AIS: At the current time, the most recognized element of your reputation as a highly successful businessman is the worldwide facilitation of remittances. Could you comment on this side of the business?
Dahabshiil: I am coming to that issue. But, first, a comment on a nickname that was given to me during the period I was managing the shop in Burao – a favored site among the growing urbanized youth. The nickname was dhiigshiil (blood fryer). This was given to me by a man who was a regular customer of mine, and, in addition, we would occasionally chat and tease each other. His name was Yassin Haji Suleman. He had a distinctive gift for conceiving nicknames that stuck. One day, he walked into the shop and wanted to buy an item (perhaps a shirt). I told him about the price, which he thought was too high. I replied that I had no margin for discount. After a few minutes of haggling, Yassin threatened that he will coin a nickname that could stick if I did not offer a lower price for the item. I shrugged off and declared that he must pay the exact amount or take a leave. He thought for a moment and then announced that, from there on, I ought to be known as dhiigshiil. The word spread like a bushfire and, soon, beyond Burao and the Somali Republic.
AIS: Dhiigshiil became your trademark? (laughing)
Dahabshiil: Affirmative! Since the nickname stuck quickly, I resigned to it (laughing)! Years later, as my business connections grew, I decided to change the nickname from dhiigshiil to dahabshiil (Gold Fryer). This also stuck and became the general brand name for all my business enterprises.
AIS: Before we go back to remittances facilitation, could you tell me how many employees you had at that time?
Dahabshiil: There was not a single formal employee yet: the only helping hand I had was my wife, Fadumo Kahin, and my oldest son, Abdirashid. A bit later, I brought in Abdirahman, now a most critical person in our companies. Abdirahman is the son of my aunt, and, therefore, we are first cousins. When I inducted him into our fold, he was very young and his mother (my father’s sister) had just passed away. In fact, Abdirahman’s father brought him to me and requested that I look after him from thereon. That was a time when my bakhaar was beginning to thrive. I asked Abdirahman how far he had gone in his schooling. He replied that he had completed up to intermediate level. I guided him to start learning about bookkeeping and becoming responsible for the transaction records. After school, my son, Abdirashid, will join Abdirahman and help, while my wife will substitute for me during my absences. That was the sum of the whole staff.
AIS: Now, let’s return to the establishment of the remittances network. Could you comment on that?
Dahabshiil: This part of the business formally began when the Somali National Movement (SNM) entered the North in May 1987. I received a coded message, from a relative who was a senior officer in the ranks of the SNM, that warned me about an upcoming bloody conflagration. The cryptic note advised me to bring the family out of Burao, which was soon to be a serious battleground. Initially, I did not heed the alert. From my perspective, I felt that the SNM forces could never defeat the mighty national army and the state that so impressively overwhelmed the Ethiopians, in 1977/8, until the Soviets and their allies came to their rescue. Moreover, I was told earlier by others that the national army had a number of strong bases within the greater confines of Burao, as well as troops stationed at strategic posts along the border with Ethiopia. Thus, I did not believe that the town will be attacked and captured by SNM. In fact, I was a tad angry with the messenger. A few days afterward, however, on May 27, 1987, I heard what sounded like a thunderous barrage of gunshots. Initially, I thought these were related to the usual police pursuit of those who were engaged in smuggling qat. That was a bit familiar. But this time, it was different. Rather than ending quickly, the exchange of gunfire became intense and got closer to the business center of Burao. A little later, the shooting spread into our residential neighborhood. As the hours went by, the battle turned into urban, gruesome, and face-to-face shootouts between SNM forces and members of the national armed forces. Soon, there were dead bodies littered everywhere, and armed tanks rolled in. However, the tanks were destroyed by SNM bazookas which were mounted on ingeniously improvised civilian vehicles. To our surprise, the SNM forces caused heavy loss to the army units and captured the military base and police stations, the energy compound, and sites of the intelligence and security units. In brief, SNM took over most of Burao. The word reached Mogadishu that Burao was captured by SNM. For us, the business community, this was at once a frightening and perplexing situation. In my case, I got caught between protecting the family and the Bakhaar, as gunfire was still raging all around us. Since there was no more civic or governmental leadership, I decided to put my attention into protecting my neighborhood so that everyone would be safe. Some of my neighbors were from the Dhulbahante and Warsangali kin. I thought that they will be in imminent danger, since the SNM forces were hunting down those working for, or were associated with, the state and the regime of Siyad Barre. One of the individuals with whom I had business relations, and who was from the Dhulbahante kin, was caught in the net of the SNM forces. He and I had an earlier date to fly to Erigavo to conduct some transactions. When he was arrested, he gave the SNM troops my name. They brought him to my house, and I quickly confirmed his assertion to the effect that he was an innocent businessman. Furthermore, I reprimanded the troops for their action and asked them to leave the man with me. They complied. After the troops left, I brought many people from my neighborhood to my home. I feared that they will probably get killed because they belonged to the wrong kin group. After five nights in the now highly cramped house, the situation became unbearable for everyone.
AIS: What did you decide then?
Dahabshiil: The battle for Burao did not end as more state reinforcements arrived. Consequently, Burao was now the site of total war. Even military airplanes joined the attack and bombarded where ever the pilots suspected that SNM forces might be. Here, one must note this corrective fact: the town where the most savage encounters took place and the greatest destruction was visited upon was not Hargeisa, but it was Burao. Since I have never witnessed a war before, I was shocked by what I was seeing and hearing. In the midst of this bloody confrontation, I wondered to myself what utter derangement could drive people to such mutual cruelty and annihilation. During those days, all of my three bakhaars were full of goods. But now I could see the real possibility of incalculable losses. After a few days, I decided to collect a couple of wheelbarrows which I used to sell and loaded them with items we needed the most. I called the family and others together and told them that it was getting too dangerous to stay, and, therefore, was prudent for us to leave Burao right away. In the beginning, we thought that we would lay low outside of the town and then return as soon as hostilities ended. To my astonishment, however, the battle between the SNM forces and the state continued with increased ferocity. With the whole group, including my elderly mother, we decided to walk out of the town. We quickly found out that the shooting was heavy along the sole highway that dissected the area. As a result, we made a point to avoid the road. But walking in the rough bush proved to be most punishing, particularly for the elderly, the smallest of the children, and a few women who were either pregnant or had given birth recently. Some had their shoes pinching them, and others were getting dehydrated and thirsty. We arrived at the agricultural settlement of Ber, which was somewhat vacated. This village had one well, but when we approached it to fetch the water, the level was too deep for immediate scooping. Thus, we decided to tie together, in the shape of a rope, the women’s garbasars (shoulder cloth) with a container at the end to reach for the water level. We repeated that process many times. Soon, after quenching our thirst, a few members felt sick. I thought that might have been as a result of either the quality of the water or drinking with empty stomachs. Afterwards, we temporarily camped near the well and our women began to cook some rice we brought with us. Once we ate and got a bit of rest, I called a meeting of the group. Among them were a cohort of youth from the Harti kin. I informed that group that I was planning to go deep into the pastoral people in the area to procure some camels. Given the spread of clanistic hostilities into the rural settlements, with injuries and deaths becoming frequent, I told them that it will be too unsafe for them to travel with us further. They concurred and took a different route to seek protection elsewhere. By then, the SNM forces were fighting for nearly two months inside Burao. After that, more reinforcement came for the national army and SNM forces retreated. But Burao was laid to waste and our bakhaars were completely looted.
[su_button url=”https://saxafimedia.com/making-of-dahabshiil-brief-interview/6/” style=”soft” size=”12″ wide=”yes” center=”yes” text_shadow=”0px 0px 0px #FFFFFF” rel=”lightbox”]CONTINUE READING ON THE NEXT PAGE >[/su_button]
