Jawahir you wrote: ----------------------------------------------- Yes they can be bought,but is it genuine? I certainly wouldn't someone saying they love me, just because i have money. What happens when i loose it all,will they go out the door too..with the money? _________________________________________________ There is nothing genuine in this world sister. Everything is fake including how we dress, talk and think. With money you won't loose anyone. It is without money that you would loose everything! Think about sis: we are superficial human beings who like to show off wealth- by using the power of money. Lacag la'aan waa dhibaato, waa adduunyo la'an

Jawahir, all those things you mentioned could be bought with money. We live in a world of wants and needs!

MAY ALL THOSE WHO COMMITTED CRIMES AGAINST THE SOMALI MASSES ROT IN HELL! MAY ALLAH BESTOW US WITH AN HONEST GOVERNMENT THAT WOULD TRY THE LIVING AND DIG OUT THE BONES OF THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR A TRIAL TO HEAL THE WOUNDS!

Raula: you wrote :"If you are here to piss me off..then pee on me coz that's how you will get my attention..otherwise..cut the crap!!" Grow up! now I am almost certain that you are a kid. you should never participate in such discussions if your vernacular revolves around those terms! Here comes the first history lesson: The North Eastern Province, formerly known as Northern Frontier Districts, comprised three separate administrative districts: Wajir, Garissa and Mandera. Somalis inhabit almost whole of the eastern part of the region. The demarcation which ran southwards from east of Moyale to Tana River, was created by the British to separate the Somalis pastoral nomads from the rest of the country and to act as buffer zone against Somalia and Ethiopia. this line also separated them from theirs ethnic kinsmen, the Orma and the Borana. Until the 1940s, NFD, {Northern Frontier Districts} was separated from the influence of modern economy. Despite the Pan Somali wave, which reached these parts at the end of 1940, political activities remained dormant until the 1960s when the British administration lifted the ban on political Organization. In this new situation, the Somalis could express their Willingness to join their kinsmen in the Somali Republic. Consequently, New Political parties emerged such as the Northern Province People's Progressive Party {NPPP}, Northern Frontier Democratic Party {NFD}, and the Northern Province People's National Union {NPPNU}. With change in the British attitude, the Somali leaders became suspicious about the British acceptance of the will of its subjects. Following development in the same period in French Somaliland and in Western Somaliland, the Somali government passed a motion in the National Assembly in November 1961 welcoming the union of the Northern Frontier Districts to the Republic. The political momentum in the region received new impetus with the motion. In the following year, at the Kenya Conference held in Lancaster House in London, the NFD delegation firmly voiced their desire to be Granted an autonomous region that would eventually join the Somali Republic. However their request was sharply opposed by the Kenya African National Union {KANU} and the Kenya African Democratic Union {KADU} delegations. Paradoxically, while the KANU and KADU delegation were advocating for self-determination, they were deliberately opposing the same principles in the case of the Somalis. To ease the tension, the British Colonial Secretary at the time, Reginald Maulding, announced the appointment of a commission to survey the opinion of the people concerned. Meanwhile, the Somali government of the time anxiously watched the course of events, and warned the British not to repeat past mistakes. The Commission finding based on a survey held on Oct. 1962, were that the majority favored joining the Somali Republic. However, the British government did not honor its last undertakings given at the Kenya Conference in Lancaster House, but instead betrayed the will of its subjects by announcing in early March 1963, that the NFD was to be brought into Kenya's regional constitution. The British decision led to general discontent throughout the NFD. Consequently, on 11 March 1963, the Somali Republic broke off diplomatic ties with British. The British decision reflected favoritism toward Ethiopian imperialism policy and a desire not to endanger its relationship with the new commonwealth country of Kenya. Had Somalia entered the Commonwealth states after independence, perhaps the matter would not have ended in such way. Britain concentrated more on its future relations than honoring its commitments and responsibilities over its subjects. On 12 December 1963, Kenya received its independence. And in December 1965, the late President Nyerere of Tanzania tried to reopen a dialogue between Kenya and Somalia in Arusha, but the rift between the two nations impeded all means of Resolving the issue and instead led to their diplomatic rapture on 21 June 1966. A period of Shifta wars followed in NFD. These were skirmishes with the Kenya army for about three years. The insurrection then was in its infancy. It did not developed into a fully blown war with the Kenya government. It subsided when leaders decided to solve the matter through dialogue, but the suspicion these wars caused was never to die until today. To tighten its internal security, the Kenya government took drastic security measures and ordered that whoever was to be found sympathetic to the Shifta, the name given to Liberation Front activists, should be imprisoned for life and his property confiscated. For the Somalis, however, it represented the legitimization of one African State colonizing another. The Somalis in this province number about one million. They occupy the second largest province in Kenya. The province was ruled under martial laws from independence in 1963 to 1993. The exceptional measures continued long after the threat of insurrection had faded, and were accompanied by gross human rights abuses. The most notable is the Wajir massacre of 1984, in which more than 2000 ethnic Somalis were murdered by the security forces. The Kenya army and the police has been guilty of gross human rights violations. It is the most under-developed province in the country with no proper schools, health care facilities and non-existence infrastructure. A historical timeline of massacres committed against the Kenyan Somalis and sanctioned by the Kenya Security forces. Garissa Massacre. "Although some houses were burnt down last night some people and property destroyed, our policemen must be commended for their restraint and the way they conducted themselves at a time they were hunting for the armed Shifta bandits who killed the four civil servants." As I was on the plane, I saw many houses were burnt down, but that was because our security men were chasing people armed with sophisticated weapons. On an occasion like that a gun does not choose a target". Those were the words of Mr G.G Kariuki then a Minister of State in charge of internal security 18 years ago. The Minister was addressing residents of Garissa who the previous night had their houses torched and many of their loved ones massacred by security forces on an operation. The security operation was triggered by the killing of four civil servants among them the then Dadaab District Officer Mr Johnson Welimo while on his way to Garissa town by armed bandits, left hundreds of the town's residents (mainly men) dead and thousands homeless as the security personnel embarked on indiscriminate killing of innocent wanainchi and torching of their houses. Definitely by the end of his five hour tour of the area, Mr Kariuki did leave the Garissa people more bitter than when we meet them, not due to their loss of their loved ones and property by but to the dashing of all their hopes of having the killer soldiers punished by the Government G.G Kariuki represented. Incidents of police brutality of such nature against residents of not only Garissa district but the entire North Eastern Province is not a new or strange occurrence. Garissa massacre as it was christened is among many of these grisly massacres instigated against innocent civilians in NEP by the very people whom the constitution says should protect their lives and property. The massacre was carried out following the killing of the Dadaab D.O and three other civil servants while on their way to Garissa from Dadaab. They were killed by notorious bandit Abdi Mathobe. The preparations for this dastardly and pusillanimous act started earlier on in the day and was personally overseen by the then North Eastern Provincial Commissioner Mr Benson Karia. All Somali force members were quickly asked to convene and were immediately transported out of the town, confides a then, member of the force From 7.00 pm that night gun shots could be heard everywhere in the town and huge flames leapt in the air as the security forces embarked on torching houses and shooting anyone who came their way. Though the shooting of people and torching of houses started from the centre of the town the military officers in their mission of pillage and plunder, some atop lorries and others on foot were in a short time in every corner of the town. One other source confirmed that the soldiers also used bayonets to rip open the bellies of many of the victims of Garissa massacre while shooting anyone who tried to run away. It was a scene of horror and pandemonium as everyone tried to get him and family members to safety. Some managed, but alas! Others ran into the danger they were fleeing and were shot dead. Witnesses can today recount the military lorries packed to the brim with bodies that were taken to Tana River and thrown into the river to be fed on by the hungry crocodiles. Others were taken to areas around the Modicar area 15 kilometres from the town where their bodies were burnt. It was a night of mystery. Many houses refused to burn and many guns could not kill. Whenever such incidents happened the Security forces would knock the house with a vehicle and hit the people with their armoured vehicles, but still many survived through the grace of the Almighty. Many fled to the outskirts of the town to seek refuge in the wilderness while others crossed the border of Kenya and Somalia while still running, that very night. Then followed the following morning when a curfew was announced and most of the town's residents were assembled at the Garissa Primary school Playground. Sitting in the scorching sun for nearly two days without water and food, many were forced to drink their urine in order to survive. Though the people were later allowed to go back to their homes - if at all they had any left - many men were still held in police custody for alleged involvement in banditry activities. It's common talk that the people were released from captivity at the playground after Somali strongman Mohammed Siyad Bare intervened and threatened to attack Kenya if it didn't release the people, but this is unconfirmed. The history of the brutality meted out on residents of NEP can be traced back to the time of Kenya's independence. Around the time of independence in 1963, a secessionist movement that had both the covert and overt support of the Republic of Somalia broke out in the Province by the name of Shifta. The movement led not only to a bloody war but also to hostility by the immediate post independence Kenya Government. It further complicated and polarised the relationship between the Northern frontier Districts and the central authorities in Nairobi. Thus 70 years of hostile colonial neglect was being further exacerbated by a bloody secessionist war. Even when the Shifta war came to an end, the situation and living conditions of the people did not change immediately for the better. The fact that the hostile attitude could not be a conducive environment for any kind of progress may be the reason why parts of northern Kenya are among the least developed in the Country. The Secretary General of The Supreme Council Of Kenya Muslims, Mr Ahmed Khalif (who died) said that it's of no use for the authorities to deal with banditry as if it was a secessionist attempt. "We can say with certainty that there is no secessionist movement in the region at the moment and the main cause of insecurity is banditry from which the residents suffer inordinately as they become victims of both bandits and the security forces. Banditry is today still a vicious circle that keeps the region's residents from realising their potentials. The authorities have been known to react to cases of banditry attacks with brutal and thoughtless force, that usually brings more damage than the banditry itself. The Wagalla massacre of 1984 in Wajir District where over a thousand people were butchered in cold blood by security is a fine example of the sort of force used against the region's inhabitants. Infact Wagalla massacre has no parallels in independent Kenya. Up to now no proper no proper investigations has been done on the matter let a lone any consideration with regard to compensation. There have been numerous other incidents of less proportion but nevertheless equally brutal and inhuman which tend to show the callous attitude of the authorities and the security forces towards the inhabitants of this region. It's also a known fact that the most notorious and ruthless of all NEP bandits were themselves victims of police brutality, says Mzee Salah Farah a retired Administration Policeman. The Bandit leader responsible for the deaths of many senior civil servants including the Dadaab D.O Mr Johnson Welimo and scores of civil servants in Garissa in 1980 was earlier castrated by police when they arrested him with elephant tusks. But the bandit, named Abdi Methobe, later escaped from prison and feeling humiliated he hit back, raiding towns in broad daylight. He was later killed by Members of the former Game Department while crossing the Tana River in a canoe.

Salaama: aren't we all qaraabo qansax? I have this feeling that I have a few of my nieces, several nephews, some old friends, ex g/f, qaraabo qansax and most probably a few of my ex-wives in here! I have to be careful!

Ok somalis You are quite right. I wrote the piece in haste. Let me put it simply: Everywhere you meet somalis(in buses, at home, coffee houses, schools, cyberworld) you get the impression that we often discuss issues that do not directly affectthe somalis. It seems to me we are more concerned of what is happening in Grozny, the middle east, US, UK, zimbabwe you name it than somalis! Why don't we spend more time and energy on issues affecting somalis?

Princess Sexy, Without money: love becomes hate, passion goes hunting and compassion is crippled. You could buy all of the above if you have the money!

Pearlsytle: I was thinking of diamond digging! Maxaa dhacay- is that a bad thing sis? I am not ashamed to admit that money is the key to a good love life! if you know any woman in your area who has the bucks- direct her to me...we could share the joy:

OK I am backward and narrow minded. Thank you !! I am begining to wonder if the GSU is paying you to say these words!

Hi, you are of course entitled to your opinion. Right you painted a scenario- but you don't want to discuss the issue? Anyway the kenyan flag represents something else for me- and you have to accept that! I am assuming that you are a very young person who has not yet reflected or done a thorough reseach of the somali's situation in Kenya. But as the years go by I am sure you will find that, that flag represents something else for you than the blood, people and land it is suppose to represent! Now the issue at hand was whether somalis from somalia proper hated the so called sijuis. and my answer was no , we are not hated but as victims of colonialism we think we are! Please spare me the kiswahili proverbs! They do not fulfill the purpose of this or any discussion. By the way brother/sister I could provide you some research on the issues of somalis in Kenya if you want.

AMERIKA IYO CANADA : DOLLARKA AYAAN RABAA INAAN SOO XAABSADO (HADDII LA II FASAXO). MA LAISKA DHIIBI (QARXIN) KARAA?

salama, There are: a) Over one billion muslims in this world. b) Over 600 million people who orignate from Africa- not add the nearly 4 billion people of colour. But what amazes me is the notion that somalis are in the forefront when it comes to discussing issues that affect the above two groups, while, their own group (10 million) are faced with social and economic demise! So why don't we mind our business instead of discussing world issues such as the middle east, Zimbabwe, Russia, Pakistan, afghanistan, US etc?

Nin Yaaban saaxib: Sida uu Lakkab u sheegay you are using the wrong strategy! Saaxib mid xusul baruur ah oo da' ah oo ku tiraahda aboowe ayaa laiska raadsadaa! Heestaan ayaa FALSAFAD laga dhigtaa: Gabar haddaad jeclaato ha gaabaneete, Ha buurantee, hadaay rabtoo ha mudoowatee, laakin waan inaay lacag leedahay, daina aay haayso!

Silent sister, Flirting is a natural process on the internet. The same could apply to young women who flirt with adults.. what makes flirting an exclusive thing for teenagers? Opinionated: A good observation! Could it depend on the IT boom? It is not only men who are attracted to the computer business: I have seen somali women who would say "KAMBIYUUTAR AYAAN BARTAA". I think it has to do with the labour market mechanisms during the last ten years when the discourse was " we could perform everything by using the computer! we live in an information society! the new economy!" We could buy hamburgers, love, health, passion etc by using the computer" The result: many people with degrees in computing but a few that have a job! I am a computer illitrate. all I do with my computer is write, chat and access information.

Although this is " a female only thread" this subject has tempted me to drop this line! What I want from a woman, one word (MONEY) Hadaay lacag leedahay wax kasta waa la helayaan! including qurux,raashin, baabuur etc Qofku wuu doquwaa, raashinku wuu dhamaadaa, baabuurka waa gaboobaa laakin LACAGTU ma isbedesho!

salaama, having being part of the ever increasing somalis who spend most of their days infront of computer screens the past years, I have concluded : Most somalis assume: people who chat or take part in the various discussion forums are of a certain age group. It seems that there is a widespread notion that only people in their upper teens or lower twenties are part of the cyber society. Am I wrong?

Raula you wrote: "Entrepreneur, I was just posing a scenerio for you..didn't mean to boast around with my flag(which I will/I have by the way)...and aint nothing wrong with that..So chill. U yourself, probably have your somali flag around the house, office, dorms etc...so why not me..it dont mean that I hate somali(not at all)..but it means that that's where I came from..I can only recollect my childhood memories of that place only " Let me set the record straight here. I am what some somalis term as "sijui". I despise the term! Many somalis from somalia proper call people from NFD Sijuis not because they hate them but because they use the term to differentiate them. It is like reer xamar, reer waqooyi, reer djibouti etc. As to the flag, I think the kenyan flag represents "colonialism"!. It is an illusion if any somali who is born in that part of the world thinks he is a kenyan. We are are victims of oppression. My memory of Kenya is being treated as a second class citizen, being called names such as shifta, wariya etc. lete kpande...etc. NFD is the only place that is still under curfew for the last 40 years! constant police harrassment whether in Eastleigh, mombasa or mandera! Several massacres committed by kenyan thugs against somalis- Garissa, Wagalla, mandera you name it! WHY? because we are somalis! Anyway, I am perhaps getting emtional here and I don't want to thwart from the topic. I think so called "sijuis" are victims of colonialism - and thus we feel that we are better than or are treated differently by the somalis in general. a refutable allegation! We are indeed positively treated by somalis! For example, we are not part of the devil of hatred that has plagued our brothers and sisters in somali proper! I.E NO ONE CALLS US this or that tribe. Anyway to cut this short: WE ARE NOT HATED BUT LOVED! It is the colonial mentality that makes some of us think we are hated!

Salaamu calaykum, Brothers and sisters. You are quite right in saying that we need to move on. In addition as many of you mentioned we in the west think differently than the people on the hellish front: But could lasting peace be achieved when we have victims crying from the graves? Could peace be achieved when the same people who have caused and are still much suffering to the somali people want them to be rewarded? A war tribunal has been formed in Siera Leone to indicte war criminals from Libera. Charles Taylor the president was charged last week. A war tribunal has also been in progress in Arusha to try the war criminals in Rwanda. So, I don't see why one could not be formed in Kenya or ethiopia to try somali war criminals! Time and again the somali war criminals meet in Ethiopia, Djibouti or Kenya where they spend millions of dollars of UN money. This is becoming a routine. How can we move on when mothers, sons, father and daughters are crying from the grave in search of justice? How can we move on when the somali col, majors, generals who were suppose to defend them betrayed the somalis and raped the innocence of the somali masses? Let us not kid ourselves the next "president " of somalia would be either a thug who has committed the most attrocities or his croonies! Should injustice be rewarded?

Samurai, Neither of the two camps because the so called peace conference is made up of warlords who are responsible for the dismal state of the somali nation. It is about electing "the man who murdered the most". What somalis need is not a so called peace conference with murderers but a tribunal that would try those that are responsible for the murder of the millions. when that is accomplished and the rogue elements are either tried or vanish from the political landscape, I would like to see a federal somalia based on the will of the people. Of course the dream of pursuing a greater somalia would be always a primary goal for me...and that would come when we heal the wounds! and we can't heal the wounds unless those that are responsible for the demise of the somali nation are tried!

Shaqsi, yes, poor Tonny is in a mess here in the UK! I think we shall see some head rollings in westminster. There is a huge debate on whether the PM mislead parliament and the general public. Unless WMD is found Tonny is in trouble.

Salaama, somalism to me is those who speak the somali language and identify with the somali ethnic community. surely, I am an african and somalia is part of africa. But africa is made up of somalis, nigerians, kenyans etc. Somalis are persecuted by many so called africans simply because they are somalis! Sincerely, there was a time in my life when I had an afro-centric perspective but that has been thwarted due to various reasons. The adoon word is wrong when you use it as a racist remark but in my world, we use it to differentiate somalis from the other black masses. I am just being a realist here sis! By the way we have more in common with perhaps other societies than africans.

Ilmaha ma roono? qaraabada ma roono? Deriska ma roono? Waan fiicanahay balla ma jidho haddaay jidhana ma buurno!

Hey! Yeap, this old dude is still around in the cyberworld promoting his donkey dreams! You are quite right I have suffered from an identity crises. AM I A SIJUI? A MLENDO? WARIYA? etc. But I have finally scumbed to the truth: I am a la(ma)Goodle who has no kpande or kitambulisho! LOL Anyway mystery friend wlc to this site which I assume is the best site any somali could visit (It is free from the filth in somalinet)! Maxaad cabeysaa? Tusker? coffee? shaah? Vimto? caan geel? Soo dhowow oo gambar ama jimbaar qaadho Maandhow/Maandheey1

salaama, I think discrimination based on colour and creed is a sin. Every man and woman have been created equal by ALLAH. In particular, I am disturbed when somalis adress other somalis in discriminitory fashion. But I must make two confessions: - I don't believe in pan-africanism (It is also discriminatory). I beleive in somalism...and any somali despite his/her physical structure is my brother/sis! - I use the adoon analogy to describe the kenyan regime for instance for its treatement of somalis- I call them madaxkoraankor, madax cambuulo etc. So, I must admit I utter the adoon word in political sense!

Sophist: A good topic for a change! To many of my somali brethen friends=acquitance. Sac baa qoobka igu haayo hadda ee markale ayaan ku soo gudbinayaa rayogeeya.