Xakuumada Soomaliya

Ethiopia, Somalia Sign Cooperation Agreement The Ethiopian Herald (Addis Ababa) NEWS December 1, 2005 Posted to the web December 1, 2005 By ENA Addis Ababa Ethiopia and Somalia signed a cooperation agreement providing for working together in economic, political and social sectors. The comprehensive agreement signed in Jewhar town, temporary seat of the Transitional Government of Somalia, is believed to enhance the existing relations between the two countries. The agreement will enable the two countries to jointly work in investment, trade, port service, transport, security and other sectors among others. Ethiopian State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Tekeda Alemu and Somalian Foreign Minister, Ambassador Abdulahi Ismael signed the agreement. Speaking on the occasion Somalian Foreign Affairs Minister said the cooperation between the two governments will further enhance people-to-people relations of the two countries. It also contributes for the prevalence of sustainable peace and stability in the region. Ethiopian State Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Tekeda Alemu on his part said Ethiopia would do utmost efforts towards implementing the agreement, which he said, has great importance for the peoples of the two countries. Dr. Tekeda said that the agreement would further enhance the longstanding relations between the two nations. Moreover, he said, the agreement would have significant role to ensure peace and security in the Horn of Africa by preventing terrorism in coordinated manner. Meanwhile, member countries of the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) called upon the international community to extend financial and material aid to strengthen the Transitional Government of Somalia. They also requested the international community to take strict measure on armed forces who attempt to hamper the ongoing peace initiative in Somalia. The call was made during a meeting organized for foreign ministers of Member Countries of IGAD that got underway in Somalia Tuesday. This was the first time for foreign ministers of IGAD member countries to hold meeting in Somalia, which remained stateless for many years. The 26th ministerial meeting had held an in-depth discussion on ways of strengthening the Somalia Transitional Government and reconstruction activities in that country. Somalia Transitional Government Prime Minister Mohammed Gedi said while opening the meeting that the establishment of the Transitional Government a year ago through the support of IGAD would help realize the desire of maintaining peace in Somalia. He called upon the international community to support and stand on the side of his government to help emerge victoriously over its challenges. Representatives of Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya in particular confirmed that they would stand on the side of the Somalia Transitional Government set through the help of IGAD. Speaking on his part Ethiopian Foreign Affairs State Minister said Ethiopia would continue to extend its support to the transitional government, as it is desirous to maintain peace and stability in the Horn of Africa. In a resolution they passed, participants of the meeting urged for the merger of the transitional government with other factions in Somalia They called upon the international community to extend financial and political support to the transitional government and take measures on those forces who attempt to hamper peace in Somalia. African Union, European Union, UN, World Bank and other donors pledged for their continued support to the Transitional Government of Somalia, according to ETV.

Walaal arintani ma hagaagsana . Waxayna kalifeysaa dad baddan oo soo qorsheystay sanadkan iney soo xejiyaan in loo diido xajkooda. Lakin waxan u maleynayaa in xanibaadani ku eg tahey dalalka Aasiya. Laakiin caafimaad ahaan marka la fiiriyo, ma xuma in baaritaan caafimaad la sameeyo qof alle qofkii uu soo duuli lahaa dalka Sacuudiga from Asia. Hase ahaatee waxaa laga yaabaa in qarash baddan suurta gal ka dhigeyso arintaas, lana awoodi karin. Marka waxaa macquul noqoneysaa in la joojiyo gebi ahaantiis. Haday Sacuudiga ogolaadaan arintani, waxan u maleynaya ineysan xumeeyn, ogowna in arintani aysan aheen Siyaasad ama Faragelin lagu sameynayo Muslimiinta, waa uun Tallo caafimaad. Waad i saxi kartaa.

I agree with Yasmin. The history section , if approved of by SOL adminstration, should provide the missing links for all of us. However, all history posts should be verified.

Thanks , that is the man on my avatar.

GURMAD: Gabay ku socda R/Wasaare Cali Maxamed Geeddi Gabay waanigii daayay oo gaabso doorbidaye Godolkiisii waayadan ma libin iyo ganuunkiise Aan gorfeeyo waataan ahaa gogol dhiggiisiiye Cali geeddiyoow xaajadaad goobta kala yeedhay Gacalloow malaayiin daday gaadhay qayladiye Gocashiyo xusuustii qalbigu ila guhaadoowye Soomaaliland goosta tiri garashadaadiiye Garabyadii maqnaa tiri amxaar haydin guursado’e Ma gabbaatibaa ciiddu waa dhaxal ma guuraane Walaalow gef waa laga ordaa godobta qaarkeede Gashi iyo mag waa laga baxshaa aano goonniyahe Kala geynta qaran waa midaan gari ahaanaynee Gabtay oo hoggaankii caloow waakan gaasiraye Xilkii giiji lagu yidhi haddaad gudo aqoon weydey ma geydide u dhiib shacabkii way kugu gedoodeene Afartaa garsooraye mid kale gocanayaa mooyi Nin gujaa murtida lagu yiqiin waan ka gaagaxaye Aan giraangirshee mawlahaan iga gulaalayne Hal gawdiidda gubadkoo harraad gooha ololaysa Oo gabannadeedii l’edeen gaajo kala qaartay Gacan midigle kuma aammineen inuu la guulaaye Gunta hadalku madaxweynuhuu gaar u sii yahaye Garoommada inuu kaa dhigaan talo ku gaadhsiine Goolaaftan maahee runtaan geedka ka caddayne Weli guul kamaad hoyn xilkaa guudka kuu sudhane Indha gabadhsi bay kuu ahayd maalin gelinkeede In lagaa gabbaanayday adaa goob xunta is dhigaye Guclahaagii kama badan inaad nacab garbaysaaye Gadhwadeen Zinaawaa tihiyo goosatiyo tuuge Adigiyo intii kula guntani waad ku geleysaane Goblamaan ka diirayn dhibtaa guriga noo taale Galaayuuska maatada kolkaad gawda maqashiisay Guullaa u maqan Fahad horuu kuugu guud maraye Afartaana ganay oo horaan uga gudabaayaaye Gobol aan tilmaan ugu noqdaan kugu garwaaqsiine Caliyoow garaadkaa kolley gob’odu waa meele Geyigaa aad kala geyn rag baw go’ay daraaddiise Gubniyaa godka u galay markii laysu soo galaye Gurey iyo darwiishkii u hure gebi naftoodiiye Geeridiisi xalanaan ilmada gob’o ka siiyaaye Gabayguu tirshey timacaddaan gama’ la diidaaye Geddii faarax uun baan niyada gocanayaa mooyi Waxaan gole ka maagiyo afkaan gawsaha u giijay Gorod rogadka socodkayga iyo gaanannimadaydu Gunnimaan ka fiigaa inaan laygu gooddiyine Waxa geesi lagu gawracee iilka lagu gaabshey Ee lagu gembiyey ciidda ee aakhira u gooshay Ee godolka maandeeq ka qaday gocanayaa mooyi Galda’aagii caliyoow haddaan gaadh lagaa qabanin Gar loo gubay haddii aanay noqon gubiyo xaalkeeda Is gunaanad gobanimiyo sharaf ma aha gaankaaye! Maxamuud Axmed Cabdalla Email: Abdalle9@hotmail.com Source: allpuntland.com

WardheerNews leaves Anna Waa-i-Kan websites in the trail Bashir Goth Monday, November 22, 2005 There is a Somali wisdom that divides men into six categories: Nin Rag ah iyo Rag kalkaal, Rife iyo Rife Kalkaal, Abeeso laa iyo Ana waa i kan, to explain the riddle, it means Nin Rag ah (or a Real Man) is a man of initiatives who is bestowed with sound judgment and clear vision; a man whose ideas and proposals lead the clan to peace and prosperity. Rag Kalkaal or supporter of the Real Man is an honest man with good conscience who can appreciate and support the man of ideas and stand by him. Rife or shredder is one who tries to kill all good endeavors and pokes holes into every good idea; a man who is inhabited by evil demons and cannot stand to see good taking root in the society. Rife-kalkaal or shredder supporter is a man who is always ready to support the destructive ideas of Rife. Abeeso laa or snake-killer, in the traditional Somali nomad and rural culture, is the cobbler man who makes and mends shoes, or the artisan who makes handicrafts. Due to the nature of their work, these skilled men always practice their trade at the family camp or abode. Therefore, they became handy whenever the women of the clan encountered a danger such as snakes. These men are called for to help to kill the snakes, thus came their name snake-killer. Anna Waa i kan, or here I am too, is a man with low intelligence but lucky to be married to an intelligent woman. She keeps her eyes and ears open and whenever she comes to know that the men of the clan had met and decided to raise funds for a cause, she would send her husband with his contribution in hand and tell him to go to the meeting and tell them that you were there too to pay your share. He then would then go and say, " I am here too." Therefore, when I stumbled on WardheerNews on the first day while browsing the Internet, my initial hunch was that WardheerNews was not Rife or Rife Kalkaal, nor indeed Abeeso Laa or Anna Waa i kan but a real Nin Rag ah iyo Rag kalkaal. My hunch was later proven right by the website's highbrow journalistic standard and its powerful and pithy editorials, a trend that has been pioneered by Awdalnews Network among Somali websites. Several other websites have since tried to follow the example but it is only WardheerNews that has paralleled Awdalnews by bringing forth such brain teasing, thought-provoking and timely editorials. It is indeed admirable to see the wealth of excellent articles, reports and research material that Wardheernews has built up just in one year. I say hurrah to the team of WardheerNews who manage this splendid and informative website. By their concerted and dedicated effort, WardheerNews has left behind the plethora of many Somali Anna Waa i Kan websites, which make a few flashes here and there and then disappear into the dark like a lightning bug. Bashir Goth bsogoth@yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------ WardheerNews dot Com: Mature at Infancy Ismail Ali Ismail Monday, November 21, 2005 WardheerNews dot com has been making enormous strides towards progress and maturity ever since its inception a year ago thanks to the foresight, commitment and the youthful energy of its editorial board. I cannot help but recall in this connection the late President Nyerere’s statement that “we must run while others walkâ€. This is what WardheerNews.com must have been doing in order to catch up with the various much older Somali websites. Those who have eyes to see and are endowed with a sense of recognizing the good will surely bear witness to the fact that this website has surpassed all expectations barely a year after it was launched. There is, obviously, no shortage of Somali websites for there is a plethora of them. But when you have so many you are bound to have some that are so poor in all aspects that they leave much to be desired. There can be no doubt that the gutter press we know in the West and some of our websites are much of a muchness. It is of course very easy – and at times even tempting – to sink to a low level of insults, mudslinging and whipping up clannish sentiments in their ugliest forms. I know that many of our compatriots with lower tastes enjoy reading sensational, if fictional, material as well as some juicy details of scandals which may not even have taken place. Surely, many of us enjoy reading fiction – of whatever kind – but one would call our mental faculties into question if we confuse fiction with reality even though it often mimics real life situations: we ought to separate fantasy from reality. However, I fail to see the entertainment value of sensational fabrications which are meant to exacerbate our pernicious divisions with the aim of perpetuating chaos and anarchy. Indeed some of the websites have left little or no doubt they are merely instruments in the hands of renegade forces that have tried to move heaven and earth to reverse the process of our national reconciliation. We should cherish and enjoy our freedom of expression without fear and without favor. But we should understand that the way we use this freedom says a lot about us too. For surely the way of the sophisticated is vastly different from that of the wild and woolly lot. It is plausible to argue that some leeway should be given the masses who after twenty years of military rule are suddenly confronted with boundless freedom and are only learning how to deal with it or what to do with it. But the decade and half that followed the collapse of that restrictive Somali State have given us a carte blanche which blurred the limits of that freedom and led to the flight of reason. After the procrustean methods of the ancient regime we have been for the last fifteen years a Nation Unbound. I am reminded here of that proverbial anecdote from our folklore in which a mother was worried to death about what might become of her grownup son whose speech faculty had no signs of showing up. She prayed hard and inexorably to Allah to make her son speak. But when He answered her entreaties the boy uttered some unutterable profanities which shocked the mother into speechlessness. Such is the situation in which mother Somalia finds itself today with respect to its sons and daughters who pen words and passages that cut through her heart. It is my firm belief that the quality of our websites should be measured by such criteria as: objectivity; readiness to reflect different shades of opinion including those opposed to the philosophy and orientation of the website; quality of the contributions as to decency, depth and ideas; conscious effort to inform and educate the readers; furthering national unity by trying to heal the wounds of the nation; and the provision of reasonable entertainment. A high-quality website is by definition a discriminating website because it can only accept those contributions that meet its set criteria. I fear, alas, that some of our websites have set only two criteria for themselves both of which are merely mundane: first, that the author is personally known to them; and secondly, that the article should tow the line of the owners of the website. I think that in doing so they are unwittingly doing a disservice both to themselves and the cause or causes they profess to serve – and they expose themselves in the process to ridicule. There is nothing innately wrong with a website being owned by an individual, a family or even a clan so long as it portrays the facts as they are, its analyses of events are reasonable, its inevitable prejudices are not grotesque, and as long as it shows willingness to give space to contrary (not insulting) views. Now then, where does WardheerNews.com fit in all this as it celebrates its first anniversary? Admittedly, I have nothing but praise and admiration for this website considering its achievement in such a short span of time. I think it has shown objectivity and a degree of level-headedness by publishing articles depicting divergent viewpoints; and the articles are usually well-written and well-argued though at times emotions creep into some of them. WardheerNews.com is unique, I must say, in covering and portraying pits and pieces of our culture and history to which I myself contributed and these seem to have been allocated prominent space on the sides of the frontal page. It has also managed to unearth and post old articles by expatriates and a wonderful speech delivered by the late Mohammed Ibrahim Egal, when prime minister, to the Royal African Society in London; it is no doubt instructive to many of our young men and women. Moreover, the Editorial Board has often shown unusual boldness in expressing their views unabashedly on controversial issues and I think it is good to know where they stand on issues impinging on national unity and on how we should get out of the current morass so that we can again be a people who lift their heads high and walk proudly among the free peoples of the World. We may disagree with the views of the Board from time to time but healthy disagreements can only illuminate our way forward provided of course we learn from each contribution. I can only think of two shortcomings. The first is that the Editorial Board does not properly edit submissions for I invariably see minor typing errors as well as minor errors of grammar even in my own articles which could have been removed by simple editing, I can only suggest that WardheerNews.com pay attention to these matters for there is nothing more annoying to an author than to see his work being blemished by such minor mishaps. The other shortcoming has everything to do with our culture and nothing to do with the management of WardheerNews.com. Like other websites these websites has been given a clan label and this I think is the reason why contributions from a much wider section of our people have been few and far between or not forthcoming at all. I think the website should make a special effort to cross interclan barriers and reach out to those others who fear that their views might not be given space. On the whole, I think that WardheerNews.com has performed remarkably well in the course of its one year of existence so far. It stands head and shoulders above many of the older websites and out shines them. Because of these achievements I am certain that some older websites are stealthily casting envious on it. I am sending my warmest tributes to the management and staff of Wardheernews.com for having done an excellent job and I hope this website will grow from strength to strength in the years to come. HAPPY BIRTHDAY WARDHEERNEWS DOT COM. Ismail Ali Ismail Virginia, USA

Defense official: Rumsfeld given Iraq withdrawal plan Plan calls for troops to begin pulling out after December elections WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The top U.S. commander in Iraq has submitted a plan to the Pentagon for withdrawing troops in Iraq, according to a senior defense official. Gen. George Casey submitted the plan to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. It includes numerous options and recommends that brigades -- usually made up of about 2,000 soldiers each -- begin pulling out of Iraq early next year. The proposal comes as tension grows in both Washington and Baghdad following a call by a senior House Democrat to bring U.S. troops home and the deaths of scores of people by suicide bombers in two Iraqi cities. House Republicans were looking for a showdown Friday after Rep. John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat and well-respected Vietnam veteran, presented a resolution that would force the president to withdraw the nearly 160,000 U.S. troops in Iraq "at the earliest predictable date." (Watch Murtha urge legiislators to sign off on pulling out troops---1:37) Murtha on Thursday called the administration's management of the conflict "a flawed policy wrapped in illusion" that is "uniting the enemy against us." "It's time to bring the troops home," he said. Republicans were looking to lock horns with Democrats after Murtha's remarks. Source: CNN.com

UN: Second Committee approves text urging reconstruction, rehabilitation aid to help Somalia overcome effects of civil war, drought, tsunami; It also passes three other drafts resolutions on humanitarian relief; Holds panel discussion on energy efficiency; M2 PRESSWIRE-November 14, 2005 Expressing concern over the effects of civil war on Somalia, ongoing drought and the 2004 tsunami, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) recommended that the General Assembly urge donor countries, regional and subregional organizations to contribute to that country's reconstruction and rehabilitation, through the rapid assistance programme and efforts coordinated by the United Nations, according to one of four draft resolutions that it approved unanimously today. By other terms of that draft, the Assembly would call on the international community to assist in establishing aggressive programmes focusing on short-, medium- and long-term measures in the areas of institutional development, policy and legislation development, land use and soil management, marine and coastal ecosystem management, and disaster management. It should also assist in conducting critical assessments of environmental impacts in tsunami-affected areas, drought and flood-affected areas, and of toxic and other wastes. Also by that text, on assistance for humanitarian relief and the economic and social rehabilitation of Somalia (document A/C.2/60/ L.8/Rev.2), the Assembly wouldurge Somali leaders to increase the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance by improving security on the ground, among other actions. It would also urge the international community to support the need for peacebuilding measures and for the speedy implementation of programmes for the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of militias throughout Somalia, to stabilize the entire country and ensure the effectiveness of its Transitional Federal Government. The Assembly would further call on the international community to urgently provide assistance and relief to the Somali people, to alleviate the consequences of the civil war. Further by the draft, the Assembly would urge all States, as well as intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, to assist the transitional federal institutions to embark on the rehabilitation of basic social and economic services, as well as institution-building, at all levels throughout the country. In addition, it would urge the Somali parties to respect the security and safety of United Nations personnel, those of its specialized agencies, non-governmental organizations and all other humanitarian personnel, and to guarantee their complete freedom of movement and safe access throughout Somalia. By a draft on economic assistance for the reconstruction and development of Djibouti (document A/C.2/60/L.5/Rev.1), approved as orally amended, the General Assembly would appeal to all Governments, international financial institutions, specialized agencies and non-governmental organizations to respond adequately to the country's financial and material needs, in line with its poverty- reduction strategy. Also by that text, the Assembly would encourage the Government of Djibouti to continue its efforts to consolidate democracy, the promotion of good governance and the eradication of poverty, despite difficult economic and regional realities.

That is a lovely poem Nayruus.

This is excellent site. Thanks for sharing. By the way, KPBS is my favorite San Diego channel and it's a broadcast service of SDSU

Rioting Spreads Beyond Paris Suburbs By JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 39 minutes ago Marauding youths set fire to cars, warehouses and a nursery school and pelted rescuers with rocks early Saturday, as the worst rioting in a decade spread from Paris to other French cities. The U.S. warned Americans against taking trains to the airport via strife-torn areas. A savage assault on a bus passenger highlighted the dangers of travel in Paris' impoverished outlying neighborhoods, where the violence has entered its second week. Attackers doused the woman, in her 50s and on crutches, with an inflammable liquid and set her afire as she tried to get off a bus in the suburb of Sevran Wednesday, judicial officials said. The bus had been forced to stop because of burning objects in its path. She was rescued by the driver and hospitalized with severe burns. Justice Minister Pascal Clement deplored the incident, saying it caused him "great emotion." Rioters burned more than 500 vehicles Friday as the unrest grew beyond the French capital for the first time. Unrest returned to the streets in the evening and early Saturday, the ninth night in a row. Police said troublemakers fired bullets into a vandalized bus and burned 85 more cars in Paris and Suresnes, just to the west. In Meaux, east of Paris, officials said youths stoned rescuers aiding someone who had fallen ill. Meanwhile, warehouses in Suresnes and Aubervilliers, on the northern edge of Paris, were set ablaze. Officials said other fires raged outside the capital in Lille, Toulouse, and Rouen, while an incendiary device was tossed at the wall outside a synagogue in Pierrefitte, northwest of Paris. Some 30 mayors from the Seine-Saint-Denis region where the unrest started Oct. 27 met Friday to make a joint call for calm. Claude Pernes, mayor of Rosny-sous-Bois, denounced a "veritable guerrilla situation, urban insurrection" that has taken hold. A national police spokesman, Patrick Hamon, said there appeared to be no coordination among gangs in different areas. But he said youths in individual neighborhoods were communicating by cell phone text messages or e-mails — arranging meetings and warning each other about police operations. The violence started Oct. 27 after the accidental electrocution of two teenagers who believed police were chasing them in the Seine-Saint-Denis region, dominated by low-income housing projects. Since then riots have swelled into a broader challenge against the French state and its security forces. The violence has exposed deep discontent in neighborhoods where African and Muslim immigrants and their French-born children are trapped by poverty, unemployment, racial discrimination, crime, poor education and housing. An Interior Ministry operations center tracking the destruction reported some 355 vehicules burned overnight around France — one-third outside the Paris region. The figure marked a drop from the more than 500 vehicules set ablaze 24 hours earlier. However arrests were up, to about 170, the center said. Officials in the Yvelines region west of Paris said at least 60 vehicles were torched and a nursery school was all but burned to the ground. At a depot in Trappes, to the southwest, 27 buses were incinerated, officials said. The commuter train line linking Paris to Charles de Gaulle airport ran limited service Friday after two trains were targeted Wednesday night. The U.S. Embassy called the protests "extremely violent" and warned travelers against taking trains to the airport because they pass through the troubled area. Russia, meanwhile, warned citizens against visiting the suburbs. The Foreign Ministry said it was concerned that foreign media coverage was exaggerating the situation. "I don't have the feeling that foreign tourists in Paris are in any way placed in danger by these events," ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said, adding that officials were "sometimes a bit surprised" by the foreign coverage. Still, the violence has alarmed the government of President Jacques Chirac, whose calls for calm have gone unheeded. "This is the first time (suburban violence) has lasted so long and the government appears taken aback at the magnitude," said Pascal Perrineau, director of the Center for Study of French Political Life. There were "few direct clashes" with security forces late Thursday and early Friday, however, no bullets fired at police, and far fewer large groups of rioters, said Jean-Francois Cordet, the top government official in Seine-Saint-Denis. Instead, Cordet said, the unrest in Seine-Saint-Denis was led by "numerous small and highly mobile groups." The unrest erupted with youths angered over the deaths of Bouna Traore, 15, and Zyed Benna, 17, who were electrocuted when they hid in a power substation in the suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois. Traore's brother, Siyakah Traore, called for protesters to "calm down and stop ransacking everything." "This is not how we are going to have our voices heard," he told RTL radio, adding his voice to neighborhood groups working to stop the violence. Late Friday in Meaux, east of Paris, youths prevented firefighters from evacuating a sick person from an apartment in a housing project, pelting them with stones and torching the awaiting ambulance, the Interior Ministry officer said. "I'm not able to sleep at night because you never know when a fire might break out," said Mammed Chukri, 36, a Kurdish immigrant from northern Iraq living near the warehouse that burned in Aubervilliers. "I have three children and I live in a five-story building. If a fire hit, what would I do?" Dozens of residents and community leaders were stepping in to defuse tensions, with some walking between rioters and police to urge youths to back down. Abderrhamane Bouhout, head of the Bilal mosque in Clichy-sous-Bois, said he had enlisted 50 youths to try stop the violence. "We've had positive results," he said. ___ Associated Press writers Scheherezade Faramarzi and Cecile Brisson in Paris contributed to this report.

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SPEAKER OF THE SOMALI PARLIAMENT, MR. SHARIF HASSAN Dr. Ali Said Faqi Oct 20,2005 Mr. Speaker, I was very disturbed by the statement you made in an interview with BBC Somali branch on Tuesday October 18, 2005, where you have stated that “Somalis have reconciled and forgiven each other.†This was a very grave statement from a man whose constituency has always been treated as second class citizens in Somalia . Mr. Speaker, I wouldn't mind you to advocate for the release of your delegate member by the Swedish government; it will be your own personal decision and nobody else and no one should be assumed guilty until proven. However, what struck me was your insensitivity and lack of understanding to the issue of human rights violation. Mr. Speaker, let me remind you that those who pretended to have reconciled were the warlords while zilch has been shared with the Somali public. A speaker of a parliament from a minority tribe of Somalia characterizing human right violation as a trivial issue is pathetic and inconceivable. Mr. Speaker it should be you and the non- militarized clan members in the parliament to press the issue of human rights, so that justice can be served one day for those orphans whose parents were killed for no reason. Your statement has added insult to the existing pain and injury to those who lost their loved ones. Likewise, it has added an insult to me who have lost family members for no reason. As a matter of fact, in 1991 my uncles from my mother side and many others were killed because an aggressive group who planned to takeover their farms has labeled them as ****** . When you state publicly that Somalis have reconciled and forgiven themselves in a very trivial tone, could you please tell the public who were the representatives of the ASHARAF orphans, the Afgoi orphans, the Benadiri orphans, the Bantu orphans, the Baidoa orphans, the Mashunguli orphans, etc.? Mr. Speaker, I don't know if you are aware of it, but you are becoming the mouth piece of the Somali warlords and this will have a catastrophic impact for the future of the oppressed Somalis. I am also not sure whether you are aware of the warlord's plan to keep Somalia in perpetual fear and serfdom. It is pathetic and heartbreaking for most us to read every morning in the Somali media the unending ordeal that is continuously taking place in the South of Somalia in general and in particular, the lower Shabelle. The daily life and destiny of the Somalis in the south have become telling stories of bloody and tear-jerking events. Because of the prevailing anarchy and lawlessness founded by the warlords, the country is today a prime haven for terrorists, pirates, international toxic waste dumpers and war profiteering enterprises masquerading as legitimate businesses; warlords controlling the nation's infrastructure such as ports, airports, and highways. The revenue generated from illegal taxation, drug harvesting/trafficking, charcoal and fishing is then used as a financial source for maintaining the illegal occupation . Illegal taxation has been a major human rights issue in the lower shabelle and elsewhere in Somalia . People are being taxed for every trivial item they posses. The power to tax is the power to destroy and, in milder forms, to punish. Taxes raise revenue and enforce illegal system. Mr. Speaker, I would like you to checkout part of a recent UN report dated 5 October 2005 from the Chairman of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia addressed to the President of the Security Council that emphasize the reality in the south. Mr. Speaker below is the part of the report I would like you to read and heed: “ Sheik Yusuf Indohaadde is in charge of the local administration of Lower Shabelle ; he assumes the role of governor. Indohaadde's headquarters and state house are located at Buulamarer, situated on a large, active banana farm north-west of Marka. The geographical area under his control includes the seaports of Marka and Baraawe. He has his own fishing fleet- and an airport at Marka. The local administration also includes prime agricultural lands- including numerous “drug farms†on lands that were taken from the local farmers. In order to exercise control over his geographical area, Indohaadde has his own militia, made up of men from his clan, and other militias from the same clan group. Indohaadde also has a large number of personal bodyguards, individuals who are most trusted from his own clan. Revenue for Indohaadde's arms purchases comes from traders, businessmen, the Marka and Baraawe seaports, the airports, checkpoints, farms, NGOs, the fishing fleet and other sources. Indohaadde's representatives collect taxes on a weekly basis. Every month, from the moneys collected, he pays militia members, his “inner circle†(advisers and closest associates) and the elders of the clan and makes purchases of arms. After those payments are made, the remainder, which is approximately equivalent to $50,000, reverts to Indohaadde himself. Indohaadde collects revenue from NGOs that want to operate in the area under his control; they must obtain Indohaadde's permission and must pay him a sum of money to conduct their activities. He receives at least 15 per cent of any NGO benefits that are offered to the local population. The fees paid by an NGO for the buildings they use are split between the owner and Indohaadde. He has a say in the question of which Somalis work for NGOs - members of his own clan- and gets part of an employee's salary. He also has a network of people that monitor the activities of NGOs to ensure their compliance with his financial interests. If an NGO does not comply with his requirements, he forces it to leave his area. Indohaadde also owns drug farms in the area under his control, including at Janaale, Shalambood, Qoryooley, Buulamarer and Kurtun Waarey; the exact number of farms is unknown, but Monitoring Group sources estimated that as many as 10 may be spread throughout his area. He is alleged to be dealing in marijuana (probably in the form of hashish). Indohaadde's drug farms are a sophisticated operation involving irrigation systems, fertilizers and herbicides. The workers on the farms are experienced in the drug-growing business and receive a good salary to maintain the high quality of the drugs. The drugs undergo a drying process and are packaged and concealed to avoid attracting attention. The product is graded: poorer-quality product is sent to Mogadishu and neighboring countries for local consumption, while the higher quality product is put into trucks and transported to airstrips or the Marka seaport for further transport to the international market. There are about six harvests per year. Indohaadde is expanding his drug farming operation, by increasing either the number of farms or production per farm. He allegedly receives a total of approximately $100,000 per harvest for all of the farms. Indohaadde has a “special representative†who handles drug-farm operations on his behalf and uses his militia to guard his drug farmsâ€. Mr. Speaker as the UN report indicated this so-called Sheikh is using the revenue he generates from his illegal occupation to buy arms so that he can abuse poor Somalis and keep the country hostage. There is a huge human rights violation that is occurring in the vast territory he controls. The issue of human rights violation is a very sensitive issue; people are forced into slavery; there are kept in perpetual fear; they have no future. May be you should seek advisers who will help you in handling and understanding human rights issues. It is really not as simple as you have publicly characterized it. Mr. Speaker, this should be a wake up call for you because you are really losing your base and tending to turn into a real enemy for the oppressed Somalis. Let me conclude my letter by this quote of Albert Einstein: “ The world is dangerous not because of those who do harm, but because of those who look at it without doing anythingâ€. By Dr. Ali Said Faqi Alifaqi@yahoo.com Source: WardheerNews

Horn, The myth that Egaal referred to is the Land of Punt that the geographical setting of Somalia was part of, and of which we received as a credit from the records of ancient history of Egypt , nonetheless, he never discredited our roots as a myth but credited it as a firm belief if you look at his final statement.

Go back and reread, i have edited and put more info into it. And i do wait your response either now or later.

Originally posted by Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar: He was talking about what is now Soomaali Galbeed and nawaaxigeeda. There live some Sementic people, like Hareris and others. Also he might have referred to the whole Horn of Africa, including those Carabs that now live in Eritrea and Jabuuti. Macruuf, you are contradicting yourself. Could you read again what the author says, "So they took the easiest and most natural course. They chose and concentrated on that portion of the people with Arabic blood, the descendants of the people of the Adde Empire, who were living in scattered settlements, organized them politically, instructed them in the teaching of the Holy Koran and the Islamic tradition. The rest of the population were relegated to serfdom and assigned menial tasks. As the power of these people grew, they gradually expanded their suzerainty and pushed the other ethnic groups further west and south." please compare this statement with this one below, which was cited from the works of the Muslim chronicler in 1540 “Fatuxa Al Xabasha†the most prominent groups, by I.M Lewis' journal, "The Conquest of Horn of Africa" “Somali forces contributed much to the Imam’s victories. Shihab ad-Din, the Muslim chronicler of the period, writing between 1540 and 1560, mentions them frequently. (Fatuh al-Habasha, ed. And trs. R. Besset Paris, 1897.). The most prominent Somali groups in the campaigns were the *****, ********, and *****---all ***** clans. Shihab ad-Din is very vague as to their distribution and grazing areas, but describes the ***** as at the time in possession of the ancient eastern port of Mait. Of the **** only the ***** ****** clan seem to have been involved and their distribution is not recorded. Finally several *** clans also took part. The effective participation of these pastoral nomads, renowned “clutterers of roadsâ€, in the Muslim victories indicates something of the power of leadership, spiritual as well as temporal, of the Imam. “ Mod.... I apologize for the use of tribal names. I need to clarify points here. The period in which both authors named dates back to the same era. If you haven't read that journal "The Conquest of Horn of Africa", it basically clarifies our points of contention. The people with the Arabic blood whom the Sheikhs organized are the same group you are denying their actual pedigrees, and those whose numbers were pushed further and further to the South are the ones that were forced to become serfs or had done menial works . I do have other works that explain which group was exactly whom were forced to serfs. They are the same group HornAfrique refered in his last post. I would leave the rest of the argument to Horn since you have an intent on ignoring my reply to you. _________________ Sorry, Caamir, but qabiil terms and names aren't allowed. I re-read and the qabiil names were still here. I have no choice but to edit. [ October 16, 2005, 05:59: Message edited by: Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar ]

General, Hosh's article is underpinned by legal means. He raises the questions of speaker's dual failure of what the charter says and his role as a speaker. As the author already pointed out, he is an impasse to the objectives of the government and isn't alert to any alternative methods of lending his contraversy with the president and his prime minister a workable solution. Obviously, It was a remiss of him to create a rift irreversible to him that would reward him with recognition and dignity as a speaker of parliament. Conversely, he believes his political stance is legally justified though he is intentionally ignorant of its loopholes.

What if you kidnap him and demand ransom? Then might you reassess of its benign consequence from the sublime to the ridiculous? I hope you comprehend the moral/legal rectitude of the word kidnap before you employ for biting satire.

THE SPEAKER IS IN A UNIQUE QUANDARY OF HIS OWN MAKING Abdi Hosh Law Attorney October15, 2005 The other day, Hon.Mowliid Macaane made an interesting statement, a statement to the effect that the Speaker is a one-tape man, and that his tape almost exclusively contains monotonous repetitions of “The Charter, The Charter, The Charter… â€. It is an interesting observation in that since last March and now during his aimless whirlwind world tour, the Speaker has been hurling accusations against the government that it has made gross violations of the Charter. The question is , do the accusations of the Speaker stand sturdy legal scrutiny? You be the judge! You would recall that the last time that the parliament sat down last March to debate the merits of inviting African Protection forces to safeguard the security of the institutions of the fledging government, the debate ended in a most shameful debacle. Not only did the speaker try to force a motion with a questionable legality, he also allowed himself to veer from a Speaker's traditional time-honored role of impartiality, neutrality, and disinterestedness vis avis the political affairs of the day. At the time, he and his allies (ironically, a speaker can not have allies within the parliament) claimed that they passed a motion that rejected inclusion of any front-line states in the proposed peace-keeping forces. Although the motion was a farce, the President and the Prime Minister, after consultations with IGAD, proposed to deploy a modest force comprising of Sudanese and Ugandan forces, thereby satisfying a key demand of the opposition- which was not to include front-like states in the proposed forces . It should be noted, however, that at that time, both Prime Minister Ghedi and the President Yusuf made it abundantly clear that the government was headed to Mogadishu and that these modest non-front line state forces would help protect the institutions of the government. From here on, events took on a rather comical and tragic angle. Immediately after the Parliament fiasco, former Mogadishu warlords, now turned Cabinet Ministers, bolted out to Mogadishu and, in a strange fit of contrived nationalism, proclaimed that they would not let foreign forces in to the capital, since they, nationalist that they are, were well prepared to disarm Mogadishu and take all the Isbaaros out of sight. Their irrational rationale was that since Mogadishu was “supposedly†a clan specific city, its clean-up called for a clan specific approach. Never mind that these warlords were cabinet ministers and that their Chief Minister, Prime Minister Ghedi was calling for a national and an institutional approach to the clean up of Mogadishu. Never mind also that Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Interior Hussein Aidiid on record warned these warlords/Ministers that the disarmament of Mogadishu militias was and should be a governmental prerogative that must be approached on an institutional basis. The Mogadishu warlords ignored these warnings and this constituted one of the most blatant violations of the Charter to which these ministers were sworn to. How can members of a council of ministers ignore the instructions of their Prime Minister and their Deputy prime minister, and then start running a parallel government in Mogadishu to work on issues that they were not mandated to work on. At this point, the Speaker of the house, Hon. Sharif Hassan , Aden should have stepped on the plate to diffuse this constitutional crisis by convening a meeting of the parliament to debate about this and other issues. One way out would have been to make sure that the debate gets focused since the Mogadishu warlords, besides being creatures unburdened by conscience, were/are also known to keep changing the goal posts on issues. For example, the Speaker should have re-tabled the issue of forces deployment, and tried to find consensus. This is precisely what the President's recommendations were both verbally and in writing back in March and April when he requested that the Speaker re-open a session of the Parliament for further debate. Unfortunately, the Speaker did not heed this call and instead joined the Mogadishu warlords in their misguided attempt to obfuscate the issues. The spectacle of the speaker gyrating from hotel to hotel in Mogadishu , acting as a head waiter to the Mogadishu warlords and speechifying about the decommissioning of the militias out of the city was very laughable. But it should not be taken as a joke because the Speaker, who has lately been talking about the “Charter, Charterâ€, like a broken tape as Hon.Mowliid Macaane has correctly described it, was not only aiding and abetting those who willfully stomped on the charter, but he was equally guilty by trampling on the Charter that he helped birth in Mbgathi . If the Speaker was intent to play hide and seek with the Mogadishu warlords, who were by now clearly not interested in playing their rightful places within the government as Ministers, he should have done the right thing and abdicated his position as the speaker of the parliament and proclaimed himself as a member of an opposition group which would keep the government in its toes. A Speaker of parliament can not take part in the deliberation of national issues; his/her sole role is to keep the decorum of the house and also to keep parliamentary committees moving ion issues. But the poor Speaker was by then sucked too deep in to the corruption of the Charter as the Mogadishu web-based media and radios have hyped him and whipped him into believing that he was a national hero in the order of the late Hon.Abduallahi Isse . Some hero! Most unfortunately, the hapless speaker fell for this hype, lock and step. It did also help that some sore-loser politicians, most notably Dr. Ali Kahlif Galaydh egged the speaker on to continue in his new false role as national hero. To hear Dr. Galaydh on the Radios assert that the disarmament of Mogadishu militia should be left to Mogadishu warlords and the Speaker was not only intellectually dishonest, but it also flew in the face of all of the scholarship of Public Administration, a discipline that the good Doctor is an expert on. In effect, Dr. Galaydh was tacitly instructing these Cabinet Ministers to engage in subordination and to defy their Prime Minister. I have long detected a case of Schadenfreud towards the Gehdi/Yusuf government on the part of Dr. Galaydh and his numerous groupies but we will leave that for psychologists for the time being, won't we?. Six months after Mogadishu Trioka and the Speaker began their pyrotechnics in Mogadishu, they have nothing to show for all the smoke and mirrors.: Mogadishu is still mired in violence; the Check points are still there in full force and by some estimates have even increased; a spate of assassinations are being carried out against prominent Somali nationals as well as foreigners, and the militias that have most ceremoniously been encamped by the Speaker and the warlords have now decamped and ran away in frustration. Moreover, six months after moving to Mogadishu to protest against inclusion of front-like states in any peacekeeping agenda, the Mogadishu warlords have once again moved the goal posts on issues and are cleverly obfuscating the issues. A few months ago, they began to rage against the government for making Jowhar the provisional capital of the government. Yet they forget that the government's decision was a response to their own inaction and also a rather perfect and logical move, given the fact that these warlords refused to follow through with the government's plan to pacify the capital. Bizarre as it may seem, their latest fetish now for which they are working on feverishly but fruitlessly is to come up with a working plan for the formation of a regional administration for the Banadir region. This, after the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister/e Minister of Interior have already put that administration in place. True to form, they are good at forever circling the wagon. My lord! How did we get to here and move from discussion of peacekeeping forces in March to the Jowhar issue and now to the local administration of Banadir ? How? Why? There is a fundamental reason why this is happening and why the issues get mixed up every time that that Somali agenda tries to inch itself towards a positive direction. There are powerful and criminal vested interests in the country that prefer the status quo over a functioning government. This is reflected in the recent findings of the UN Arms Embargo Monitoring Group whose report in part read as follows: “ Those opposing the government are the same individuals who have been identified in past reports of the Monitoring Group as warlords who have demonstrated through their actions and activities that they do not want to see a government established in Somalia that would infringe or overturn their personal, political and economic vested interests……..A number of these same individuals have well established and entrenched local administrations that are a reflection of their vested interestsâ€Needless to say that these vested interests are vast criminal enterprises which include drug cartels, illegal fishing, environmental terrorism and feudal control of helpless communities. So from the foregoing, it becomes clear that this perilous political impasse is not because the President and the Prime Minister have violated the Charter as the speaker would have us believe. To the contrary, it is the Speaker and the Mogadishu warlords that have stomped on the both the letter and the spirit of the Charter every step of the way. Moreover, as the UN report correctly notes, we are at this impasse precisely because the warlords want to continue with the status quo and prolong our collective agony in order to preserve their personal lucrative criminal enterprises. Now, will the speaker acknowledge the facts as the UN has, discard his one-message tape, disown his past mistakes and come back to his sworn duty of Speaker of the Somali parliament? It is not much to ask and if he does thus, he will help himself out of this quandary .. "Abdi Hosh" source: Wardheernews

Baashi, thanks for the feedback of this historical speech. It touched my heart as everyone else. Miskiin macruuf, I am very sure that Egal has put it in a concise and convincing way of the origin of these Sheikhs we subscribe to. But there is a question and it begs your answer for clarity. You probably have misunderstood what Egal had said in his speech or you took his words out of context to suit your former arguments with Hornafrique and the likes. "So they took the easiest and most natural course. They chose and concentrated on that portion of the people with Arabic blood, the descendants of the people of the Adde Empire, who were living in scattered settlements, organized them politically, instructed them in the teaching of the Holy Koran and the Islamic tradition. The rest of the population were relegated to serfdom and assigned menial tasks. As the power of these people grew, they gradually expanded their suzerainty and pushed the other ethnic groups further west and south." There is a murky explanation as to who are those people with the Arabic blood whom the Islamic missionaries (Sheiks) gathered and taught the tenets of Islam? Are these people the major tribes that settle North East and West up to Harar? Again, Egal posits the existence of the rest of the people who were reduced to mere servants and serfs by the Sheikhs. The very Somalis we traditionally hold with contemptous beliefs today. So, from my understanding of this paragraph , I think Egal is ensuring the fact that there were people with Arabic blood whom the Islamic missionaries gathered and organized politically. If you disagree with the way i put his words into my context, could you explain a point different than my understanding. Btw, The period in which Egal traces these Sheikhs is after the collapse of Adel empire, which resulted in the regression to a moral degeneration for several decades in its power vacuum. SOOMAAL, I believe that was a rumor but it is true that he signed the Arusha Memorandum, the content of which we don't know, yet there are/were circulating beliefs from testimonies of distinguished former officials that he did give up all claims to this part of our land. The Arusha Memorandum of Under­ standing which I signed with President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta last September has not touched upon the substance of our dispute with Kenya , but it has set up a firm foundation for an understanding and machinery for a mutual quest for a solution to the dispute. Egaal

Somalia: Nomadic Individualism and the Rule of Law The Late Hon. Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal Prime Minister of the Somali Republic A talk by the late Hon. Prime Minister Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal gave at a meeting of The Royal African Society held at The Royal Society of Arts on 22nd March 1968 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IT IS NOT easy to speak about Somalia. The very nature of the country, the way of life of its people, and their cultural background, appear to evade objective thought and rational explanation. Most of those who have chosen Somalia as a subject for their scholarship have found themselves the inevitable victims of one of two emotions: they have either become enamoured with the Biblical character of the Somali way of life, the rich and the poetical language of the people, the absolute independence of the Somali in character, thought, behaviour and intellect-which at times may appear to outside observers as even bordering close to anarchism; or else they are overwhelmed with pity, by the harsh nature of the country's environment, the persistent fght of the Somali nomad against merciless odds, and his unawareness and even disdain for any association with modem technological advancements and amenities. I shall attempt today to fnd a happy medium between these two extremes. However, being a Somali myself, I must forewarn and plead guilty to an element of pride in some of the characteristics of my countrymen. Even though many modern thinkers reject the validity of such a thing as a national character, I personally believe that a people living in a country, conditioned to the same elements, exposed to the same hazards, sharing the heritage of democratic traditions, bound by language, religion and culture, and linked together by the pursuance of a unique way of life, must inevitably develop similar inhibitions and attitudes as well as a common and unifying philosophical code of ethics and conventions. It is such ties that develop the characteristics com mon to a nation and which can be described as its national character. This national Somali character, therefore, with its strength, its weakness, but its truly sublime love of freedom, strong sense of unity, and independence of spirit forged over the centuries is what binds my people together and gives them a pride in their institutions. Somalia is geographically an and country in which life is diffcult and in which the individual is engaged in a constant battle for survival. The vast majority of the Somali people follow their nomadic way of life not from choice but from the necessity of having continually to seek pastures for their livestock. Grazing and water for their livestock are almost never found in close occupation of moving the livestock to suitable pastures on the vast inland plateaux and then driving them back to water. This process is repeated at intervals of two to three weeks during the great dry season. The Somali nomadic mode of life being almost unique in the world, the Somali has never benefted from examples set elsewhere for the improvement and the amelioration of his life. Also the previous colonial regimes that ruled the two parts of the present Republic of Somalia made no serious attempts to interfere, for better or for worse, with this traditional way of life. The Somali nomad was thus left to his own initiative to develop those amenities which he considered to be suitable to his own environment, to improve the existence of both himself and his herds, and to build up an economy to sustain his essential needs. Thus, practically unaided by any government, colonial or indigenous, he has had by his own initiative and ability to improvise means of bringing water nearer to the more permanent pastures for his livestock; and for this purpose, he has constructed cemented water reservoirs to retain water available during the rainy season on the plateaux which ten years ago were only accessible to his livestock for a few months of the year. These reservoirs-which are roughly similar to your swimming pools in Europe-are now not only revolutionising the economy of the nomad by almost trebling the numbers of his livestock but, more important still, are creating permanent settlements which are slowly de veloping into pastoral/agricultural villages with the resultant need for social services. This development in the interior is happily matched by the deter mination of the Somali to seek outside markets for his livestock by trading with other countries. Again practically unaided by any government either colonial or indigenous, he has had the good sense and the acumen to recognise the potential and accessible markets for his livestock in the oil-rich Arab state across the Red Sea. Today there exists a fourishing export of livestock on the hoof to Saudi Arabia, to the Persian Gulf, to Egypt, to Kuwait and even as far as Iraq. This in turn has enhanced the breeding of livestock in the interior. These successful eforts are purely due to Somali diligence, initiative and enterprise in which I and any Somali can with justifcation take some pride. I would now like to go back to the history and the origin of this resourceful individual, the Somali nomad. The origin of the Somali people, like that of most other nations, is lost in the mists of history and has likewise become the subject of mythical fables and folklore. Association with the Pharoahs as the Land of Punt is one of these mythological fables that has received credit because of certain evidences found in the ancient pyramids of Egypt. The history of myrrh and frankincense shrouds Somalia with unrelated allusions in ancient history. However my own belief is that the Somali people derive their origin from the ancient empire of Adde whose capital was Adari, now known as Harar, and whose main port was Audal now called Zeilah. This empire flourished in the tenth and eleventh centuries A.D., and was part of the Arab expansion during the Khalifate Empire. It is my opinion that after the decline of that empire in the twelfth century those who stayed behind made their home in the Horn of Africa, in scattered settlements among the indigenous population. There was naturally a period of chaos when Islamic traditions disappeared and the whole country reverted to its former paganism, tribal strife, and the ' law of the jungle This chaos lasted for a period of several decades. Across the Gulf of Aden, the rulers in Yemen were disturbed by the news of atrocities and the reversion to paganism which reached them from the country over which they had previously held suzerainty. At first they affected to ignore the situation, but eventually after a period of reorganization in their own country and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of the Imam, they decided to make another attempt at resuscitating Islamic traditions in the Horn of Africa. They decided to send over a group of eminent Sheikhs to settle at strategic points and to preach and bring the people back into the fold of Islam. So, in the earlier part of the thirteenth century, Islamic missionaries came back from Arabian Peninsula and re-established Islam and the rule of law. The task of these eminent Sheikhs was a tremendous one. Their main objective was to re-establish Islam and Islamic culture and to create a society that would last and develop within the traditions of the Islamic doctrine. So they took the easiest and most natural course. They chose and concentrated on that portion of the people with Arabic blood, the descendants of the people of the Adde Empire, who were living in scattered settlements, organized them politically, instructed them in the teaching of the Holy Koran and the Islamic tradition. The rest of the population were relegated to serfdom and assigned menial tasks. As the power of these people grew, they gradually expanded their suzerainty and pushed the other ethnic groups further west and south. These Sheikhs who came over from Arabia attained positions of great stature and influence in the country. Their spheres of influence were so strategically placed that the location of their tombs today gives a clear impression of plan and purpose. They settled at strategic points along the coast of the Horn of Africa. Each one concentrated on a particular settlement for which he became a patron saint and over which he exerted a great spiritual and secular influence. They adopted an indigenous form of teaching the Arabic alphabet in the Somali language, so that the Holy Koran could be read in Arabic despite the fact that the Somali could not understand its meaning. Even today, almost every Somali can recite the Holy Koran in parrot fashion without understanding its import and meaning. These Sheikhs, however, achieved great success in the organization of the society and in the propagation of Islamic doctrine. Unfortunately, over the years, the myths surrounding these eminent Sheikhs have so developed and have become so engraved in the minds of the people that they are regarded today as being the actual ancestors. of the different tribal groupings of the Somali people; and whereas, in fact, these present-day tribes are only the continuation of the settlements which these Sheikhs organized and developed as political units. It is these myths and this firm belief in one common ancestor for each tribal group that has set the pattern of Somali politics in the modern age. It is perhaps one of the greatest ironies of the development of the Somali nation that, despite the original intention of these Sheikhs to bring about unity between the different settlements, these over the years developed into hard cores of legendary ethnic groups warring against each other in competition for domination over pastures and over water. It was in such a state of affairs that the first European travellers and colonisers of the Horn of Africa found the Somali nation. This rife atmosphere lent itself easily to the designs of those European and African powers who took part in the infamous scramble for Africa during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The British signed Treaties of Protection with the coastal tribes along the Gulf of Aden and those living in what later became the Northern Frontier District of Kenya in the south; during the same period the Italians established their sovereignty over Mogadiscio and the neighbouring regions of Hiran and Alta-Juba; and a few years later over-threw the Bogor of Mijertainia and the Sultan of Mudug. Emperor Menelik of Ethiopia followed suit by taking the ****** and part of what is now the Harar Province into his Empire; whilst the French established themselves in Djibouti. This partition of the Somali territory and its peoples was incorporated in a number of treaties defining spheres of influence between these Powers. Throughout this balkanisation of the territory, Somali national­ ism was dormant. Except for the isolated and unsuccessful efforts of Sayyid Mohamed Abdille Hassan, no unified resistance was offered by the Somali nation to the designs of those who arbitrarily divided their country and established suzerainty over their lives and lands. Even as late as 1946, inter­ tribal competition, jealousy and suspicion was so dominant that the attempt made by Britain in the person of the Foreign Minister, the late Mr. Ernest Bevin, to unite the whole Somali territory under British sovereignty was not only opposed and thwarted by the major powers but was even resisted by the Somali people. That chance of reunification, lost in the middle 1940s, is now the Utopia of all our endeavours and our diplomacy. Soon after the last War, the first manifestations of Somali nationalism were kindled in Mogadiscio and the first political party was established on a national scale; this was with the birth of the Somali Youth League, and the call of nationalism took possession of the soul and minds of the Somali people everywhere. From those early post-war days tribalism took second place and nationalism became the order of the day. The once arrogant, overpowering influence of tribal loyalties was replaced by national political consciousness. The colonial powers recognised immediately the danger of this phenomenon even before the Somali realized the impact and the import of this political and social revolution. As early as 1948, the Somali Youth League was banned and suppressed in the Ethiopian-held Somali territories as well as becoming a proscribed association in the Northern Frontier District of Kenya. In the former British Somaliland Protectorate, the colonial government's propaganda was still effective and the Somali Youth League never made headway: but the Somali National League was established and espoused the same objectives and political aspirations. It is perhaps strange that the people who permitted without conceited resistance the partition of their territories and perhaps even indirectly en­couraged and condoned its balkanisation should react so violently in 1954 to the cession of an area formerly held by the British to the Imperial Government of Ethiopia. This was, however, the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. In the middle of the nineteenth century, only a few years after Britain had cynically signed flamboyant Treaties of Protection with the people, it had secretly signed treaties with Ethiopia ceding to that country a portion of those very lands it had undertaken to protect. So, in 1954, at the zenith of the nationalist movement of Somalia, the cession of what was known as the Reserved Area and the Haud, the richest grazing areas of the land, their importance enhanced by the building of the cement permanent water reservoirs I have mentioned earlier, was like salt applied to a sore wound. The dispute between Kenya and Somalia over the area formerly known as the Northern Frontier District, and predominantly inhabited by Somali people, is also a legacy of British colonialism. The British East Africa Company signed Treaties of Protection with the tribes and subsequently handed over responsibility for the territory to Her Majesty's Government. In 1915, the Jubaland was given to Italy as a bribe for entering the War on the side of the Allies, while the rest of the territory was administered as a self-contained and completely separate area from the rest of Kenya until 1963. It was known as a ' closed district' and its inhabitants could only visit other parts of Kenya by special permits and vice versa. In 1962, at the London constitutional conference on Kenya, a delegation from the former NFD was invited to advise the Colonial Secretary of the political aspirations of the people. The delegation, led by their only member of Parliament in Kenya Legislative Council, demanded secession from Kenya and union with Somalia . The Colonial Secretary of the day gave the wise ruling that Her Majesty's Government would appoint a Commission to go to the NFD and ascertain the wishes of the people and would subsequently make a decision on the findings of this Commission. 87.76 per cent of the people of the NFD voted for union with the Somali Republic; indeed, certain areas or districts were unanimous and without exception in their vote for union with Somalia. Despite this clear and undeniable manifestation, Her Majesty's Government decided to ignore the Report of the Commission and refused to fulfil the hope and the aspirations it had raised by its own action and by its clear undertaking. This unfortunate episode, nay, this classical example of the proverbial perfidy of Albion caused the rupture of diplomatic relations and the severing of the traditional ties between Somalia and Britain. Yet, throughout this long period of unfulfilled promises, of broken treaties and of deliberate lack of good faith, the Somali people have always maintained an inexplicable warmth and high regard for Britain . It is perhaps a great irony that the Somalis, of all the people in this world, should so genuinely and touchingly attribute to the British an unimpeachable sense of justice and fair play. With all due respect, in his own dealings with the British, the Somali was never shown an example of this quality which he so sincerely attributed to the British. As regards the Ethiopian sector, the military occupation by Ethiopia of Harar in 1887 brought that country, for the first time, into direct contact with the Somali people. A parade of Secret Treaties in the last two decades of the nineteenth century gave Ethiopia a generous cut of the cake that was the Somali Territory . However, the first attempt of Ethiopia to demarcate a de facto boundary as a preliminary to setting up an administration was not made until 1934, when an Anglo-Ethiopian Boundary Commission arrived to implement the 1897 Agreement. This resulted in a storm of protest by the Somali peoples, but the Italian occupation of Ethiopia , following the outbreak of hostilities in 1935, caused the issue to fall in abeyance until the defeat of Italy , and the restoration of Ethiopian independence, in 1942. Here, as in the NFD, the Somali inhabitants had refused, and still categorically refuse, to accept foreign claims to their territory, and the whole area is under military rule as well as under emergency regulations. The continued unrest, together with the difficulties which the nomadic tribes encounter in their seasonal migrations, are a constant irritation and threat to stability; which at times has even resulted not only in armed conflict between the Somali tribes and the Ethiopian occupation forces, but also in clashes between the Somali Republic and Ethiopia. This lamentable partitioning of the Somali people and their territories has left the Somali Republic in a dilemma. As the only independent sovereign Somali state, it has assumed the inevitable role of championing the cause of those other Somali territories still under alien authority. These now find them­ selves, with the exception of French Somaliland, the unnatural and the unwilling appendages of other sister African states. Consequently, Somalia has found itself in confrontation with these African states. Somalia on its part cannot understand how the natural political aspirations of the Somali peoples in these territories, and its own equally natural role and responsibility to their cause could possibly be misunderstood and taken amiss by any one with any clear knowledge and insight of the Somali problem. On the other hand, the leaders of our neighbouring states share the view that it is intolerable to have a sister African state interfering with what they consider to be the internal affairs of their countries. These two diametrically opposed concepts of the problem have led to bitterness, to open conflict and to un­ becoming postures and attitudes of confrontation. Such was the situation which my Government inherited when it took office in July 1967. We immediately decided to make this problem our first concern in formu­lating the new policies of the country. Naturally, the aims and the political objectives of the Somali people are unalterable and are enshrined in our constitution, viz, that we are obliged to seek the unification of the Somali territories through peaceful and legal means. It was however open to us to alter the policy of confrontation and to seek accommodation for a detente with our neighbours as a preliminary to creating a suitable atmosphere without abandoning the context of our political aspirations and objectives. From the outset, we made it clear on every possible occasion that, as the Somali Republic, we have no policy of aggrandizement against our neighbours, neither do we want to claim territory that is not our own. We are, however, irretrievably bound by unbreakable ties to our Somali brethren who still have not had the opportunity freely to choose their own political destiny. Of the five segments into which the Somali nation was artificially partitioned, only two, namely the Somali Republic , have attained their right of self-deter­ mination. It is only natural that the remaining three segments should also seek to exercise this freedom of political expression, and whether they obtain support from outside sources including Somalia is irrelevant to their own struggle for independence. The desire for freedom stems from within and is not being imposed from external sources as some would make the world believe. This innate national and political consciousness is the real root of the problem and the source of the continuous friction between the Somali peoples and the governments which now control them. Therefore, at the OAU Summit Con­ ference in Kinshasa , I made tentative approaches to the leaders of both of our neighbours, and I am glad to say that my initiatives have been richly rewarded by a reciprocal show of goodwill and a desire for peaceful negotiations from my colleagues across the border. The Arusha Memorandum of Under­ standing which I signed with President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta last September has not touched upon the substance of our dispute with Kenya , but it has set up a firm foundation for an understanding and machinery for a mutual quest for a solution to the dispute. Its salient point is that Kenya recognises the existence of a major dispute and lends itself to seeking a solution for its settlement, whilst Somalia on its part undertakes to respect the sovereignty of Kenya. It is my sincere hope that in the process of discussing possible solutions to the dispute, and in the mental engagement of thinking out possible proposals acceptable to those directly involved, we shall eventually turn up with an equitable solution acceptable to all concerned. In that alone, there is hope ; and there is no valid reason why there should not be a good chance for settlement so long as there is goodwill and so long as both parties are realistic in their approach. In the meantime, we have decided to leave the people in the area in peace in the pursuit of their daily life, unimpeded by emergency regulations and by political strife. I have great confidence in the personal relationship which I have established with the Mzee, and I am convinced that he is just as anxious as I am to solve this problem once and for all. In conclusion, Mr. President, I would like to say that even though Somalia has never before taken a prominent role in African affairs, yet our people have shared the anxieties, the misgivings and the tribulations of other African states over certain events taking place on our continent. Prominent among those events is the question of Rhodesia and the illegal regime of Ian Smith. I do not think it is wise for African leaders to ignore facts and to blind themselves to the realities of any situation. I am for giving credit where credit is due, because it is only then that the condemnation of the wicked can be forceful and effective. I should like to pay a special tribute to the present Government of Her Majesty for the decision to continue their arms embargo against South Africa. This measure is all the more significant as it was taken at a time when Britain was in the grip of its greatest financial crisis. I know that this decision was made out of deference to African public opinion, and therefore, it would be more than unfortunate if African leaders failed to appreciate this most magnanimous gesture of goodwill to Black Africa. Nevertheless this appreciation is no compensation for our disappoint­ ment and abhorrence of the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards Rhodesia and towards the illegal regime of Ian Smith. An eminent spokesman of the Labour Party said in a recent BBC interview * that sanctions against Rhodesia had not failed but only they had not succeeded.'! I can only say that this is a subterfuge of the flimsiest guise, and the closing chapter of the splendour and the glory of the British Empire should have had a worthier and a more becoming finale than the tolerance of the absolute negation of its lofty fundamental principles by a band of terrified traitors. Source: African Affairs WardheerNews

I knew the article would attract comments that should have focused on the nostalgia of back in the days but you nomads have mixed it with today's reality, which is what i had expected. Nice exchanges

Sophist, the four towers put into the four slides are presumably Las Anod. Nice pictures.

Somaaliyey cadaawada iska daaya. Waxani dan idin ma'aha.

Muqdisho of Yesteryears and Today's Muuq-disha A/fatah S. Faamo & Ahmed A. Hassan October 6, 2005 Life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short if there is no central authority Few of the residents of Muqdisho of today have probably heard of Hobbes, but most would likely agree and identify with his description of a state without authority. Therefore, taking Muqdisho city as an analytical frame of reference, this short paper discusses the role that this ancient city has played in transforming Somali social networks, which spread beyond clan - affiliation, in sustaining the urban livelihood of many of its ever-increasing residents. The first part of the paper will examine Muqdisho's historical background and the process of assimilation that was surfacing during post-colonial period, in order to illuminate the emerging local characteristics of “ceeshow-milix †networks that have influenced the different clan-members of Muqdisho inhabitants. The second part of the paper points to the social networks that have developed in Muqdisho during the last fifteen years of the civil wars; whereby numerous local warlords have spatially extended their Isbaaro fiefdoms into all districts (degmooyin) of Muqdisho – so that they can secure their financial gains and have access to either own or destroy all public infrastructures, through the ******** might of clan-based networks. Historical Background Among the difficulties besetting the study of the medieval history of Muqdisho is the lack of enough written sources. The few that are available contain the constructed tales and imaginations of medieval travelers such as Ibn Battuta. As a result, what has been recorded about Muqdisho in this period is either exaggerated or distorted for various reasons. We will however review the few medieval historians and geographers that have recorded early Persian and Arab Muslim settlements in southern Somalia . For example, a Portuguese historian, de Barros wrote, in the 16 th century, about the Persian establishment of East African coasts before the 14 th century states. He tells us that Muqdisho and Marka which became to be known as Banaadir (sing. Bandar, a Persian word for seaport) were built by ShirazÄ« Persians in around mid 10 th century [1]. An account recorded by Al-IdrisÄ« (1100-1165) points to the population of Muqdisho and Marka as Muslims, and further identifies “[Muqdisho] as the most important place on the coast in the early thirteenth century. According to Yaqut (at the beginning of the 13 th century), Muqdisho was regarded as the frontier between Berber [somalis] and Zanj [bantu-speaking people] [2]. †These early settlements indicate a great deal about the Banaadir coast settlements and its imperative role in the creation of urbanized, multicultural, and islamized fiefdoms, which served during the medieval period as the staging centers from which Islam and migration spread southward [3]. Medieval Muqdisho is thus renowned for its strategic coastal location for medieval seafarers and traders, hosting as port of call for dhows en route to and from the rich Zanzibar archipelago. Its ancient glory includes being a city-state of its own and at times the seat of important local rulers that control a large territory. Medieval Muqdisho is also characterized by foreign influences and its remoteness from the local Somali pastoralists. For example, the two quarters that comprise Muqdisho (Shingaani and Xamarweyne) were walled quarters. These walls had considerable dimensions in dividing rural people from urban people, each possessing its gate of entrance. Detailed accounts of the restrictions imposed on nomads can be summarized by historian Scott Reese's research on Banaadiri oral tradition as well as writings of numerous nineteenth century travelers: Numerous sources from the late nineteenth century note that the nomads were allowed into towns only when they had business to conduct in the market. Furthermore, those who entered were required to leave any weapons they possessed at the town's main gate as they entered. In addition, no pastoralist was, in principle, permitted to remain in any of the Banaadiri towns after the nightfall … In order to ensure that no unwanted rural visitors entered the city after the dark; the towns were patrolled nightly by groups of armed militia drawn from the ranks of free male townsmen [4]. In an interview with historian Scott Reese in July 5 th 1994, a prominent Reer Xamar elder, hajj Abukar Hamud Sokorow argues that the disgruntlement (oral account) of his community and the crumbling of the boundaries between ‘ ahl al-balad ' and ‘ ahl al-bÄdiyya ' began during the Italian colonial project (i.e. early 20 th century) – for allowing, for example, the interior people (nomads) to settle in Muqdisho. Historian Reese partially confirms hajj Sokorow's version by stating that in 1927, Italian fascist administration “forcibly resettled the rulers of two previously autonomous northern sultanates, along with hundreds of their followers from the ********** clan in the center of Muqdisho [ Isku-raran ] [5].†Thus, Isku-raran village in Muqdisho was a form of Italian colonial urban development as well as colonial power control. However, other sources indicate that these segregating walls and gates have crumbled long before nineteenth century, probably as a result of revengeful removal by the rural people. Historian Edward Alpers' account on Muqdisho state that: "By about 1700, the entire political structure of the town was altered with the ascendancy of a new line of ****** Yaaquub imams who resided in Shingaani (the northern moiety of the town), but whose power base remained among the people of the interior [6]." Although the walls have disappeared, one way or another, they have retained its influence on the psychic of its residents and the morphology of the city, dividing the city into: Xamar (for Reer Xamar ) and Xamar-daye (for ****** pastoralists). Thus, for centuries, Muqdisho was experiencing alternating phases of peace and political calamities. It also witnessed population growth, physical expansion, prosperity, and stagnation. As early as 10 th century, magnificent stone houses and mosques laid the urban foundations of Muqdisho. Soon, the town's services, relating to sea-route facilitation, tended to enhance its urban growth. Urbanization had nevertheless its own drawbacks. It initiated new social and economic hierarchical networks that at times caused a rift between the rural (Xamar-daye) and urban (Reer Xamar) communities. The footsteps of the fourteenth century traveler, Ibn Battuta (d. 1369) reveal Muqdisho as a “very large town†with wealthy merchants. He was ecstatically charmed by it [7]. Reflecting this ancient glory, Muqdisho had generally been a tolerant place that emerged out of the interactions of a variety of cultures and grew to urban dimension. However, after it became a major seaport some time in late the 10 th century; it is believed that its vibrant urban cultural foundation was laid down during this period . Muqdisho developed cosmopolitan outlook to rival cities in the Middle East – with big bazaars, magnificent mosques, and trading centers. Some of its ancient buildings still dominate the skies of today's Muqdisho, such as the famous Arbaca-Rukun mosque. Consequently, the city's ancient cultural traditions that persisted through ages afforded its local inhabitants to dub the city with the maxim: Xamar Xisaab Xarardheerana Xoog. Xamar Xisaab Xarardheerana Xoog Based on the historical recognition, the introduction of urbanization in the Somali Peninsula restructured the inter-clan relationship of the Somalis. Muqdisho, as a case in point, suggests the necessity to scrub social links that are based on inter-clan relationship so that vibrant urban lifestyle is acquired, with special reference to the pair of possible connections between a citizen as an identity and elevated status of “ceeshow-milix†and /or ‘ ahl al-balad ' of the one hand, and the sacralized Italian “Paesano†attitude on the other. This sedentary outlook illuminates that social change has had a bigger significance for the new settlers of Muqdisho, in their social networks concerning self-identification – i.e. the new settlers began to identify themselves with inter-village associations such as ciyaal Isku-raran, ciyaal Boondheere, ciyaal Hodon etc. Therefore, in the 1970s, one could notice that most of the youth have already developed a sense of clan-free broader concept of social networks, including friendship, acquaintanceship, and inter-village linkages. These social networks connected people of different background and supported cooperative small business enterprises to emerge. Economically, the city became a destination for local tourist attraction. However, the new urban economic activities placed heavy demands upon Muqdisho vicinity (Xamar-daye) – most of these lands were part of the ****** -clan pastoral domain. Muqdisho populations have increased dramatically from 1970 – 1980. In fact, the increases have been amongst the highest in Somalia. Since the city's boundaries have changed and expanded, its neighborhood structure was formed into fourteen districts (degmooyin), ranking the highest urban density and most expensive real estate in Somalia. With over a million inhabitants, Muqdisho became at least three times as large as the second capital, Hargeisa, an indication of the problem of over-centralization and disproportional regional development. It is therefore fair for one to say that Muqdisho of the 1970s was growing, to some extent, at the expense of many other towns and settlements – which appear to have actually lost population. Muqdisho of the 1970s provided new social and economic networks to its inhabitants, setting out as one of the most powerful indicators of “ maxay qabatay tawraddu †socio-economic development in the whole country. Small factories were established on the edges of the Muqdisho vicinity. Muqdisho benefited from “ maxay qabatay tawraddu †efforts, continuing its legacy of the Prima Donna of Somali cities. Maqal-disha & Muuq-disha of Today Since the toppling of the last government of Somalia in 1991, Muqdisho has been divided into a myriad of different fiefdoms controlled by rival warlords, who from time to time clash over the control of a territory. The city of Muqdisho has experienced the brunt of the civil war and saw clan and factional fighting and much destruction and the demise of its citizens for the past fifteen years. Under the warlords (Yalaxow, Caato, and Qanyare) and their numerous sidekicks, this once-picturesque Horn of African port city had been reduced to a post-apocalyptic nightmare. Debris and remnant trash mount whatever few paved roads that are left. Any building structures that have not suffered the demolition of clan wars stand in the heaps of grey rubble, pockmarked with bullet scars and cannon shots. The city is hostage to criminal gangs who have stripped its citizens of everything including the bare belongingness on their back. Today, Muqdisho is described as a paradise for organized crime. Rape, which was once unknown, is today one of the most common crimes in the city. Another popular occupation with warlords and criminals is abduction for ransom. The biggest mafia was the human traffickers, who fleeced $5000 each from the poor job seekers from Somalia and elsewhere. They are promised passage (smuggle) to Italy and the Middle East through Bossaaso, which has become the conduit for Human traffickers of Muqdisho Mafiosi businessmen. In today's Muqdisho, the distinction between a businessman and a warlord is not that apparent. Virtually every businessman keeps a legion of private militiamen and every militia leader is engaged in some business to finance his war machine. Many of the warlords and so-called businessmen in Muqdisho sustain themselves by extorting money. As if these problems were not enough, the undisciplined and reckless militia drivers speeding on the pot-holed roads of today's Muqdisho is another life-threatening matter in this traffic police-free city. Driving from one area of Muqdisho to another would subject anyone to pass through the numerous checkpoints, each run by a different militia. At each of these “border crossings†if one may call that, passenger vehicles and goods trucks must pay an “entry fee†ranging from few dollars to as much as $300, depending on the value of the goods being transported- and what the militiamen can swindle. As Warlord Caato has recently confirmed, there is no pretense that any of this money goes to provide any public service, such as roads, education or health. Much of it is actually spent on by these rouge militiamen on the consumption of Qat. Ultimately, the warlords and the so-called businessmen swindle from the average person, who is struggling to survive in the most dangerous zone of Africa , to wreck havoc on the social fabric of the entire Somali society. People in Muqdisho nowadays live in shacks made from branches, plastic sheets, and scrap metal. An old lady told a journalist that has recently visited Muqdisho that she couldn't afford to send her children to school. Instead they sell nuts in the streets of Muqdisho to earn a little bit of money and contribute in feeding the family. The amount her husband earns from his porter job is not enough. This family represents the average family in Muqdisho, a survival of the fittest scenario where standard of living is below the poorest in the world. The universal health and education services that once existed in Somalia are no longer available. Very few can afford to see the few private clinics that charge $3 per patient. People in Muqdisho die from diseases that are easily curable in countries that have a functioning government. It is now estimated that only about 11% of the primary age children of Somalia [Muqdisho included] actually go to school [7]. Compare that against the backdrop of almost every child in the urban areas of the country having access to free education during Dictator Siyaad Barre's regime. Nowadays, many of the schools and colleges as well as government offices have become either motels-for-rent or offices for the warlords and their ********s or a make shift refuge for the internally displaced people. Conclusion Early 20 th century forced resettlement programs in Muqdisho that were initiated by the Italian colonial administration opened the door for the influx of more people from other parts of Somalia. Such steady inflows of migrants have recently been clan-politicized by the early communities of this ancient city of Muqdisho, without giving considerations to the causes behind it – i.e. colonial legacy as well as lack of good urban planning on post-colonial regional development. The first wave of a large section of migrants was from the central and northeastern parts of Somalia, after forced displacement from their native regions due to the Italian colonial military campaigns of colonization. This forced resettlement was a form of colonial urban development as well as a form of social control. Other migrants came to Muqdisho because they considered it as a better place to live and find jobs. In addition, post-colonial Somali State was designed as a city-state, whereby most of the State's development occurred in the capital and its vicinity. Muqdisho was also home to the only university and other institutions of higher education in the country that led to the influx of people seeking higher educations for themselves and their families. In post-colonial governments, this massive migration of people, from other towns to Muqdisho, and the problems of unbalanced regional development in Somalia did not call forth urgent attention to the administration for immediate remedies before it creates tensions within the clans – such remedies could have been the re-focusing upon the neglected regions and towns, enhancing their potentials by utilizing their local natural and human resources. The Muqdisho of today is being sacked by the ********s. They wreak havoc and cause massacre to occur inside its ancient stone houses of this historic city. The ********s brought fifteen years of squalour, destruction, and great loss of life. They have prevented prolonged progress; and they are also resisting the return of any Central Authority to the ruined city. Those who are attempting to relieve the ruined city from the ******** 's annihilations are regrettably not equipped with the proper policies, financial programs, and man-power to subdue even parts of the city. They are therefore unable to deliver the fruits of hope to the beleaguered people of Muqdisho but watch the ********s continue to derive their benefits through Isbaaro business. While recognizing their predicament, how far the inhabitants of Muqdisho could be subjugated at the hands of ********s has to be seen. Prepared by: A/fatah S. Faamo Ahmed A. Hasan Roobdoon Forum Wardheernews Toronto , Canada San Diego , California E-Mail:roobdoo2000@yahoo.ca E-Mail:ahmedh1@sbcglobal.net References [1] Neville Chittick, “The Shirazi Colonization of East Africa , †The Journal of African History , vol. 6, no. 3 (1965), 282. [2] Ibid., 275. [3] Randall Lee. Pouwels, “The Medieval Foundations of East African Islamâ€, The International Journal of African Historical Studies , vol. 11, no. 2 (1978), 220. [4] Scott S. Reese, “Tales Which Persist on the Tongue…†Sudanic Africa , 9, 1998, 4 [5] Scott S. Reese, “Tales Which Persist on the Tongue…†Sudanic Africa , 9, 1998, 5. [6] Edward Alpers, “Muqdisho in the Nineteenth Century: A Regional Perspective,†The Journal of African History, Volume 24, Issue 4 (1983), 442. [7] G. S. P. Freeman-Grenville, The East African Coast : Selected Documents from the First to the Earlier Nineteenth Century ,†(London: Oxford University Press, 1962), 26. [8] Faisal Roble and Omar M. Abdihashi, The State of Somalia's Children 2005: an Analysis of a UNICEF Report , ( June 17, 2005 ): http://www.wardheernews.com/articles/june/17_Somali_children.htm Source:Wardheernews