r/Somalilanders

Hello,
I was wondering why you guys aren’t against your country’s relations with Israel and UAE who are both committing genocides in Palestine and Sudan. Like I’m fine with Somaliland independence, but does it have to come with these genocidal regimes?

Asalamualaikum, I'm a Yemeni and I was just curious as to what Somali's think of us. I ask because I feel like we have slight similarities in our clothes and our food. I also think you guys have a nice culture as well.

Also, what are your thoughts on Somaliland? Is it close to actually becoming a thing? I pray it fails since "certain groups" seem to be supporting it, and it would make the region worse imo. The UAE was trying very hard to re-create South Yemen a few months ago, but alhamdulillah, Saudi Arabia pushed back the STC and the UAE.

I’ll start with France and its evil history.

I would also like to contribute the following:

1. Both "Somalia" and "Somaliland" don't come from the Somali language itself.
2. "Somalia" is derived from the Italian connection as Italy in Italian is "Italia". Italian is a language that is a direct descendant and the closest of Romance languages to Latin.
3. "Somaliland" is derived from the British connection as there is "England", "Scotland", "Ireland", "Deutschland", "New Zealand", "Netherlands", "Switzerland", "Finland", "Swaziland" (Eswatini Now), "Iceland", "Poland". The suffix land is Germanic. English is a Germanic Language.
4. To continue point three: Finland= Land of Finns (an ethnic person from Finland is referred to as Finn and Finnish is the Nationality as a Somali/foreginer in Finland is Finn-ish and can never be a Finn like you can't hijack their ethnic name as well 🤣).
5. Somaliland means "Land of the Somalis". Somaliland is a country that is purely Somali thus our ethnicity can never be stripped since Reer Somalia like to play that game for decades.
6. While Somalia on the other hand has an ethnically mixed society with folks who don't have Somali blood, mixed folks, and Somali people. To be inclusive you must identify nationality wise as Somalians as y'all named the country Somalia despite having minorities. But hey, you can say I'm Somali from Somalia and they're not Somali but they are Somalian.
7. If you're going to use a Latin/Italian term be consistent like the "Italians" that call their country ITALIA and call yourselves "Somalians" as you're from SOMALIA.
8. I have been called dumb and attacked 😂🤣😭 by Somalians when making these points as they fail to hear me out due to their angry nature. Read to argue but not comprehend unfortunately. At the end of the day, I don't use the term Somalian to demean them. I use it to make the distinction between me and them as the only thing I share in common with them is the Religion of Islam. I would say Somali language but the dialect spoken in Xamar can be hard at times for a Somali from Somaliland to pick up especially if their from the diaspora and don't consume Somali programs from different cities they won't understand. Example: "Maxaa jiraa?" vs "Maxaa jiro?", "Waxaan baayactamay" vs "Waan gorgortamay", "Digaag meaning Chicken for us but Dooro meaning chicken for them but discharge for us in Somaliland 🤦‍♂️" or "Shuun a name for a beautiful/gorgeous girl but means pubic hair in Somalia".
9. Positive Ending: May Allah SWT Allow Somaliland and Somalia to prosper!

Hi everyone, I’m a student from Somaliland currently trying to raise money to pay for a Somali passport so I can continue applying for scholarships and future study opportunities abroad. Right now, my financial situation is difficult, and I’m looking for either: small online work, short-term jobs, translation/help tasks, remote assistance work, or any honest opportunity that can help me earn quickly. I have skills in: English communication translation/basic writing accounting background social media/basic online tasks willingness to learn fast I’m not asking for charity only — I’m mainly looking for work opportunities or advice that can help me earn the passport cost myself. If anyone knows: remote work platforms, NGOs or organizations hiring, online gigs, scholarship support, or Somali/Somaliland communities that help students, I would truly appreciate the guidance. Thank you for reading and may Allah bless you all.

Since they always question their "Somalianhood" when they're referred to it, you can refer them to this post for clarification in the future.

And this is the official answer:
It is not about denying anyone's Somali ethnicity. Somalilanders and Somalians are both ethnically Somali. The difference being discussed is nationality and political identity.

A person who supports the "Union," represents the blue flag, and identifies with Somalia as a nation-state is a "Somalian" by nationality and political affiliation.

On the other hand, Somalilanders are Somali by ethnicity, but Somalilanders by nationality and state identity. This is why the distinction exists: "Somali" refers to an ethnic identity, while "Somalian" refers to a national or political identity connected to Somalia, just as “Somalilander” refers to a national or political identity connected to Somaliland.

This structure makes sense as a political identity argument, similar to how Austrians and Germans can both be ethnically Germanic while having different national identities, and how Arabs can belong to many different nationalities.

So when the term "Somalian" is used, it refers to someone's national and political alignment with Somalia, not their ethnicity.

Since Somaliland and Somalia are two different countries, this is and will increasingly become the new norm both locally and internationally for separating different nations in the Horn of Africa. It reflects a shift where ethnicity ("Somali") is understood separately from nationality and state identity, where people are defined by their political allegiance and the country they identify with, rather than just ethnicity.

I genuinely don’t understand how people can look at the actual history and still repeat Muqdisho propaganda about “Somali unity” "union" Voluntary union" like it was some equal partnership. A union requires a legally ratified agreement between two sovereign states. Where was that ratified Act of Union? It never existed in a legally completed form. British Somaliland became independent on June 26, 1960. Italian Somalia became independent on July 1. They rushed into a political arrangement that was NEVER properly ratified according to Somaliland’s own legal procedures(Somaliland act of union was rejected and, Somalia forced us on their own act of union which is illegal. for the union to be ratified both sides most consent to it).

So if there was no finalized legal union, and Somali troops and politicians from the south ended up controlling Somaliland’s territory, government, and institutions afterward, what exactly are we supposed to call that?, that sounds like an annexation .

And let’s talk about the role of some of our own politicians. Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal and Mohamed Aynanshe Guuleed accepted low-ranking positions in the new Somali Republic instead of standing with the officers and Somalilanders who realized almost immediately that it was annexation. In 1961, Somaliland military officers attempted to resist the situation after seeing how Somalia refused the sign the Somaliland act of Union and instead forced an illegal one sided referendum and power was centralized in the south and how Somaliland was being politically sidelined. Instead of supporting resistance to Muqdisho domination, our politicians chose careers inside the system.

Then decades later, the remnants of those same political elites rewrote history to protect their reputations. Suddenly we are told there was this glorious “union” built on equality and brotherhood, when in reality Somaliland lost its sovereignty almost immediately and became ruled from Muqdisho.

People also forget what the 2006 African Union fact-finding mission concluded. Even the AU acknowledged that Somaliland’s case was “unique and self-justified” and that the union between Somaliland and Somalia was never ratified making it null and void. They recognized that Somaliland’s search for recognition was not the same as random secessionism in Africa. That alone should tell people this issue is not some made-up tribal fantasy.

And don’t even get me started on the so-called Somali democracy of the 1960s. The elections were openly manipulated. There are documented cases where towns in the south somehow produced absurd voting numbers that exceeded entirety of Somaliland. Wanlaweyn allegedly produced more votes than all of Somaliland combined in one election. And we’re supposed to believe this was an equal state where Somalilanders had fair representation and every thing went wrong in 1969?

From the beginning, the system was structurally dominated by the south politically, militarily, and numerically. Somaliland entered as an independent state and quickly found itself annexed absorbed into a centralized republic it could not control.

Call it whatever you want, but if:

• there was no properly ratified union,
• sovereignty disappeared,
• troops from another former state controlled your territory,
• your political influence became marginal,
• and attempts to resist were crushed,

then “annexation” is the only thing that this can be named as.

Please, this post has nothing to do with siyaad barre or the xasuuq so when you are replying it will be great if you stuck to the subject, thank you.

Hey, I am a foreigner and I am interested in Somali history and politics. In my country, Somaliland is making it to national newspapers more often due to Israel’s recognition and it is often praised for its democratic institutions. I’ve also read a lot about the Somalia as a failed-state argument from somalilanders. I am trying to form an opinion beyond what I can read in the West and I don’t know many Somali people (I also don’t feel like asking them too much about politics). So I come to ask here what you guys and what Somali think about the recognition by Israel ahah. 

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