Compassion for Somalia’s Women and Children

Compassion for Somalia’s Women and Children By Hodan Nalayeh

Having compassion is not about donating money to Somalia. Compassion is our ability to understand and feel the pain of another human being.  Somalia has been in pain for the past twenty years. The primary victims of that pain are women and children. The pain has grown bigger and now it’s hard to contain. The world has ignored Somali women and children even though they have been living in the harshest conditions for two decades.

As an advocate for Somali Refugees, I visited world’s largest Refugee Camp, Dadaab. In early July 2011, I travelled with renowned Somali-American singer Saado Ali Warsame.  Our goal was to bring hope and attention to the situation Somalis are facing. Our goal was to show Somalis in the Diaspora and general media what is happening to Somali people. Saado Ali Warsame was the only Somali national figure to visit Dadaab and her presence gave the refugees hope that Somalis care about each other and want a change in their country.

I was not prepared for what I saw at Dadaab. I was born in Somalia, but did not grow up there. I don’t have any memories of the country, so returning to the region, was an eye opener for me. Seeing over 400,000 people live in a horrible dry, hot and dusty open field for 20 years is very disturbing. How can the world think this is an acceptable way for human beings to live? Yet, how can Somalis in power want their people to live like this when they have a beautiful country?

Seeing the newest arrivals starving and holding on to their dying children
made me realize, this may be the opportunity for Somali men in power to get their act together. While Somali men in power are fighting over regions, Somalia’s women and children are dying in neighboring countries. It is disgusting to see people who would rather have their regions than save their brothers and sisters from starvation.
If Somalis fail to have compassion for each other, how can they expect the world to have compassion for them?

The resilience and beauty of Somali women out shines the dire situation they are in right now.  They walk for weeks with multiple children and many die on the way to get aid. The love Somali women possess for children is remarkable to see. Many Westerners criticize Somali women for having so many children. Perhaps, their children are all Somali women have to live for.

Somali women are the backbone of Somalia, yet they hold no decision making power. I know if these women were given more roles in society and educational opportunities, they would have other things to live for. While Somali men have been at war for twenty years, the women have been raising their children and running their households despite the horrible conditions. When the drought hit they came by the thousands to Dadaab and many without husbands. Yet, they only have their children and no other possessions. The children are their hope for a better life.

Children are wealth for the poor women of Somalia and many pray for their children to give them a better life. I am proud to be the daughter of a Somali woman who endured many struggles to raise her eight daughters and four sons despite living in a foreign country and starting life over.

Despite all the economic hardships the world is facing, we need to have compassion for the vulnerable women of Somalia and their children. Somalis have an opportunity now to rebuild with a new agenda and philosophy. Yet, without support from each other and the world, they may not accomplish this. We need to support a new democratic state of Somalia where Somali women have the opportunity to have an education and be empowered to take part in the decision making of Somalia. We need to resettle people back to their regions in peaceful Somalia and that can only be accomplished by Somalis uniting together everywhere and having compassion for each other.

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Hodan Nalayeh is the founder of Somali Refugee Awareness Project and North American Somali Foundation. She lives in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and son. She can be reached at: hodan.nalayeh@gmail.com, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC8EoAnmpyY ,
www.facebook.com/somalirefugees

http://samotalis.blogspot.com/