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Bashing or Human Rights
Advocacy for Orphaned Children? By: Osman Jama Adam “Those who `swallow' the property of the orphans unjustly are actually devouring fire into their bellies and they shall enter the burning fire.” Su’ra (4:10) I read and followed with interest and concern the exchange between Nicmo Ahmed and Mohamoud Hassan Haji Omar, triggered by an earlier article by Warsame Dhimbiil who shared with the readers the plight of 2 brothers and a sister who were adopted as infants by Ali Jirde and his late wife Mariam Hassan. Ali, a Hargeisa-based prominent engineer is known throughout Somali-inhabited territories in the Horn of Africa for his care for the poor and marginalized segment of the society. Dhimbiil and Nicmo’s articles are straight advocacy for the Human Rights of the adopted children, Duale, Muna, and Mohamoud. They criticize, sometimes very strongly, Amina Jirde, Ali Jirde’s younger sister and wife of Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo, Leader of Kulmiye Party in the self-declared Republic of Somaliland. The basis for their criticism of Amina and by extension her husband is that she has been engaged lately in an aggressive scheme aimed at controlling the material assets of her aging brother and in the process disinherit his adopted children, citing that they are not his biological offspring. In her article Nicmo shares with the readers her unsuccessful attempt to interview Amina and her husband and learn their side of the story. In contrast to Dhimbiil’s and Nicomo’s central theme of human rights, Mohamoud Hassan Haji Omar indulges in assortment of vicious attacks and insults against the adopted children. He labels them as gold diggers and implicitly compares them to women who fake a marriage to a 90-year old man solely for his assets. What Mohamoud conveniently omits is that these children were adopted as infants. They were the recipients not the seekers of Ali and Mariam kindness and care. Without any shred of evidence Mohamoud also repeats Amina Jirde’s unfounded assertion that her brother is senile and is not in a position to make sound decision with regard to his assets. Checking with sources in Hargeisa close to the controversy surrounding the disposal of Ali Jirde’s assets, they collaborate Dhimbiil’s statement that on April 22, 2008, Ali and his children appeared before a Civil Court to challenge Amina’s claim that her brother is senile and, therefore, she should be named as the sole custodian of his Assets. The Judge diligently deliberated on the case and in the course of the hearing asked Ali Jirde several pointed questions aimed at testing his state of mind. At the end the Judge rejected Amina’s claim and agreed with Ali that he is mentally fit and is in full control of his faculty and hence can pen his Will as he wishes. Mind you, Ali did not disinherit his biological relatives but rather reserved the write to dispense with his Will without outside interference. 'Mohamoud Hassan, a former BBC Somali Section Broadcaster-Recently a re-invented Village Journalist- who knows very well how to be credible. what you write you should disclose anything that can be interpreted as a conflict of interest". Doing my home work for this commentary and interviewing friends close to Mohamoud Hassan, I came to learn that he is a former Brother-in-Law of Amina Jirde(Married the late Yosir Jirde’sDaughter), the central character in the on-going debate about the rights of adopted children. Therefore, Mohamoud not only trespassed on this fundamental journalistic ethics but also failed to research what transpired in the Hargeisa Court on Aprill 22, 2008 before questioning the mental health of an icon of human rights in the barren cruel landscape of today’s Somalia. A judge ruled beyond reasonable doubt that Ali Jirde is in full control of his senses and is entitled to prepare his Wasiyah as he wishes. There is a Somali saying Baroortu orgiga ka wayn, meaning that “there is more to this wailing than meet the eye.” Mohamoud Hassan’s wailing and audible pretences that he was ‘sickened’ and ‘shocked’ by what Dhibiil and Nicmo wrote about Amina Jirde and her husband should be taken with a grain of salt. Why would a self-described “non-Somalilander” on the eve of Somaliland’s election goes as far as demonizing all Somaliland’s politicians as ‘pigmies’ while praising Ahmed Silaanyo as a ‘giant’? Why would he interfere in the internal affairs of Somaliland? Do see a Born Again Somalilander in the making? A possible running mate for Silanyo in 2009 or perhaps a cushy cabinet post in a Silaanyo-led Government? In concluding my commentary on the debate, I see the essence of Dhabmiil’s and Nicmo’s articles as a genuine advocacy for Ali Jirde’s adopted children and anger at those who are bent on demonizing, harassing, and belittling them to the extent that they will stoop so low as to deny them their rights as the only children of Engineer Ali Jirde. On the other hand, Mohamoud Hassan Haji Omar’s hasty response to their article is deficient as an ethical accurate journalistic product and inhuman in terms of brushing off the rights of the adopted children and going on a tangent sounding as a Campaign Manager for Ahmed Mohamed Silaanyo, the 2009 presidential candidate of Somaliland’s Kulmiye Party. In the case of orphans Allah words are clear: “Those who `swallow' the property of the orphans unjustly are actually devouring fire into their bellies and they shall enter the burning fire.” Su’ra (4:10) Osman Jama Adam beeryaroowe@gmail.com A Dubai-based Freelance Writer With special interest in Human Rights and the Environment.
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