Somalia, located in the Horn of Africa,
has for years been plagued with problems of instability, piracy and
extremism. But on January 18, after about two decades without formal
relations, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton officially
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Recognized the government of Somalia, for having turned itself around.
For
Somalia, this is wonderful news, but what does this statement mean for
Somaliland, an unrecognized state, located in the northern tip of
Somalia, that declared its independence from Somalia in 1991? The
country is a fledgling democracy which has its own constitution, held
peaceful elections, opened schools and universities, established a
central bank that prints its own currency and has its own security
mechanism.
Karthik Pottipatti, 24, an Indian American graduate of
Claremont Mckenna College in politics and winner of a German fellowship
to study economics at the Freie Universitaet, Berlin, spent six months
last year teaching at the University of Hargeisa -- Somaliland's
flagship public University. Karthik is currently studying law at Harvard
University. His experience living, working and traveling, with a
military style canvas duffle bag, has shed light on a country which he
describes as a peaceful forward thinking Islamic democracy.
I interviewed Karthik about his experience and the following is an excerpt of the interview:
So why did you decide to go to Somaliland?
I
was interested and curious about Somaliland because it's a functioning
democracy without any interference or influence from the west. The
country has built democratic institutions without having a modern
history of democracy.
What did you teach at the University of Hargeisa and what was your experience like?
Under
the foreign teacher's program, I taught English and Economics to
freshmen, sophomores and juniors. There are more than 1500 students
enrolled in bachelor degree programs at the University of Hargeisa. The
school runs a comprehensive program, including the important task of
training the countries medical doctors.
But unfortunately the
university does not compare when it comes to faculty or facilities or
resources for students. This is not for lack of effort but more of a
reality of living in an area where resources are very limited, and where
international recognition limits how much assistance they can get from
other universities and other governmental and non-governmental
organizations.
You speak about Somaliland's lack of recognition. How does that impact the students?
Since
the country is unrecognized there are not many international
scholarship programs available for these students. Personally this is a
shame as Somaliland is a democracy just like ours and there are a few
students I felt who could take advantage of an education in the U.S. or
Europe.
For a country where the educational infrastructure is
being built from the ground up, it is important for students to go to
other countries and learn best practices and bring it back to
Somaliland. The country needs professionals -- from well-trained
economists who can run the central bank, and design an Islamic banking
system that is conducive to growth and investment, to medical
professionals who can educate the next generation of doctors in the
country.
Secondly, the lack of recognition serves as a
disincentive for other organizations to make partnerships with
universities within Somaliland. This has effected the University of
Hargeisa as it is currently not internationally accredited.
Somaliland
was completely destroyed when Said Barre's forces bombed the country
during the civil war. When the war ended in the early 90's the country
had to rebuild from scratch. The intellectual community that fled
Somaliland prior to the war left a void that now needs to be filled.
Maybe
the international community is weary of getting involved because of the
security situation in Somaliland? What was your experience there like?
Somaliland
is mainly a stable country, and all foreigners must live with security
personnel. We had guards living with us in the house, but this did not
deter me from going on runs in the morning with my colleagues.
I
did not feel that we were in danger and this has a lot to do with the
Somaliland government's interest in keeping at bay terrorist groups like
the Al Shabab, which was an active force in southern Somalia (the
Shabab is a militant group that has ties to AL-Qaeda).
Somaliland
has been vigilant in fighting the Shabab. And this is not just the
police. Ordinary Somaliland citizens recognize that the Shabab is a
dangerous and intolerant group. Because the country is clan based,
outsiders are immediately spotted and the Somaliland police work with
NGO's to eliminate the threat.
What was your experience living in a Muslim country? Were you under pressure to convert to Islam?
I
had to dress conservatively in business casual clothes. In a Muslim
country there is less freedom in what you can do and in expressing
yourself. They did encourage me to convert but I never felt pressured to
convert as they don't believe in forced conversions to Islam.
Somaliland
is a testament to capitalism. You can find things here from the U.S.,
China and India. When we talk of Islam and democracy, many times we feel
these are odds with each other. But here is a country that has
generated a working democracy by itself.
Soon after Karthik
left Somaliland, the foreign teachers program was closed. After hearing
of Somalia's recognition he said, "This is an opportunity for us to
re-examine our policy towards Somaliland and hopefully recognize the
sovereignty of an independent Muslim democracy in Africa".
By, Ramaa Reddy Raghavan
Recent graduate, Columbia School of Journalism
http://www.huffingtonpost.com