Maansada Soomaalida iyo waqtiga casriga

“Mar walba oo aan murano ardayda iskuulka ama aan kaftanno, ma aysan waayi jirin fursad ay Soomaaliya wax qaldan uga sheegaan,” ayey tiri Gabyaa Zahra Cabdihagi iyadoo ka waramaysa xaaladahii xumaa ee yaraanteedii kula soo kulantay dallka Canada.

“Mar walba waxay Soomaaliya ku sheegi jireen burcad-badeed iyo faqri, ceeb ayaana dareemi jiray. Markaas ayaan billaabay inaan baaro taariikhda iyo dhaqanka Soomaalida. Kadibna waxaan ogaaday inaan leenahay dhaqan wanaagsan iyo in Maansada ay qeyb weyn ka tahay dhaqanka Soomaalida, taasoo ii sahashay inaan dib ugu so xirmo halka aan ka soo jeedo”

Zahra waxay ku dhalatay dalka Canada balse waligeed meysan arkin wadanka waalidkeeda ay ka soo jeedaan. Lix sano ka hor ayaa ugu horeysay markay go’aanka weyn qaadatay inay ku soo laabato Soomaaliya. Safarkeeda ay Soomaaliya ku imaatay waxaa ku dhiiro-galiyay rabitaanka iyo raadinta inay soo aragto Soomaaliyada wanaagsan oo ay warbaahintu sheegin.

“Markaan Muqdisho ka so dagay, waxaan filanayay dagaal iyo jahwareer balse waxaan la kulmay rajo iyo sheekooyiin dhiira-galin leh,” ayey tiri.

Markaas ayey go’aansatay inay wax ka badasho sheekooyinka qaldan ee laga sheego wadanka, dadkana la wadaagto sheekooyin wanaagsan iyadoo isticmaalaysa gabayga. “Waligey waan jeclaa gabayga bulse waligay banaaka lama imaanin oo aniga kaliya ayuu igu ekaa.

Laakin saaxiibadeed ayaa markay arkeen hibada ay u leedahay gabayga, ku dhiira-galiyay inay bulshada la wadaagto.

Sanadkii 2019-ka waxay qortay gabay ay ugu ku amaaneyso haweenka ka shaqeeya miino-baarista, taasoo ay ku soo bandhigtay shir caalami ah oo looga hadlayay xal-u-helidda miinada oo ka dhacay wadanka Geneva.

Ereayadii ugu horeeyay gabaygaas waxaa ka mid ahaa: 

Waxaa hal mar dhagaha tiray jug weyn,

waxay eegtay siigadii ka kacday, indhaheeduna carro ayaa ka buuxsamay

Shimbiro ayaa dul heebaabaye, daruuruhuna wey socdeen

Balse xilligaas la taagnaa waxay dareentay in dhaqdhaqaaqii dhulka joogsaday

Qoraxda wey dhalaaleysay balse jahadeeda kama iftiimaynin

Qaraaca wadnaheeda waxuu ka xowli badnaa socodka lugaheeda

Jirkeeda qabow ayuu noqday

Marna ma aysan fahmi karin jugti ay maqashay

Zahra hadda waxay hogaamisaa koox 20 dhaliyaro ah oo ka shaqeeya soo saaridda sheekooyiinka, kuwaasoo ay hay’adda UNDP ku taba bartay xirfadda lagu soo saaro sheekooyinka iyo arimaha hormarka bulshadooda.

Zahra waxay ku soo kordhisay gabayga Soomalida farsamo casri ah oo ay ku soo gudbsio maansadeeda qaab muuqaal ah oo xambaarsan fariimo muhiim ah. Taasina waxaa tusaale u ah filim ay goordhow soo saartay oo la magac baxay “Dhalinyarada hagaysa mustaqbalka Soomaaliya.”

Ereyadaan ayaa ka mid ah gabay ku jiro filimkaas:

Waxaan nahay dahabkii dalkan

Kaasoo ku xayirmay dagaal socday tobaneeyo sano iyo dhibaatooyin

Balse wali u qurux badan sidi ubax hada so baxaayo

Hoos ayaa nas daba socdo iyo guuxa xambaarsan geeri

Balse nagama qarin karaan ifitinka waa cusub iyo maalin cusub

“Whenever I had fights with other students in school, or even when we joked with each other, they never missed the opportunity to bring up Somalia in a negative way,” poet Zahra Abdihagi recalls the stereotypes she lived with growing up in Canada.

“There were constant jokes about pirates and poverty which made me feel embarrassed so I decided to take an interest in Somali culture and history and I discovered that we have a rich culture and that poetry is a huge part of the Somali culture, which made me connect with my roots even more.”

Zahra was born in Canada and had never seen the country of her parents until six years ago when she took “the big decision to return”. Her journey to Somalia was inspired by a mission to explore and experience the “Somalia the media never shows you”.

“When I first came to Mogadishu, I was expecting violence and chaos, but I found stories of hope and inspiration,” she said.

And so she decided to change the narrative and share positive stories using poetry. “I always had a passion for poetry but I never shared my poems publicly,” she said.

But her friends and colleagues at work noticed her poetic talent and encouraged her to go public.

In 2019, she wrote a special poem to celebrate women in mine action, which she performed at an international summit on mine action in Geneva. “It was my first poetry performance in front of people,” she said. “They liked my poem and I even had the opportunity to meet the Somali Ambassador to Geneva, who invited me to her office, as well as a government official from Canada. They were both happy for me to be representing Somalia and Canada.”

These are the first few lines from that poem: 

Silenced by one loud bang, she gazed through the desert with eyes full of sand.

Birds were flying and clouds were passing

But at that moment

She felt the earth’s movement stopping

The sun was shining but just not in her direction

Her heart ran faster than her legs

Her body turned cold

She couldn’t comprehend the sound she had just heard.

Currently, Zahra leads a team of 20 young Somali storytellers who were trained by UNDP on digital skills to generate powerful stories about development initiatives in their local communities.

Zahra waxay ku soo kordhisay gabayga Soomalida farsamo casri ah oo ay ku soo gudbsio maansadeeda qaab muuqaal ah oo xambaarsan fariimo muhiim ah. Taasina waxaa tusaale u ah filim ay goordhow soo saartay oo la magac baxay “Dhalinyarada hagaysa mustaqbalka Soomaaliya.”

Ereyadaan ayaa ka mid ah gabay ku jiro filimkaas:

“We are the gems of this nation, diamonds in the rough

Caught up in decades of war, sculpted from hardship

but still beautiful like rose buds.

Shadows tend to follow us around, humming songs of the dead

but they can’t deny us the light of a new dawn and a new day.”

Raadi