I still remember the first time I heard this song. Kuwait. I must’ve been about 8 or 9. My mom and I were hovered over our old, slow computer and I was reading the latest Somali news to her. My parents are both literate and know 3 languages each, but in order for them to teach me about my origins, language, and country, they forced me to read the news to them all the time, to practice my reading skills. I used to love it, mostly because I got to drive the mouse (anyone who knows me well knows I love to control the mouse).
On this particular day, things started off the same but were about to change. My mother and I first watched a short documentary about a Somali girl who shared her story of how she was raped during the war and consequently contracted HIV. It was quite heavy and my mom and I were sad. One of the links on the side was titled “Maryan Mursal – Somali Udiida Ceeb,” meaning ‘Somalia- Don’t Allow Shame for it’ (that’s how I interpret it, at least. Most websites show a slightly different interpretation that somewhat annoys me). My mom asked me to click on it, and we watched. It started off with a young girl, about my age at the time, running with a large Somali flag. The picture eventually shatters and the singing begins. I didn’t understand much at the time, but I remember seeing a tear roll down my mom’s cheek, which prompted me to ask her to break it down for me, line by line. I never knew too much about what Somalia was prior to the war era, all I knew about was the chaos I read in the news on a daily basis, most of which I never understood. My idea of Somali history was misconstrued. But my mother informed me of how things used to be, how it’s changed now, how the song speaks of just that, and urges Somalis to not allow shame for Somalia. Somewhere over the next few minutes, something stirred inside me and I started crying too. I didn’t know why, but I did. I think that’s when I started to fall in love with Somalia, and Maryan Mursal became my favourite artist.
Here’s the original video we watched. I will translate the song, line by line sometime soon, insha’Allah.
