Muse is 62. He cannot run. He cannot fight. But every night, he sleeps outside close to the goat fence. He says: “The goats do not know about clans. They only know grass and water. I learn from them.”
At night, he hears everything. Hyenas. Wind. Sometimes gunfire far away.
When the gunfire comes close, he whispers to the goats. He tells them to lie down. They listen.
Muse has one son who lives in Norway. His son calls him every Friday. Muse does not understand why anyone would leave goats.
He wants a blanket. His old one has holes.
Muse is not a refugee’s father. He is a man who sleeps close to his goats so they do not feel alone or afraid.
Aadmi means human
This is a series of short stories by journalist Wilo Abdulle about ordinary Somali people – and about what it means to be human.
When the world looks at Somalia, it often sees only war, famine, pirates, clan killings, statelessness, displacement. Those things exist. But they are not the whole truth. They are not even most of the truth.
That version was written by the hunters.
War does not turn people into something else. It forces them to live ordinary lives in extraordinary circumstances. They still eat. Still teach. Still hope. Still sing songs for murdered leaders from other countries. The hunters’ stories never tell you that.
This is the lion’s story.
Inta libaaxu wax qorista ka baranayo, sheeko kasta waxaa sheegan doona ugaarsadeha. Until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter.
Read the story behind the Aadmi Story:
Read the next Aadmi Story: