The same blood pumps through our hearts,