Rahma Mohamed
Yes!!! Together we can
A machine never rolls without fuel, a rainbow is not seen without rain, no one was born intellectual; neither has nation risen naturally developed, nor is improvement gotten without movement. Every effect has a cause, every gain has a pain, every result comes after reason and every upshot has a motive.
The elites of the world have gotten where they are after a lot of pain, tolerance, patience and effort. And whatever one’s goal is, it is sure that one will realize it if one has the gut, if one dares to try, dedicates some time, is prepared to fail once, twice or even trice, and most of all if one has the desire; nothing is impossible in this world, nothing is unattainable on this earth, and nothing is difficult at all but every move needs a leverage and this leverage should be pushed.
There were days, when everyone of our nation was thinking about survival only, survival from the war, survival from gunshot, survival from atrocity, and about seeking to reach a peaceful place. There was a time when all we looked for was basic food, shelter and security, there was another chapter of our life where cans were our desks to learn, the sky was the roof of our classes and the sand was the floor. Glory be to Allah, we got through all these and we are alive today, have a peaceful land, full of natural resources, we have built our nation, we have got democratic government entities, we have freedom of speech and assembly. But still we are one of the underdeveloped Third World nations. The questions needed to be answered are: What is the difference between our people and those of developed countries? Why are most of the non-white nations underdeveloped? Does that mean white people are smarter than non-white people?
No, they are not smarter, but we (non-white people) quit easily, prefer to be servant to superior, and we do not benefit from the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon us. Amazing is a nation which is trying to discover the world but never looks into a book; amazing is a people which is blind of the land full of all kinds of resources, Magnificent Allah! Amazing is a nation which is waiting for an extra hand to serve for them; and amazing is a nation which every breathing body is expecting to gain the most without getting a scratch.
We originated from a society which communicates orally, rarely writes/reads, and at the same time those who read take for granted what they read. It is us, the youth, who are supposed to revolutionize this bad habit and influence our populations’ attitude towards reading as well as writing. We all know that the more one reads and studies, the more one knows; and the more one reads, the more one can write. “Ighra” Allah said to his Messenger, which means “recite”; there is no point beyond Allah’s word to mention the importance of reading.
With reading, we can examine, validate, follow, observe, scrutinize and judge the world without making a move. With reading we can realize how these developed nations got where they are now. From reading we can step forward to write down and revive our ancient civilizations and their heritages to let the other world nations know more about us.
I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope said Dr. Martin Luther King in his speech.
Now, I have a dream, I have a dream that one day my nation will be free from illiteracy. I have a dream that J. K. Rowling, James Patterson, and Stephen King will emerge from the Somaliland people. I have a dream that one day every region will have a library, every town museum will be heated by the people, every line of this country's history will be revealed easily. That is my hope, it is not far. However, I cannot realize it alone but we can realize it together, with your help we can change my dreams into reality, we can make our desires into destiny and we can achieve our goals together.
Rahma Mohamed
The author lives, studies, and works in Hargeysa, Somaliland. She is pursuing BA at the Department of Development Studies in the Admas University College. She is co-founder of Students’ Development Association (SDA), which aims to develop reading and writing skills of Somaliland Youth.
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