Great news. I wonder what the pavements will look like. And what people in Mogadishu are doing to get all the sand out of the inner cities. These machines could be useful in the future. I've read that one of Mogadishu's main issues now is trash (within the city and on the edge of the beaches). Are there any plans for organized trash collection and trash bins all over the city? I think trash collection should be done by a private company.

Raamsade;920548 wrote: You need to speak Somali to be admitted into Somalia, do you speak Somali? Ma walantahay? I'm talking about visiting Japan. My Somali needs to be improved dramatically. My quesion was genuine, but it seems your flawed character came up with a counter question.

Great news! I'll be visiting his beautiful nation this Summer inshallah. Japan and Somalia should bolster their trade ties. Hopefully it will only a matter of time when South Korea and other Asian countries will follow inshallah. Any Japanese speaking Somalis here?

AFRICA BY THE AFRICANS: Young Tastemakers Aim to Challenge Stereotypes Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond catches up with a few of the influencers determined to change the global image of the continent. The stereotypes about Africa/Africans are too many to list here. They’re mostly negative, myopic depictions that focus on war, famine, abject poverty, disease, and corruption. In other oversimplifications, Africans are written up as model immigrants, overachieving geniuses, or displaced chiefs moonlighting as gas station attendants. Outside of these caricatures, many Africans are going to work and school, voting in their local elections, and spending way too much time on Facebook. And they’re over the ignorance that has collectively miscast them. In response, a swelling movement of young Africans are launching concerted efforts to wrest the image of Africa from entities and interests that don’t promote a balanced understanding of the continent. Among this group is South African professor Sean Jacobs who founded the incisive Africa is a Country, billing it as “the media blog that's not about famine, Bono, or Barack Obama.” Ghanaians Sandra Appiah and Isaac O. Babu-Boateng launched Face 2 Face Africa Magazine to combat portrayals of Africa as pathological and troubled. Likewise, Nigerian-American Enyinne Owunwanne started ecommerce boutique Heritage 1960 to promote what she says is “the best of the best, when it comes to African fashion, lifestyle and culture”. Fellow Nigerian-American Ngozi Odita initiated AFRIKA21 to broaden the conversation around what 21st century Africa really looks like, apart from the stereotypes. It’s weird how history repeats itself. 56 years ago, Kwame Nkrumah led Ghana to Independence from British colonial rule determined to “prove to the world that when the African is given the chance, he can show to the world that he is somebody”. This legacy of the misrepresented African was formed more than 200 years prior, when Europe and, later, America made the mad dash to Africa for natural resources and cheap labor to keep pace with the demands of the West’s rapidly industrializing economy. Today, as American and European economies flounder in the global recession, scarcity of jobs/opportunities coupled with forecasts of Africa’s economic growth is making Africa look really shiny again. Discovery Channel’s “Jungle Gold” reality series depicts “rookie American gold miners” seeking their fortunes in “the dangerous and gold-rich jungles of Ghana” after losing everything in the 2008 real estate crash. The Washington Post recently noted a wave of Portuguese citizens heading to Mozambique, quoting one Portuguese official as saying, “Everyone is feeling the pinch of the economic crisis, and Mozambique offers a lot of opportunities… People think this is El Dorado.” ...we don’t feel like Africa has to be rebranded. We already know what the brand of Africa is and what the potential is. The fashion industry is also taking serious interest in not only the styles popular on the continent, but in creating strategic business alliances as well. In 2012, for the first time Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week sponsored African Fashion International’s annual event in South Africa. Likewise, Vogue Italia co-sponsored the inaugural Ghana Fashion and Design Week. Editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani reportedly “initiated distribution of African fashion products through shops in Europe and America as well as through QVC” as a UN Goodwill Ambassador of Fashion 4 Development. Under Sozzani L’Uomo Vogue dedicated its June 2012 issue to the continent, the cover line assuming responsibility for “Rebranding Africa.” Sozzani explained in a Huffington Post piece about the issue: “Africa needs to rebuild a new image, far removed from the one the media usually convey reporting on wars and famines that, although actually occurring, are not the only side to show.” What’s different about this juncture in history as it relates to the renewed global interest in Africa is Africans can far more easily shut down foreign assumptions and misinformed initiatives even as they create their own platforms to define the continent, and themselves, on their own terms. When L’Uomo Vogue’s issue hit stands, Jacobs’ Africa is a Country published a scathing review. Calling the issue “an embarrassing and insulting shambles,” the blog post systematically, and convincingly, undermined the “Rebranding Africa” premise. “I have to say I hate that phrase, ‘rebranding Africa,’” entrepreneur Owunwanne, 31, expressed. She explains, “You look at people who thought Africa was all about famine, war, AIDS, etcetera; and it’s from their perspective that Africa needs to be rebranded. Now, you look at Afropolitans,” Owunwanne continues, using a term that has referred to young cosmopolitan Africans, “we don’t feel like Africa has to be rebranded. We already know what the brand of Africa is and what the potential is.” Ghanaian Samuel Asiedu-Gyan* who promotes literature and technology in the West African nation and works with election blogging project Ghana Decides echoes Owunwanne’s sentiment. “Those who branded us must do their rebranding,” he says, “for the obvious reasons that the negatives and deliberate misconstructions are falling apart.” Whatever the motives behind the desire to rebrand, it’s hard to deny the stubbornness of the stereotypes that have come to define Africa on the global stage. For this reason, New York-based Appiah and Babu-Boateng launched Face 2 Face Africa Magazine, embracing “Africa Re-branded” as their tagline. “When we say ‘rebranding Africa,’” Appiah, 23, clarifies, “it’s not just…rebranding Africa to non-Africans, but to Africans ourselves.” Citing her personal evolution, Appiah who was born in Ghana and lived in Italy as a small child before moving to the States when she was 12 admits, “I was completely ashamed of being African, and there are a lot of people today who are also going through the same stages. There are a lot of Africans here who don’t want anything to do with the continent.” With the magazine, Appiah hopes to give young readers in particular a view of Africa they can be proud of. “We want to start by instilling a sense of pride in them so that they can see the necessity and the need for them to go back to the continent and help solve some of the issues there.” For many Africans, there’s more at stake than proving to the world Africa can solve her own problems. Eager to deepen the connection between their parents’ birthplace and take advantage of the continent’s growth potential, the first-generation of Africans born outside the continent are starting to return in waves. Meanwhile, Africans living in Africa want to stay and improve conditions. Odita, who is producing the upcoming Social Media Week Lagos, has observed the shift over time. Recounting trips to her family’s native Nigeria in the ‘90s, she says “All my cousins, people I knew, friends, everybody was just wanting to exit Africa. They were just like ‘I want to go to school in America. I want to go to school in UK. I wanna leave. As soon as I’m old enough, if I can get a visa, I’m leaving.’” She adds, “Now, when I go home, and when I go other places, whether it’s Dakar or just talking to other people, …young people are just very prideful of where they’re from.” With the Lagos social media conference and her AFRIKA21 program, Odita, 37, wants to offer platforms that showcase and extend this pride. “I’m always bringing people together to talk about how great the continent is and all the really great things that are happening, but we’re doing it in New York or we’re doing it in Boston. …we should be having this conversation on the continent ‘cause that’s where all these things are happening that we’re talking about. We can get a firsthand account from the people who are creating all these things.” Desire to focus on Africa’s positives notwithstanding, neither Odita or the others interviewed for this piece are about ignoring the challenges impacting the continent. But, Odita points out, “the only way that you can change people’s perceptions is to show them another perspective. Show them another image, and that’s what branding is.” Asiedu-Gyan says it comes down to fairness in news coverage. “Europeans have negatives,” he points out. “There are homeless, hungry people living on less than two dollars a day in the United States, how often do we read or watch that on CNN or BBC?” Source

Okay I think that picture was from the 80's. That is one of the most popular pictures ever of Somalis.

*Ibtisam;916915 wrote: Aaliya, the photo Marksmen used has become some what of a simple of what Somali women use to be before and dispite her best efforts, it has gone viral and too famous for her to be able to get it removed. You mean the second picture I posted? That one is from the 1940's! Is there an old woman complaining about this picture being on the net? I have no idea what you are trying to say here.

As long as there is choice, fine by me. Oba, I'm not a doctor, but I think those women in the second pic need vitamin D supplements. I do have a problem with people saying it's haraam and unwelcome for women to dress in what is considered traditional Somali wear. Why is Somali culture deemed unwelcome these days?

No point. Entertaining videos.

I'd love the see exterior of the building. Nin-Yaaban;916011 wrote: Looks very nice. Well at least the chairs are bolted to the floor this time. Kuraas lees ku tuur tuuro majirto.

dp

nuune;915481 wrote: ^^ So Marksman, you are also taking yourself out of the situation. No I'm aware of this being in my blood as well. I'm just more aware of it. Alpha Blondy;915668 wrote: Mark, where are you from? your somalis are rather civilised ma istidhi?. where i was formally from in London, if there wasn't an ugly bloody fight involving a group of hoodlums, that event wasn't considered an event. the gazes exchanged with the hot xalimo was the starters, the event the main course and the fight the desert. LOOOOOOL. From the Netherlands. They're allright over here. I just go crazy when there's phones ringing during a speech and a Somali is just answering it. My friend from Eritrea just went to London for a couple of weeks. He shared that Somalis over there are a whole nother level. Not trying to generalize though. There are bad apples everywhere.

Haatu;915599 wrote: Somalis are disorderly, loud, disrespect authority, very cunning and prone to fits of violence/anger. I would love to go to a Somali event with all the phones on silent or off during speeches. That will be a day I will remember forever.

Hahaha Apoh, du bist sehr komisch. Google translate is not that bad.

Ja aber natürlich. Wir sind da. Wir sind überall.

I agree with Jacpher. It's in the dna. Some people are prone to be violent. Temper, lack of patience and reason. But the environment and culture can guide the people in a better direction.

I think I'll pass on this OS in the future. I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 (Android) and I'm very happy with it. You can watch a review here on the new OS for Blackberry.

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Where can we watch the keynote? Or are they only allowing live blogging?

I think the city can handle it with urban planners working together with private companies. @ NGONGE I don't think the person that wrote the article included the diaspora coming back. @ Mooge Of course most of Mogadishu is destroyed and needs to be rebuilt. I do think these IDP's have to return where they're from though and be relocated. @ Haatu I really like the idea if BRT. Perhaps in about 10 years it can be introduced, because I do not see Mogadishu having a subway ever. That is why BRT can be a good substitute, instead of those dangerous small motatu's. Look at what the Brazilians have done

That is one nice environment surrounding the orphanage and school. I wonder what other projects the Turkish have planned. They make good use of soft power. It gives them a unique advantage above all other nations. These are also interesting: Commissioned by president Erdogan this 200-bed hospital will contain 40 classrooms, a nurse vocational schools, roads, mosques and a market place. The largest specialized children’s hospital in East Africa will be built in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. The children’s hospital will be funded and constructed by the Yardım Eli aid association and will contain 100 beds. The complex in which the hospital will be located will also include an education center, a mosque and a guesthouse. It also has a helicopter platform. Construction has already begun. I hope they will change Hospital to Isbitaal. But I can't complain.

A white convert went to Mecca with his Somali wife. An Arab woman asked the white convert why he took his slave with him. I'm not making this up. The psyche of the Arab will always shock you.

Thanks Alpha. Will do.

The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) Africa Program hosted a Statesmen's Forum with the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mahamud to discuss the future of governance in Somalia. I thought this was pretty interesting. If you find some time, you should watch it. People ask questions from around 28:05 onwards. Link If you have missed the joint press availability of Hillary Clinton with the president of Somalia click on the link below. Link

Justice is very much needed. Somalia is one of the worst countries in the world to be a woman. I know some people here will say this isn't true or stories about rape and sexual violence is a lie or even exaggerated. What's the use of rebuilding the country when human rights are abused? I asked one of the women I met in 2011, Nadifa (a pseudonym I’m using to protect her), what she thought of the situation. “It is exactly what happened to me. You have to think before you report a rape. They come after you.” Two years ago, Nadifa was five months pregnant, living in a camp for the displaced. Four men, two in transitional government uniforms, broke into her hut, stabbed and gang raped her. She sat at the police station to make a report, stab wounds to her thigh bleeding. The interrogating officers opened the conversation by telling her, “It didn’t happen. You’re making it up.” The police grilled her, while terrible cramping took over. Blood began to run down her legs. Miscarriage, from gang rape injuries. Blood pooled on the floor. She stuffed her long dress up around her, like an oversized sanitary pad, but it wasn’t enough to catch the bleeding. “We would arrest you for speaking against the government,” the officers told her. “But we don’t want your filthy mess in the station.” They told her to get out, but not before she cleaned up the blood. Source

@Wadani fair enough. I'm thinking seperate beaches, but it will be impractical. @ Alpha Diasporaphobia! And yes it's an actual word.