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In our series of letters from African journalists, Ismail Einashe looks at how Somalia has been caught up in the United States election campaign.
President Donald Trump is making Somali-American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar one of the ghost women in his campaign for re-election to the White House in November, and by delegation from his country of birth, Somalia.
In his most recent attack, at a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he broke into the 37-year-old woman, claiming that she wanted to bring Somali “anarchy” to the United States.
“She would like to make the government of our country like the country it came from: Somalia. No government, no security, no police, nothing, just anarchy. And now, she’s telling us how to run our country. No, Thank you.”
Mrs. Omar, who came to the United States as a refugee girl in 1995, is the representative of the Minnesota Congress, which includes the city of Minneapolis, where the police killed the African-American George Floyd in May, rekindling the Black Lives Matter protests. .
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But it was Ms. Omar’s Somali heritage that the president chose to focus on Tulsa, perhaps to distract himself from all the turmoil and unrest closer to home.
In response, Ms. Omar said her comments were “racist”. She added that her anger stemmed from a recent poll that had shown her following her rival, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, in her state, which is home to a large Somali-American community.
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Perhaps Somalia’s vision for Trump and his supporters is still clouded by events in 1993 … when US troops launched a disastrous foray into the Somali capital. “
The president described Ms. Omar as a “socialist who is hateful and who criticizes Americans,” warning that she would have a role in shaping the country if Biden won.
This despite the fact that the couple are at opposite ends of the Democratic Party: Ms. Omar had been a leading advocate for Bernie Sanders to win the Democratic ticket.
- Who is the American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar?
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But that rhetoric plays well with its base, so the electoral stage has been set, the cast cast, and Ms. Omar and Somalia have leading roles.
In fact, they both debuted last year at the Trump rally in North Carolina, where the crowd chanted about Ms. Omar: “Send her back! Send her back!”
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It echoed the phrase “lock her up” adopted by her supporters against rival Hillary Clinton in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.
Ms. Omar, who is a fierce critic of the President, had been hard-pressed at the time, censored by Democrats and Republicans, for stoking stereotypes about Jews and had apologized for tweets that implied that US lawmakers only support Israel for the lobby money.
Republican Senator Rand Paul had offered to buy a plane ticket for “ungrateful” Mrs. Omar to go to Somalia. He suggested that he return to better appreciate the United States.
One-time Republican runs Somalia
Trump’s view of Somalia appears to stem from the aftermath of the 1991 overthrow of Siad Barre, as it is popularly considered to be one of the world’s most failed states.
More on the United States presidential race:
This label has been stubbornly stuck even when the situation has improved in the country.
While Trump imagines that Somalia has no law, no police, no government, this is far from reality on the ground.
A UN-backed government is taking small steps in rebuilding the country and targeting Islamist militants, with the help of many Somalis in the diaspora returning home.
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Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed gave up his US citizenship to become President of Somalia
This includes current President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, popularly known as “Farmajo,” who was a registered Republican in Buffalo and renounced his US citizenship to run the country in 2017.
And the separatist republic of Somaliland, which has held successive free and fair elections, and, while not a recognized state, is the strongest democracy in the Horn of Africa.
Perhaps Somalia’s view of Trump and his supporters is still clouded by events in 1993, one of the most important US foreign interventions in Africa, when US troops launched a disastrous raid in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, to capture a powerful leader.
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Two American Black Hawk helicopters were shot down, and 18 American soldiers and more than 500 Somalis died in the battle.
The scenes of the soldiers dragged through the streets shocked Americans and had a significant impact on United States foreign policy in the region.
But under President Trump, the United States has been involved in a secret war in Somalia against the Islamist militant group al-Shabab, using drones and special forces, something few Americans know.
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There are parts of Somalia that work well
Some Somalis find Trump’s opinion of their country puzzling, arguing that it is partly his politics that have made the country more dangerous, and they say Somali civilians, not militants, are often the cause of attacks with American drones that have increased under his presidency.
- How the United States has intensified its war in Somalia
- Who are the Somali al-Shabab?
Proud Muslim with hijab
The collapse of Somalia, nearly three decades ago, dispersed Somalis worldwide from the Arctic Circle to New Zealand.
In the United States, Minneapolis is home to one of the largest Somali diaspora populations in the world: a visibly black and Muslim community.
Since September 11 there have been tense talks about the place of Muslims in the United States. Trump often uses anti-Muslim rhetoric in his portrayal of good immigrants against bad, playing on these fears.
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Ilhan Omar moved to Minneapolis, where there is a large Somali community, as a teenager
For the President, Mrs. Omar does not fit her idea of a “good migrant”. The proud Hijab-clad politician fought for her right to wear hats in the House of Representatives, overturning an 181-year-old ban.
She is not afraid of being a Muslim, something that sets her apart from another prominent American-Somali woman, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a former Dutch politician who is a vocal critic of Islam.
Last year, Tucker Carlson, host of Fox News, Trump’s favorite news channel, compared Ms. Hirsi Ali and Ms. Omar, saying, “Two Somali immigrants, one of the most impressive people in the United States. The other, among the least. “
As the drama of the US campaign unfolds over the next five months, you can expect more of these culture wars to unfold in the Trump rallies.
More letters from Africa:
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