Wesh les cousins - je voulais savoir si'il y'avait des cousins francophones ici?? Nous, les Somaliens on es partout dans ce petit monde ...et voila je veux savoir s'il y'en as sur Paris ou les environs? ma3asalaam. beau_mec

Its old i Know - but i like 'Mashkalny' by Rashed Al Majed. To all the francophone peeps out there - Cheb Khaled - Aisha and Didi were classics - Dini by Assia is great too ( arabic + french). Cant be bothered to paste in websites but just do google searches and you'll find them - if you want to that is There is also this girl called Nadiah - she's Jazairiah from France - nice voice - and looks even better )))) a plus les cousins beau mec

Ahlan ya shabaab!!! Have any fellow nomads recently visited the site blackchat.co.uk ? I was appauled by what I saw written in the forums! Firstly I was shocked at the fact that Somalis featured so much in the postings of UK and US blacks. Most postings were started by non somali guys who admired the beauty of somali women(which of course is quite true) Then I came accross other posts by somalis claiming they are not black or african and that they wish to not be associated with other blacks. I found somalis using words like nigger, monkey, slave etc. We all know that we have differnt opinions on our origins, but to go to a BLACK website and voice racist comments I think is a mis-representation of somails in general. I couldn't be bothered to sign up and reply, but fortunately a few sane somalis apologised for the comments of our uneducated bretheren. One comment which was made by a Jamaican made me laugh though. After (somalis)taking the piss out of Jamaicans, a Jamaican stated that if Somalis despise Jamaicans so much why do they all 'act' or attempt to speak Jamaican Patwa such as 'wa guaan' and all the rest of the lingo which is rife amongst our youth..... Anyway, to make things worse, black memebers of the forum had been to sites such as somalinet and came back with a bit of a shock at what they read regarding how somalis perceive other blacks. The moral of my story, our forums are often frequented by non-somalis, so please don't write anything that may offend. Not saying that the nomads here will, but I mean somehthing should be done about Somalinet. Do they have no moderators who can filter the posts?? Anyway if you're ever online and bored check out: http://www.blackchat.co.uk/theblackforum/ What i'm talking about can be found in 'black mens forum' and the 'dustbin forum' at the bottom of the page. Over and out @+

Regardless of what our personal beliefs are, those who are going to have sex are going to have sex. Somalia is no different from any other country in the world. I think our people should be educated about condoms, distributing them is a different matter all together. I do understand that it may promote unlawful sex, but then again those who will indulge will indulge no matter what. Although it is a sensitive subject i think that condoms should most certainly be available to the Somalis. I for one am pro condoms, although I am not in nay way condoning unlawful sex. Then again somebody rightly stated that condoms are widely available in other parts of Africa in which the the spead of STDs and STIs continues to rise. It is a tricky subject for a country like Somalia, but I dont think banning condoms will encourage abstience. In my opinion it will worsen the situation. @ +

Shaabella : I beg to differ on one of the points you made. You have stated that all Arabs are White. This by no means true, they can vary in shade from white to black. I think it is unfair for you to say that anyone who asks such a question has an inferiority complex. Anybody can see that we somalis look different to other black africans. Therefore it only natural to wonder about out heritage. This 'curiosity' does not mean we are not black nor does it mean we do not know where we came from. We know we are black and we know we are african. But all black africans do not look the same. I agree with you that this topic has been covered on numerous occasions. As Somalis, we are Somalis...but let us take the best of both the black African world (of which we are members by DEFAULT) and the Arab world (to which we have had close ties to since antiquity and beyond) To our faces..arabs always assume we are arabs (in my experience anyway)but behind our faces it may be a diff story. Anyway....in conclusion: we are somali...and if you want to know where Somalis originated from, then research the many hypothesis out there and come to your own conclusion that you're happy with. If that lies in Arabia then so be it, if it lies in Ancient Eygpt(who were not white..so dont jump down my throat) then so be it. Shaabella : stop looking at the world in black and white, there is so much inbetween!! @+ From a somali who is black and proud. By the way (sorry, this is for Shaabella again) do some research to find out what role the Somalia played in the slave trade! You might be shocked to find out that East Africans (bantus) were shipped form Zeila. Dont tell that your afro-american friends though..they might start thinking you're white (hahaha)...Wow i'm so gald i dont live in the USA....people are so colour obsessed.

Europeans are great cooks!..French and Italian are one of my favourites...the Brits are not even close!

Idil, nicely said walaalo. This is a growing problem and the worst thing is that we as 'somalis' have become well known. Never will you hear a somali being described as a black youth, always as a somali. Last time i went to a 'riwaayad' i was shocked at what i saw. Even in the standard london clubs people dont get up to what i saw fellow somalis doing. This is agrave problem as you said and we'll have to put our heads together to solve it. Nevertheless, a good number of somalis are doing well...but as usual the bad ones always shine! I understand what you say about most coming from deprived families and no authorative figure, however they are still pretty ****** in my eyes. In my opinion, they see UK black youth culture (mainly west indian) and try and imitate it. Prime example..all these peeps are saying wa'guaan....if only someone could tell them it's patwa and the west indians say it because it's part of thier language. I dont see other peeps going round sayin ii waran oo maxaaa haysaa..so why should we copy them. I think i'm going off an a tangent so i'll stop here. @ +

Born in France....(european to the core) went back to soomalia @ 2yrs. Then back to France...then London town.

In an Ideal world Somaliweyn would be great. But this far from an ideal world and unfortunately the state of Somalia is long gone. I am all for any regions which have established peace through a single governement (preferbaly elected by the people) to go ahead and separate. Who knows what the future holds, when all regions of 'Somalia' are settled then, and only then can discussion on re-unification begin. this is my humble opinion again @+

Just Cause: I have to agree with you to some extent. Take everything with a pinch of salt. You may have noticed, but the language of communication here is Shakespearian english (dont ask me why). No disrespect to anybody. But I guess this is the point of having such a forum, everyone expressing themselves as they wish. Makes life more colourful if you ask me. Have a good day. @+

Not too sure if this topic is still active. My thoughts briefly: as some one said earlier, it is only human nature to adapt and to change. We somalis are known for our ability to do that (not alwasy a good thing but can be) I guess we really are NOMADS by nature... Anyway what I was meaning to say is that the west is not all bad...take the best from both worlds. Feel honoured to be a part of both societies. No point coming to live in the west to remain in your own shell. Most importantly, know who your are and where you came from. This is why Indians are generally very successful peeps. A second generation British may be born and bred Hindi, but generally he/she will have a firm groundinding in his indian culture. this is my humble opinion... Adios Amigos..

Nice topic. As many of you have rightly stated domestic violence is harsh reality of both the past and the present. The act it self crosses cultural, economic and religous barriers and the victims although usually female can be male (probably a diff topic)...Back to the original point, I think its a difficult topic to discuss mainly due the fact that our society ( back home) has disintergrated as a result of war. Which ever distinct roles a husband and wife had are no longer at play, in some cases roles have been reversed. So any comparison made btw husbands of today and those of yesterday should ideally take this into consideration. Husbands of yesterday did not face the the same social/poltical/economical strifes present in todays Som. Nevertheless, times have always been difficult for our nomadic society... PS: anyone else temping? don't you love the fact that you're being paid to surf the net and read fourms.....

Some very thought provoking posts here. Interesting reading...my conclusion : life is like an ice-cream eat it before it melts. PS: still a novice to this forum but i'm liking what I see. @ +

sorry its moi again! Anyone who does decide they wish to call themselves arab...then be ready to face racism. Not saying all arabs are racist..but we all know what i mean. Hey Baashi..have u read Orientalism by Edward Said ..i'm assuming you have. Very good reading. @ +

Hi all. I'm new here so be nice! A few facts: 1.Arab africans do exist 2.the word arab defines a culture and a language (not a race). The 'arab race' is confined to very few people from central arabia (now known as Saudi) 3.Religion and whether arab or not are two entirely separate issues. The simple fact that we are Muslim is not what makes somalis part of the Arab world. Our location, culture and history do. 4.Yes we a black 5.Yes we are African 6.No we are not negroes or bantus, henceforth we are of a different race to MOST of subsaharan black africa. 7.Culturally and linguistically we closer to the arab world than any other. Explain to me why over half our language is arabic (including arabic pronounciation). 8.I dont generally consider myself as an Arab. But as a Somali you can if you so wish. At the same time, we are of course african which nobody questions. 9. We are SOMALIS above all..but just for the record, black arabs do exist. 10. Eveyone knows they are somali..but if some people choose to associate thier heritage with our neighbours acrross the red sea,then let them. 11. For all those who are anti arab pro african..notice I have not once said we are not african or that we are not black..that would be self deception. 12..I should stop now...i think i'm beginning to bore myself..lety alone you guys. Peace