The Bimal Dir Clan Boqortoyada Bimaal Struggles
History repeats it self, between 1880 and 1920, The Bimaal clans men and women of Southern Somalia opposed Italian invaders and were systematically massacred not with Italian might but with the support of other Somali clans who thought they could rule through the white coloniser. A Somali poet who was not happy with his clans decision in facilitating white colonisers’ atrocities against a noble Somali clan, summarised her opinion in the following poem passage:
“Waayel tolkey, sidii Weyl lo’aad, gaallaa waraabsadoo watey. Waranle tolkey iyo wadaad-kiis aan ka warsugaa”.
It roughly translates “My Clan elders has been owned by the white coloniser, as one owns the destiny of the cattle he/she gives water and feed.
The Biyomal, a small group that lives in the vicinity of Mogadishu, is a subclan of the Dir. According to the Supplement to Information on Country Conditions on Somalia, "The Dir family can be divided into three sections: Issa, Gadabursi, and Biyomal [Biyemal]" (Toronto Front 15 Feb. 1996, 51).
According to The Price of Peace: Somalia and the United Nations 1991-1994, the Biyamal are the majority clan in the Lower Shebelle (Gilkes 1994, 144). Gilkes distinguishes between the northern Dir and the southern Dir and notes that although the Biyamal were known for their struggle against the Italians, as a southern Dir group, they "were previously ignored." (144). Gilkes states that the Dir and particularly the Biyamal, supported the Southern Somali National Movement (SSNM), but adds that the SSNM had split. "Early in 1993 its chairman, Colonel Abdi Warsame, broke with General Aydeed and took part of the SSNM with him when he aligned himself with Ali Mahdi" (147).
For additional information on the Biyomal and the SSNM please consult Responses to Information Rquests SOM24908 of 4 September 1994 and SOM18537.E of 4 October 1994, which are available at Regional Documentation Centres.
