Must I be?

Must I be?

I stand here as a human being
Worthy of being loved and respect
Just as you are!
Yet, you look down on me
Claiming my blood line is impure.
That my bloodline has been contaminated by the corpses of dead animals
And that my people are savages and barbarians.
Only worthy of being recognized as second class citizens.

Our brothers are turned down by fathers who are concerned of maintaining the purity in their family’s blood line…
Yet, they happily give away their daughters to men who are of different faith and culture.

My sisters are constantly showered with words that have the ability to even tear apart a stone, let alone a human heart.
They call our people names such as Midgan, Tumal, Yibir, etc…

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam and fellow Somali
Must I be a Darood for you to answer my salam?
Must I be a Hawiye for you to see the on-going oppression on my family?
Must I be Isaaq for you to embrace me?
Must I subscribe to your tribe for you to help me?
Must I be from your qabil for you to advocate for my freedom?
Does my brother have to be from a particular "better" tribe in order for him to marry your daughter?
Do I have to be from a certain tribe for you to accept me as another human worthy of love and respect just as you are?
Must I be from a certain tribe to be able to receive Allah’s Mercy?
Must I be from a certain tribe for you to recognize me as yet another Muslim…

When will you stop attacking my faith?
When you will stop teaching your infants to start hating at such a tender age,
When will you Somalis stop sewing this hatred and qabilist mentality in our culture?
Must I be from your tribe for you to see the truth in this poem?
Must I be... - Halima Ahmed.