Breakthrough For Saudi Women RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 13, 2005 (AP) Saudi clerics took an unprecedented stand Tuesday against forcing women into marriage, saying that fathers who try to do this should be jailed until they changed their minds. The kingdom's mufti, Sheik Abdul-Aziz bin Al al-Sheik, who has ministerial rank, issued a statement saying the board of top clerics had ruled that coercing women into marriage is "a major injustice" and "un-Islamic." "Fathers who insist on making their daughters marry those they do not desire should be punished by imprisonment, and should not be released until they change their minds," al-Sheik said in the statement. The high number of forced marriages is believed to be the main reason behind the sharp increase in divorce. According to Saudi newspapers, about half of all marriages end in divorce. The status and restrictions on Saudi women have long provoked criticism. Women cannot drive a car, mix with men in public, leave home without covering themselves in a big robe from head to toe. A Saudi woman typically marries whomever her family chooses. As part of a recent campaign of limited reform, the authorities have taken steps toward giving women more rights and jobs. However, women are barred from running or voting in this year's landmark municipal elections. Link

House of Saud re-embraces totalitarianism By John R Bradley Asian Times Apr 12, 2005 Residents of the tiny provincial capital of Saudi Arabia's northernmost province last week witnessed a grisly scene in the main public square: the corpses of three militants tied to poles, on top of which were placed their severed heads. The three - who returned to the kingdom after fighting in Afghanistan - were beheaded in Sakaka, the capital of al-Jouf province, after being convicted of murdering the region's deputy governor, a top religious court judge and a police chief. They also killed a Saudi soldier, and kidnapped a foreign national. That small-scale rebellion in al-Jouf, along with a prison riot and a rare public demonstration in support of the Palestinians, occurred in a region that is a power base of the al-Sudairy branch of the al-Saud ruling family. The branch, known as the "Sudairy Seven", includes King Fahd and his six full brothers, who hold most of the key government posts. Saudi officials admitted in January last year that the rebellion's three leaders had attracted the support of dozens of locals. At one stage, perhaps fearing an explosion of violence or even a popular uprising, some 8,000 soldiers from the National Guard were deployed in the nearby city of Tabuk. At its height in 2003, the unrest had seemed to represent in microcosm the kingdom-wide tensions that threatened to spill over into a general uprising. The rebellion's end, then, with the crudely symbolic public display of its leaders' heads on poles, could now likewise be seen as marking the al-Saud's triumph over the most extreme of its homegrown enemies - at least for now. The al-Saud regime appears to have got the upper-hand in its battle with radical Islamists. Al-Qaeda's suspected chief in Saudi Arabia, Saleh al-Aoofi, was reportedly among at least 16 militants killed last week in three days of fierce gun battles with security forces in the north of the kingdom. Another two of the 26 most-wanted terrorists were confirmed killed in that and another clash in the capital Riyadh, leaving only three from the list still at large. Through its actions against militants and close, behind-the-scenes cooperation with US, British and French intelligence services, the regime has convinced all but the most entrenched anti-Saudi voices in Washington that it is a crucial and reliable ally in the global "war on terrorism". Crown Prince Abdullah, the de facto leader, is expected to meet with US President George W Bush at his Crawford, Texas, ranch later this month, signaling the importance Bush continues to place on US-Saudi relations (notwithstanding the pre-election excitement over the issue). Partial elections for municipality councils, dismissed by the vast majority of Saudis as a waste of time and in which even many senior princes did not bother to set an example by voting, have meanwhile given other pro-al-Saud voices in the West - who often have links to Saudi-funded think-tanks and/or the arms and oil industries - an additional reason to champion the regime as a force for modernization and democratization. In reality, the opposite is true. The regime is not giving up power or changing its historically repressive domestic policies in the face of opposition, but - more predictably - closing ranks and reasserting its totalitarian rule. Emboldened by its success in the domestic "war on terror", which got under way only after their rule was directly threatened, the al-Saud is flexing its other muscles so that the masses, too, are left in no doubt that it is back in total control. As with other Arab regimes, it is using the "war on terror" to silence all dissent, but in ways that have peculiar Saudi characteristics. A few days after the al-Jouf executions, for instance, six Somali nationals were beheaded together in Jeddah for the crime of armed robbery. The six killed no one, meaning the punishment was grossly unfair, even by the standards of Saudi Arabia's strict code of Islamic Sharia law. The Somalis had served their initial five-year sentence, and had also been flogged; they were not even aware before being led to the chopping block that they had suddenly been sentenced to death, according to human rights groups. Hailing from an impoverished, war-ravaged country whose government can be guaranteed to ignore the sorry plight not only of its citizens abroad but even those at home, the Somalis were easy prey for a regime eager to do whatever it can to instill fear in the restless Saudi population. In the two years following the September 11, 2001 attacks, when reformist voices were in the ascendancy and pressure from Washington meant the al-Saud had to at least pretend to behave like civilized rulers, it was reported in domestic newspapers that there was an increasing recognition that the death penalty was not working as a deterrent. But at least 40 people have been publicly beheaded this year alone, more than during the whole of last year. And while there had been a wider debate in the Saudi media about the social causes of crime, now scare stories blaming "African immigrants" abound in a government-sponsored campaign aimed at diverting attention away from the real causes: corruption, massive unemployment and a lack of respect for authority. The treatment of Saudi gay men, too, seemed to be improving when international uproar followed an Interior Ministry statement in January 2002 that three men in the southern city of Abha had been "beheaded for homosexuality". The report provoked widespread condemnation from gay and human-rights groups in the West - and a swift denial from an official at the Saudi Embassy in Washington, DC. Tariq Allegany, an embassy spokesman, said the three were beheaded for the sexual abuse of boys, adding: "I would guess there's sodomy going on daily in Saudi Arabia, but we don't have executions for it all the time." The kingdom's Internet Services Unit, responsible for blocking sites deemed "unIslamic" or politically sensitive, even unblocked access to a home page for gay Saudi surfers after being bombarded with critical emails from the US. A S Getenio, manager of GayMiddleEast.com, said at the time Saudi Arabia seemed concerned about the bad publicity blocking the site would bring, "at the time it was involved in a multi-million dollar advertising campaign in the US to improve its image". Now the al-Saud have no such inhibitions. The website is once again blocked, and the Saudi religious police - acting on "tip offs" - are raiding gay gatherings in Jeddah on an almost monthly basis. More than 100 young men caught dancing and "behaving like women" at a private party were sentenced this month to a total of 14,200 lashes, after a trial behind closed doors and without defense lawyers. The men were also given jail sentences of up to two years. This witch-hunt, like the one targeting "African immigrants", also serves to deflect public attention from the royal family's indulgence and mismanagement. But it additionally makes the al-Saud seem more Islamist than the Islamists, as they try to steal the radicals' clothes to shore up support among the masses. The paradox, then, is that instability in the kingdom over the past two years, interpreted in the West as possibly threatening the regime's very existence, in the end helped it not only survive but consolidate its iron grip on power. It was one factor, for instance, that sent the price of a barrel of oil skyrocketing to all-time highs. At the same time, the violence hindered, rather than helped, those who were pushing for peaceful democratic changes. No one knows that better than Saudi Arabia's three leading reformists and their lawyer, who are languishing in jail in Riyadh after calling for the establishment of a constitutional monarchy and an independent judiciary. Peaceful public demonstrations have been ruthlessly crushed, with some of the participants sentenced to lashings and jail. Their organizer, Saad al-Faqih, who heads the London-based opposition group The Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia, was bizarrely linked by the US to an alleged plot by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to kill Crown Prince Abdullah, the details conveniently "leaked" to the New York Times. Then, with backing from the United Kingdom government, the US got him listed by the United Nations as an al-Qaeda supporter and funder. This whole travesty was hastily concocted, say other Saudi dissidents, at the behest of the al-Saud, who were beginning to realize with alarm that al-Faqih's calls for change could potentially lead a peaceful revolution. The kingdom now has an estimated US$60 billion budget surplus, and has announced massive new infrastructure projects. Flush with cash, the regime again seems to be resorting to the tried and tested, following the strategy of spending ostentatiously to keep the people happy or satisfied, or at least not dissatisfied, just as had been the case in the oil boom years of the 1970s. Once again, it wants to be seen as the goose laying the golden egg. But it is fool's gold. The regime has always sought to buy the loyalty of the Saudi people by providing a cradle-to-grave welfare system, and crush all those who refused to play the game. But by once again dealing with the symptoms and not the causes, the regime is merely tightening the lid on a pressure cooker in an attempt to delay the inevitable. And what worked in the 1970s, with a population of less than 10 million, will not work with a population of 24 million. The hoped-for stability is therefore delusional in a country where underlying social and economic problems are not being addressed, and to where thousands of Saudi jihadis will return in due course from neighboring Iraq. Indeed, unconfirmed reports on Islamist websites say dozens of Saudi jihadis have returned to the kingdom from Iraq in recent months specifically to plan a fresh wave of attacks against the oil industry, following an unprecedented call by Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden last December for just such attacks. All the talk now on Islamist websites is about the remarkably vulnerable Saudi oil pipeline network. It is not a matter of if, but when, those attacks start to take place, in a second wave of violence that will once again punish the al-Saud regime for burying its head in the oil-rich sand. John R Bradley is the author of Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis. He has reported extensively from Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East for many publications, including The Economist, The New Republic, Salon, The Independent, The London Telegraph, The Washington Times, and Prospect. See his website. Asian Times

Excellent pictures. I have a question why would the old houses be demolished. What if residents refuse to give up their houses even if they were offered the highest bid to sale them to Businessmen or the government. In Boosaso, i heard a story, where a now deceased man was deracinated of his houses. He owned big residential block, originally inherited from the last regime as national property safeguard. The Puntland local government of Boosaso told the man to give up his property by force and that he didn't rightfully deserve any compensation for it. Why is this government forcing people to relinquish their property.

How about if i come with you

East Africa launches first brigade of pan-African peacekeeping force Agence France Presse -- English April 11, 2005 Seven east African states on Monday agreed to launch the first of five brigades intended to form a 15,000-strong pan-African peacekeeping force to deal with the continent's troublespots despite funding problems that could hobble the operation. The 5,500-strong East African Standby Brigade (EASBRIG) will be a core component of the African Union's planned African Standby Force (ASF) that is planned to be up and running by next year, officials said. The brigade will be made up of troops from the Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, the Seychelles, Somalia and Sudan and is to be coordinated by regional east African Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). "Eritrea, Madagascar and Seychelles are members of the eastern brigade, but did not sent representatives to sign," Samora Yunus, chief of staff of the Ethiopian army told AFP. Tanzania and Mauritius, geographically located in the eastern part of the continent, will be part of the southern brigade, led by Johannesburg, IGAD sources added. IGAD secretary general Attalla Bashir said that to be viable, EASBRIG would require a major influx of cash and needed 2.5 million dollars (1.9 million euros) just to fund its operational headquarters to be based in Addis Ababa. "The most serious challenge that is anticipated in building EASBRIG is the issue of availability of financial resources," he said. "Taking into account this concern and to ensure ownership and independence of the mechanism ... member states should shoulder the primary responsibility to contribute to the EASBRIG Fund," Bashir said. The official formation of the brigade is the first tangible step in realizing the African Union's goal of having the full African Standby Force in place by June 30 2006 as a unit able to respond quickly to crises. "In launching (EASBRIG) today ... we are making a solemn commitment to contribute the resources required to sustain the standby force," Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said. He noted that the project was born in part by a desire to avoid the inaction that plagued Africa and the world during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda in which 800,000 people were killed in the space of just 100 days. The ASF should be "capable of intervention at a short notice to save human lives and avert destruction to property that we have subscribe to and wish to pursue with vigour." "In adopting a decision to set up an African Standby Force, "(We) were mindful of the unimaginably heinous Rwandan genocide that occured at our doorstep," Meles said. "The whole international community was unable to do anything to prevent or stop genocide," he said, adding: "This underscores the need for us to move with resolve and speed to establish the mechanisms necessary to prevent a re-occurrence." By the end of next June the AU hopes to have the 15,000 ASF troops ready to work with United Nations peacekeepers in field operations under UN command. By 2010, the AU wants the force to be able to be deployed on its own, according to officials. AFP

U right Libaax sankataabte. I wish i could make it too. I am very sure Somalis in England are determined to speak out against the cruelty of this Saudi regime.

You are making mistakes on this. The problem here is that Saylac was a center for commerce and knowledge historically. Its inhabitants therefore was not only Somalis but an assortment of different races, majority of whom were ARabs. It is unwise to conclude that the current settlers of Adel constituted that lofty depiction. In fact, if you read on the diary of Richard in 1840s, he said that the inhabitants are mainly nomads who got fear at the sight of gun and when he showed them, they all dived on the earth and submitted to his will. I a m not making any false statement on the subject clan but this is the truth. Besides, the first writing script of its kind in Somali language was the Usmaaniya--original and superb invention. And the whole subject was to do of the history of the state of Adel.

Thanks for your responses. Protest will definately make a difference. Were Somalis in Saudi to hold a protest rally, Something would change as to how Somalis are treated generally. Remember people gain their right treatment through protest. Bilan, i agree that it is not good to personalize a whole topic but you are attracting the personalization of it out of an attention you trying to seek when the emotions are high just as Og-girl did. Please show your sympathy. If you can't do , then i really advise that you reserve your comment.

I will be looking forward to it.

The Somali Council for the demonstration is asking you (Somali residents of England) to attend a protest rally that will be held on April 15 in front of the Saudi Embassy. Please show your concerns and sympathy for the victims, thanks. Banaanbax Soomaaliyeed oo laga soo horjeedo Sucuudiga oo xaq darro rag Soomaaliyeed ku qoorgooyey Awdalnews Network= LONDON, 11 April 2005—Dadka Soomaaliyeed ee deggan carriga Ingiriiska gaar ahaan magaaladda London ayaa banaabax ka camaaraynaya qoorgoyadii lix nin oo Soomaaliyeed isugu soo bixi doona Safaaradda Sucuudiga ee London horteeda maaalinta taariikdu tahay 15ka Abriil 2005. Ogeysiis ay soo saartay Guddiga Qabanqaabada Banaanbaxa oo soo gaadhay Awdalnews Network, wuxu ka codsanaynaa dadka Soomaaliyeed in ay banaanbaxaa si xoogle uga soo qayb galaan iyaga oo sita boodhadhka ay Guddidu qaybin doonto. Waxa Guddidu sheegtay in ay tahay waajib in la muujiyo sida dadka Soomaaliyeed uga xun yihiin qorgoynta xaq darrada ah ee loo geystay dhalinyarada soomaaliyeed iyaga oo weliba lix sano jeelka ku jiray lana karbaashay haddan qoorgoyn loogu daray

-History of Education in Awdal March 07, 2005 "The world will belong to those who do the right things today" Al-Haji Malik Shabazz(Malcolm X). "The road to education is long and bitter, but for those who take the time to do it, the fruits are sweet" Nelson Madella. History of Education in "Awdal" (Adel), and Somaliland Pre-colonial education: Ibna-Batuta and many other ancient travelers to the land of "Adel empire" from the eleven century until the advent of the European colonization in the 19th century, have very interesting stories regarding the area between Adari (Harrar) and Zayla (Awdal). Through out the last millennium, The area attracted the attention of the Greeks, Ottoman Turks, Berbers, Arabs and Europeans. Cosmopolitan Zayla (Awdal) and "Adari" were once the centers of trade, education, culture, Folklore, religion and music. Students from those cities were used to be sent to Al-Azhar University in Egypt. From anecdotal stories passed from generation to generation, as recently as the early to the middle part of the twenty century, students and scholars of religion used to go to Harrar for scholarship and religious studies. It is also a fact that, religious scholars located in the twin cities of "Zayla" and "Harrar", were spreading Islam thorough the Horn of Africa for over a thousand years. Zayla was also the door through which Islam entered the Horn of Africa. "Masaalik-Al-Absaar", a book written by an Egyptian author, called "Zayla" the city of lights, which has many mosques and schools, where all kinds of subjects were taught. He described "Zayla" as a place where one can acquire any kind of knowledge that may be taught in that period of time. The book indicated the people of "Zayla" were 100% Muslim, who gather in large numbers in the Mosques of the city. Those Mosques could be compared to the public libraries that can be found in big cities of our modern times. Sometimes people in other parts of the Muslim world used to call Zayla "Diraa-Sal-Al-Islaam. Another great pillar of the precolonial education was Sheik Aw Barkhadleh, the architect of the "Alif-La-Kor-Dhabay-Alif-La-Hos-Dabay-Alif-laa-Goday" style of phonetics. Sheik Aw Barkhadleh completely revolutionized the way Arab phonetics is thought. His translation of Arabic phonetics into Somali phonetics simplified the learning of the holy Koran, Islamic religion and Arabic language. His radical efforts helped spread Islam in the Horn of Africa. One time, Harrar was the 4th most holiest Muslim city in the Islamic world, just after Mecca Al-Muka-Rama, Al-Madiina-Ta-Almun-Awara, and Al-Qudas Al-Sharif (Jerusalem). People used to flock from all over the Horn of Africa and beyond to those cities for scholarship, enlightenment, spiritual and religious enrichment. The twin cities of "Zayla" and "Harrar" have a huge impact on " modern Awdal" in particular and Somaliland in general, in terms of education, culture, civic-mindedness, cuisine and religion. Awdal's pioneering spirit and its relative edge in education despite 40 years of neglect, is not something out of the blue and new, or started by one individual or a group of individuals. Awdal education has a very long history, spanning for nearly one thousand years. It is worth mentioning though, that there were some educational movements, that rekindled or sparked if you will, from time to time; the ancient spirit of innovation, adventurism, love for education and enlightenment inherent in the area for a very long time. One of those movements originally started in French Somaliland in the thirties, and overtime spilled into "Awdal" and Somaliland. One of the pioneers of the "1930's" educational movement in Somaliland was Sheik Abdirahman Sheik Nuur, who started the first elementary school in Borama in "1932" . Sheik Abdirahman Sheik Nuur who I have cited many times in my writings, was the author of a well written book, published in "1992" by the name of "Il-Bah-Nimadii-Adel-Iyo-Sooyaalkii-Soomaa-lida". In 1959, the first elementary school in Tug-Wajaale was started with the initiative of Sheik Omar Sheik Musa Liban. Liban started the school by the traditional Awdalian style of fund raising, in which he collected about 30 oxen from the area. Another movement was started in Somaliland in the mid fifties by the "G.u.d.i.b.i.r.s.i Civil Servants Association" (SCSA). These were mostly junior and senior British colonial government officials. They founded "SCSA" an Educational Association or a Trust Fund if you will, whose main objective was to help poor students pay their school fee. Honorable Adan Isaa Ahmed was one of the preeminent founders of that Association. Over the years "SCSA" has helped numerous students accomplish their dreams of education. Colonial and post-colonial education: Mr. Mahmoud Ahmed Ali, Mr.Yusuf Haji Aden, Aden Isaak Ahmed, Haji Jama Muhumed, Yusuf Ismail Samater (Gandhi), Yusuf Adan Bokah and others were instrumental in both the limited colonial and the post colonial education in Somaliland. During colonial times, the whole country has two secondary schools, one technical institute, one Teachers Training Center (T.T.C.), and one Clerical Training Center (C.T.C). These two latter institutions were originally combined into one institution based in Amoud in the forties, by the name of Vocational Training Center (V.T.C.) In the 1930's in French Somaliland itself, great leaders like Jama Zaylici, Ahmed Sahal, Jibril Jilane and others started an educational movement. These prominent men in the mid-thirties started a short lived University in Djibouti. But their movement left a huge impact on Awdal. You can not talk about education in Somaliland, and ignore the role of Haji Jama Muhumed, Hagi Dahir Aw Elmi, Rableh Goud, Haji Olhaye, Haji Ibrahim Nuur, Ali Warsame Biriko, Honorable Adan Isaak Ahmed, Sheik Abdirahman Sheik Ibrahim Brawi, Sheik Fadumo , Sheik Hassan Nuriye, Shiek Abdirahman Sh. Nuur and others. Haji Jama Muhumed a local legend laid the first stone for the foundation of Amoud Secondary School, along with a British colonial officer Mr. C.R.V.Bell in "1952". In the post colonial era, Somaliland schools have been undergone a tremendous exponential growth. Most of the progress made by Somaliland schools during those infamous years was community based. By "199"1, when the military dictatorship was toppled, there was at least one high school in every region of the country. Hargeisa has three secondary schools and one technical institute, Borama has three secondary schools including an agricultural secondary school, Burao has one secondary school, and one technical institute. Each of the following towns ( Gabiley, Zayla, Airegavo, Las-Annod, and Qulijeed) has one secondary school. A profile of a preeminent religious scholar who played a major role in Awdal education: (Sheik Omar Goth) Sheik Omar Goth was born in the Guban area of region in "1918". He accomplished his early education in Harrar, Zayla, Sudan, and Yemen. In the mid-fifties, he has successfully completed his long scholarship in the prestigious Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Following his return from Al-Azhar University, he made his base in Awdal region where he spent the rest of his long and distinguished career. Talking about the history of education in the great state of "Awdal", one cannot afford to overlook this preeminent religious scholar, educator, community leader and a courageous advocate of civil rights. In "1959", Sheik Omar Goth was instrumental in the first co-education class in the then Somaliland Protectorate, which became operational in Dilla elementary school, against the objections of some local community members and even the enlightened educational officer of the day. Sheik Ali Jowhar Secondary School came into existence following an inspirational speech, Sheik Omar delivered in Borama grand mosque that moved the worshipers into frenzy. After that day, he started an aggressive fund raising drive into the country, where he collected more than 300 hundred heads of sheep. When the construction of the school was completed, the city elders proposed to name the school after him. He respectfully declined the offer, and in turn proposed the school to be named after his teacher, the great religious scholar of all times, Sheik Ali Jowhar. That was a short glimpse of how Sheik Ali Jowhar Secondary School came into being. The construction of the school was completely a community project. The school was opened in "1973". He was also behind the creation of the first cooperative farms in the region, which is still functional as I speak. Sheik Omar also vehemently defended the writing of the Somali language in Latin script, a very controversial project at the time. Sheik Omar's accomplishments in terms of education, civil rights, justice, teaching, counseling and conflict resolution are infinite and endless, but I am just trying here to put a short synopsis of the long career of this selfless leader into perspective. She Omar may Allah bless his soul was a courageous visionary, a respected educator, a selfless community leader, an advocate, a loud voice for the voiceless, and a valuable peacemaker. The British colonial administration put him in jail due to his fervent pro-independence sentiments. He was an open-minded, progressive religious scholar and a revolutionary. He always stood on the side of what was right, and never shrank from standing by controversial issues if he thought they are right. Sheik Omar successfully overcame numerous roadblocks and obstacles put forth in front of Awdal education by some religious fanatics or zealots of the time, who were preaching that modern education was tantamount to christianization. In the 1940's again he was instrumental in averting an armed clash between two Gada.bour.si sub clans. His extensive knowledge in Islamic jurisprudence, Koranic exegesis, prophet's traditions, Arabic grammar, literature and shear wisdom helped him resolve disputes between communities, rally communities for good causes, speak out against both the British colonial administration and the successive corrupt governments that ruled the area. Sheik Omar was always on the side of fairness and justice and what was right no matter what. Sheik Omar may Allah bless his soul passed away in 1988. More-Source

Ludwig Institute Forum on Somalia's Invention Posted by: Alex at November 24, 2004 10:34 PMPosted by: Alex at November 24, 2004 10:34 PM "As one of the authors of the World Bank piece, it's nice to see my article getting such interest, although it is important not to glorify what's happening in Somalia. I know places with bigger governments which are rather safer." Big government does not create safety. Places with big governments are only safer because the society in question tends to obey rules and regulations. The society's tendency to obey rules and regulations could be channeled into voluntary agreements, with a much better outcome. The fallacy here is that civilized society is somehow brought about by government enforced coercion. But this is a non-sequitur. Government's very ability to coerce is actually derived by and large from voluntary consent i.e the government can only coerce if the majority of the population agrees to this coercion. Hence, the existence of big governemnts in relatively safe nations is actually the result of mis-guided consent. If man can agree to the enormously complex and innumerable laws of government, he can certainly agree to much simpler and fewer laws on a purely contractual basis with his fellow citizens. Along these lines, I recommend the book: Voluntary City (available on amazon.com). DOCUMENT A more productive role for government would be to build on the strengths of the private sector. Given Somali reliance on clan and reputation, any measures allowing these mechanisms to function more broadly would be welcome; credit and land registries would be a good start. And since Somali businesses rely heavily on institutions outside the economy, international and domestic policies supporting such connections would help. For governments and aid agencies, the capability of some business sectors to cope under the most difficult conditions should give hope and guidance in other reconstruction efforts. It may take less encouragement than is commonly thought for stripped-down systems of finance, electricity, and telecommunications to grow. _________________________________________________

Originally posted by Mutakallim: Some folks are, naturally, better adapted to living in the lower spheres of discussion, so their experience will, indubitably, give them the edge. On second thought, I imagine you have already "washed your hands" of this, so I need not at all dispense advice. With Salaams PK P.S. As regards this thread, it is nothing save a storm in a teacup. This was after all a good discussion but the indifference to the deceased men who had already served their sentence more than they should, has been what ignited the whole debate into a tomfoolery. A lot of Nomads candidly let out a scream of emotional terror because they felt the tragedy deserved sympathy and empathy. It was a matter of complete indifference vs courage plucked up out of sympathy with the deceased Somalis: My God take them to Janna. Amin ___________________________________ Nairobi (HAN) April 9, 2005- The IGAD Human Rights Watch accused the Somalia Federal Government and the rest of the IGAD Frontline States today of ignoring human rights violations against their citizens by Saudi Arabia because of the desert kingdom's massive economic power. Despite a history of arbitrary arrests, torture, unfair trials and harsh punishments such as flogging and beheading, Saudi Arabia has never been held to the same human rights standards that EU, UN and its allies apply to Sudan, Mozambiq and Eritrea and other nations accused of widespread repression, the human rights group said. "The country's strategic position and vast oil resources have led governments and businesses around the world to subordinate human rights to economic and strategic interests," the group said in a 19-page report. In addition to an annual report detailing the human rights situation in most of the world's countries, Amnesty International issues one detailed report each year focusing on a single country. This year the organization focused on Saudi Arabia. And it coupled its report with a call for a grass-roots campaign to protest Saudi abuses. "The U.N. Commission on Human Rights has, over the years, publicly expressed concern about the human rights situation in a wide range of countries in all regions of the world, but it has never publicly addressed the serious human rights situation in Saudi Arabia," the report said. The Somalis Worldwide expressed sadness About The Saudi Executions, while the President of Federal Somalia HE Abdullahi Yusuf in Nairobi did not respond to a request for comment on the Somalis Executions by the Saudi Authority in Jeddah. report. The Islamic Law and the Saudi Executions Since the majority of the provisions in the Saudi Penal Code are based on Islamic law, at least in theory, I would like to examine the Saudi actions under both the strict interpretations of the classic Islamic Law and in light of the expositions by the early Islamic Jurists. The State Department and Amnesty International agree that both Saudi citizens and foreigners were executed. Amnesty International said, however, that Saudi justice falls more heavily on outsiders and people from the margins of society. It said the system is especially harsh in its treatment of foreign workers, who make up about a quarter of the Saudi population; critics of the regime; and religious minorities, including Christians, Sikhs and Shiite Muslims.

Please do finish the article and don't be discouraged by the Title. It is beyond what you think. A LelKase CAPTAIN AHAB By: Prof. Said S. Samatar April 7, 2005 Editor's note: This is the second part of a four part series. In this piece, professor Said Samatar shows several things including his mastery of the language, an unwavering interest in literature and a total command of both the Somali culture and that of the West. Moreover, Samatar [de] mystifies the hold that clan identity seeks to have on a detribalized, westernized if you will, Somali individual through his own experience. This piece definitely establishes Samatar as both a literary scholar as well as a keen historian. As a product of the literary imagination, Captain Ahab is the major protagonist in Melville's novel Moby Dick , the classic work often cited as ushering in the coming of age of American literature. At once diabolical and ambition-crazed, Ahab is the poetic archetypal figure representing Western Europe 's lust for power, glory and gain--in short for conquest. He is descended, fictionally and spiritually, from the incomparable Dr. Faust, as well, the literary creation of the German playwright, Goethe. In a memorable scene in Goethe's play, Dr. Faust makes a historic bargain with Lucifer, dean of the satanic host, in which he offers his soul to the devil in return for the devil's grant to him of mastery over the world. Hence, the famous scriptural cautionary tale, "for what will it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world but lose his soul," does not resonate with Dr. Faust. He would gladly relinquish his soul to hell for the conquest of the globe. Dr. Faust and Captain Ahab are one and the same in spirit and imagery portraying the satanic side of the West that catapulted Europeans not only into a 500-year global hegemony enslaving, colonizing and ruthlessly exploiting the nations of Africa and Asia but also installing their absolute open season on the world, pillaging, raping and ravishing everywhere they went, leaving it desolate and devastated. Unlike the physically wholesome Dr. Faust, Ahab is a cripple with a wooden leg, a withered arm and a host of other assaults on his body sustained in the course of life-time of pursuing the elusive white whale through the high seas. His body may be battered but his spirit is indomitable. It was therefore a matter of unforgettable astonishment to encounter a latter-day Captain Ahab in Seattle , Washington , April 5, 1994 . His real name is Abdusamad, ethnically a Lelkase and therefore my own kinsman. Let me say at the outset that the likening of Abdusamad to Captain Ahab in the ensuing remarks is only metaphorical and that there is no intention to call my kinsman a devil. If anything he struck me, when in his best mood, as a gentleman's gentleman; still, he did radiate a lot of Ahab-like characteristics which call for comment. In the crazy crisscrossing quilt of ethnicities that make up Somali society, the Lelkase are composed of a small clan of mullahs (my kinsmen are likely to disown me for saying this) constituting a sub-lineage of the D.a.r.o.od clan-family. There are tantalizing bits and pieces of evidence that suggest the Lelkase to have been almost completely wiped out in a massacre that occurred in some ancient, prehistoric time. For example, there are hills of human skeletons in eastern Somalia that are called "Lafa-Tanade," or the "Bones of the Tanade,"--Tanade being another name for the Lelkase. Who massacred them and why will probably never be known. In order to survive, the solitary remnants of the Lelkase then turned to religion, permanently leaving the struggle for material power and influence to larger clans. To paraphrase Professor I. M. Lewis, where Somalis fail to acquire power in the physical world, they seek it in the spiritual. Another name for the Lelkase is Xer, literally "Qur'anic disciples." They often specialized in setting up catechistic Qur'anic centers throughout Somalia teaching the diin , or religion, solemnizing marriages and receiving, in return, gifts (siyaaro) of livestock and tokens of honor from the host clans. It appears that in their role as wadaads (men of religion) and fiqihs (scholars of sacred law) the Lelkase prospered and multiplied in numbers; for by the middle of the century they took to trusting more to the sword than to the diin . They got into various and sundry feuds to the east with 'Umar Mohamuud M.a.j.e.e.r.t.e.en and to the west with the H.a.b.a.r G.i.d.i.r ****** . It was in a particularly lethal feud with the 'Umar Mohamuud in 1964-5 that Abdusamad, my Captain Ahab, enters into history as a legendary warrior, leading a Lelkase militia to fight off the powerful 'Umar Mohamuud to a standstill (this is the Lelkase version; the 'Umar Mohamuud claim they stopped short of finishing off the Lelkase for fear of divine retribution). Whatever the true version of events, the Lelkase came out of this feud with renewed confidence in their capacity to defend themselves by the sword. Abdusamad apparently played a major part in the Lelkase holding their own. And so it was he who, shortly after this feud, triumphantly boasted in a poetic couplet: "Allow iyo aayadii ka baxno Afdiinlaan ku aarsanaynaa." "We, the Lelkase have ceased and desisted from our vain pleas to Allah for protection, Instead we now employ the gun to avenge our dead!" Those who served with him describe him as a warrior's warrior whose tactical maneuvers in the field can only be matched by his death-defying bravery: he was left for dead at least once, his entire body is polka-dotted with bullet marks, his right leg blown off by a bazoka blast and his arm withered like a stunted branch. One should imagine that a man with so many assaults on his body would permanently quit warring. Not Abdusamad. When clannish violence broke out in earnest in the collapse of the state in early 1991, he was at the head of a Lelkase militia duelling it out with H.a.b.a.r G.i.d.i.r militia. The Lelkase claim(a claim which is more of a boast than substance) that they have single-handedly driven the H.a.b.a.r G.i.d.i.r from their grazing grounds in Mudugh province into Benaadir province where the latter under General Aydiid have wreaked havoc, variously, on the A.b.g.a.a.l, H.a.w.a.a.d.l.e, Mur.u.rsade and ********* . Again Abdusamad was hit, this time in the head with one eye shot off and the forehead re-arranged from the effect of flying shrapnel. How he ended up in Seattle remains a mystery, but there he was all right that morning when I arrived at the shiny lecture hall of Seattle Pacific University to deliver a talk to rosy-cheeked American students. The gist of my lecture was to try to put a semblance of logic on the Somali muddle to a mildly bemused roomful of Americans, wondering why their boys got killed in a distant and savage place called Somalia . The audience's questions during discussion bore a striking resemblance to Chancellor Bismarck's near the end of the nineteenth century: when asked to provide fresh troops for the conquest of New Guinea, the Iron Chancellor replied with characteristic bluntness, "New Guinea head-hunters are not worthy of the healthy bones of one Prussian grenadier!" Was Somalia worth the healthy bones of one American Ranger? After the lecture Abdusamad was introduced by three other Lelkases as the "General." The General? This withered shade? I reflected. We drove to a five-star hotel in downtown Seattle . The car parked, we got out and when he attempted to walk, he wheezed and rattled and shuffled, dragging the wooden leg after the other. I began to see that half his body was made up of wooden supports, the original organs having been blasted off by steel. Our waitress was a luscious blonde with radiant skin and sumptuous eyes whose comings and goings coupled with imagination served to whet the appetite. The lunch (which one of the Lelkases paid for) was not, as it turned out, the point of our gathering; it was in fact a ruse designed to rough me up by Captain Ahab aka Abdusamad. As soon as we were seated, he rounded on me with the one working eye sparkling. Said he: "Are you a man with xiniinyo or (balls)?" More disoriented than annoyed by the forwardness of his manners, I said, "Pardon me!" He learned the tone of irritation in those two words, for he stammered and said with less force: "We Lelkases have proven our fighting capabilities in the recent explosion of clan warfare that followed Siad Barre's fall. We do not initiate fights, but when fights are forced upon us, we punish mightily; every clan that picked up a quarrel with us came to regret it. We vanquished--" he rattled off a series of clan names, and tapped vigorously on the wooden leg with the edge of his palm, and by God, it was hollowed out and had the reverberating acoustics of a durbaan , or drum! Did he do this for effect to freak me out? I said, "Enough. I do not want to hear the gory details of one bloody tribal skirmish after another." He said, "Do you know the new names of the Lelkase, as a result of our prowess in the recent feuds?" I said I did not. He said, "One name is gaas-dhagoole ," which may be translated as the "deaf legion." I said, "Why gaas-dhagoole ?" He said, "Because once the Lelkase take up the field, they become deaf as to the rumble of shells. When in action we become deaf and mute to death. We defy death, knowing this mortal body can go but once." This reminded me of Julius Caesar's legendary cogitations on life and death: "Cowards die many times but the valiant never taste of death but once." By all the stars, when Caesar made those words famous he had just vanquished the Iberian peninsula and Gaul, the name then for the territories now making up France, Switzerland, half of Germany and all the lands adjacent to the English Channel, thus making possible the conquest of Britain by the lame emperor Claudius. In other words, Caesar would die in the forging of empires, reducing cities and compelling nations to bow before him; whereas my kinsman would glorify death in a senseless, soap-opera-like, endless and purposeless cycle of tribal violence. "Really?" I said, incredulously. "When we take to the field," the shade continued, "we would not abandon it, come what may. We'd die to the last man." "In that case," I said, "count me out." "Are you a coward?" "Pardon me!" One of the others interrupted with some gratuitous remark designed to provide comic relief. Captain Ahab started off again, "Do you know what the other name is?" I said, "Indulge me." He said, "Darbe-D.a.r.o.od," which translates as: "the D.a.r.o.od Wall." "Because," he said, squinting the one serviceable eye, "when the D.a.r.o.od were in desperate trouble on all sides in the recent wars, it was we who stood between them and other clans." "Ask the W.a.r.s.a.n.g.a.l.i [another D.a.r.o.od sub-clan]," he continued, "to confirm the truth of what I am saying. It was they who dubbed us, 'the D.a.r.o.od Wall,' in grateful recognition of our defending role." The luscious white chick returned to clear the table; kids (white and black) toyed on the electronic Star Wars box. The jacuzzi fountains made plangent caressing sounds. The people, the streets, the cars, the lights--the city hummed outside. And here we were four Lelkases engaged in a cosmological clan discourse. This was surreal, I thought. Captain Ahab continued to harass me. Said he, "We are as good in peace as in war. Because we are men of religion, we deal honestly with others. We do not double-talk. Our word is as good as faith itself." Ahab paused, wheezing; then began again, "We'd prefer to have our necks cut off than break our word. That is why," the serviceable eye glistened, "we are universally trusted by all other clans. There is a great future for us in Somalia as power brokers, if not power holders in the country." " A great future for us in Somalia !" I could hardly believe I heard what I had heard. "Maledetto te, pazzo," I cussed in Italian under my breath. Fortunately for my skin, knowledge of Italian did not number in his satanic C.V., otherwise he would surely have bounced on me, wooden limbs and all! "Now, as for you," the shade opened up again, "We need you. Are you going to play an honorable role in this future? Are you going to lend us your academic thing and international contacts? Are you going to join us?" He gave me a look that froze me, making me feel creepy all over. "Are you going to be part of us, or simply satisfied to fatten off of American food stamps?" "The sucker," I cussed again. "Does he think I am on the dole?" He must have noticed my angry scowl, for at this he began to let up, warming up to me and judging it necessary to inform me, "The Fiqih Ismaa'iil [my own sub-branch of the Lelkase] have always demonstrated qualities of leadership in the clan." What was he buttering up to me for? There was no way of knowing, because he broke off and went into a trance (he was also suffering from Khat withdrawals), spewing out a stream of primeval monologue, half poetry, half singsong, mumbling the words: "Alla waan hawoonayoo, alla hawa na haysa, ee." "Alas, ambition–ambition stirs in us, ambition--ambition we seek." Back in my hotel room, I transcribed the outlines of the visit into my diary. Then I was assailed with one impulse and two thoughts. First, the impulse: this wraith of a man whose broken frame is pitted through and through with the mark of steel, only the one eye remaining whole of his entire body, and yet so animated, so lively, so resilient, his spirit so indomitable. The Somali civil war was not overabundant with examples of valiance in its purest essence, but this one was courage personified. I was awed! To paraphrase Mark Anthony on the slain Brutus, "All the elements unite to say this was truly a man." But my awe, even admiration was thoroughly dissipated by my growing scorn for his mad ambition. I learned by and by that he came to the U.S. on a refugee asylum program, that he was resettled in Seattle to start up a new life, that his needs in shelter, food and medication were met by American generosity, the cost of his upkeep being split between the state of Washington and the Federal Government. As such, one should suppose that with this largesse, he'd settle and end out his remaining days in peace and tranquility, living off America 's kindness, gazing blissfully on the busty, leggy blondes that populate the swank avenues of Seattle . No, his heart was not in these but in "ambition" and thoughts of "a great future" in Somalia ! What a mad son of a gun! If the whole world were offered to him on a silver platter, what good would this do him, given that he is so wasted? How could he, in the broken condition of his body, savor the ease, the comfort and delights of power, to say nothing of coping with its cares--this apparition of re-arranged wood and mended skeleton? As to the first thought that assailed: it was stirred by the specter's question, "Are you going to join us?" This resonated with me because it brought to mind one Abdirahman Hajji Hirsi, a first cousin, a medical doctor by vocation and a multi-sided genius who commanded mastery--I mean absolute mastery--over five languages: Arabic, English, French, Italian and Russian, in addition to his native Somali. When Somalia erupted, he moved to Kisimayu to serve as the only doctor in a children's hospital housing several hundred orphans. The Belgian paratroopers who manned Kisimayu and its environs had no end of praise for this doctor's, as one of the paratroopers put it, "integrity, hard work and dedication to his lowly orphanage." Well, one evening a gunman showed up at the orphanage premises and asked Dr. Hirsi to hand over to him the entire store of medicine in the orphanage. The doctor balked, whereupon he was shot at point-blank range. He died instantly. This incident in turn brought to mind a similar murder-by-shooting of another doctor, one Dr. Mohammed Warsame, who, after being hounded by the pleas of Roman Catholic nuns to help bind the wounds of his people, had reluctantly returned to Mogadishu to care for a large orphanage. General Aydiid ordered him killed for reasons of clan considerations in the fall of 1992. In the entire world, even in benighted Africa , a doctor's person is considered sacrosanct and treated as such. In the entire world, that is, except in mad Somalia . Dr. Hirsi, by reason of his medical skills and genius of mind, would, by international standards, have rated as worth more than the entire lot of the Lelkase put together. Yet, like so many others, he died senselessly and in vain and, from what I have been able to piece together, at the hands of another Lelkase. No, Captain, I'd rather not join you! The other thought that crossed my mind was even more frightening; to wit, if the Lelkase, largely a clan of mullahs with no material or numerical significance (I daresay my kinsmen are likely to disown me for saying this) are so inflamed and obsessed with brokering power in Somalia, if not seizing it, what about the much larger clans with many more resources in men and material? What heights of lust for power and gain must consume their souls? Then I understood why Somalia collapsed. This is a nation of greed and ambition gone mad. Said Samatar New Jersey As a product of the literary imagination, Captain Ahab is the major protagonist in Melville's novel Moby Dick , the classic work often cited as ushering in the coming of age of American literature. At once diabolical and ambition-crazed, Ahab is the poetic archetypal figure representing Western Europe 's lust for power, glory and gain--in short for conquest. He is descended, fictionally and spiritually, from the incomparable Dr. Faust, as well, the literary creation of the German playwright, Goethe. In a memorable scene in Goethe's play, Dr. Faust makes a historic bargain with Lucifer, dean of the satanic host, in which he offers his soul to the devil in return for the devil's grant to him of mastery over the world. Hence, the famous scriptural cautionary tale, "for what will it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world but lose his soul," does not resonate with Dr. Faust. He would gladly relinquish his soul to hell for the conquest of the globe. Dr. Faust and Captain Ahab are one and the same in spirit and imagery portraying the satanic side of the West that catapulted Europeans not only into a 500-year global hegemony enslaving, colonizing and ruthlessly exploiting the nations of Africa and Asia but also installing their absolute open season on the world, pillaging, raping and ravishing everywhere they went, leaving it desolate and devastated. Unlike the physically wholesome Dr. Faust, Ahab is a cripple with a wooden leg, a withered arm and a host of other assaults on his body sustained in the course of life-time of pursuing the elusive white whale through the high seas. His body may be battered but his spirit is indomitable. It was therefore a matter of unforgettable astonishment to encounter a latter-day Captain Ahab in Seattle , Washington , April 5, 1994 . His real name is Abdusamad, ethnically a Lelkase and therefore my own kinsman. Let me say at the outset that the likening of Abdusamad to Captain Ahab in the ensuing remarks is only metaphorical and that there is no intention to call my kinsman a devil. If anything he struck me, when in his best mood, as a gentleman's gentleman; still, he did radiate a lot of Ahab-like characteristics which call for comment. In the crazy crisscrossing quilt of ethnicities that make up Somali society, the Lelkase are composed of a small clan of mullahs (my kinsmen are likely to disown me for saying this) constituting a sub-lineage of the D.a.r.o.od clan-family. There are tantalizing bits and pieces of evidence that suggest the Lelkase to have been almost completely wiped out in a massacre that occurred in some ancient, prehistoric time. For example, there are hills of human skeletons in eastern Somalia that are called "Lafa-Tanade," or the "Bones of the Tanade,"--Tanade being another name for the Lelkase. Who massacred them and why will probably never be known. In order to survive, the solitary remnants of the Lelkase then turned to religion, permanently leaving the struggle for material power and influence to larger clans. To paraphrase Professor I. M. Lewis, where Somalis fail to acquire power in the physical world, they seek it in the spiritual. Another name for the Lelkase is Xer, literally "Qur'anic disciples." They often specialized in setting up catechistic Qur'anic centers throughout Somalia teaching the diin , or religion, solemnizing marriages and receiving, in return, gifts (siyaaro) of livestock and tokens of honor from the host clans. It appears that in their role as wadaads (men of religion) and fiqihs (scholars of sacred law) the Lelkase prospered and multiplied in numbers; for by the middle of the century they took to trusting more to the sword than to the diin . They got into various and sundry feuds to the east with 'Umar Mohamuud M.a.j.e.e.r.t.e.en and to the west with the H.a.b.a.r G.i.d.i.r ****** . It was in a particularly lethal feud with the 'Umar Mohamuud in 1964-5 that Abdusamad, my Captain Ahab, enters into history as a legendary warrior, leading a Lelkase militia to fight off the powerful 'Umar Mohamuud to a standstill (this is the Lelkase version; the 'Umar Mohamuud claim they stopped short of finishing off the Lelkase for fear of divine retribution). Whatever the true version of events, the Lelkase came out of this feud with renewed confidence in their capacity to defend themselves by the sword. Abdusamad apparently played a major part in the Lelkase holding their own. And so it was he who, shortly after this feud, triumphantly boasted in a poetic couplet: "Allow iyo aayadii ka baxno Afdiinlaan ku aarsanaynaa." "We, the Lelkase have ceased and desisted from our vain pleas to Allah for protection, Instead we now employ the gun to avenge our dead!" Those who served with him describe him as a warrior's warrior whose tactical maneuvers in the field can only be matched by his death-defying bravery: he was left for dead at least once, his entire body is polka-dotted with bullet marks, his right leg blown off by a bazoka blast and his arm withered like a stunted branch. One should imagine that a man with so many assaults on his body would permanently quit warring. Not Abdusamad. When clannish violence broke out in earnest in the collapse of the state in early 1991, he was at the head of a Lelkase militia duelling it out with H.a.b.a.r G.i.d.i.r militia. The Lelkase claim(a claim which is more of a boast than substance) that they have single-handedly driven the H.a.b.a.r G.i.d.i.r from their grazing grounds in Mudugh province into Benaadir province where the latter under General Aydiid have wreaked havoc, variously, on the ******, Hawaadle, Murursade and ********* . Again Abdusamad was hit, this time in the head with one eye shot off and the forehead re-arranged from the effect of flying shrapnel. How he ended up in Seattle remains a mystery, but there he was all right that morning when I arrived at the shiny lecture hall of Seattle Pacific University to deliver a talk to rosy-cheeked American students. The gist of my lecture was to try to put a semblance of logic on the Somali muddle to a mildly bemused roomful of Americans, wondering why their boys got killed in a distant and savage place called Somalia . The audience's questions during discussion bore a striking resemblance to Chancellor Bismarck's near the end of the nineteenth century: when asked to provide fresh troops for the conquest of New Guinea, the Iron Chancellor replied with characteristic bluntness, "New Guinea head-hunters are not worthy of the healthy bones of one Prussian grenadier!" Was Somalia worth the healthy bones of one American Ranger? After the lecture Abdusamad was introduced by three other Lelkases as the "General." The General? This withered shade? I reflected. We drove to a five-star hotel in downtown Seattle . The car parked, we got out and when he attempted to walk, he wheezed and rattled and shuffled, dragging the wooden leg after the other. I began to see that half his body was made up of wooden supports, the original organs having been blasted off by steel. Our waitress was a luscious blonde with radiant skin and sumptuous eyes whose comings and goings coupled with imagination served to whet the appetite. The lunch (which one of the Lelkases paid for) was not, as it turned out, the point of our gathering; it was in fact a ruse designed to rough me up by Captain Ahab aka Abdusamad. As soon as we were seated, he rounded on me with the one working eye sparkling. Said he: "Are you a man with xiniinyo or (balls)?" More disoriented than annoyed by the forwardness of his manners, I said, "Pardon me!" He learned the tone of irritation in those two words, for he stammered and said with less force: "We Lelkases have proven our fighting capabilities in the recent explosion of clan warfare that followed Siad Barre's fall. We do not initiate fights, but when fights are forced upon us, we punish mightily; every clan that picked up a quarrel with us came to regret it. We vanquished--" he rattled off a series of clan names, and tapped vigorously on the wooden leg with the edge of his palm, and by God, it was hollowed out and had the reverberating acoustics of a durbaan , or drum! Did he do this for effect to freak me out? I said, "Enough. I do not want to hear the gory details of one bloody tribal skirmish after another." He said, "Do you know the new names of the Lelkase, as a result of our prowess in the recent feuds?" I said I did not. He said, "One name is gaas-dhagoole ," which may be translated as the "deaf legion." I said, "Why gaas-dhagoole ?" He said, "Because once the Lelkase take up the field, they become deaf as to the rumble of shells. When in action we become deaf and mute to death. We defy death, knowing this mortal body can go but once." This reminded me of Julius Caesar's legendary cogitations on life and death: "Cowards die many times but the valiant never taste of death but once." By all the stars, when Caesar made those words famous he had just vanquished the Iberian peninsula and Gaul, the name then for the territories now making up France, Switzerland, half of Germany and all the lands adjacent to the English Channel, thus making possible the conquest of Britain by the lame emperor Claudius. In other words, Caesar would die in the forging of empires, reducing cities and compelling nations to bow before him; whereas my kinsman would glorify death in a senseless, soap-opera-like, endless and purposeless cycle of tribal violence. "Really?" I said, incredulously. "When we take to the field," the shade continued, "we would not abandon it, come what may. We'd die to the last man." "In that case," I said, "count me out." "Are you a coward?" "Pardon me!" One of the others interrupted with some gratuitous remark designed to provide comic relief. Captain Ahab started off again, "Do you know what the other name is?" I said, "Indulge me." He said, "Darbe-D.a.r.o.od," which translates as: "the D.a.r.o.od Wall." "Because," he said, squinting the one serviceable eye, "when the D.a.r.o.od were in desperate trouble on all sides in the recent wars, it was we who stood between them and other clans." "Ask the Warsangali [another D.a.r.o.od sub-clan]," he continued, "to confirm the truth of what I am saying. It was they who dubbed us, 'the D.a.r.o.od Wall,' in grateful recognition of our defending role." The luscious white chick returned to clear the table; kids (white and black) toyed on the electronic Star Wars box. The jacuzzi fountains made plangent caressing sounds. The people, the streets, the cars, the lights--the city hummed outside. And here we were four Lelkases engaged in a cosmological clan discourse. This was surreal, I thought. Captain Ahab continued to harass me. Said he, "We are as good in peace as in war. Because we are men of religion, we deal honestly with others. We do not double-talk. Our word is as good as faith itself." Ahab paused, wheezing; then began again, "We'd prefer to have our necks cut off than break our word. That is why," the serviceable eye glistened, "we are universally trusted by all other clans. There is a great future for us in Somalia as power brokers, if not power holders in the country." " A great future for us in Somalia !" I could hardly believe I heard what I had heard. "Maledetto te, pazzo," I cussed in Italian under my breath. Fortunately for my skin, knowledge of Italian did not number in his satanic C.V., otherwise he would surely have bounced on me, wooden limbs and all! "Now, as for you," the shade opened up again, "We need you. Are you going to play an honorable role in this future? Are you going to lend us your academic thing and international contacts? Are you going to join us?" He gave me a look that froze me, making me feel creepy all over. "Are you going to be part of us, or simply satisfied to fatten off of American food stamps?" "The sucker," I cussed again. "Does he think I am on the dole?" He must have noticed my angry scowl, for at this he began to let up, warming up to me and judging it necessary to inform me, "The Fiqih Ismaa'iil [my own sub-branch of the Lelkase] have always demonstrated qualities of leadership in the clan." What was he buttering up to me for? There was no way of knowing, because he broke off and went into a trance (he was also suffering from Khat withdrawals), spewing out a stream of primeval monologue, half poetry, half singsong, mumbling the words: "Alla waan hawoonayoo, alla hawa na haysa, ee." "Alas, ambition–ambition stirs in us, ambition--ambition we seek." Back in my hotel room, I transcribed the outlines of the visit into my diary. Then I was assailed with one impulse and two thoughts. First, the impulse: this wraith of a man whose broken frame is pitted through and through with the mark of steel, only the one eye remaining whole of his entire body, and yet so animated, so lively, so resilient, his spirit so indomitable. The Somali civil war was not overabundant with examples of valiance in its purest essence, but this one was courage personified. I was awed! To paraphrase Mark Anthony on the slain Brutus, "All the elements unite to say this was truly a man." But my awe, even admiration was thoroughly dissipated by my growing scorn for his mad ambition. I learned by and by that he came to the U.S. on a refugee asylum program, that he was resettled in Seattle to start up a new life, that his needs in shelter, food and medication were met by American generosity, the cost of his upkeep being split between the state of Washington and the Federal Government. As such, one should suppose that with this largesse, he'd settle and end out his remaining days in peace and tranquility, living off America 's kindness, gazing blissfully on the busty, leggy blondes that populate the swank avenues of Seattle . No, his heart was not in these but in "ambition" and thoughts of "a great future" in Somalia ! What a mad son of a gun! If the whole world were offered to him on a silver platter, what good would this do him, given that he is so wasted? How could he, in the broken condition of his body, savor the ease, the comfort and delights of power, to say nothing of coping with its cares--this apparition of re-arranged wood and mended skeleton? As to the first thought that assailed: it was stirred by the specter's question, "Are you going to join us?" This resonated with me because it brought to mind one Abdirahman Hajji Hirsi, a first cousin, a medical doctor by vocation and a multi-sided genius who commanded mastery--I mean absolute mastery--over five languages: Arabic, English, French, Italian and Russian, in addition to his native Somali. When Somalia erupted, he moved to Kisimayu to serve as the only doctor in a children's hospital housing several hundred orphans. The Belgian paratroopers who manned Kisimayu and its environs had no end of praise for this doctor's, as one of the paratroopers put it, "integrity, hard work and dedication to his lowly orphanage." Well, one evening a gunman showed up at the orphanage premises and asked Dr. Hirsi to hand over to him the entire store of medicine in the orphanage. The doctor balked, whereupon he was shot at point-blank range. He died instantly. This incident in turn brought to mind a similar murder-by-shooting of another doctor, one Dr. Mohammed Warsame, who, after being hounded by the pleas of Roman Catholic nuns to help bind the wounds of his people, had reluctantly returned to Mogadishu to care for a large orphanage. General Aydiid ordered him killed for reasons of clan considerations in the fall of 1992. In the entire world, even in benighted Africa , a doctor's person is considered sacrosanct and treated as such. In the entire world, that is, except in mad Somalia . Dr. Hirsi, by reason of his medical skills and genius of mind, would, by international standards, have rated as worth more than the entire lot of the Lelkase put together. Yet, like so many others, he died senselessly and in vain and, from what I have been able to piece together, at the hands of another Lelkase. No, Captain, I'd rather not join you! The other thought that crossed my mind was even more frightening; to wit, if the Lelkase, largely a clan of mullahs with no material or numerical significance (I daresay my kinsmen are likely to disown me for saying this) are so inflamed and obsessed with brokering power in Somalia, if not seizing it, what about the much larger clans with many more resources in men and material? What heights of lust for power and gain must consume their souls? Then I understood why Somalia collapsed. This is a nation of greed and ambition gone mad. Said Samatar New Jersey

A Critique of “Impasse Over Moqdishu: A Grand Compromise†Ismail Ali Ismail April 4 ,2005 The Samatar brothers (professors Ahmed and Abdi) published under the date of 28 March 2005 an article which appeared on a number of Somali websites under the caption “Impasse Over Mogadishu: A Grand Compromiseâ€. This was done in the name of the Board of Directors of a “National Civic Forumâ€. Upon reading the article one gets the inescapable impression that the Forum is indeed a partisan group and that there is glaring need for a counterblast to its views in order to have the necessary balance. First, its language and deliberate use of certain terminological inexactitudes cast a long shadow of doubt on the intention of the group. The article starts with the inference that the government or the process of its “selection†is “…bereft of nation-wide legitimacy…†without bothering to tell its readers how that legitimacy was measured nation-wide. In the next paragraph the article shuns the fact that Abdullahi Yusuf was elected as President in a legitimate, free and fair process publicly admitted by his fiercest opponents and recognized by IGAD and the international community at large. It is the same process by which President Aden Abdulle Osman and President Abdirasheed Ali Sharmarke were elected – not “selected†and there are many countries that elect their head of state similarly. To say, therefore, that Abdullahi Yusuf was ‘selected' is tantamount to cheap meanness. The term “selection†is alien to the field of political competition and as a process selection is completely different from election. Secondly, the article is quick to point to the hasty request of President Abdullahi Yusuf to the African Union for a force of 20,000 men and highlights his insistence on the inclusion of a contingent from neighboring Ethiopia . Whilst it states that this must be “rememberedâ€, it conveniently forgets that the insistence on Ethiopian troops is what made the warlords and their collaborators in Mogadishu abandon their erstwhile position of not accepting any foreign troops at all. Thirdly, contrary to the contention of the Forum's Board of Directors, there was neither debate nor voting of any kind in that infamous parliamentary session which brought shame upon all of us: The Board says, “After heated discussion, the overwhelming majority rejected the notion of the deployment of the troops….†By reflecting solely the viewpoint of the warlords and their supporters whilst choosing to ignore the government's viewpoint the Boards has sidestepped the most elementary and basic principle of justice: audi alteram partem. I agree that it would be unwise to bring Ethiopian troops into our country now that it is generally accepted that other foreign troops be brought in. It is also imprudent to do so because it has proved to be too costly a proposition in terms of further deepening our divisions. But, I discount patriotism as a reason because if we were patriotic there would have been no cause for calling foreign troops in the first place: after all, thirteen reconciliation conferences before Nairobi failed to trigger any sense of patriotism in us. And our connivance with others to dump toxic chemical and nuclear wastes in our shores does not attest to our patriotism. It is therefore hypocritical now to pretend that we are patriotic. As for the “Grand Compromise†which the Boards is calling for, I am truly baffled as I cannot reconcile between the Board's statement that it “…has been closely monitoring the current political crisis surrounding the proposed deployment of foreign peacekeeping troops in Somalia â€, and their display of ignorance about what has been going on. The Mogadishu warlords had themselves been saying time and again for the last six months that they would remove their militias from the capital and would assemble them in areas 30 kms. out of the capital. The only problem is that they have not done so; the warlords are not known for honoring their promises. It seems also that the Board is oblivious to the government's announced plans; else, they would not have proposed steps which are already in the pipeline as announced by the government. But the implication of a call for “A Grand Compromise†is that no compromises have been made thus far. Reconciliation is a long and arduous process; it has to be nurtured with care so as to prevent eruptions of the civil war, but a firm hand is surely needed as well to bring recalcitrant politicians to book. I cannot for the life of me understand the need at this juncture for establishing a ‘reconciliation commission' of eleven eminent persons. If it is to be a standing commission (since the process of reconciliations is going to be inevitably long) it will need a certain institutional infrastructure to support it. Furthermore, I do not know if the current political players have any respect for anyone other than themselves – eminent persons or not. That aside, we have to remember also that our most eminent, wise and politically savvy persons (former President Aden Abdulle Osman, former Prime Ministers Abdirazak Haji Hussein and the late Mohammed Ibrahim Egal, and others) did actually put shoulders to the wheel at the first Djibouti Conference in1991 when it was not too late to nib the conflict in the bud. There are, no doubt, many odd things about the present arrangement: a Speaker who is on the side of the opposition and is conspiring to overthrow the Head of State and the Government; ministers campaigning actively on the side of the opposition and who neither resigned nor were dismissed; a government which does not control parliament and is hanging by a cliff; a Head of State and Prime Minister traveling together ( and too often ) in the same plane unmindful of their safety and security and; members of parliament who cannot debate and score points but, in stead, resort to violence; the defenestration of the principles of collective and executive responsibility; and, above all, a government and parliament which seem to have settled in a foreign capital. The list is too long much to the dismay of those of us who expected things to be better. However, if we Somalis really want to salvage our long–wrecked ship of State we should work together towards the success of the Nairobi process (not ‘dispensation' as the professors call it) irrespective of whether we like or loathe those at the helm. It is my considered view that we should build on the achievements of the Nairobi Conference and not destroy it; for it opens a wide window of opportunity (not a narrow one as the professors put it ) which would enable us solve our problems with the help of the well-meaning international community. As the saying goes, “you can lead a horse to a well, but you cannot force it to drinkâ€. The international community – our immediate neighbors being in the fore front -has led us to the well of peace: let us drink from it. Ismail Ali Ismail geeldoonia@gmail.com Source:Wardheernews.com

The case of six Britons released after more than two years in jail in Saudi Arabia, remains a murky one. It centred on a bombing campaign in which several Westerners died and which the Saudi authorities alleged was the result of a feud between rival gangs dealing in illicit alcohol. But the families and even some of the victims, said that the facts did not add up and that Saudi Arabia had been using the men as scapegoats to explain away terror attacks on foreign nationals. The saga began at 1320 (0920 GMT) on 17 November 2000 when an explosion killed a Briton who was driving his four-wheel drive car through the Saudi capital Riyadh. This case is typical to the charges made against the six Somalis, but as you all can see, their barbaric law wasn't even applied in fairness. As Billan said that you can't compare the two people and nations, she is circumstantially right in her conviction of the cruel punishment against Somalis. Do we have to blame ourselves? Perhaps, the misery and plight of Somalis circulate in every Newspaper daily, therefore, the proportionality of these men's alleged crime with what has been happening in our country renders us vulnerable to their tyrants---Saudi Arabia

Mucalimuu, be carefull brother. We don't want your name taken out of here. Control your emotions. This girl is probably less experienced of how somalis react against injustice or the aggressive nature of Somalis. Identity crisis is her problem and may allah illume her with sense of identity.

Sakina, i agree with your points. The way the judge/jurors adjucated their case is beyond disbelief. It only enforces how this country conduct their arbitrary killings, which amounts to the tyrannous disregard of human rights on the people. Sharia, which is the fundamental principle of Islamic law along with the Fiqh (Jurisprudence} was extremely violated to the detriment of getting rid off these defendents.

The question we should all be asking is that whether the execution of these men is justified in Islamic (Sharia) law? according to the crimes they have committed. Originally posted by OG_Girl: Bad law better than lawless! Somalia and Somalis have no respect for the Law and they want to mess every where they go!! I Salam Please spare us your wrath that these men were too destructive in their own country to deserve such a barbaric killing.

Jamal-11, why don't you participate the politics discussion more. Your ideas are powerful

These men were beheaded in public for an allegations of abduction and robbery. Why have they killed these people in such a barbaric execution. The alleged crimes they have committed should have been, given the fact the Islamic court reasonably believes that there is sufficient evidence, amputation of the right hand. ----------------------------------------- Saudi Arabia executes six Somalis for abductions Mon April 4, 2005 12:28 PM GMT+02:00 RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia executed on Monday a gang of six Somali men convicted of abducting and robbing taxi drivers in the Red Sea port of Jeddah. The six men had lured taxi drivers to a remote spot where they hit them and threatened them with knives before robbing them and taking their cars, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The punishment appeared severe even by the strict code of Islamic sharia law practiced in conservative Saudi Arabia, which calls for the amputation of the right hand for theft. Execution is usually reserved for murderers, drug traffickers and rapists. The ministry statement said the men were put to death for "sowing corruption in the land and damaging security". Jeddah residents say growing numbers of illegal African immigrants, who are either smuggled across the Red Sea or overstay after coming for the Muslim Haj pilgrimage, have triggered a sharp increase in crime in the city. Monday's executions, which are usually carried out in public by beheading, brought to at least 36 the number of people executed in Saudi Arabia so far this year -- already one more than the number of recorded executions last year.

Man shallah , this is great. If only the Hargeisa Admin would stop its outright aggression . http://radiolascaanod.com/fullreport.php?sscid=274 Before Las Anod

Somalia: the Need for Conscentious UN Intervention Ghanian Chronicle (Accra) OPINION March 31, 2005 Posted to the web March 31, 2005 Oliver Kinsey Smith The phrase 'foreign intervention' provokes many, different reactions in this day and age. In the wake of the war in Iraq and also Afghanistan, it is often seen as being synonymous with neo-conservatism or more strongly still, imperialism. I myself am a staunch critic of President Bush; not so much of his uncompromising foreign policy with regards to recent wars, but of his wholly inexcusable double standards in failing to apply these policies across the world, notably in Africa. The entire premise of the Iraq war was to rob Saddam Hussein of his ability to wage war with weapons of mass destruction, however as it became apparent that such weapons did not exist, 'Freedom' and 'Democracy' evolved from secondary objectives to convenient excuses. Shocking though Saddam's human rights abuses and unprovoked acts of aggression were, it would be false to say they are unparalleled across the world. Take Robert Mugabe; a man not dissimilar from Saddam in ruling through tyranny, thriving in a climate of fear and repression and shouldering the blame for the deaths of thousands of his fellow countrymen. With the constant intimidation of the opposition party, the blatant rigging of elections, the shameless incitement of racial hatred and the intermittent famines that blight the nation as a result of his misguided policies, Mugabe is frequently cited as a despot by the international community and rightly so. TRADE SANCTIONS Yet negotiations achieve little against such an uncompromising tyrant, and the obvious peaceful solution - the implementation of trade sanctions - exacerbates the situation for ordinary Zimbabweans who have already borne the brunt of a diminishing economy, with as many as 70% of the population unemployed in some regions. Zimbabwe looks set to slip deeper into the quagmire of economic misfortune; a country that once fed Southern Africa with its food surplus has degenerated into a ruthless land of misery and fear, thanks to the Zanu PF party. The world looks on aghast as an estimated 750, 000 are in imminent danger of starvation. The only option left to the world is to employ 'forcible' means - yet would the ends justify these means? The use of force to depose leaders has had varying results in recent times; the Iraq war has had mixed success in ridding the world of an evil dictator, yet claiming the lives of so many in the ensuing chaos of the political transition. The war in Kosovo, on the other hand, was lauded as being effective and justifiable. Going further back in time, the Vietnam War was another, deeper scar on America's conscience. Yet on the one continent continuously ravaged by civil wars and unrest, the UN and particularly America are reluctant to commit themselves. Zimbabwe is an obvious example of this; however let us consider the incident in Somalia in the early nineteen-nineties. In 1992, the UN sought to address the unrest in Somalia, following the deposition of President Siad Barre in 1991. A group of warlords ousted the president, yet the country slipped into civil war, based largely on tribal lines as the new 'leaders' of Somalia fell out over power sharing. Famine ensued, with as many as a million people dying as a consequence. The UN moved peacekeepers and aid workers into the south of the country, seeking to feed some of the more acutely affected members of the population before engaging in the ambitious plan of 'nation building' as the then US Secretary of State, Madeline Albright termed it. Yet before anything could be done, the security situation needed stabilising. The warlords were making the situation difficult; impeding the flow of aid parcels, whilst charging aid organisations extortionate rent for the use of land. One in particular, Mohammed Farrah Aidid, represented a massive hindrance to 'nation building', acting aggressively towards peacekeepers and being linked to the murder of Pakistani blue berets in July 1993. On the 3rd of October, 1992, 140 US Delta force and Rangers soldiers moved to arrest him and a number of his aides, ambushing them in the Bakara Market in Central Mogadishu. United by a common enemy, the various Somali factions turned on the Americans and in the ensuing chaos, the American military lost two Black Hawk Helicopters and 18 troops. Incensed by the picture of a dead American solider being paraded around the streets of Mogadishu, the mission came to be regarded as a catastrophic failure, with Clinton pulling the task force out of the country a few weeks later. Yet what about Somalia? One year later, the last of the UN famine relief left, with the focus of the international community shifting to problems in Yugoslavia, even though tens to hundreds of thousands of Somalis still faced severe malnutrition and starvation. Indeed, after last year's drought and unrest in the southern regions, one could assert that the country is in a worse situation than it was 10 years ago. SOMALIA Somalia remains to this day an anarchic state; with no official government, the most rudimentary of transport network and no public hospitals. Somaliland and Puntland separatists govern the north, whilst the south is arranged in a series of fiefdoms. There are an estimated 60 000 people working in militias in Somalia who earn their living, intimidating passers by into giving them money, whilst the government in exile in Kenya commands much less power than a rogue brandishing AK47 on the streets of Mogadishu. Efforts to move the government to Mogadishu have proven nearly impossible, whilst calls by interim president Abdulahi Yusuf for 20 000 UN peacekeepers to guard the government were met with extreme disapproval by his largely warlord-consisting cabinet last month. So why has nothing been done? The obvious answer is fear; fear that more Western and UN soldiers would be lost to an 'irrelevant cause' in a far off country. Indeed, the capture of two of Mohammed Farrah Aidid's aides was met with some satisfaction by many Somalis, yet the US withdrawal compounded a feeling that no-one was willing to see 'nation building' through at the cost of American lives. The United States, as the last great superpower, has an obligation to police the world, yet it must do this conscientiously, respectfully and consistently, with United Nations support, if it is to succeed. INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY Thus the issue is not so much if the international community should intervene, but how. A trigger happy 'shoot-first-ask-questions later' policy prevalent in the US military is not the way to foster local support, nor is the cultural ignorance shown in Iraq; for example, the depiction of Saddam Hussein in a bikini, the abuse of Iraqi prisoners and the failed alteration of the Iraqi flag. The United Nations needs to actively engage itself in the rebuilding of Somalia - not simply by throwing money at the government to be squandered, but by respecting Somali culture, keeping peacekeepers on the ground, not being afraid to marginalise the warlords and allowing neighbouring countries such as Ethiopia to assist in the development of a peaceful country. Somalia cannot be left to degenerate into the abyss of anarchy and poverty, so the UN must ensure that the fourteenth national government is to be an enduring and just one.

Og-Girl, as much as i like your views and works in somalionline, u sometimes engage in certain fields of isolation. U know if i use the term you want, it is objectionable term in our golden rules, and it has been censored from explicit usage. >>>>>>>. A little Background of our occupied region: Ogadden, region, in the Somali region, SE Ethiopia, bordering on Somalia. It is an arid region, inhabited mainly by Somali pastoral nomads. The region was conquered by Menelik II of Ethiopia in 1891. A clash (Dec. 5, 1934) between Italian and Ethiopian troops at the watering hole of Welwel in the ****** was used as a pretext by Italy to begin a war (1935–36) against Ethiopia. Since 1960, Somali nationalists have demanded the union of the ****** with Somalia, and there have been violent clashes over the precise boundaries of the ******. In the late 1970s, the Soviet Union, Cuba, South Yemen, and Libya all backed Ethiopian interests in the region, and Somalia withdrew its troops. However, fighting continued intermittently until 1988, when Somalia and Ethiopia signed a nonaggression pact. The war and devastating drought conditions have resulted in millions of refugees and acute resettlement problems.

Jamal-11, thanks brother. Prof.Said Samatar is a prolific and admirable author. His loftiness of endeavor in writing our root problems should be commended despite his shortcoming when it comes to touching contraversial religious tenets that are held in great respect, and the talk of which may cost him subservient position of respect. I therefore, follow the innate p oint of his views. It is amazing how his articles convey clairvoyant events. However, i agree that his boldness in conveying his views, regardless of their veracity, sound snobbish and at times self-ingratiating. I , therefore, put him one of highest concerned somalis we have in the diaspora. When people reach at his level, they grow out of the clannish mind and start thinking of the salvation of our people from the shackless of culture and backward tradition that ruined their societal advancement.