In these troubled times in Somali history, few can withstand the recurring abuse than Deggan Mirash, a young mother of four, who is Somaliland’s longest-serving flag martyr.
She has suffered greatly from massive abuse of power due to repeated, long and unlawful detentions and harassment at the hand of the Hargeisa-based administration.
Deggan is currently being held at Gabiley Prison and was arrested a week earlier after foiling a plan to burn the Somali flag in downtown Borama.
On the day of her arrest, local Somaliland officials gathered young people to burn the Somali National Flag in retaliation for the celebration made days earlier by other young people now in prison.
Last year, Ms Mirash was jailed for decorating her bedroom with the Somali flag and posting a photo online of herself also wearing blue clothes with a white stars pattern.
The crime of carrying the flag
In Somaliland there is an unwritten law criminalizing the blue flag with the white star or even the use of a combination of these two colors on the clothes one wears, as ridiculous as that sounds.
In recent days, renewed attention has been paid to this draconian rule, its sometimes lethal application and its massive use against the people of Borama and Las Anod.
About 60 young people were taken into custody in Borama after being caught wearing the colors of the national flag and celebrating Independence Day on June 26.
Among them 35 school-aged girls have been detained in Gabiley, nearly 100 km from Borama and are awaiting court appearance.
They are housed in cramped cells as witnessed by the usually disconnected Somaliland National Human Rights Commission.
The rest of them, all boys, were taken farther to the Mandera penitentiary designed for thieves and murderers.
Eight young girls were also arrested in Las Anod on July 4th and transferred to a Berbera jail for wearing clothes with blue and white star pattern. They also received the visit of SLNHRC who only took note of their detention and condition.
Rights abuses is the norm
The SLNHRC is not independent from the administration and their visits to young girls incarcerated for politically motivated issues are unprecedented.
However, at no time did this SLNHRC “courtesy” extend to Deggan Mirash who was incarcerated for the third time in the space of a year. She was detained for 6 months the first time, precisely between July and December 2020.
She suffered greatly from the hardship endured during her repeated incarceration and harassment.
Her husband left her while she was in jail and many relatives did not want to be associated with her to avoid scrutiny and harassment by the Somaliland police.
According to Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, as well as states signatories to the Universal Human Rights Declarations, the Mirash case fits the definition of a prisoner of conscience, meaning she was jailed simply for defending peacefully her views and love for an indivisible Somalia.
According to Article 9 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile”.
Steadfastness in the face of prison loneliness
On July 3rd, she smuggled out of her cell a 4 minutes recording about her jail condition.
She describes the daily harassment and death threats from prison guards and the fear of dying without seeing loved ones.
In her recording, she cries, begging for help. Her desperation can be heard in her voice as she describes her heartbreaking condition.
So far, Mirash has not had legal representation or had the opportunity to appear and be heard in court and challenge her incarceration.
Since her first arbitrary arrest and detention for the undefined crime of “anti-national” activities, no conviction has been handed down by the courts.
Her heroic stand is reminiscent of Hawo Tako (or Xaawo Taako) a Somali national hero who was assassinated in Mogadishu in 1948 while protesting against colonial rule.
Deggan Mirash’s fight began peacefully and in the privacy of her home but is now a full-blown public cry for justice and freedom of speech.
The pseudo-state countdown
Somaliland is a self-proclaimed republic which seceded in 1991 when the whole country was in turmoil.
However, the wider local population was never consulted and the de facto secession created challenges to which the Hargeisa administration typically responds with severe repression stifling any expression of belonging to greater Somalia.
That’s why harassment, threats of imprisonment, excessive fines and police brutality are unfortunately privileged tools by the Somaliland secessionists to keep the northern population in check.
To make matters worst, recent events have shown that the Somaliland police now use life ammunition to suppress the ostentation of the Somali flag or the suspicion of it.
It is in this last development that the complications and the implosion of the pseudo-state will arise.
It is encouraging to see Somalis driven by patriotism and national interest, defending our state and leaders. It is uplifting to have people countering the toxic, fabricated narratives constantly generated by Somali media platforms. I don’t understand what they will gain by degrading their nation and demonizing its leaders. We have had more than our share of bad news, misery, violence and multitude of other problems. Now, it is to focus on positive, meaningful nation- building agendas .
Thank you Kormeeraha.