As I sit preparing myself for my journey to Mogadishu, I cannot help but reflect upon a verse of the Quraan:
"...We have created you all male and female and have made you nations and tribes that you may know and honor each other..."
How is it that the Somali community has been in South Africa for 120 years now but still my association with my brethren has been limited to kind smiles and polite gestures ?
The opportunity has arrived and I am about to set off on a journey over the next two weeks discovering a learning everything I can about Somalia and Somalis.
From the outset one gets the sense of the uniqueness of this humble nation; they are of 1 tribe, practice 1 religion, speak 1 language and have 1 culture.
The average Somali is a relaxed individual, timid and humble, yet strong and independent. Perseverance and courage are disguised behind brilliant smiles of kindness.
Somalia has found itself trapped by a disaster of epidemic proportions. Many believe the famine suffered by the region, Somalia being the worst affected, is a natural disaster - this is the furthest reality from the truth!
Decades of political meddling and the undermining of social evolution by outsiders have caused Famine.
Piracy, which is described so horrifically in main stream media, is the off shoot of this interference, along with the pillaging of the seas by foreign fishing fleets.
What lies above and beyond the politics? What undiscovered treasures and beauties are there? How many tales will there be tell of victories against suffering, and resistance in the face of oppression?
I am set for a remarkable journey, one which fills me with enthusiasm along with anxiety for it is an untold tale which is my province to tell.
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