"“We did not feel safe until the aeroplane door was locked,” said Hor, who flew to Dubai from Berbera, three hours away by road." ---------- Somaliland: Dream job turns into a nightmare By SHAUN HOnewsdesk@thestar.com.my Sunday, March 14, 2010 PETALING JAYA: The lure of a high-paying job took telecommunications consultant Hor Chee Fei to Somalia, one of the world’s most dangerous places. But three months on, he had to run for his life, empty-handed and glad just to get out. He was forced to flee the lawless land and was chased right up to the runway of the airport by his employer’s henchmen. Hor and five other Malaysians managed to avoid detection by blending in with a crowd of Chinese tourists. Hor, 49, had been asked to help set up a mobile telephone network in the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, a breakaway region in the northwest of Somalia. “It was a big contract and the money was good,” said Hor, who has experience working in several African countries. The consultant said he was engaged by the telco’s owner on a one-year contract. He added that the owner, who is very rich, arranged for the company’s CEO to take him to inspect the facilities in Hargeisa, Somaliland’s capital city, to prove that it was a legitimate business. Convinced, Hor recruited five others and they flew there in December and immediately got to work. “They have excellent machinery but the local workers were incompetent,” Hor said during an interview. He said his team managed to get things running although progress was very slow. However, when a new CEO took over in January, their pay was withheld as the company claimed they had not performed, despite working over 12 hours a day and taking up tasks that were not part of their job scope. “We sensed something was not right and knew we had to leave as we were being bullied there,” Hor said. He said they felt threatened because it was a lawless place and they were in no position to demand their dues. Besides, their employers also implied that they could make it difficult for them if they did not continue their work. The Malaysians hatched an escape plan with the help of some local contacts when everyone was busy celebrating during the network’s launch last Saturday. “We did not feel safe until the aeroplane door was locked,” said Hor, who flew to Dubai from Berbera, three hours away by road. “Men came looking for us at the airport departure lounge and even on the runway,” said Hor, who arrived home together with the other Malaysians on Tuesday morning. He is currently consulting with his lawyers to get the workers their six-figure salary, which was to be paid in US dollars. He warned small companies to be careful when dealing with powerful “businessmen” from that part of the world. Johnson Lukose, 47, from Kuala Lumpur, described the trip as an unnecessary risk, adding that he would never return there. “I am bitter about the incident and at Hor for putting us in that situation. But I’m also grateful to him for getting us out of there,” said Lukose, who was hired as a power systems consultant. Source: The Star Online

^I hope things will improve, brother. Insha'allah.

Lol. We shall wait and see.

Lol. We shall wait and see.

Listen to how Yusuf Garad (BBC) articulates to defend the status quo of corruption and the diversion of food aid by the subcontractors. He suggests three options for a solution , two of which are currenly beyond the realm of possibility: An effective national government, the presence of international force that could escort the delivery of food to the needy or allowing the Somali subcontractors to continue their business as usual because as he avers that it is "easy to make allegations" for two main reasons: 1. The subcontractors work in a hostile environment controlled by armed groups and they should bribe influential figures of the islamists and every check point. 2. Lack of national institutions such police and court to verify whether the subcontractors steal the food aid to enrich themselves and the corrupt UN staff who facilitate the deal. Listen to GlobalNews Podcast Gerad of BBC and Gettlemen of the New York Times are both interviewed.

^don't celebrate too early for the possible restoration of integrity and legitimacy into the system. PIS is still in the hands of a dynasty as eloquently argued by Abdulkadir Salah. The man now decreed to replace its head is of the same sub-clan.

Originally posted by Che -Guevara: A parliament of warlords and opportunists have managed to do one thing right-it is their rejection of MoU that led to this decision. Kudos to Somalitalk for keeping the story in the limelight! Indeed. What about Watangula's one time proposal to tax all the goods destined to Somalia from Nairobi and Mombasa (including PL and SL) and channel the revenue to the TFG as a goodwill gesture to that deal. Has it been implemented yet?

Originally posted by Che -Guevara: A parliament of warlords and opportunists have managed to do one thing right-it is their rejection of MoU that led to this decision. Kudos to Somalitalk for keeping the story in the limelight! Indeed. What about Watangula's one time proposal to tax all the goods destined to Somalia from Nairobi and Mombasa (including PL and SL) and channel the revenue to the TFG as a goodwill gesture to that deal. Has it been implemented yet?

Originally posted by Oz: ^^We live in the world where the hypocrites, the greedy, dishonest are praised for their horrible deeds. it should not be a surprise. A grim reality we must deal with it.

^after his term ends, he'll probably stash away most of that money or at least buy out a big stake on clan proxies and their endless hunt to strike the "gold" of international aid as an upendage to other war businesses and prolong the mayhem and misery in the process. Saxib, if the U.S weapons supplied to the TFG prove anything or the WFP's channel of distribution, they mostly ended up in the hands of the Shababs themselves and other clan factions. Let the begging bowl pass to the next Shariif.

In an era where Somalis have become obsessed with tribalism and land grab for their burgeoning clans, this new event may signal of what is to come in the near future if the current state of affairs of Somalia and Somali-land remain unchanged. If Somali-land, to which Zeila belongs geographically, remains unrecognized and Somalia proper continues to falter, will Djibouti government stake a claim on Zeila and its immediate environs on the basis that its Ugas was once crowned there? This may sound ludicrous to some, but it is not a remote prospect and partly it is why the organizers of this crowning ceremony have chosen Zeila. Lol Playing reverse psychology. The author seems to be attaching relevance and legitimacy to the so called colonial border of British Somaliland that never transpired into state, in the first place. ( "Somaliland" and Somalia are not mutually exclusive.)

Check this post. http://www.somaliaonline.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/9/14934 Mintid, you have an ax to grind here as it is evident with your obsession of Puntland. Faroole is a personality but Puntland stands for a governing system alternative to the anarchy that has plagued the south. Both TFG and Puntland as well as Somaliland should outlast the personnel within them, from transitional perspective, of course, into a permenant government of national union.

Devolution of power to the vast 18 regions of Somalia is indeed the solution. PL just like SL is a bottom-up model of governance. I believe if a cluster of these regions form a state under a federal admin, we shouldn't oppose as the days of Mogadishu being the center and arbiter of every social need/service are gone.

Originally posted by General Duke: [QB] Abwan as usual made no sense. Though the only clear thing we can take from his waffle is the hate for Puntland and it's people. So Faroole is a warlord, Cade is a warlord, Yusuf is a warlord and the people & government of Puntland numbering 1/3 of Somalia in size & population is a beel , equal to Baraxley? That'd the logic of Abwan. The brother can hide his feelings, he gets angry in every Puntland post. The green eye wot do anything to us lad, the people of Puntland have worked hard to build a life for their children and We will continue to take care of our interest regardless of what the likes of you say. The Al shabaab character here is just another person driven by clan , masking it under clan garb. PL is one of the success stories of Somalia.(Go State Department site: Country), a proven model of governance for Somalia. Does it matter the position of naysayers whose only perspective is largely shaped by constant suspicion, distrust and ill-will for their own brethens.

AfricaOwn, Sool and Sanaag regions are in ethnic and political wise affiliated with the state of Puntland. Have you for a moment thought of the people of Sanaag also own and live in western Bari--that their territory spans from Erigavo to Bosaaso to Nogal and Sool? Or you are still convinced with that repeated utterance of yours that they are part of "Somaliland" and hence have nothing in common with Somalis from the south or as termed by "Koonfurians"?

I don't think the British PM will meet officially with a transitional president of a country in anarchy unless it is done to boost his position of power vs that of al-Shabaab group? Perhaps his Foreign Minister.

I've never smoked nor tried that ubiquitous grass.

It does often ends in disaster only when you seek the advice of others (who might not appreciate your marital well-being), which the act by itself triggers a drain of confidence in yourself and that of your (potential) husband or wife. There are a lot of benefits your soulmate brings to the table (kids, happiness, and love) and you must be able to recognize, reciprocate, compromise and keep it from harm. I think women are mostly emotional and vulnerable to outside intervention (status pressure) and thus strip, so it is better that men usually exercise extra caution and discount attempts to strip them of their domain of responsibility. (eg. In American civil law, abduction is the act of taking away one's wife or child by means of fraud, persuasiion or violence, but the wife could not maintain such action. 54 P.847) Which can be deduced from the precedence how critical is it a recognition of such prescriped role expectation between a man and his wife is for matrimonial harmony.

Originally posted by peasant: well acted piece.. lol I like the part he is robbing the other women to pay off the meal.. Funniest

Dalmar, is it not ironic that you employ western Somalia yet feel comfortable with the "SSC", which in fact does more harm than good as you lump these regions with the sole issue of Las Anod and by extension SOOL. The majority of Sanag region do not view their territories under occupation by the secessionists. That is one thing you have to factor in and consider as of any other concerned brother. As we are all in this struggle to restore the dignity and unity of our republic, what is amiss with practicality and breaking things into their own accuracy and relevance??

Interesting.. A Transcript from NPR's Talk of the Nation And now we want to move on to a discussion about poverty. For the first time in nearly half a century, the federal government is planning to redefine what it means to be poor in America. Its actually an experiment, but its the first step in rethinking the official definition of poverty since the original measurement was put in place by the Social Security Administration in the mid-1960s. Mr. ALGERNON AUSTIN (Director of Race, Ethnicity and Economy Program, Economic Policy Institute): Its a pleasure to talk with you. MARTIN: Whats wrong with the current definition of poverty as its defined by the government? Why do people want to change it? Mr. AUSTIN: Well, the definition of poverty was basically based on, solely on the cost of food. And it was assumed that poverty would be three times the sort of minimum cost of food for a family. MARTIN: Cost of food? Mr. AUSTIN: Yes. Yes, its based on a food basket. However, the cost, over the years, the cost of food has not risen as quickly as the cost of housing and medical care. So, for example, in 1960, the poverty rate - the poverty line for a family of four was about half of the national median family income. Today, its about less than a third, so it certainly has been declining relative to family incomes over time. MARTIN: So what will the new measure show? I ought to mention that initially the government is going to keep the traditional measure in place, but theyre going to, I guess, do sort of a test in various places to see what you come up with if you use these new instruments. And... Mr. AUSTIN: Right. And the new measure makes, I think, makes sense to most people. It includes food. But in addition to food, it factors in the cost of clothing, the cost of shelter, the cost of utilities. The exact details Im not sure that theyve finalized yet, but it will probably include some cost of medical expenses and may have adjustment for, geographic adjustments because some places the cost of living is much higher than others. So, it may include all of those factors in trying to determine what does a family whats the minimum that a family need? MARTIN: And the cost of, well, of course the cost of housing varies wildly... Mr. AUSTIN: Yes. MARTIN: Why is this new measure so important? Why has there been so much -whats the word Im looking for - sort of energy around changing this measurement over the years? Mr. AUSTIN: I think, everyone recognizes that our measure is out of date. So, its really important and its an important advance that we update our measure. As I said, food is not the only sort of serious expenditure. As you mentioned, the cost of housing varies dramatically, medical cost varies dramatically, utilities also. So, all of these things are daily expenses for families, so all of these things need to be considered. MARTIN: But this isnt solely an academic exercise, I mean, this measurement is used for specific reasons. So, why do advocates and people in the government care so deeply about this? And do you expect and I think, frankly, I think a lot of people wanted to expect that the measurement of those who are officially considered poor, do you expect that number to rise just because of the measurement change, not because of the recession, but because of the way were measuring poverty? Mr. AUSTIN: Yes, yes. And we can see the alternatives that the Census Bureau is considering is based on recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences. And for about a decade now, the Census Bureau has actually been publishing these alternative measures. And there are many different alternatives, so its not clear which one they will use or how they might modify it. But with these measures, you do see shifting of poverty. You know, so generally older, you see increases in the poverty rates for older Americans, some declines for younger, some shifting of poverty towards higher places that have higher cost of living, like the Northeast and the West. And even depending on, you know, which measure you look at, you can actually even see some declines in the poverty rates for people living in the South and even some slight declines for African-Americans. And thats probably due in part because still about half of African-Americans live in the South...... Source: NPR

Che, that is very possible. I'm confused by the ethnic ties of the Tigray people in Ethiopia and those in Eritrea, who make up at least 50% of the latter. Will their blood ties translate into a closer political relationship in that scenerio, once the Tigray region declares Independence? Perhaps Abtigiis & Tolka can englighten us on this.

Ibtisam, I am asking whether the pirates can be selectively applied to one region or the clan that hails from that region in a rather systematic use? On the other hand, how can we succumb to the international media's version of Somali piracy on the high seas. Where is "the other pirates" and their criminal activities on our shores that siphon nearly $.5M off our marine resources or the cost of the after effects of their pollution?

^I agree one shouldn't bend to the common guilt by association gaffe.

"Wetang’ula still lives in the old Kanu days, which he misses and cherishes so much when ministers used to summon MPs and the Speaker at will. Parliament is independent at least for now and he should let go his dreams of the Kanu days," he added Rageedii. . He is right, Watangula has not feet to stand on, but his visit to the secessionist enclave will sure cause him to lose a large segment of his constituents in Kenya. He seems to be the opposite of Adan Lord's legacy of keeping some balancing ties between the proper native land (Kenya) and that of the Republic