Khayr I am not clear on the exact purpose of your post, was it the VALUE OF MONEY or HUMAN DESIRE. MONEY We all know money is the greatest lie ever invented, it carries no actual value, and there is not enough gold in the world to back it, but it persists because you and I perpetuate the lie. HUMAN DESIRE (poem) Taunting your senses. Driving your thought Devouring your sanity A distant mirage, Once subdued no longer alive. Search after search, Desire after desire A life spent searching for desire.

SARDAUKAR The author of this article seems to be the least informed on African affairs, but most optimistic on the subject. Many have argued on his line of reasoning, that in order for Africa and Africans to awake from their misery, they must stop cherishing western mode of development and operations. What he suggests is no more than economical detachment and revival of self sustenance, an ideal action to which I agree will provide to us the requisite success, but how can that be achieved without hard, sincere work. The old dictate goes; only with political stability can economic stability follow. What Africa lacks is political stability in all sense of the word. The colonial legacy assured itself, by first creating fictitious republics with arbitrary borders, and then icing the cake with strata of ignorant individuals as the elite. Before we worry about “establishing tiny tiny maize mills” on the road to economical freedom, we need to totally change the mode of thinking of our populace. A mass re-education of the public must be undertaken, in which people are advised to purchase African chicken, as opposed to Made In USA well packaged and antibiotic fed chickens. To choose African fabrics, ideologies, political systems and institutions as opposed to imported ones. Only with this total restructuring will the author’s vision be achieved. The cost of this is tremendous both in energy and in lives, as well illustrated by the recent Zimbabwe land reforms and its subsequent international opposition. In general there is an African movement underway, in which people are recognizing that progression is best achieved with regression, but this movement is not steady sailing, hampered by the status quo of the continent and the “Coconut” elites who fear change. Closer to home, I find many educated Somalis are ready to blame the clan systems for all ills, in fact they truly believe peace and progress can only be achieved with the elimination of this deep rooted Somali institution. Simultaneously they suggest Marxism, Democracy, or Theocracy as the alternative. These are the same intellectuals that would rather have a cell phone-making factory than one making fork or spoon. How could the movement take strength when a good majority is in this mindset? The truth of the matter is, Somalis are divided along clan lines, although this institutions appears divisive in nature, it has the potential to structure public management. Much like any other institutions it requires improvement and guidance, to make it suitable for contemporary world. What makes this necessary is the fact that it makes part and parcel of our society, our political system prior to the first British or Italian landing at our coast. Who knows we might find it irrelevant in the future, but for the time being, this is our tiny tiny maize mill.

Salamu Alaykum Yasmine, my sincere compliment on your efforts, it does take extensive courage to delve in this political topic that all so often pervades our thoughts. Without sounding like a nationalist “"Somali Weyn" fanatics” a vulture ready to “jump” on you, I have to be honest and agree that your post if not in content but in flavor is partisan. Perhaps your intention were not so, but your understanding of idealism seems flawed. Idealism as stated on the dictionary is “The act or practice of envisioning things in an ideal form.” , what in fact you did was propose a series of leading questions that obliterated the “ideal form”, in stating the many obstacles en- route to somalweyn. As they say in court “leading the witness” or in this case leading the audience, a cardinal talent if you ask me of a true writer. Then it comes to you as a surprise, that the likes of Bashi confront you, while the likes of Somalilander applaud you. For I have no idea why the later is so easily satisfied. I must digress, you are not the topic, I believe your topic was Somaliweyn and how was the idea viable. Well the current reality is adamantly against the idea, and obstacles do exist, but you see that is the nature of idea and idealism, it exist and often comes true against all odds, but not without thorough labor. Somalis in my humble opinion never had a state nor a nation. What we had was a gift of very sophisticated piece of machinery beyond our time and capacity. The resultant state is all too obvious for you. The necessary steps that we leaped were the development of our own indigenous institutions. To the point where those exact institutions would be able to buffer the requirement of the modern world, mainly a modern state complete with its apparatus. The development of our own political institutions entailed the sophistication of the pre existing equilibrium, the transition of symbols of unity from the mid segments to overall group and the development of a sense of altruism toward the collective ie. Nationalism. At a historical stage where the truest enemy meant another Somali, we were lumped into arbitrary borders, of malicious kind. In fact many of the obstacles to Somalweyn you so feverishly listed were built with clear intention much like the rest of our victimized continent. Let me give you an another analogy, faith is based on the believe of the hereafter, if one was dismayed by the realistic view of the current world, a world where the faithful are subjected to cruelty, a world where mass of humans are suffering everywhere, where bad things are happing to good people, would the idea of hereafter and a fair, all aware all rectifying creator be a bleak. My point, it is not always beneficial to take the logical, rational REALISTIC way as the one and only answer. A believe i an idea tends to drive people much better toward a goal, however hard the road might be. Walaykum a Salam

Dawaco “Can one do as the Romans do when in Rome while preserving one's self?” Yes indeed. Many societies have persevered, within the literal Rome let alone the proverbial one. Sweet sis, you must have misunderstood me, I am not suggesting the creation of chameleon generation that will further lead their offspring to oblivion. If I recall correctly my words were “…having partners that are endowed with understanding of the contemporary environment so as to insure both the survivorship of our partnership and offspring.” Understanding is far from practicing. For example the contemporary parent generation has no clue as to the working of the nations they live within let alone the culture. In fact the generation gap you so elude in the future is currently present. Evidence has shown majority of those that are born or raised in foreign lands, not only retain their identity and culture, but endeavor to revitalizing their traditions. All that is necessary is for I and my better half as you put it is to provide the culture setting at home essential to instill in them the cardinal idea that they are different and Voila you got yourself a retrograde generation. You are right no one cannot practice two cultures simultaneous, those that try are confused fools. Sophist Your welcome is dully obliged. The impressiveness of this place dragged me in.

Salamu aleykum What do you expect sis Dawaco, when people transverse from a pre-industrial way of living and thinking, i.e. pastoral economy, familial solidarity and collective functioning straight into post industrial mode of living i.e. capitalistic, individualistic and libertine, over night it is only logical confusion will pursue. People are perpetually amending, a good indication is back home, where you find people in near incomprehensible accents, and traditions, something we acquired just over 2 to3 hundred years, of migration and grazing other cultures. Would it be surprising then to find people in the West assuming the cultures of their host nations? I personally perceive the sisters to be the standard bearers of our traditions, perhaps they are responding to unapparent pressure from us males, perhaps is out of sheer choice, non the less it takes a lot of courage to resist drowning in this Western culture. Contrary to your perception the brother’s choice has not changed, we have always sough traditions for our homes, but interesting partner for ourselves, it is part of respectively being Somali and human simultaneously. We want homes representative of our upbringing, complete with decency, respect, solidarity and religion, while having partners that are endowed with understanding of the contemporary environment so as to insure both the survivorship of our partnership and offspring. Now what part of that do you find contradictive? Lastly I do agree with you, that we are somewhere between start and finish, knowing how metal the hardest matter cracks with rapid change of temperature, hope we do not follow suit and fragment into history. Wasalau Alaykum wa raxhmatulaa