Professor Samatar has arrived in Somaliland and received an unprecedented warm welcome from the Government and the citizens alike. His home coming and the warm welcome he received resembles that of Khomeini of Iran in 1979. Whether he would match up that with action and support to Somaliland cause and whether other Diaspora like him would follow suit would be in the minds and imagination of Somalilanders in the long haul.
Mr. Samatar has experienced two an expected activities from both the South ( I call South because the so-called Somali Government is not a representative Government from all Somalis, including Somaliland) and Somaliland. In the South his expectation was that he would win the election of the presidency in the South, but he found that he does not belong to that part of Somalia. Also he was not expecting that he would be a son and a Khomeini of Somaliland. In both instances, everything happened beyond his expectation.
In what he calls Somalia, he thought the Somali people are grown up from tribalism because of what they have been through. He was imagining that people would consider his innocence, education, and experience. He miscalculated what would be the outcome of his adventure. Mr. Samatar has been abroad for a long period of time, he imagined that things would be the same as in the USA where education and experienced are chosen over belonging to a particular community. Visiting Somaliland was to him like visiting a prison, partly because he has been against Somaliland being a sovereign country. He worked hard to deny that. The reason why he did not visit Somaliland was two-fold: First, because of his opposition to the Somaliland cause, he was afraid of being imprisoned. Secondly, he doubted that he would be entertained.
The warm welcome is now an eye opening for Samatar. People are expecting that Mr. Samatar would look back the humiliation and the embarrassment he encountered in the South and would look at Somaliland with a passionate eye. The reason why the people and the Government received him like Khomeini is because they see in him some power that others do not have. Combined with self-asserted independence, knowledge, contacts of international agencies and communities, he could be the needed support for Somaliland. Mr. Samatar has gained the experience he lacked before those two opposite experiences. Hopefully, he would support Somaliland in the rest of his life.
Mohammed Ali Muuse ( Canada )