^^haven't considered engineering. i have friends of mine study engineering. especially petroleum engineering. they all transfered to another state since we dont have it in my state. but it only takes 4 years and pays very highly. by the way how long would it take to do my masters in business.

I see what you mean about parents, my parents like all Somali parents would like to see me in a white coat. But I have never been interested in becoming a doctor. Even after shadowing doctors. Although I am very good at biology. I chose business field because it interests me most. In fact I have joined this forum after seeing a discussion on an economics article. I am most interested in Somalia and feel like my future skills would be beneficial there

I would like your opinions on which department of business I should study. Accounting, marketing, management, or finance/economics. I am thinking about going to university of Minnesota Though I havent done a lot of research I am leaning on economics

maybe I should have done one of these salamu caleykums since I am relatively new. But welcome

This is the feel you get from most articles written by Ugandan n Kenyan so called journalists. It seems they have found a foreign element, pride

Somalization of other peoples should be welcomed. It's a prerequisite to becoming a powerful nation

^^^ that is what I thought Somali women refused them so he tries to dis honor them. Ugandan acusin Somali of std, wow

Security It is wishful thinking to say that even Mogadishu is completely pacified! The night and day would pass as uneventful if there were no sporadic gunshots. During one of the tours we undertook to the Al Jazeera Military College for the Somalis, the visit was cancelled half way after unrelenting gunshots rocked the skies for close to 20 minutes. (This college will churn out 1000 soldiers per intake and over one hundred and ten units have been constructed for accommodation). Military Guides Lt. Col. Ankunda and his aide Capt. Ronald Karukungu forced us back into the mambas because they were uncertain for what had befallen Mogadishu. “Guys get back to the vehicles, we can’t be sure who is firing, get back guys,” Ankunda beckoned on us in an evidently anxious tone. At this point even the smallest of cameras became heavy to lift and we rushed back to our carriers; who was firing is something that up today we grapple with. The greatest fear was on the Yemenis who are the mercenaries, with a life as a backbone to the heartless Al Shabaab fighters. A tale of our soldiers goes that these Yemenis are no ordinary fighters; they are snipers with guns so sophisticated that still a UN backed UPDF soldiers’ can’t afford. “When their sniper takes you out, their guns take your pictures, as a means of accountability,” one of the commanders told us, and naturally some members in my company looked for the nearest place of convenience. Meeting Lokech If you meet Uganda‘s contingent commander aka Contigal Brig. Lokech, he would pass as tall, lanky handsome man, who wouldn’t harm even a fly. He spends every three of five minutes looking on the ground as to avoid eye contact. Okay, shyness is a disposition known to be a preserve of skirts chasers. Naturally, my heart wondered how a commander who has given Al Shabaab sleepless nights can be that shy! It later dawned on me that if the commander was to be served as a meal, he is cocktail both amiable and a hard boiled nut of a man. First he teased us, asking who misguided us that body armours would protect us from enemy fire. “Who lied to you, I would think the best precaution when you hear a gun shoot is to take cover, not those armours you are wearing,” he said, in between a smile that could be interpreted as a sneer. Behind the smile lay a stern man who can’t negotiate with terrorists! “ I believe in sending a terrorist to his grave. As a commander, if you asked me, I would tell you that I don’t believe in negotiations. I believe in killing these people because a terrorist is born,” Lokech offered a preamble to his battle hardened life. With eyes betraying an emotional personality, Lokech revealed how he painfully fights to come to terms whenever his fighters are killed in the theatre. However,something is unique about this man who is humiliating the terrorist; one moment, he is smiling in another he is very pissed. It seems every time the UN fails to expedite protocols causing loss of soldiers, Lokech feels like meeting these Geneva based Officials. When asked about UPDF mandate, he wears a frown face and insists that the only thing left to get attacked are helicopters. From his face, it was evident that the operations in Somalia would be smoother if the UN didn’t play hide and seek with the kind of mandates they were giving Amisom; which in the end puts our forces to unprecedented vulnerability. The Attack When we reached Al Fitri, Col. Mugerwa informed us how information had been gathered on a planned onslaught on the UPDF and AMISOM camps both in that area and Afgoye. That Monday evening, President Sharif called Brig. Lokech asking to visit Afgoye- a militarily strategic place which had fallen into the hands of UPDF after a nasty battle which earned scores of casualties. Brig. Lokech was very hesitant to allow the President visit the place, since many cells of Al Shabaab were still operating in the area but in civilian attire. Knowing that it would be strategically important to harness morale among the residents and Transitional Federal Government (TFG) fighters, he changed his mind. He allowed Sharif to visit. In order to show that they are not completely annihilated in Afgoye, the terrorist plotted to bump off the president. Fortunately, the UPDF had got wind of the attack and set a trap for the Al Shabaab. They let the president travel behind six mamba vehicles and when the terrorists saw an escort car, they started firing. The soldiers guarding the president though had not been told of the attempt except asked to be vigilant since some cells were still active. Because they were not fully organised, the terrorist fired light weapons although they forces TGF soldiers in first scamper looking for position. What was evident though is that among the security detail, there was a plan on how to assault the Al Shabaab. Actually the gun battle involved some guards of the president while Sharif was in a distance under the auspices of UPDF. This was a trap and it was obvious Al shabaab wouldnt make a mark. According to military sources, the attackers were not more than thirty and that is why they were easily repulsed, leaving one TFG soldier dead and scores injured. Afgoye Town On reaching Afgoye, a purely agricultural town, many wept after realising that they had been liberated. It is a reality that a bullet that can kill a civilian is the same bullet that can end a life of a military General. A former commander of Land Forces in Saidi Barre Government wailed like a woman who had lost her baby. Confessing allegiance to Sharif, the commander said he craved for the old days when there was discipline in the army. “When I look at these young people moving around with guns, oblivious of what they are doing, all I can feel is self pity,” the commander said amidst sobs. In show of a new life, a Governor of Afgoye shaved his long hair aftrer twenty years. He had vowed never to shave it until the day his town would liberated. At least he kept his word to his people! Ray of hope on Mogadishu Somalia, despite wasting 20 years in a senseless war, has amazingly sky line congested with good structures. Kampala will need 25 more than years to match the current dilapidated city of Al Fitri, which stands 12km outside Mogadishu. If Somalia had put the twenty years to use not war, because the natives are naturally entrepreneurs, it would be giving Johannesburg a run for its money. By 1970, Somalia had a Namboole like stadium, and Uganda got hers at the end of 1999. This mega stadium was later used as the training ground for the terrorists. However, there is a ray of hope that is permeating on the soil of Somalia. The businesses are open and steadily there is reconstruction going on. Some of the biting issues are getting water, health and other social services. If you come from the great lakes region, you find it hard getting accosted to the water of Somalia. At a risk of attracting curses, at one point one would contemplate using mineral water, which was in abundance by the way, for bathing, but since the trip was to last a couple of days, we soldiered on . In Kismayo Dr. Opiyo Odida, a civil affairs officer under AMISOM is busy commanding Somali casual labourers as they try to construct a school. It is a six block class room unit with capacity to accommodate 960 learners and employ 32 teachers. This school is planned to serve the internally displaced people (IDPs) who sit on a six mile stretch! “This project will consume a whopping $1.5m, which was offered by the Danish Government,” Dr. Ododa said. Bonking and Soldier Life To many, it would be a mistake for this tale to end without mentioning the shafting index of our gallant soldiers. UPDF needs no introduction in regards to fighting, but also in bonking babes of the foreign soil. In order to understand your enemy, according to Brig. Lokech, you must study their culture and our boys did that and mastered it well. Need I remind you of the many kids and Congolese women who trekked to Kampala in search for dudes that bonked them to cabbages? Our soldiers are standing and a testimony of heroes who have won the admiration of many Somalis. However, there is a something they haven’t found interesting behind the long dresses. veragely many a UPDF soldier has desisted from shafting somali babes, reason – the babes don’t want condoms yet many have stds! This is what i gathered from casual chats with many of them. Some people may think soldiers live a reckless life therefore a condom is secondary given that life can be taken on a battle ground. But i am reproducing what i was told irrespective of the rational.

People familiar with conflict in the great lakes region should have read Gen. Romeo Dallaire’s book ‘Shaking Hands With The Devil’, a real life experience of what transpired in the 1994 Rwanda genocide. When one steps foot in Somalia, they get a feeling that Romeo’s works was some kind of prophesy about what Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) were to face in Somalia. Red pepper investigative reporter Dalton Kaweesa toured the war torn Horn of Africa recently with the UPDF. He reveals a chilling, intriguing and nerve taunting encounter of rubbing shoulders with the devil. The trip On April 28th Sunday afternoon, I hoped to have an unusual long sleep since earlier in the day, I had successfully competed (not just participating like many of my colleagues including News Editor, Ben Byarabaha) in the Jinja Harred 10km marathon. But as I lumbered to my bed, around 8:00 pm, a familiar voiced was on the other side of the phone. “Dalton, you are set for Somalia at 3:30am. The van will pick you from Constitutional Square. So better prepare,” a familiar voice from the office of the army spokesperson beckoned. Butterflies run through my stomach, the trip was scary as it was exciting to go. I must admit, I have reported on war fronts, from Kony in Gulu to Central African Republic (CAR) but the question of going to a place where you can never tell which direction the sniper bullet would come from, was completely out of the question. Not to go would not only be cowardice but an opportunity, a new experience, trust and a channel of understanding Somalia dynamics within lost. The Bumpy Flight The journey which is around slightly four hours is an eventful, except the noise emitted by the chopper which pounds the hardest of wax in one’s ears. At exactly 11:00pm we touched Mogadishu Airport which is heavily guarded by Ugandan led Amisom forces and I knew something was evidently strange. As soon as we landed, in a movie-like commando style, we were ushered into armoured vehicles and driven off at break-neck speed. It is then that it dawned on me that this is a war region. When the only lady in our company screamed about her luggage and toiletry, she was assured how her property would find her wherever she was being led. This was the practical preamble to what sort of life we were to endure for the next five days in Mogadishu. This city’s middle name could as well be blood stained Al Shabaab! Fast forward, we were ushered into an average sized office of the Amisom mouthpiece jovial Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda. It was evident in his eyes that he was happy to see people from home (Uganda), and of course we were familiar faces since he had worked with many of us during his tenure as UPDF spokesperson. His office is just within the Airport and is heavily guarded and surrounded by bankers. “I was going to be disappointed if your visit had been cancelled,” he said, pointing to an earlier email sent postponing the trips. He later introduced to us two good Kenyan gentlemen who were to orient us. Patrick, and Ahmed, a Kenyan of Somali origin who were in charge of Information and technology and Administration respectively. Ahmed took us around and showed us which rooms we were to use. I must say, granted that Somalia is acutely hot, the rooms we were offered to us were well built, fully installed with air conditioner. Ankunda’s Brief As soon as we were shown our modern mama njia pole (housing units), the mouthpiece took us through the security precautions. Do you remember the banker where Iraq president Saddam Hussein was picked by the Americans? Well, Ankunda showed it to us, which he said could be of help to us. “When you hear any attack, please rush here (banker), you will be safe,” the mouthpiece smiled yet it looked a serious warning. I tried keeping up appearance of a brave scribe even though my heart lisped. “This ain’t a game man, it is a matter of life and death, a scribe from Namuwongo based Daily Monitor who was the most decorated coward whispered. As the rules of engagement were beginning to sink into our hearts, came another one. In case of meals, it was mandatory to move in a group, to avoid being mistaken and taken out by Amisom guys. What! On top of being threatened by the unpredictable Al Shabaab, we had to keep watch of our own boys? Away from the briefing a feel of our stay was made a reality when we were given body armours. An ordinary person who has not worn the armour may think it is an ordinary bullet guard, but the thing weighs a damn 15km! And to complete the picture, one has to wear a protective gear which weighs a kilogramme. It was laughter and misery served in the same glass, as one of the journalist from the State owned media houses almost collapsed on the weight of the armour. Painfully dressed in the body armour, we were ushered into armoured vehicles, commonly called mambas.

there was a story about a chinese man who sued his wife for being too ugly and won. they should have exchanged. problem solved

Somali cities should get turns at capital status.

until you stop doing things like this

Dr_Osman;844486 wrote: Xaji u didnt even watch it, because I just finished watching it now. My god if garowe is like that today, I can't wait till the media black out on galkayo is over!!! yh why is there a media black out in galkacyo

In Ka Badan Boqol Baasaboor oo Si Qarsoodi ah Loogu Dhoofin Lahaa Hargeysa oo Lagu Qabtay Garoonka Muqdisho Muqdisho (RBC) Sida uu galabta shaaciyey taliyaha waaxda socdaalka iyo jinsiyadaha DKMG Soomaaliya waxaa galabta garoonka diyaaradaha Muqdisho lagu qabtay in ka badan boqolbaasaboor oo noocii hore ah kuwaasoo si qarsoodi ah loogu dhoofin lahaa magaallada Hargeysa. Taliyaha waaxda socdaalka iyo jinsiyadaha C/laahi Gaafow Maxamuud oo wariyaasha faahfaahin ka siiyey baasaboorada la qabtay ayaa sheegay in dad ay wateen dukumintiyadaasi oo aha baasaboorkii cagaarka ee horey looga isticmaali jiray dalka kaasoo hadda laga isticmaalodeegaanada maamulka Somaliland. C/laahi Gaafow wuxyuu sheegay inay nasiib darro tahay in maamulada Somaliland iyo Puntland weli ay isticmaalaan baasaboorka cagaarka ahaa kaasoo horey ay u joojisay DKMG Soomaaliya. “Dad ayaa watay baasabaoorka oo rabay inay geeyaan Hargeysa laakiin gacanta ayaa lagu dhigay, waxaana la yaabanahay in deegaanada Somaliland iyo Puntland ay madaxdooda weli u ogil yihiin in baasaboorkii hore lagu galo” ayuu yiri C/laahi Gaafow oo sheegay in dadka adeegsada baasaboorka cagaaran ay yihiin dad dembiyo ku lug leh oo ka dhuumanaya caddaalada. “Waxaan geynay meelo baasaboorka lagu bixiyo magaalooyinka sidaGaalkacyo, Garowe iyo Boosaaso waa nasiib daroin weli kii hore la qaadanayo,” ayuu hadalkiisa ku daray C/laahi Gaafow isagoo maamulada Somaliland iyo Puntland ugu baaqay inay joojiyaan aqbalaada baasaboorka cagaaran oo uu sheegay inay ku soo gaban karaan dad amni darro wada ama aan asal ahaan Soomaali ahayn. C/laahi Gaafow oo ka hadlay isticmaalka baasaboorka cusub ee E-Passport ee deegaanada kala duwan ee dalka ayuu sheegay in baasaboorka uu gaaray meel kasta oo xitaa laga qaatay deegaanada maamulka Somaliland oo dadka ka yimaada ay toos u qaataan baasaboorka cusub ee Soomaaliyeed ee E-passport kaasoo uu sheegay inuu ka amni badanyahay kii hore. Taliyaha laanta socdaalka iyo jinsiyadaha oo la weydiiyey warar sheegaya in dad ajnabi ah oo Muqdisho yimid ay si fudud ku qaateen baasaboorka cusub ee Soomaaliya ayuu beeniyey, wuxuuna sheegay inuudan jirin hal ruux oo ajnabi ah oo heystal baasaboorka Soomaaliya. DKMG ah ayaa dhowr sano ka hor mamnuucday in dalka laga isticmaalo baasaboorkii hore ee cagaarka ahaa ee Soomaaliya iyadoo dadka Soomaaliyeed la faray inay ku bedeshaan baasaboorka cusub ee E-passport kaasoo hadda lagu sameeyo gudaha dalka. Hase yeeshee waxaa baasaboorkan aan laga ogoleyn garoomada maamulka Somaliland oo horey dad fara badan ugu xirxiray adeegsida baasaboorka DKMG Soomaaliya.

somalis in canada are the most useless in diaspora even considering britain. they are always murdering each other i still laugh at those two chicks that got arrested in jamaica. who exports fish from canada to jamaica, its in the middle of the ocean.

where is the dance at the end from?

Jerusalem is a Swedish Christian rock band, founded in 1975 by Ulf Christiansson. It was one of the first bands to combine Christian lyrics with a hard rock sound. intresting

if singing is how you sell something to somalilanders then sharif should have chosen the best singers in the parliament for the "talking"

After 21 years of aggressive quest for international‘recognition’ and ‘independence’, Somaliland looks to have changed course. The U-turn of Silanyo’s administration is telling the story. Anecdotal – and not empirical – evidences show that, Silanyo administration have come to terms with diplomatic reality. That is why they have formally embarked on ‘actively’ participating reconciliation conferences held for Somalia. But what beats me is, what turned president Silanyo‘timid’. Of course, everyone has weaknesses. But “timidity” is a foreign element in his list of weaknesses. He is never known to be a coward. He is among the few Somali politicians who has the guts to speak the truth to power, come hell or high waters. My point? Why is the president refusing to take coward’s way out and commit political suicide to tell the better truth – black and white? I think, we need to understand the dilemma, the man found himself in. It is not like taking candy from a baby to turn around and tell chauvinists and tribal hardliners:“guys, we hit a dead end, and we are going nowhere with our quest for independence. We will remain in the union. And that is why we decided to negotiate with the TFG for better terms, Period – end of press release”. That is the hot news to come. And I have tuned my radio on BBC to be among the first to know. Before the D-day, allow me to put the turns and twists of failing strategies into context. Somaliland politicians employed antagonistic strategies to disgracefully end the ‘unconditional marriage’ of the two regions in July 1, 1960. The first strategy is the voodoo of tribalism. Hold your horses, I call it voodoo because in Somalia, TRIBALISM borders with voodooism. Voodoo is a sort of religion that has its origins from Africa. In voodoo, all logic is defied and instructions of mythical spirits of dead people – through voodoo priests – are heeded unchallenged. They have to be appeased with bloody sacrifices to get peace and wealth. And if these spirits are displeased, war and poverty are purported to follow. In similar vein, Somali tribal leaders use mythical names of deceased ‘ancestors’ to cocoon and intimidate the common into submission. They conflate their interests with mythical names – ***, ******, ******, *********, Isaak , suchlike. These are devil’s and demon’s names. Aren’t they the demons that blow out hatred between us and plunged our country into the mayhem that we bogged down for 21 years? Many believe they never existed in the first place. Even if they did, what is their use? They don’t make sense at all – unless someone resolved to live in the past with superstitions. What is my point? In Somaliland, the voodoo of tribalism is found to be a potent instrument to kill the nerve of nationalism. London taxi-drivers-cum-politicians mastered the art of tribalism from the hotly debated street-chatting –Fadhi-ku-dirir as common known – of ‘Southall’. They come back home with small thinking – full of tribal jingoism – to assume ministerial posts. That is why they have nothing to offer other than tribal hats that symbolises hatred, ignorance and disunity. It is phony but it is an effective step-stone to the corridors of power in Somalia. Somaliland ‘politicians’ have taken voodoo of tribalism to an extra mile. They used this potent tool to implant superfluous animosity and hatred in the blood stream of ‘their’ people against other Somali communities. Look at the dictatorship-era MIG plane monument at the centre of Hargeisa to fathom this. What message does it convey to the common man? Allow me to hypothesise what comes to the mind of the common ‘man’ when viewing this monument. He gets a cynical impression of other Somali communities. He thinks Somalis hate Hargeisa and its people. And that is why ‘they’ used warplanes to destroy them completely. He does not understand the complex ideology of tyranny and totalitarian regimes. His untrained microprocessor translates information into a language that he understands – tribe and tribalism. That is why they don’t ask why? But instead ask whose tribe? They can’t just get it. The second strategy is the well-acted political show. Let’s give credit where it dues – this was plausible. Somaliland taught a lesson to African countries on how to conduct credible and democratic elections with minimum donor support. Traditionally, It is rare to defeat a sitting president – with the access to state machineries – in Africa. But this took place in Somaliland. It took everyone by surprise – Multiparty democracy, emotional referendum, ‘free and fair’ elections and smooth transition of power keys from one elected president to another. But that is not end of it. The strategy had its dirty part. Some of the politicking was sham and reeked desperation. “Given an option between joining Ethiopia and remaining united with Somalia, we better go for Ethiopia. Because Somaliland ‘people’ and Ethiopians have natural nearness and close blood relations”, a senior Somaliland politician is on record lamenting these utterances in mammoth rally at centre of Hargaysa. Although everyone knows that it was a charade and the opposite was true but the small ‘man’ in the rally cheered him with passion. The best response of such verbal diarrhoea was to leave the rally immediately to posture disdain. So that he can tell this to the birds in a deserted venue. The recent petulancies of the Adna Adan that branded all Somalis – their Sheiks and Sharifs – as‘pirates’ and ‘terrorist’ is stilling lingering the heads of many. She posed the bizarre question,” who wants to join pirates and terrorists”? It was as outrageous as it was unprovoked utterance. As the wife of one of our iconic freedom fighters and former Somali Prime Minister, Adna is respected as national symbol. And she is expected to comport herself with national decorum whenever she is making public utterances. Tribal jingoism and divisive politicking was the least we expected from her. Somalis over the world are the two sides of single coin. You need to put you thinking hat to fathom this. They are known to have one identity, Somali-Warya – no more, no less. And we are proud of that because that is what ‘closely’ holds us together as brothers and sisters in foreign land – thousands of Kilometres away from home. It was weird to differentiate the ‘children ’of a single ‘mother’ as democrats and liberals in the north and‘terrorists’ and ‘pirates’ in the south. Such argument doesn’t hold water. Ask yourself where the top leaders of Al-Shabab whom America put millions of dollars bounty on their head are from. Aren’t they the sons of Hargaysa and Burao? What did she want to say? The biggest failure of mother, in Somali traditions, occurs when she fails to recognise ‘her’ children from others. And I think, Adna failed this test for the first time. I am not on denying that she is a legend that is larger than life in our social and political life. In fact, one can convincing argue that she is the only‘man’ in our male-dominated world of politics that is capable of cutting a deal when push comes to shove. But unfortunately, she dropped points in last remarks. Why did she abandon the unconditional love of Somali mothers? My unsolicited advice to her would be, your remarks reeked gratuitous hatred for ‘your children’, mam, but you don’t have to apologise – we can forgive you and forget about it because of what you have done for ‘us’. But my humble advice to you mam would be – don’t dig deep in a hole that you are in. My last argument is economical. The quest faced monumental failure because the books are not balancing. Somaliland is poor because it is poor. Apart from livestock export, its economy is heavily dependent on the indirect foreign aid, which is currently on the decline. After 21 of breastfeeding, the baby failed to stand on its feet. The INGOs and UN Agencies in Hargeisa are faced with dire fund deficiency and donor fatigue. These elements of ‘global governance’ don’t flourish where there is peace and functional local system. They impose themselves where local systems fail to provide services. This is global phenomena. And that is why the donor interest is shifting to the CSS – South and Central Somalia -away from Somaliland and Puntland. My point? Economically, Somaliland cannot ‘go’ it alone. It does not have viable natural resources to meet the needs of its growing population. You should not be hoodwinked by the two Hotels – Ambassador and Mansoor. There is nothing in between. That is why many Hargaysa University graduates die every year in the desert between Sudan and Libyan or drown in the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of illegal immigration to Europe for survival. I am not a geologist but my little bird never reported any plausible oil exploration discoveries in Somaliland like Puntland – despite both off-shore and inland attempts. The only hope left for Somaliland is the highly contentious but already marked well in Holhol in deep interiors of Nugal valley. You can take this to the bank – this is the main reason why Somaliland is hell-bent on winning its love triangle with Puntland over Sool and Sanag regions. But this is going to be a “blood diamond”. It puts the beacon of peace into head-on collision, first with Khatuma state and later in a titanic clash with Puntland. What could be the end result? Methinks, Somaliland will be forced to give up and go home with scares on the face. But it won’t go without a bitter fight. The gloves will always be off for unfortunate confrontation and bloodshed. That is the worst case scenario in which president Silanyo is trying to avoid. That is why visionary leaders thoughtfully strategize beyond the wishful thinking of the common man. I hope that is the line of his thinking. By: Saed Faadi,

am intrested in how much oil galkacyo is sitting in.

republic is a description in this case. we are somali

hold your horses bro

it needs someone that can see the big picture. i think it needs someone who has experience in institution building. but most importantly someone who know to put the right person on the right job. for now i will settle for only one of those

is it me or does this guy look like laadar film american ah

^^ard somaal. now you are going to arabic how about just somali as in somal i ya