The social and cultural effects of immigration on Djiboutian nationals abroad.

If you are made to look at an intricately interwoven pattern of different colors, as if through prism, and you are to focus on one or two particular colors among many, the remaining colors simply happen not to escape your sight and you simply happen to effortlessly take notice of the other colors, however dimly and unwittingly. Likewise, the issue of immigration itself is so vast and complicated; hard enough to be raised, analyzed and draw conclusions in an article or two, let alone discuss the underlying subjects, such as how immigration affects an immigrant socially or culturally in general and our Djiboutian society in particular. Anyhow, I’d hereby try to take a look into the impact of immigration, like social estrangement and cultural disorientation, on any given immigrant, especially a Djiboutian, in the following essay.

The very desire of going abroad is intrinsically widely popular among Djiboutians of all walks of lives and affairs on varying scales and of course for various reasons. However, a small percentage of all Djiboutians abroad have managed to emigrate on valid grounds such as resettlement, family reunion, and political exiles and as genuine refugees, especially during the worst days that the civil war was still raging in the north of the country in the early 1990s. Therefore, the vast majority are, more or less, adventurers in search of better life abroad. Whether these wild dreams’’ of better life’’ are within reach of one or could be attainable once abroad in one way or another, is the subject under  my scrutiny here.

First obstacle that a Djiboutian immigrant is liable to encounter is probably that of assuming an identity that fulfils the descriptions of international definitions of refugee and concocting equally a convincing case to meet the legal requirements of the country of asylum without considering all the ensuing ramifications of one’s newly found craft. That means that one is supposed to claim to be a person from a place of high risk to his life, say Mogadiscio; who belongs to a given minority and persecuted people who have suffered all sorts of extreme injustice and how those insurmountable circumstances have forced one to flee, and so on. Thus becomes one a legal immigrant who has the right to live in any given country of asylum!

Soon after that one is poised, willingly or unwilling, to adapt to a totally different environment, socialise with people one didn’t know before and learn and master a new language and live in harmony with a completely strange and sometimes hostile culture, as is the case for most Djiboutians abroad, except or to some minor extent, those who happened to be in French-speaking parts of the world, like Belgium (Wallonia), Canada (Québec) and France, for instance. This brings Djiboutians of remarkably different social and financial backgrounds into a common or level status in which former prestige disappear in a drastic way or new ego appears in a dramatic way, as well. For some, on the one hand, it could mean naturally the beginning of getting rid of a despicable past life full of hardships, and for some, on the other hand, it could possibly mean the beginning of painful yearning for previous life style full of opportunities and privileges. But they inevitably all share the haunting sense of being in a kind of identity crisis at the same time that by not any means will be easily solved. Having all those factors in mind, let’s put the social and cultural sides into perspectives then.

Socially, we were not accustomed to the experience of living in societies where one must stand alone to take mostly crucial decisions of one’s life and hence take full responsibility without the slightest possibility of having an idea where and to whom to rush to for instant help, like close family members and, if necessary, distant ones, notably with racial lineage of some kind. Societies where everything, even normal inter-human exchanges, is measured in time and material gains in contrast of that “hustle and bustle’’ business we were used to. That’s why, to my understanding, we see an staggering surge in the averages of depression,  constant migration, addiction,  imprisonment and many other misdemeanors among Djiboutians worldwide.

Culturally, we were not used to live in secular and “democratic “societies where one can do and say whatever one sees fit so long as one doesn’t commit a punishable offence in the eyes of the system that is run in one’s adoptive country. That’s why once again ,to my humble understanding ,we see the horrifying mount in the cases of divorce, multiple remarriages, immoral “polygamy”, delinquencies, dropouts and much more distressing phenomena’s in our Djiboutian community abroad.

In conclusion, true that we found ourselves in places much more advanced in any conceivable way to that we’ve left behind, but we can’t afford losing the mainstreams of our origins altogether in hunt of phoney role models nationalities and citizenship! However hard we try to conceal or overlook its importance, we can’t help saving and sticking to some of our semi-nomadic heritages, unfortunately. So, why don’t we be proud of it instead!

With all due respects,

Suge Waaberi Dharaar

The social and cultural effects of immigration on Djiboutian nationals abroad.

If you are made to look at an intricately interwoven pattern of different colors, as if through prism, and you are to focus on one or two particular colors among many, the remaining colors simply happen not to escape your sight and you simply happen to effortlessly take notice of the other colors, however dimly and unwittingly. Likewise, the issue of immigration itself is so vast and complicated; hard enough to be raised, analyzed and draw conclusions in an article or two, let alone discuss the underlying subjects, such as how immigration affects an immigrant socially or culturally in general and our Djiboutian society in particular. Anyhow, I’d hereby try to take a look into the impact of immigration, like social estrangement and cultural disorientation, on any given immigrant, especially a Djiboutian, in the following essay.

The very desire of going abroad is intrinsically widely popular among Djiboutians of all walks of lives and affairs on varying scales and of course for various reasons. However, a small percentage of all Djiboutians abroad have managed to emigrate on valid grounds such as resettlement, family reunion, and political exiles and as genuine refugees, especially during the worst days that the civil war was still raging in the north of the country in the early 1990s. Therefore, the vast majority are, more or less, adventurers in search of better life abroad. Whether these wild dreams’’ of better life’’ are within reach of one or could be attainable once abroad in one way or another, is the subject under  my scrutiny here.

First obstacle that a Djiboutian immigrant is liable to encounter is probably that of assuming an identity that fulfills the descriptions of international definitions of refugee and concocting equally a convincing case to meet the legal requirements of the country of asylum without considering all the ensuing ramifications of one’s newly found craft. That means that one is supposed to claim to be a person from a place of high risk to his life, say Mogadiscio; who belongs to a given minority and persecuted people who have suffered all sorts of extreme injustice and how those insurmountable circumstances have forced one to flee, and so on. Thus becomes one a legal immigrant who has the right to live in any given country of asylum!

Soon after that one is poised, willingly or unwilling, to adapt to a totally different environment, socialize with people one didn’t know before and learn and master a new language and live in harmony with a completely strange and sometimes hostile culture, as is the case for most Djiboutians abroad, except or to some minor extent, those who happened to be in French-speaking parts of the world, like Belgium (Wallonia), Canada (Québec) and France, for instance. This brings Djiboutians of remarkably different social and financial backgrounds into a common or level status in which former prestige disappear in a drastic way or new ego appears in a dramatic way, as well. For some, on the one hand, it could mean naturally the beginning of getting rid of a despicable past life full of hardships, and for some, on the other hand, it could possibly mean the beginning of painful yearning for previous life style full of opportunities and privileges. But they inevitably all share the haunting sense of being in a kind of identity crisis at the same time that by not any means will be easily solved. Having all those factors in mind, let’s put the social and cultural sides into perspectives then.

Socially, we were not accustomed to the experience of living in societies where one must stand alone to take mostly crucial decisions of one’s life and hence take full responsibility without the slightest possibility of having an idea where and to whom to rush to for instant help, like close family members and, if necessary, distant ones, notably with racial lineage of some kind. Societies where everything, even normal inter-human exchanges, is measured in time and material gains in contrast of that “hustle and bustle’’ business we were used to. That’s why, to my understanding, we see an staggering surge in the averages of depression,  constant migration, addiction,  imprisonment and many other misdemeanors among Djiboutians worldwide.

Culturally, we were not used to live in secular and “democratic “societies where one can do and say whatever one sees fit so long as one doesn’t commit a punishable offence in the eyes of the system that is run in one’s adoptive country. That’s why once again ,to my humble understanding ,we see the horrifying mount in the cases of divorce, multiple remarriages, immoral “polygamy”, delinquencies, dropouts and much more distressing phenomena’s in our Djiboutian community abroad.

In conclusion, true that we found ourselves in places much more advanced in any conceivable way to that we’ve left behind, but we can’t afford losing the mainstreams of our origins altogether in hunt of phony role models nationalities and citizenships! However hard we try to conceal or overlook its importance, we can’t help saving and sticking to some of our semi-nomadic heritages, unfortunately. So, why don’t we be proud of it instead!

With all due respects,

Sougueh Waberi Darar

Pourquoi pas être celui-ci (ou celle-ci) et celui-là ou (celle-là) à la fois?

Pourquoi ne pas appartenir à un certain groupe ethnique, tribal, clanique et sous-clanique et être citoyen d'une nation multi-ethnique, multi-tribale, multi-clanique et multi-sous- clanique à la fois? C’est parce que l'idée seul de partager nous semble étrangère, étant donné que notre histoire d'auparavant nous indique autrement! Ou parce qu'il nous manque l'empressement de reconnaître d'autrui comme un partenaire nationale éventuel que nous pouvons vivre, dans tous le sens du mot, pacifiquement et harmonieusement ensemble dans une nation unique et indivisible!

Pourquoi pas être éduqué(e) et simplement sociale à la fois? C’est parce que nous nous associons a une élite plus élevée moralement, plus avancée intellectuellement et plus sophistiquée matériellement que celle de la société au large et spécifiquement les plus désavantagées et les plus défavorisées d'une manière ou d'une autre même s'ils appartient a la même ethnie que nous! Ou bien c'est parce que nous défendons inconsciemment le nouveau ego acquis d'une manière ou d'une autre et le sens de grandeur que ca nous entraînes généralement et plus particulièrement a ceux qui nous l'en occupons de leurs affaires quotidiens, dans nos domaines professionnel ou autrement!

Pourquoi pas être moderne et modeste à la fois? C’est parce que nous nous enfuyons de nos identité réelles sans aucune raison valable et nous nous sauvons vers des identités virtuelles adoptés par des moyens humiliants! C’est parce que nous aimons nous associer aux civilisations lointaines en négligents de découvrir et conserver les nôtres et profiter de l'autre!

Pourquoi pas être responsable et galant à la fois? C’est parce que nous considérons les compromis réciproque et sacrifices mutuelle comme des signes de faiblesse que nous devons éviter quelque soit la conséquence! C’est parce que nous sommes ou bien des mégalomaniaques irrationnelle ou bien des despotes barbares!

Pourquoi ne pas être adversaire et compatriote à la fois? C’est par ce que derrière nos rhétoriques résonnantes, discours sentimentales, et slogans grandiose, se cachent nos personnalités superficielles et incohérents! C’est par ce que nous avons des programmes secrets et des objectifs ambigu!

Pourquoi pas être sympathisant et critique à la fois? C’est parce que nous adhérons aux mouvements politiques par la naïveté pur, non pas par la conviction! C’est parce que nous avons des intérêts, quoi que se soit, a sauvegarder à tous prix!

Pourquoi pas être opposant et empathique à la fois? C’est parce que nous dramatisons les faits chez les uns et nous minimisons l'importance des faits chez les autres! C’est parce que nous ne sommes pas réalistes et spontanés, raisonnants et raisonnables! C’est par ce que nous ne sommes pas prêts de nous nous définir comme des Djiboutiens!

Confus? Pourquoi ne pas visiter chez Chokobo, alors?

N'est pas intéressé? Je te conseille de prendre le vol pour Mogadiscio, Darfour, Bagdad ou Kaboul la prochaine vacance!!!

Fraternellement,

Paix et du Lait.

The unconfirmed rumors of Djibouti...

One day Gabobe Sange’s heard that one of his contemporary tribesmen, Gahayr Ashkir, a man of an immense and strong posture has killed a dog with a single hush. Curious, Gabobe asked Gahayr unintimidated ’’Say, did you kill the dog with just a hush or was the hush followed by something else?’’.Gahayr smiling replied ''The hush was followed by something else of course!”Later it was revealed it was killed with a stone! Likewise, why don’t we simply ask for confirmation of those who are supposed to be playing any key role in those rumors instead of hitting the bush around all the time? Let’s have a look into some of the most disheartening, widespread and repeatedly referred to accounts of rumor in Djibouti.

First and foremost, we’ve, almost everyone of us, grown up hearing of Mr. President Ismail Omar Gueleuh’s (a president in spite of all of us and his presidency’s legitimacy is by no means the issue here!) insatiable lust for killing opponents, that he’s a notorious and merciless assassin and that his long list of ‘presumed’ victims started with the liquidation of Hamoud Farah and Abdillahi Douale in Dire Dawa in the early 1980s up till that of Abdi Bogoreh and Hassan Said this summer, without providing a single claim supported by material evidence incriminating him at least! None has ever dared asking him whether these rumors were true or not, we just flannel them around to his benefit and to the detriment of the people as if he’d kill every Djiboutian if courageously confronted with proof by family and common citizens alike! Why don’t we see any of his ‘hired’ killers, if any, and especially if the perpetrators were of the SDS (Djiboutian intelligence services), coming forwards with the truth or guilty conscience? Or are they ‘hit squads’ of the French legionnaires, Mossad mercenaries flown in purposely for the mission, or are they the offspring of the ’Caadhgoo’ folks (similar to the present ROMS of France!) which it’s legal status in the country is not defined by law, their productivity to the wellbeing of the country remain basically unquestioned and their reproduction unmonitored so far, unfortunately? Or is he the only man that has ‘two testicles’ as we popularly say to the bully in Djibouti? They might as well be ghosts and spirits, but, merely launching thorough and objective investigation of every individual case could’ve spooked the hell out of them and their master sponsor, instead of keeping playing again and again that Bollywood-like movie drama, films which are familiar for their long,boring duration ,redundant sagas and unwounded head actors! In retrospect, is there the possibility; however slight and remote it might be, of self-defense in a matter-of-life-or death like scenario galvanized or precipitated by the victims themselves or their actions, or even at an unsettling moment and wants to repent? In sum, why don’t we ask him, at least in this virtual world, for public explanation and the truth or his version of it about these rumors? He, as a citizen before being a President, has the right to confirm or deny, and take full responsibility of his crimes if found guilty, otherwise his voluntarily self-proclaimed slogans of ‘submitting to the will of the people’ and ‘standing firm to respond to the need of the country’ would undoubtedly be proven another void, shallow, illusive and campaign-related (third term mandate!)charade!

Second of the eternal sequence of rumors in our country concerns the well-known and flagrant nationalist and former freedom fighter, and veteran politician, the president of PND, Mr. Aden Robleh Awaleh. Rumors say that, after a failed attempt of rebellion and exile, the volatile and untamed nature of his clan; and in order to eliminate the surrogate PND party, founded and led by his former aide late Mr. Mahdi Abdillahi, he’s compromised his nationalistic ideals by making a deal with IOG and thus lost the confidence of the people generally! In addition, it’s currently circulated that his presidential bid of 2011 is just to help his new ‘friend’ IOG in his struggle to remain, a third ‘unconstitutional’ term, in office! The first two points taken into consideration , he’s actions could be misinterpreted and misunderstood, while the other, if proven true would undeniably mean fatal and strategic errors that’d eventually end his political career altogether for good! Or why doesn’t it be a part of well-plotted scheme by IOG himself to demonize him and hence distance him from his way to the presidential palace? These and many more questions should have to be answered by Mr. Aden Robleh in public, unless otherwise his very credibility is in definite jeopardy. Another prominent presidential candidate is, of course, Mr. Ismail Guedi Harred, whose portion of the allegations is as much as that of Mr. Aden Robleh. Rumor-mongers accuse the man that, being the then presidential director of Mr. Hassan Gouled, he’s the person IOG has used to kick the ‘old contingent’, like the late Mr. Moumin Bahdon and late Mr. Ahmed Boulaleh, out of the RPP in the early 1990s, and thus has paved the way for the present president and collaborated with him since! What if the man has acted according to the law at that time and has not committed any offense against those two men? Or what about being a victim of defamation campaign himself? But anyway it’s only up to him to clarify his stance about all these and justify his past actions, once again, publicly! And finally, rumors do not spare two junior politicians (compared to the previous ones, I mean!)Mr.Daher Ahmed Farah, president of MRD, and presidential candidate and prominent businessman, Mr.Abdourahman Boreh. DAF, as a protégé of the late founder-president of the PRD, Mr. Mohamed Djama Elabeh, is said to have been used by Souleiman Farah Lodon, a cunning veteran politician, against rival party member-leader Robert Carton, who was then the second in rank to succeed Mr.Elabeh, shortly after the death of Mr. Elabeh. The result was that famous split of the PRD into two and the gradual disappearance of the party in the political arena of the country. Despite the fact that he was a novice politician then, why shouldn’t he be genuine, ambitious and potential politician? The same question could be applied in the case of Mr.Abdourahman Boreh, whose former ties with President IOG are seen as suspicious. To both men, why don’t you guys, as the Somali adage puts ‘One doesn’t have to go to stage if not performing efficiently!’ stop fooling around, go back home and clear your names? As of the possibility of being persecuted, tortured, imprisoned or even killed, what’s the point of denying what is said about you, or aim of the patriotic slogans you are waging momentarily?

These rumors must be brought to light one day in one way or another in order to avoid further pitting the innocent people against one another, putting a whole nation live in a vacuum of unreal hostility and estranging between nationals! I do not subscribe to the official standpoint of the involved parties and as well, I do not belong to the followers of the related popular heresies, but I believe it’s high time to disclose these rumors and if some, particularly those who are still in the country, are afraid of possible repercussions from anywhere anytime, what on earth forbid us, I mean the cyber-combatants abroad, to do so? I apologize to any inconvenience brought about by these kinds of ideas of publicly exploring, shedding light on and discussing such sensitive issues.

Peace and Milk,

Sougueh Wabéri Darar.

L'un de plus impressionnant conte allégorique de Gabobeh Sangeh et son signification implqué sur la situation actuelle du DJIBOUTI....

Connu pour sa personnalité humble, ses qualités caractérisé par la patience (surtout auprès de ses proches, donc tous les Issas!)Et persévérance de leurs nuisance permanente, volontaire ou involontaire, sa sagesse perçante, ses citations éloquentes et métaphorique, et avant tous et au dessus de tous, son croyance inébranlable en la rectitude de la nation Issa et les valeurs sublime du Xeer Issa, Gabobeh Sangeh a subit de dures épreuves. Intrigués par sa personnalité qualitative, ces contemporains avaient eu conspirés et effectués les’ tests'' pour lui prouver tort, incompétent, impatient ou menteur, et parfois par de moyens extrêmement rigoureux. Dans toutes ces épreuves il a savamment survécu l'une après l'autre, ainsi gagna-t-il leurs respects et il mérite notre appréciation et celle des générations à venir. L'un de ces schibboleths est bien sûr le famé incident de ''le taureau’’.
Un jour, pour lui tromper, ses contemporains ont mette un groupe des hommes sur son chemin, avec un taureau et sur son cou un couteau, prêt à être abattu, une scène qui devait certainement tromper n'importe quel mortel et valait lui donner l'impression d'un abattoir imminent. En allant chez lui, il passa le groupe avec le taureau et leurs a salua. Un autre groupe apparaitra soudainement sur le chemin et lui demanda'Gabobeh, as-tu vue un groupe des hommes avec un taureau abattu?''Il leurs a répondu sans hésitation et arrière-pensées,’ JE vu un groupe des hommes avec un taureau qui a sur son cou un couteau, mais j'en suis pas sûr s'il est abattu ou que le BON ALLAH a lui sauvé!''Comme ça a-t-il nié de donner des informations fausses, spéculatives, exagérés ou manipulés! Dans nos jours plein des politiciens démagogues, des sympathisants opportunistes, des opposants anarchique et d'un peuple politiquement polarisés et indiffèrent et économiquement corrompu, la vérité est devenu rare!

Hélas...................................................

Des politiciens démagogues: Parce que, tout d'abord, nous avons jamais rencontrés dans toute notre histoire depuis l'indépendance un seul politicien qui a osé, avec fierté et confiance en soi, admettre ses défauts, ses faiblesse humaine ou politique et ses erreurs politique qui ont a leurs tour lui causé les déboires qu'il s'y trouve. Ils sont tous, sans exceptions, des anges parfaits et immunes de tous ça! C’est parce qu'ils se croient d'appartenir dans une élite qui sait comment jouir de l'absence d'une opinion politique forte et non-partisan qui leur juge par leur actions non par leur apparence ethno-tribale et peut être volatile ou hostile parfois! C’est parce qu'ils sont rassurés de trouver des ''militants'' naïves, des opportunistes et des lèches bottes qui se rallient derrière eux en se levant debout de la première signe d'appel, peu importe quoi que se soit ou l'inévitable conséquence de ses obéissance aveugle! C’est parce qu'ils ont réussissent jusqu'à ce moment-ci d'exploiter avec une expertise surprenant la manque des visions politique populaire inhérent a l'aspiration du peuple! Dommage.......................................

Des oppositions anarchiques: Parce que ils sont tous, encore sans exception, systématiquement sur les traces de leurs adversaires en ce qui concerne l'organisation et hiérarchie basé fondamentalement sur des manières suranné et incompatible au challenges sociale, économique et politique du pays! C’est parce qu'ils sont, plus ou moins, des prototypes de leurs précédents et ça nous explique plus clairement pourquoi la mentalité de ‘Hyène connu est mieux que l'inconnu!'' est prédominante chez le peuple entier! C’est parce qu'ils sont typiquement en désarroi et la pandémie de rivalité est l'ordre du jour dans tous les partis-même et entre eux-mêmes, sans oublier qu'il y en a une parti subrogée du chaque parti en fonction actuellement sur la scène politique Djiboutiens, soit à l'étranger ou bien à l'intérieur du pays! Malheureusement........................................................

Un peuple polarisé et indiffèrent: Polarisé non pas seulement sur la multiplicité ethnique, préférence idéologique ou affiliations politique, mais aussi sur du classes statu quo des revenues financière, des qualifications éducationnelle et intellectuelle, le peuple Djiboutiens se trouve dans une situation déplorable sans précédente dans tous les domaines! Indiffèrent parce que, désavantagés et défavorisés,’ La Paix, Du beurre et Le Pain'' assuré, il y a plus quoi a craindre! Et le pays souffre de la mal gouvernance étendue, de la népotisme très répandue, de la polarisation politique, négligence sociale, désorientation culturelle, corruption omniprésent dans le secteur économique et financière, des service sanitaire dépassée et inefficace et l'infrastructure quasiment détruit et sous-développée. Pitié..................

Sougueh Wabéri Darar.