Group poem 8: Qabil

What's in a name
It is the ultimate mental prison
Carrying this name can make the average man insane
As the value of life is meaning less to this name
Women and children are killed in vein
The land is forced to swallow this shame
Any hope for bright future held hostage by the ignorance of this name
And I shall be one to never utter this name again
As it is the cause of endless suffering and pain
As it has caused my people to be refuges in their own domain
And our history shall forever be tatoed with stain

What's in a name?
It is the obstacle to my full potential
It is the thieve that robbed me of what's essential
It is the cage and I'm the bird that longs to fly
It Is the missile that destroyed my home in a blink of an eye
It is the drought that sucked my land dry
It is the hunger that makes my fellow kinsman's children cry ( Ismail Hassan)

Qabiil is only a name,
It's for reasons of identification, It's not to blame.
It's the individuals, who twist it for their own gain,
They do so by degrading and causing others pain.
Qabiil is not to blame,
It's Qabyaalad that sets a flame.
Two very different things if I must say so,
Qabayaalad is a disease that we need to let go,
Our Qabiil we can maintain but not for reasons of hate,
Not so that our mothers say, "War Kani muxu aha?", he can't be my daughter's mate. (Nimo Warfa)

Must I be a darood for you to answer my salam?
Must be I be a hawiye for you to see the on-going opression on my family?
Must I be isaaq for you to embrace me?
Must I subscribe to your tribe for you to help me?
Must I be from your qabil for you to advocate for my freedom?
Does my brother have to be from a particular "better" tribe in order for him to marry your daughter?
Do I have to be from a certain tribe for you to accept me as another human worthy of love and respect just as you're.
Must I be from a certain tribe to be eligible to receive Allah’s Mercy? (Halima Ahmed)


I'm Ogaden,
But does it matter, really?
We're from the same country,
Still follow the same Deen.

Your treatment of me shouldn't depend on my tribe line,
Friendly and warm if we belong to the same group,
Unwelcoming and distant if we happen to be 'enemies'.

Listen Walaalo!
Don't let this tribalism seep into your system,
It's the same disease that has destroyed most of our kinsman,
Don't let it destroy you too. (Bint Qalin)


Foul tribalism;
Synonymous to modern barbarism
Used and abused countless times
To justify ruthless crimes.

The leader of injustice
An ancient judgemental practice
The initiator of selfish crimes
Infinite passing of troubled times…
Uncontrolled qabilisitic division
Blurs the purpose of vision
It spreads….grows malignant…

Innocent lives taken by…
Qabiil coated stainless knives.
Allah’s (swt) creations
Facing unholy tribulations
Caused by synthesised situations…

Be a wadani, hold Somalia’s flag up high
Allow its colour to contrast that of the luminous sky
Hold hands…unite,
Reignite greater Somalia’s light. (Maryam Arab)


Ismail Hassan, Nimo Warfa, Halima Ahmed, Bint Qalin and Maryam Arab
Copyright © 2010