Small Voices, Big Tremors

Never Underestimate the Small

Dad Yaresi Maleh — Don’t underestimate Anyone

Every generation of power believes the same comforting lie: that strength belongs to the biggest army, the deepest treasury, the loudest voice, or the firmest grip on authority. History keeps delivering the same inconvenient answer. It doesn’t.

Again and again, those who seemed too small to matter have changed the course of nations. That truth should make every leader uncomfortable, because the fear behind censorship, arrests, blocked social media accounts, and constant appeals to “stability” reveals something important. You do not silence a voice you believe is powerless. Every attempt to crush a critic is an admission that words can become a threat.

History taught this lesson long before the modern age. At the Battle of Badr, just over three hundred believers led by Prophet Muhammad ﷺ faced a Quraysh from Mecca nearly three times larger. By every conventional measure, the outcome seemed inevitable. Yet Badr became a defining moment in Islamic history, proving that faith, unity, discipline, and determination could overcome overwhelming odds. It was more than a military victory; it was a reminder that numbers alone do not decide history.

The lesson has repeated itself throughout the Horn of Africa. Colonial powers arrived with modern weapons, organized armies, and the confidence that came with empire. They expected resistance to collapse quickly. Instead, they encountered communities that refused to surrender. From the long struggle led by the Dervish movement under Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan to the sacrifices of countless Somali men and women who resisted foreign rule in different parts of the country, history showed that determination could frustrate even the strongest empires. Military superiority did not guarantee political victory. It rarely does.

The same pattern appeared elsewhere across Africa. Colonial administrations possessed armies, prisons, courts, and vast resources, yet they were gradually worn down by people who refused to abandon their demand for freedom. In the end, independence did not arrive because empires suddenly became generous. It arrived because ordinary people proved too persistent to govern against their will.

The lesson did not remain on the battlefield. It reached forests and villages as well. Wangari Maathai began with a simple idea: ordinary women planting trees across degraded land in Kenya. She faced intimidation, imprisonment, and ridicule, yet she persisted. What started with a handful of seedlings became the Green Belt Movement, restoring millions of trees, inspiring communities, and earning her the Nobel Peace Prize. Great movements often begin with acts so small that they are easy to dismiss.

Today, the battlefield has changed again. It is no longer defined only by territory or weapons but also by information. A smartphone, a camera, and an internet connection allow a single individual to challenge institutions that once controlled every public conversation. Independent journalists, researchers, writers, and ordinary citizens can expose wrongdoing, question authority, and shape public debate without owning a television station or newspaper. Influence is no longer reserved for those with the largest platforms.

The lesson applies just as clearly in Somalia. Never underestimate the young blogger writing late into the night, the TikToker recording events on a cracked phone, or the Bajaj driver whose story suddenly reaches audiences far beyond our borders. Today’s establishment often treats these people as insignificant, until one video, one article, or one honest testimony sparks a national conversation that can no longer be ignored.

Every giant in history eventually learns the same lesson. It is rarely defeated first by another giant. More often, it is challenged by something it considered too small to matter until it was too late.

History is not written only by the powerful. It is also written by those who refuse to be silent. As the Somali saying goes, “Dad yaraysi ma leh.” Never underestimate anyone.