Soonka iyo Ferenjiga

 

John iyo Olol waxay ka wada hawlgalaan shirkad ka shaqaysa soo saarida shidaalka. John ayaa madax ka ah. Shaqaale door ah ayuu maamulaa oo la shaqeeya. Qaar badan oo ka mid ahi way sooman yihiin, maadaama lagu jiro bishii barakaysnayd ee Ramadaan. Olol isagu waax buu madax ka yahay, si dhow ayayna John u wada shaqeeyaan.

Maalin dheer oo shaqo ayay u ahayd Olol. Aan idhaahdo maalmo shaqo oo hawl badan, sababta oo ah, beryahaaba, culays shaqo ayaa saarnaa. Koox loo xilsaaray inay soo diyaariyaan warbixin sannadeed ayuu Olol madax u ahaa. Waxa laga rabaa inay warbixin ka keenaan waxsoosaarka shirkadda, koboca maalgashiga, saamiga shirkadda ee suuqa, tayaynta shaqaalaha, caqabadaha maamul, hirgalinta talobixintii hantidhawrka madaxabannaan, hirgalinta siyaasadda casriyeynta iyo u guurida qaabxisaabeed adeegsadaha la saaxiib ah, tartanka suuqa, iyo waayo-aragnimada sannadkaas la kasbaday.

John waxa uu mar walba iswaydiiyaa Olol iyo dadka la mid ah ee sooman, balse shaqadoodu aanay wax la sheego isdhimin. Dadkan sooman, afka aan waxba marinayn biyona ku dhahoo, haddana firfircoon ee shaqaynaya ayaa ka fikirsiiya. Wuxuu ogyahay inay sidaa ku jiraan maalintii 13 saacadood iyo saa’id, muddo bil ah. Dareenqaybsi si uu u muujiyo, wuxuu ku dhaqaaqay inaanu wax cunin inta ay la joogaan jaalayaashiisa soomani. Maalmahan, wuxuu aad u rabaa inuu ka warkeeno oo bal horta soomo, ugu yaraan hal maalin.

Waayo-aragnimadiisii soonka halka maalin ahaa ayuu maanta John ka warbixinayaa. Waa marka koowaade, waxa uu dhib aan yarayn ka mutay u kicida suxuurta. 4:30 subaxnimo inuu kaco ayaa lagula taliyey; saa habeenkii ayuu soojeedka ku raagaa oo abiidaba kallahaadda arooryaad way dhibtaa. Dhawr subax markii uu suxuurtii seegay ayuu maalintii danbe si cagojiid ah u kacay oo suxuur u samaystay.

Waa marka labaade, waxa kale oo uu sheegay inuu dareemay gaajo wax la mid ah aanu waligii arkin. Dareen iyo baahi noocaas ah abid inaanu soo marin ayuu hoosta ka xarriiqay.

“Wax kaleba ha joogee, harraadka i helay, wax loo adkaysan karo wuu ka weynaa” ayuu leeyahay isaga oo ka warramaya oonkii soo maray. Wuu sii wadaa oo waxa uu ka hadlayaa sida dadka Muslimiinta ahi ula qabsadeen.

“Idinku waxaan filayaa, yaraan ayaad ku bilawdeen oo waad la barateen oo la qabsateene, qofka aniga oo kale ah, dhayal wax uu u adkaysan karo ma ahayn”

Intaas waxa uu ku daray, casharka ugu weyn ee uu ka bartay soonkiisii halka maalin ahaa: waa adkaysiga shaqaalaha sooman, shaqaynaya ee aan haddana waxsoosaarkoogu isbeddelayn. Il gaar ah inuu maanta ka dib ku eegi doono, garawshiiyo iyo ixtiraamna ay ka mutaysteen ayuu sheegay.

Olol ayaa uga mahadnaqaya dareenwadaagga, uguna daraya inuu soo jirrabay oo ka warkeenay waayo-maalmeedka malaayiin qof oo Muslimiin ah, gaar ahaan maalmaha soonka. Sidoo kale inuu hadda wax ka malayn karo nolosha ay dadka saboolka ahi joogto ugu nool yihiin, ayuu u raaciyey. Wuxuu si kaftan dhable ah ugu sii darayaa:

“Kaliya waxaa kaa maqnaa uun dhadhanka iyo macaanka ruuxiga ah ee ay dareemaan Muslimiinta soomani, gaar ahaan carbinta ruuxda, jadiidinta iimaanka, sabirka, Alle u dhawaanshaha iyo ta ka wada muhiimsan, rajaynta abaalgud wax loo dhigaa aanu jirin”

FG: Qormadani waxay ka dhalatay wada sheekaysi na dhexmaray dhowr qof oo sifaha John leh.

WQ: Cabdiraxmaan Aadan Maxamuud

Email:abdirahman.adan@gmail.com

 

A year of restrictions: Opportunity for reflection

 

Last year late February, I was traveling to Hargeisa from Nairobi via Addis Ababa. It was weeks before World Health Organization declared COVID-19, as a public health emergency of international concern.  But considering the crowds at airports with minimum COVID-19 protocols could potentially turn as super spreader, I bought my first kit of facemasks. Onboard the flight bound to Addis, I happened to sit close to a group of Somali businesswomen. Wearing facemasks, while glasses off and deep reading a book, I could overhear one of the women pointing at me and uttering:

“This small-eyed man, now covering his mouth and nose is from those spreading the virus to the world”.

Another woman, evidently not aware of their racist remarks agreed to her instantly and even went further.

“Cover up or not, we are Muslims, and this will not affect us” she laughingly said.

In those days, some famous clerics breached that Muslims are immune from this virus. It was so early to the extent that WHO, a specialized technical agency issued somewhat conflicting statements on safe methods to effectively curb the disease.

Pretending as if am not following their conversation, just continued reading my book. I did it by purpose, though. A friend of mine experienced similar sentiments while working with an international organization. A crew from a neighboring country along with him were living in a local hotel in Hargeisa. But the female hotel staff responsible for hotel’s upkeep, naively assumed they were all foreigners. They continued to use vulgar language, albeit in Somali, to describe the team. Later, my friend, determined to put this to an end, would talk to them in the local language. They got so embarrassed and at least one of them almost fainted. That is why, I didn’t want to overreact and drive them to that level.

After a five-day trip to Hargeisa and Borama, I proceeded to Mogadishu, where I planned to work for four days. But, witnessing outpour of travelers from Mogadishu and the aggressive spread of the virus, I decided to come back to Nairobi. I didn’t want to be affected by the travel bans and other restrictive measures while outside my base and away from the family. Two days to my return, Kenya was partially locked down: all schools closed, work from home modality adopted, restaurants closed, prayers in mosques suspended and travel bans enacted.

International schools were very quick and responsive. They immediately introduced online learning platforms, where students can access classes from the comfort of their homes. But still teaching staff needed some training or at least to get acquainted with the new platforms and devices. For parents, many of whom already suffering from economic shocks of the pandemic - layoffs, salary reductions etc, this meant additional burdens. Children needed internet-connected gadgets with reliable connections to follow the online learning sessions. Still the vast majority of them remained out of schools as very few could afford this option.

Working from home modality, on the other hand, proved less dramatic. All stakeholders- team members and counterparts- all in panic, kept calling for never-ending online meetings, partly to catch up and partly, perhaps, to make sure that each other isn’t falling fast asleep but working and delivering.

For me, in addition to other restrictions, the closure of mosques particularly in Ramadan hit hard and was a big blow. A month of countless blessings and reflections, I could hardly cope with this. Simply, it was a Ramadan like no other.

As people back home first reacted indifferently, sadly many even denied the seriousness of the situation, I had a chat on this with my children. Exploring how they could possibly contribute, I asked if they would like to convey any message to the general public. Mabruka (13) at the time and Muwahib then 12, penned down a kind of advisory, in which I shared through my online platforms.

Now after almost a year, with devastating socio-economic impact, the virus with its more aggressive variants is cruelly causing further havoc. Here in Kenya, hospital beds are reportedly jammed, while ICU facilities are fully occupied. The country is again under partial lockdown, albeit stringent containment measures this time with less cushions to mitigate economic effect. Schools are once again closed, places of worship banned, restaurants serving only take-aways and curfew hours not only maintained but also extended.

Even in my wildest dreams, did I ever think of another partial yet stricter lockdown. Needless to mention the awkward timing of this, as it coincides with the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. If mosques remain closed, God forbid, it will be the second Ramadan in a row we miss the blessings and benefits associated with congregational prayers- a lifetime record that will go down in the annals of history books.

At the end of last year, I asked Mabruka and Muwahib to review and reflect the year of 2020. They wrote touching pieces entitled 2020 Rewind and 2020 Year in Review, respectively. They summarized all the year’s ups and downs, special encounters, and its remarkable remembrance. In this regard, I believe, there is nothing more beautiful than borrowing few sentences from Mabruka’s closing remarks to conclude this:

“We need more love, compassion and empathy. We need to give up fomo, comparison and jealousy. So much pain was experienced just in one year. The pain wasn’t welcome, but nothing else could have made the change occur.

The choices we make now will affect future generations just like their choices in the past affect our situation.”

Abdirahman Adan Mohamoud

E-mail: abdirahman.adan@gmail.com