A man sleeps inside a shattered Building

Another year went by - almost slipped without being noticed much. It has been one long volatile year for Somalia with the arrival of the Ethiopian forces to help the incredibly incompetent Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia. Today the Ethiopian forces have almost obliterated the weak and vulnerable people of Mogadishu and the very government that was supposed to protect the feeble residents has but given the Ethiopians carte blanche to exercise their authority. The residents of Mogadishu, instead of celebrating the New Year with their loved one, are burying their dead relatives, mourning the deaths of their young one while despondently clinging on to the one thing that unites them all- hope! They are bracing themselves for another year of misery - their cheerless eyes half-heartedly fixed on the perilous road ahead, expectantly awaiting their fortune or misfortune… They have become refugees in their own country!

I am hereby wishing the residents of Mogadishu in particular a very Blessed Eid and all the best for the bleak year ahead. The following song is dedicated to them as a show of support. It is patriotic song from the legend Muse ismaciil Qalinle and it is called “Hadii aanan dhulkaygow” Enjoy…

Hadii aanan dhulkaygow
Dhuux cadaawe kuu Karin
Hadii aanan dhulkaygow
Dhiig kuugu fool dhiqin

If, for you my land, I don’t
Cook an enemy’s marrow
If, for you my land, I don’t
Rinse your face with blood

Hadii aanan dhulkaygow
Gobanimada soo dhicin
Soomali kama dhalan

If for you my land I don’t
Sovereignty reclaim
I wasn’t born of a Somali

Maalkaaga maan dhaqan
Caanihiisa maan dhamin
Ciidana dhab uma ladin

Your wealth I did not keep
Its milk I did not taste
And the soil I did not truly inhabit

Hadii aanan dhulkaygow
Gaaja kuugu dhuubnaan
Hadii aanan dhulkaygow
Dharka kuugu duubnaan

If for you my land I don’t
Become emaciated with hunger
If for you my land I don’t
Become draped in your clothes

Hadii aanan dhibaatada
dhexda suunka ku adkayn
Hadii aan dhaxantiyo
milicdaba u dherernaan
Soomali kama dhalan

If for the difficulties I don’t
Fasten my waist with the rope
If the bitter colds I don’t
and the scorching heat endure
I wasn’t born of a Somali

Dhirta miraa kamaan guran
Dhuunigaaga maan cunin
Kuma dhaqaaqin magacaa

The fruits I did not pick from your trees
Your food I did not consume
And your name I did not preserve

Maalkaaga maan dhaqan
Caanihiisa maan dhamin
Ciidana dhab uma lihi

Your wealth I did not keep
Its milk I did not taste
And the soil I did not truly inhabit