OdaySomali;788988 wrote: When I was there I fell in love with this city. The weather is simply mesmorising, there is this permanent light breeze that is very soothing and gives this city an aura of tranquility. It is also a relatively large city that has a unique character of having a 'metropolis' feel to it whilst maintaining a semblance of 'country' comfort. Waking up to the noise and hustle and bustle of Hargeisa and going to bed late at night with the city still roaring, full of energy - in that respect it reminded me of Dubai, the 24/7 city. yes this is true! i can confirm this.

bob, i took this pictures! i was seated one row behind the vice-president, showing my new found importance in somaliland. my aim for this pic was to show the attention the vice-president was getting . laakin... do you think i was on the receiving end of the photographers lens lol?

Alpha's years of depression At the beginning of 1993, worn out from a world tour, Blondy succumbed to depression and was taken into an institution for psychiatric help. But as his health recovered he recorded the album 'Dieu' ('God'), where he appears more spiritual and religious, on tracks such as 'Heal Me', about his illness and recovery. Blondy's psychiatric treatment continued but, on December 10, 1994, Blondy was back with the festival in memory of the late President Houphouet, and later he made his European comeback at a storming concert at Le Zenith in Paris. In 1996, Blondy released a hits compilation and went back into the studio to record the album 'Grand Bassam Zion', singing in six languages; Malinke, Arabic, French, English, Ashanti and Wolof

Che -Guevara;796177 wrote: ^It's question glazed with little bit of sarcasm. oh right! thanks for clarify!

Che -Guevara;796171 wrote: Gaxwo iyo bun maa kuhaya? explain the joke?

<img src="http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/420885_10150626796169250_675814249_8962409_2023128082_n.jpg[ http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/428114_10150640496359250_675814249_9006320_1060817758_n.jpg" alt="" /> <img src="http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/416880_10150640501329250_675814249_9006349_2126621341_n.jpg[/img[ http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/428657_10150640507074250_675814249_9006386_449735438_n.jpg" alt="" /> my fav picture so far below

nuune, tell those plastic bottles from bosnia they're virtually useless!

i dont think you can put a monetary value on everything esp ideals and values etc but i'm beginning to realise everyone has a price!

shallow and pretentious

service sector might be worth investing in.... there is nothing to do in this country. more activities needed. there is plenty of money here and disposable income is very good.

rude and opinionated

adam zayla! jealous of you and your delusional stories.... i'm grinding here to make my stories a reality...get real saxib! perhaps, you could do a story of good verus evil and use your medieval kingdom as a battledrome (kingdom being somali peninsula) between me and you. i could be the evil scar-faced antagonist and you could be a prince, a heir to the throne ( syriana with george clooney)...caught between the reality of a post apocalyptic hell-hole and that utopian POW of yours.

adam zayla, you're so pathetic..... you euro-trash guys go to the gym and then buy your skinny jeans from topman or h&m! i'm having a mental work out here in the African evening. bring it on!

^ or world of witchcraft! he will probably commit suicide soon!

adam, you're a lost soul.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the 24th President of Liberia and the first elected female Head of State in Africa. Throughout her career she has demonstrated passionate commitment to hard work, integrity and good governance, advocating for the rights of women and the importance of education to provide a better future for her country and its people. Born Ellen Euphemia Johnson in Monrovia on October 29, 1938, she is the granddaughter of a traditional chief of renown in western Liberia and a market woman from the southeast. She grew up in Liberia and attended high school at the College of West Africa in Monrovia, subsequently studying at Madison Business College, the University of Colorado and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government where she obtained a Master’s Degree in Public Administration in 1971. Her entry into politics came in 1972 when she delivered her now famous commencement address to her high school alma mater in which she sharply criticized the government, showing her determination to speak truth unto power. This was the start of a distinguished professional and political career spanning nearly four decades. In 1965 she joined the then Treasury Department in Liberia and was appointed Minister of Finance in 1979 where she introduced measures to curb the mismanagement of government finances. After the military coup d’état of 1980, Johnson Sirleaf served as President of the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) but fled Liberia and the increasingly suppressive military government that same year. She traveled to Kenya and served as Vice President of CITICORP’s Africa Regional Office in Nairobi, and later moved to Washington, D.C. to assume the position of Senior Loan Officer at the World Bank, and Vice President for Equator Bank. In 1992 she joined the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as Assistant Administrator and Director of its Regional Bureau of Africa with the rank of Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations. However, with her country still very much at heart, Johnson Sirleaf resigned in 1997 to return home and contest the Presidential elections and was ranked second in votes to warlord Charles Taylor. She was exiled again, this time to the Ivory Coast where she kept a close eye on Liberian politics. During that time she established, in Abidjan, Kormah Development and Investment Corporation, a venture capital vehicle for African entrepreneurs, and Measuagoon, a Liberian community development NGO. In 2003 when Charles Taylor was exiled to Nigeria and the National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) was formed, Johnson Sirleaf was selected to serve as Chairperson of the Governance Reform Commission where she led the country’s anti-corruption reform by changing the reporting mechanism of the General Auditing Commission from the Executive to the Legislature thereby strengthening and reinforcing its independence. She resigned this position to successfully contest the 2005 Presidential elections, resulting in her historic inauguration, on January 16, 2006, as President of Liberia. After decades of fighting for freedom, justice and equality in Liberia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has spent more than four years rebuilding post-conflict Liberia. She has revived national hope by strengthening the institutions of national security and good governance, leading the revitalization of the national economy and infrastructure, including the construction of more than 800 miles of roads, and restoring Liberia’s international reputation and credibility. President Johnson Sirleaf has built strong relations with regional partners and the international community, attracting investment of over $16 billion in Liberia’s mining, agriculture and forestry sectors, and off-shore oil exploration to provide jobs for her people. Her leadership has led to more than $4 billion in debt relief in June 2010 and to the lifting of UN trade sanctions to allow Liberia access to the international market. She has increased the national budget from $80 million in 2006 to more than $350 million in 2010 and has driven annual GDP growth at between 5 and 9.5 percent over this period. The Liberian leader has attracted more than $5 million of private resources from international contributions, which she has used to enhance Government’s ability to rebuild vital infrastructure – to build schools and clinics and markets, and to foster scholarships to further build the skills and capabilities of the Liberian people. President Johnson Sirleaf currently serves as Chairperson of the Mano River Union where she leads the effort for political stability and economic cooperation among Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire. She was a founding member of the International Institute for Women in Political Leadership, was designated in 1999 by the OAU to serve on the committee to investigate the Rwanda genocide, was a Commission Chair for the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, and was selected by UNIFEM as one of two persons to investigate and report on the effect of conflict on women and women’s roles in peace building. Before her ascendancy to the Presidency, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf served on many advisory boards, including the International Crisis Group (USA) and Women Waging Peace (USA), and she is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, among them: the FAO CERES Medal (2008); the Crisis Group Fred Cuny Award for the Prevention of Deadly Crisis (2008) for outstanding leadership in democracy, development and peace building in Africa; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2007), the highest civilian honor bestowed by an American president. Special honors received include Commander de l’Ordre du Mono (1996), Togo’s highest national honor; the Franklin D. Roosevelt Freedom of Speech Award (1988); and the 2010 Friend of the Media Award from the African Editors’ Union, in recognition of her contribution to a media-friendly environment in Liberia throughout her tenure as President. She has also received Honorary Doctorate degrees from fourteen universities in the United States and Africa. In 2010, Newsweek magazine listed Johnson Sirleaf as one of the ten best leaders in the world, Time placed her among the top ten female leaders, and The Economist called her "the best President the country has ever had." President Johnson Sirleaf has written widely on financial, development and human rights issues, and in 2008 she published her critically acclaimed memoir, “This Child Will Be Great”. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the proud mother of four sons and grandmother of eleven.

lol@polanyi, tru dat! Late 1980s and the continued success Blondy spent the years 1987–1989 giving concerts and recording 'SOS Guerre Tribale' in Abidjan. This was promoted by Blondy himself as he was distancing himself from Pathe Marconi at this stage. This was not to be a real success but this wasn't going to stop Blondy and in 1991 he returned to Europe for a concert tour and to record his famous album: 'Masada' with the help of musical legends such as Bocana Maiga and UK reggae producer Denis Bovell. The album, with its hit single 'Rendez Vous' was a huge success, and later, Blondy was to receive his first Gold Disc in Paris.

Naxar Nugaaleed;793119 wrote: United nations Office Of the high commissioner for human rights or a profs. of humanities in some small liberal arts school somewhere in new England or the Atlantic coast lol lol@NN, Realistic?

5;793040 wrote: I'm doing what I dreamt about doing when I was a pre-teen. In many ways I'm doing my "dream job", but the sad thing is, you get too busy to stop and appreciate it. You want more ("ok if I get to THIS point THEN it really is a dream come true" - only the line gets moved further and further each time). The glitter, unicorns and rainbows fade away and the "dream" becomes an everyday reality that only excites others. "Dream job" becomes like picking up your mail. The only difference is, you become so involved with your work that little else interests you, and you risk alienating your oldest friends and even some of your family members. Which isn't very healthy for relationships... yh! i know what you mean. even all the benefits i currently enjoy, which a year ago seemed like luxuries do not give me fulfillment. maybe dreaming of greener pastures is the only way.

very proud of reer somaliland in london. viva somaliland!

----------------- Exciting stuff!

worst day ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remittances of up to $2bn a year from Somalis living abroad would suggest the diaspora is crucial to the country's survival Many Somalis living abroad have returned to provide technical skills, advice, leadership and financial support. In the run-up to the 23 February London conference on Somalia, a flurry of meetings have been held with Somalis in the diaspora to elicit their thoughts on the way forward for the country. This kind of engagement may be unprecedented; the Foreign Office's efforts to include as many people as possible in this consultation period have included several meetings with Somalis in the UK as well as in Nairobi and Qatar. The foreign minister, William Hague, hosted a Q&A via Twitter, and the FO has fostered discussion via that medium as well as on Facebook and its online blog. With up to 1.5 million Somalis living abroad, and remittances estimated at $1.3bn-$2bn a year, it is clear the diaspora is immensely important to the country's survival. But what role exactly is there for the diaspora to play in the political future of the country? I recently led a team of researchers who were tasked with investigating the role of the Somali diaspora in relief, development and peacebuilding for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). We conducted research in six diaspora cities – Dubai, London, Minneapolis, Nairobi, Oslo and Toronto, as well as in Somaliland, Puntland and south/central Somalia. Three of our six sites in the south were under the control of the Islamist al-Shabaab militia at the time, and three were allied with the transitional federal government. We found that in all areas, the diaspora was heavily involved in promoting education, healthcare, public infrastructure and private enterprise. In the relatively peaceful north the emphasis was on post-conflict reconstruction and development, whereas in the south the more dire humanitarian picture meant more people were involved in providing life-saving support to their relatives and communities. We found that, in many areas, people from the diaspora were returning temporarily to provide technical skills, advice and leadership in addition to their financial support. Support came not only from older people, but crucially – and unexpectedly – from young Somalis as well, even people who had been born and raised outside the Horn of Africa. However, the picture was not entirely rosy. On the ground, many expressed concern that people from the diaspora were taking jobs that could have been done by local Somalis. Some complained that diaspora members came with their money and their university degrees but did not understand the political and practical realities of living in present-day Somalia. Diaspora returnees complained local people did not appreciate what they were trying to do for them. During the 2010 Somaliland presidential elections, many locals I interviewed in Hargeisa said they welcomed the financial backing, and even the active campaigning that members of the diaspora did during their summer holidays on visits back home. However, they did not think members of the diaspora should be allowed to vote from abroad, because they did not have a sufficiently clear sense of what the local priorities were. Many of those who have returned – notably many of the ministers who have served in the transitional federal government – have been distrusted because of their diaspora pedigree. The most successful are those who have taken the time to talk to, build partnerships with, and listen to local people who have been in Somalia throughout the past 20 years of state collapse. They have built up constituencies and, through that, gained a measure of legitimacy, which is essential for anyone hoping to have influence over the country's future direction. Then there are the difficulties Somalis face in organising themselves outside the country. It might be more appropriate to refer to multiple diasporas, since Somalis possess and respond to a variety of identities and political interests that often clash with one another. The diaspora consultation at Chatham House in London on 8 February was an excellent example of how difficult it is for people to agree on a way forward – clan interests, the status of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, and suspicions about one or other political actor dominated the discussion, and made debates on political solutions or security highly contentious. The organisers of the London meeting say they want to support a more inclusive political process, and that they recognise the solutions to Somalia's problems will have to come from Somalis themselves. The consultative process will have demonstrated to them how difficult this process will be. In practice, it is likely to require significant negotiation between members of the diaspora and locals inside the country. There is a limited direct role for the international community in this process. Western governments in particular are deeply resented by many Somalis for being too interventionist, so too much international support for the diaspora's peacebuilding work, before it is considered legitimate by locals, could derail their efforts. At the same time, the dedication of people in the diaspora, their willingness to remain engaged, the skills that many of them bring, and their desire to be part of a possible future solution is one of the few reasons to have hope for the country. • Laura Hammond is a senior lecturer in the department of development studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London -------------------------------------- http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/feb/20/what-role-somalia-diaspora-rebuilding ---------------------------------------- interesting read!

mine has to be a 'riddims' producer in jamaica or be the president of somaliland(like every somali man lol, yet mine will be consolidated by my divine destiny)! neither is likely so i'll settle for what i've got and work to better myself and be a 'careerist'.