Wadani;842213 wrote: Rasicm is much worse because its predicated not only upon blind hatred but also a belief in the inherent superiority of one group over another. Somali tribalism on the other hand is based on hatred and mistrust dating to age old feuds caused by competition over scarce resources, but for the most part there is an egalitarian ethos which permeates our nomadic culture, making the tribes relatively equal in status. That is why the snm clan and the khatumo clan for example will intermarry extensively despite the current and historic animosity between them, since they each view the other to be of noble lineage. I'd rather be hated and viewed as an equal, than be hated and despised on top of that. You raise a good point there, walaal but not all Somali clans are considered equal.

That article has led me astray.. but seriously, what kind of man writes or reads a lads bible?.. LoooL.

May Allah have mercy on his soul. Samir iyo Imaan to his faamily.

In awe of this ayeeyo.....

..written by a right tosser!!!!!

ElPunto;842050 wrote: Nice. But we need a new model of tourism apart from naked ppl and alcohol like Kenya coast or Carribean. North of Mogadishu Indeed, the Sultanate of Oman offers a unique and inspiring model of tourism based on local heritage and values. Beautiful country and not a skyscraper or bikini in sight (though they are somewhat liberal compared to Somalis).

^Hmmm. So, what do you purpose for those who have completed basic education? It's not as if you're going to always have a cohort of young pupils, they get older, move through the education system. These universities are producing the current crop of doctors, teachers, nurses tec. back home today. Development of the education system is needed at all levels. Juxa, That's a fantastic idea, hon. Talented orphans ama caruurtaan loo maqnayn. Look into it..I'A

Who brags about being a mans friend and tol and then talk shit about his woman in the same post?

I haven't seen anything like it. Fantastic concept but could do with more input.. p.s found it thanks to my friend google.

I think you've all brought great and valid points. Poverty is a huge problem for our community, though maybe the Europeans and Americans fare better than those of us in the UK. This brings with it, parents inability to meet their children's material needs, pay for extra curricular activities which provide a focus, excitement and build the confidence and skills of their children at the most basic level, but more crucially, it is poverty, not choice or neglect that that forces many Somalis to live in the areas riddled with crime and access only to worst schools in the nation, these are all factors which influence the child's socialisation. Lets not get started on racism in Britain (perhaps, also in America) and the discourse on black masculinity which our boys exposed to from a very young age. As Chimera, we're in dire need of community initiatives targeting all of these issues, I would also add Islamic education which is friendly and none judgmental.

I must stress that I didn't choose or pay for it, it was passed (perhaps tossed) to me. Quality and price aren't enough though. Btw.. There's an advert on top of this page for a Mitsubishi ASX, now we're talking... shooo@ Alpha.

I drive an old Hyundai qoroqoro these days, goes with the current lifestyle, I suppose. It's dusty pink as well. Hahaha. I agree, Arch, it is a good reliable car and the i30 agrees with my aesthetic tastes. Hmmm. wouldn't be my first choice though..

This has really made my day, thanks for sharing Chimera.

MashaAllah, Ilma Abtigiis, guul iyo barakadeed, InshaAlah. Well done, Aabuha wanaagsan waa lama huraan.

Have seen them in Maan Soor, sow dhiigu kumuu dhaqaaqin. What annoys the most is how even the African despite knowing the truths of the NGOs allow themselves to be continually manipulated with lies and myths about our continent and advocate for more of the useless interventions which enrich everyone but the Africans it was meant to 'empower'.

Stories featuring aid projects often rely on dubious numbers provided by the organizations. Take Kibera, a poor neighborhood in Nairobi. A Nexis search of major world publications found Kibera described as the “biggest” or “largest” slum in Africa at least thirty-four times in 2004; in the first ten months of 2010 the claim appeared eighty-three times. Many of those stories focused on the work of one of the estimated 6,000 or more local and international NGOs working there, and cited population figures that ranged as high as one million residents. Recently, however, the results of Kenya’s 2009 census were released: according to the official tally, Kibera has just 194,269 residents. In 2010, Rasna Warah wrote in the Daily Nation, a Kenyan paper, that while working for the Worldwatch Institute, an NGO, she had published inflated population estimates using UN-Habitat data, despite knowing there was no consensus on the numbers among her former colleagues at the organization. Sometime after 2004, she wrote, population estimates for Kibera started to rise, and “Before we knew it, the figure spread like a virus.” She added, “The inflated figures were not challenged, perhaps because they were useful to various actors…. They were particularly useful to NGOs, which used them to ‘shock’ charities and other do-gooders into donating more money to their projects in Kibera.” Questionable figures of another sort are to be found in reports on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, a series of targets on poverty reduction and other measures of well-being. UN and NGO officials routinely describe Africa as failing to meet the goals, and the press routinely writes up this failure. But some experts, among them Jan Vandemoortele, one of the architects of the MDGS, have expressed concern that the goals are being misused. He wrote in 2009 that the MDGS were intended as global targets, but have been improperly applied to individual countries and regions. “It is a real tragedy when respectable progress in Africa is reported as a failure by international organizations and external observers,” Vandemoortele wrote, voicing the suspicion that particular measurements have been selected “so as to present Africa as a failure, solely to gain support for a particular agenda, strategy, or argument.” http://www.cjr.org/reports/hiding_the_real_africa.php?page=all

Beautiful thread. Keep them coming.

Gosh, your cousin needs a vasectomy. I was there in June 2011 and January 2010, the average family is 6-10. I'm not suggesting that Somalis need to have as many children as they could (I hate people who do that), it just isn't a major issue. Even in Dadaab, biggest problems our sisters face are child loss and rape but we want offer them condoms.

No, Buuraha. I've an issue with the NGO version of Somalis which you seem to have bought. You seem to be going around in circles, number of children isn't the issue, that has been established. It's lack of peace and instability which keeps some families poor, that too has been established. In some parts, many large families are living in relative health,that is also another part of the Somali story.

burahadeer;840044 wrote: I'm not againest population growth & I'm not expecting anyone distribute pills but the number of children per family is stagering which is ok if you can afford.Isn't it possible to help those in refuge camps like Dadab(500,000) to come up with a solution to minimize atleast for the time being, they burden on thmslvs. Rubbish! the refugee camp of dadaab alone didn't put Somalia in the top 5 list. Wealthy, middle class, working class family in Muqdisho, Bosaaso, Hargaisa, Jigjiga etc. also have large families they can take care of. I really don't understand waxaa la isu mukuriyo, most of us are from large families, we know the truth about Somali familes, give it a rest will ya.

Mario B Apologies, walaal, just read all of your posts. You're absolutely right, don't get sidetracked. p.s Aging population in the west (and increasingly rest of the world ) is also a problem which will impact greatly on economy.. http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldageing19502050/

^I agree with most of the things you've said but why is population growth a problem? Surely, in safer circumstances, number of children a family has will not be an issue.

Indeed Xiin, simplicity does not elude me. Point taken, XX.

What's the point in talking to Sharifs Admin when they will be out in two months? Somalia should address the union with SL, once it has a fully functioning government that doesn't depend on constitutions drawn in foreign cities, a road map lead by foreign governments and peace protected by foreign armies.

war humbles us.. p.s I find some of these stereotypes rather offensive.