Learning Respect the Hard Way — Arta’s Humiliation Theatre

WARSAME DIGITAL MEDIA (WDM) EDITORIAL

So it finally happened. A convoy of Puntland’s “distinguished” elders — the self-appointed custodians of honor and protocol — travelled to Djibouti thinking they were heading for a royal reception. Instead, they were met with buffet lines and bunk beds. The mighty “delegates” of Puntland State, men accustomed to red carpets and local bodyguards saluting their shadows, found themselves elbow-to-elbow in the Arta dining hall, balancing plastic plates and asking, “Where’s our room?”

Welcome to the Guelleh School of Humility, where arrogance meets reality.

The Great Queue of Shame

What was once sold as a “special invitation” from Djibouti’s master of ceremonies turned out to be an open-door jamboree — a recycled anniversary of the 2000 Arta Conference, now reduced to a noisy crowd of job-seekers, opportunists, and nostalgic relics.
The elders, who imagined themselves as “ambassadors of peace,” discovered they were just another set of names on a guest list longer than a Mogadishu power deal.

There they stood — queuing for food, queuing for rooms, queuing for recognition. Some say a few even asked, “Where is our protocol officer?” The answer was silence — or maybe laughter from Guelleh’s aides who knew exactly what they were doing.

When Dignity Travels Without Direction

The insult wasn’t just logistical — it was political. These elders left Puntland without consultation, without clarity, and without a mandate from the very people they claim to represent. They boarded the flight as “Puntland’s elders” but landed as Guelleh’s extras in a political theatre meant to decorate Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s desperate propaganda show.

Respect in politics is earned through principle, not invitations. You cannot expect protocol abroad when you ignore your people at home. Those who bypassed their constituencies have now learned the cruel arithmetic of self-importance — that prestige without legitimacy equals humiliation.

Arta: The Ghost of 2000

Twenty-five years later, Arta has returned — not as a peace conference, but as a comedy of errors. The same Guelleh who once used Arta to impose his will on Somalia now uses its anniversary to parade political relics who lost relevance in their own regions. Puntland’s elders became props in a ceremony meant to revive a dead legacy, while Djibouti’s regime showcased them as trophies of submission.

One can imagine Guelleh smirking from his throne, thinking: “Those who ignored Garowe’s authority now beg for food in Arta.”

Lesson Learned — or Not?

If there is one lesson from this fiasco, it’s this: respect is not outsourced. Those who disregard their own institutions and people in pursuit of foreign flattery end up discovering the meaning of respect in the most humiliating way possible — with a plastic plate in hand and no seat at the table.

Let this be a warning to every self-proclaimed elder or envoy: before accepting invitations from foreign regimes with hidden agendas, ask yourself who benefits — your people or your ego?

Because in Arta, ego was the first casualty.

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