Well, then LOZ, you're following the trend yourself! How do you suggest we move this baby along? My thoughts.. 1..can we stray away from Sheherazade? I'll develop delusions of grandeur and such. I feel a Somali name would be appropriate, to give it some flavour. Sheeko Somali. I don't know, something like that...the Somali writers could help us out. Oh, I don't think we should limit ourslelves to English either. 2. I think we should have a Reading Group, not necessarily a Book Group. That way we're not limiting ourselves to just books; articles, papers and even our own work can appear. There are plenty of story-tellers here and the reception is always positive. Anything that is reading pleasure really. 3. Can we have a separate forum for this? It's not that preposterous an idea; after all we have a Jokes section(Politics), a Sports section(Jokes) and a Men's section(Women). Admin, whaddayasay? 4. This has been going through my head for a while. I do have more ideas but I won't get ahead of myself. First we must walk...count me in on keeping this going. 5. Admin, whaddayasay?

Originally posted by QUANTUM LEAP: Self conscious of what you are lucking in terms of being charitable and trying to make yourself feel good by helping a helpless old man. So you adapt this old man who happens to be frail and doesn’t seem to be like someone who has ulterior motives. The perfect charity case. I wouldn't call him a charity case. Yes, I have been making more of an effort because I suddenly realised I had time on my hands that I could use more appropriately. It doesn't mean I wasn't charitable before. Quite the contrary, I am known as a giving person. I didn't help to make myself feel good; it was about what I could do for him because I could . ........... Except(did you hear it coming?) when I got very sick just after Eid and could only think of me, myself and I- when there weren't fever-induced thoughts overwhelming me. Could that be a wake up call for you to re-evaluate your whole lifestyle and do some good…. Perhaps you misunderstood me. I was very sick for 3 days- to the point where people were helping me stand up, sit up and eat. 3 days when I am incapable of moving let alone helping myself, let alone helping another being hardly requires a lifestyle re-think!! ...... As soon as I could walk in a straight line again, I dropped by a 70 year old neighbour of mine. This is someone whom I have been looking out for (although he'd kill me if I was obvious with it as he's a proud man) and helping. He too has been helpful to me. In fact, he was organising a day trip for a big group of women and himself when I got sick. The trip hadn't been finalised when I got ill; I remained house-bound for 3 days. Meanwhile, the trip had gone ahead and he was wondering why I hadn't let him know if I had suddenly decided not to go. I explained that I was very sick and apologised but he gave me a clear indication that I was obliged to him in some way. I was surprised and decided to reduce the time and the help that I offered him. Something unhealthy was in the air. Would you be happy if someone you cared for didn’t even call you for help when you always giving a helping hand to them all the time. I know I would feel a bit awkward knowing a great buddy of mine was almost dying and couldn’t even ask for help. Nope, I wouldn't be happy. I'd would have told him but I do NOT have a telephone and he KNOWS that! He also heard from one of the neighbours that I was very sick and yet I didn't see him sending me a get well message through her or him dropping by to see how I was. On the other hand, he sends notes through other people when it's something he needs! He is mobile and sharp but chose not to make that small effort. Yet I'm sure he cares. .......... Yesterday I drop in again to say hello and I get a less than warm reception. For the next five minutes I listen to him complain and contradict himself and work himself into an agitated state. Where have you been? I'm angry with you. I knew you were sick but not that sick. Perhaps he is more caring than you think he does …after all you do look after him and so maybe he thought he would do the same for you had you told him. A feeling of being guilty may have overwhelmed him and turned him sour. Like I said, I was too sick to think of the possiblity of passing a note to him through the neighbours. I'm afraid the thought didn't occur to me as I wasn't myself but I went to apologise as soon as I was up and about. As for the days after that, I chose not to go see him and it bugged him. I don't believe it's guilt kicking in. It's possessiveness. He was wondering where I was and I wasn't alleviating his strain. Bad girl. Slap on wrist. ........... X(another old man) mentioned that he saw you and I was surprised. I wondered if he goes to your house, not that it's any of my business but still I asked him and he said no, he'd seen you in the street a couple of times. And Y asked about you and I said I don't know where that woman is or what her story is. I was thinking why doesn't this woman have a phone, she could have called me and told me she wasn't going on the trip, you're obliged to me you know. Truly the green eyed monster rare its head….he is assuming that you need his permission for your other pursuits and probably sees himself as the father figure if not a contender for your unflinching help seen in his eyes as love. I agree. I already have a father and I don't need a bumbling jealous Romeo in my life. So he's just going to have to recognise.. .... I wanted to send an email(with my help) and I waited and I waited for you and in the end I said to hell with her….. You could be reading him wrong and may just create a scenario of beeps as you said. The good Samaritan in this case could become the hated neighbour. How was I to know that he needed help sending an email? He waited for me when there are others he could have called upon. I KNOW he'll lose his temper. There isn't a single person that I know he knows that he hasn't howled at and humiliated. That's why he always wonders out loud why we haven't had a row yet. I hate rows and avoid them if I can- that's why we muddle on. I'm under no illusions as to his ability to lose it. ... Ya Ilaahi. To hell with her aa? To hell with her? I let him talk and talk so I can get a better idea of what's bugging him and all I can come up with is: the man obviously mistakes me for his Genie in the Lamp, his Meals on Wheels, his Santa's Elf, his mother, his his.. Well I’m afraid he is comfortable and knows that he can rely on you. You have selflessly helped him without asking for anything in return so basically you are the genie in his eyes and as Somalis tend to do (unappreciative), he takes you for granted and wont know better. Yup. True. Except he's not Somali, so what's his excuse? .......... He always tells me he has a very bad temper and in his agitated state and mine I know that an explosive argument is about to erupt. So I don't comment but take it all in. It seems a person can't make kind gestures without them turning into bloody obligations followed by expectations and then demands! All the beauty got sucked out of it. I leave and tell a woman I know. 'May be he wants you', she says, 'and he can't handle that you're not around him as much'. He sure knows how to keep you on your toes…Temper Sure. I hate explosive arguments. He could have picked up on that. .... Stop everything. Can't a gal give to a guy without it turning into a boy-girl situation? I don't know what is going through this old man's mind regarding me but in mine there is only the desire to help a sick, lonely, old man. Was I naive? Do men always see kind gestures as possible pairings-up? Is it that men don't give to one another as often as women do and when a woman gives to a man and she's not a mother or a sister, she can only be a potential significant other? Is that it? Do men accept gestures from women without expecting more? No you were not naïve to help and yes you were naïve to think a 70 year old frail man wouldn’t want or desire a very caring lady like you not that…that’s what you had in mind but you got to give yourself credit for being his creature of comfort and of cause making his life much more brighter. You may just be his object of desire though in his case I’m not so sure he could do anything about it. OK, so all men are sex-driven creatures and I'll treat them as such from now on? .... I hate stereotyping and talking in 'All men are..' sentences but twice in the last couple of months I've been faced with this dilemma. One guy shocked me so much I practically ran for it; and I'm still running. Not all guys have ulterior motives but then again once you get to know a person you sometimes get to like them more than you thought you would and that in itself is not a bad thing. However why cant a lady like you stand your ground instead of running. Try talking to them and making it clear that you are not interested and if they tried it on once again they would lose you as a friend. Simply because I don't want to have an argument with the chap. ... As for this old guy, I don't want to think he sees me as anything other than a daughter and the thought of him seeing me as more makes me quite sick to the stomach. Well the best you can do is tell him that you are only helping out and that he is not your responsibility nor you being his responsibility other than being neighbourly and helping out someone who could be your father/grandfather. OK, will do. .... All I know for sure is that he has annoyed me quite considerably and I want him to know that I am not his little errand girl or his posession. You are right it is quite annoying but perhaps she thinks of you as someone who cares and just maybe he is trying to play a guardian role. Right vibes but wrong assumptions….Surely at 70, he is not thinking of you as…………. But above you said, '..you were naïve to think a 70 year old frail man wouldn’t want or desire a very caring lady like you'. It has to be one or the other. .... However, I don't want to have an explosive argument with a proud old man who will tell me to beep off in no uncertain terms. I don't want anybody to have the satisfaction of telling me to beep off, least of all an old man whom I'll find difficult to disrespect. Perhaps I will send him a note with my thoughts. He has transgressed and needs to know. You may not only hurt his feelings but you would feel guilty too somehow…so better to avoid him if that’s what you feel is the right thing to do. I'm not that much of a wus to disappear without saying why. It would be rude and unfair. .... So tell me guys, do I save my gestures for the women in the community and blank the men entirely? Is it possible for a gal to give to a guy and not have to worry how he will take it? Confused. I would do the same but I would also put myself in his shoes just to try to work out what he is thinking about. Ofcouse you would know what his motives are by now. Tough call! I am trying to see it from his side. What are the chances he's trying to put himself in my shoes? If you can't excuse someone for not getting in touch because they were sick, what kind of empathy must you have? Thank you very much. I do appreciate the feedback.

LOL Classique. If they've heard of us it will most likely be in a negative context anyway. A lot of people don't know their Somalia from their Mali from their Timbuktu from their Africa. There are British people who holiday on some of the European islands on package trips and don't even know if it's Cyprus, Spain or Gibraltar they're tanning their flesh on. A lot of people just don't care what's out there; some are plain ignorant and some don't have access to information(like you said). I draw a map of Africa and blow our horn(Somalia this, Somali that). They won't forget after my little lesson in geography.

I'm with you on this one, Sue. Any forwarded emails that have a Dilbert comic attached make my work day.

Gulp.

Forget Darcy, P&P is what's delectable! Swoon. I don't have a copy handy, what agony; the desire to re-read it is acute. I will have to sue all of you SOL Geeks. Has it really been almost a decade since that TV adaptation? Groan. Less surely. Here's a snippet: Elizabeth Bennet had been obliged, by the scarcity of gentlemen, to sit down for two dances; and during part of that time, Mr. Darcy had been standing near enough for her to overhear a conversation between him and Mr. Bingley, who came from the dance for a few minutes to press his friend to join it. ‘Come, Darcy,’ said he, ‘I must have you dance. I hate to see you standing about by yourself in this ****** manner. You had much better dance.’ ‘I certainly shall not. You know how I detest it, unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner. At such an assembly as this, it would be insupportable. Your sisters are engaged, and there is not another woman in the room whom it would not be a punishment to me to stand up with.’ ‘I would not be so fastidious as you are,’ cried Bingley, ‘for a kingdom! Upon my honour, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this evening; and there are several of them, you see, uncommonly pretty.’ ‘You are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room,’ # said Mr. Darcy, looking at the eldest Miss Bennet. ‘Oh, she is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld! But there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty, and I daresay very agreeable. Do let me ask my partner to introduce you.’ ‘Which do you mean?’ and turning round, he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, till, catching her eye, he withdrew his own, and coldly said, ‘She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me.’ Mr. Bingley followed his advice. Mr. Darcy walked off; and Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings towards him. She told the story, however, with great spirit among her friends; for she had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous. I love Elizabeth

Originally posted by Muad: It is a great story and great book, the Author does a great job by exhorting the virtue of literacy in this book, hence the title - when Cawralla writes a letter to Cali, who was illiterate, revealing her love for him, he goes to her father and brothers so they can read the letter for him. Thats when he realizes the importance of literacy and pledges to teach himself how to read and write inorder to respond to Cawralla's letter. Now that's romance. sigh

Thank you all for your responses. Bee, no I don't work for Help the Aged. I once hung out with old, sick people and the women always had beautiful stories to tell of being a new mother in Borneo in the 1950s, India before partition, teaching in Turkey, moving from Sicilly in the 60s, Cyprus before separation...on and on and I absorbed it all quite nicely, story-lover that I am. The men merely grunted when I said hello. And that was fine by me, the storytellers were the women and off I went to seek them. Ngonge, the old lost-boy routine doesn't work with me, however old or young they are. Men never ask for directions(generalisation) and when they do, I know not to hang about and be their A-Z. A very quick, 'That way' and I'm off. Rudy, I messed up the old man's head? How did you work that one out? Did you see me flutter my eyelashes, wiggle my hips and pout seductively? You were watching the whole time. How kinky. Caveman, a man is a man is a man is a man is a man, huh? Gotchya. FF, if this continues it will not be a problem because he will not see me for the dust. GT, I love SOL sometimes- especially when you can have a decent discussion. What are your thoughts on this? DA, it's not General anymore but Admin knows best. Totti, it has played on my mind so I'll have to sort it out. Giving to random men has never been part of my reality and now that it has been in a small way, it's becoming uncomfortable. No matter how I see another indivudual, I will never have control or knowledge of what they're thinking. I'll be giving you blokes a wide berth. Ha igu ag kufina, I won't be helping. You might get all dreamy-eyed and posessive. Find some totty to get potty about. I have women's stories to collect...

They were? Well, two extremes, huh? How come I only here of the Qays type of infatuation happening more than the solid, true Cantar type of love? Is is that people prefer talking about the negative more? Shame.

Thank you for taking the time to respond, Ngonge. I help this person because I want to and he voices his appreciation; him showing gratitude is not the issue. What I don't like is to be made to feel like his (rude word goes here). I have been over-indulgent with my gestures to him and have decided to cut back if that's how he'll react. I don't do for him what he can do for himself- I'm not his mother. I help with what he can't do. I don't know about his motives either. I don't suspect lust(shuddering at thought) but absolutely can not tolerate how he now expects me to be at his beck and call. I have been a willing participant in the give and take but am now going to extricate myself from it. I don't regret all the time or the help I gave but things are going to change. I'll stick with helping the ladies until I have no time on my hands like the good old days. Almost nostalgic for 12 hour work days and office politics. Would you be as close to a twenty-year-old boy? No, I would not. The younger they are, the more annoying I find them. I don't give my time to men but found this old man comfortable to be around and 'safe' if you know what I mean. Maybe there is no 'safe' when it comes to men. That's what you're saying, right? Delete all men except father and brothers and uncles. Not hard to do. Not that many to delete anyway. I've been trying not to generalise men and it seems I have to. And when I do generailse, I'm sure I'll be criticised for it. No winning with this one. Muddle on, somehow. Don't think I can handle any more babysitting, mate. The men have been a damn handful as it is.. Muad, I don't think men are ever satisfied. There you go. Generalising and staying 'safe'.

Thanks OG_Girl, GT, Ameenah. One thing I don't need more of is sleep. I'll turn into Sleeping Beauty if I sleep any more. And I don't want some Prince getting some funny idea, u know? GT, maraq ha igu so qaad qaadin, my neighbour fed me so much when I was sick that I thought the maraq would finish me off if the flu didn't. Well on the road to recovery, alhamdullilah. Taking multi-vitamins every night..why do they smell like that? :eek:

Originally posted by NGONGE: Shehrazad, I’m sure someone somewhere wrote a few sweet verses about the great storyteller! A few bittersweet verses about how I got away. Thanks for the story. No wonder my mother mentioned him in passing so much, Cantar was quite a guy. Pity he's not real.

For a moment I thought I'd stumbled onto a porn site. now u tell me how u can gonna chill a xalimo from the baadiya unless u is a zoo keeper!! That's disgusting.

I need your thoughts on this- especially the men and please be semi-serious at the very least. Of late, in fact for some months now, I have been giving my time (which I happen to have plenty of currently), my food, my ears, my home, my effort to those around me. It's not that I don’t normally help but I’ve been making an extra-conscious effort to give. And it may be clichéd but I've received far more in return and enjoyed the experience. Except(did you hear it coming?) when I got very sick just after Eid and could only think of me, myself and I- when there weren't fever-induced thoughts overwhelming me. As soon as I could walk in a straight line again, I dropped by a 70 year old neighbour of mine. This is someone whom I have been looking out for (although he'd kill me if I was obvious with it as he's a proud man) and helping. He too has been helpful to me. In fact, he was organising a day trip for a big group of women and himself when I got sick. The trip hadn't been finalised when I got ill; I remained house-bound for 3 days. Meanwhile, the trip had gone ahead and he was wondering why I hadn't let him know if I had suddenly decided not to go. I explained that I was very sick and apologised but he gave me a clear indication that I was obliged to him in some way. I was surprised and decided to reduce the time and the help that I offered him. Something unhealthy was in the air. Yesterday I drop in again to say hello and I get a less than warm reception. For the next five minutes I listen to him complain and contradict himself and work himself into an agitated state. Where have you been? I'm angry with you. I knew you were sick but not that sick. X(another old man) mentioned that he saw you and I was surprised. I wondered if he goes to your house, not that it's any of my business but still I asked him and he said no, he'd seen you in the street a couple of times. And Y asked about you and I said I don't know where that woman is or what her story is. I was thinking why doesn't this woman have a phone, she could have called me and told me she wasn't going on the trip, you're obliged to me you know. I wanted to send an email(with my help) and I waited and I waited for you and in the end I said to hell with her….. Ya Ilaahi. To hell with her aa? To hell with her? I let him talk and talk so I can get a better idea of what's bugging him and all I can come up with is: the man obviously mistakes me for his Genie in the Lamp, his Meals on Wheels, his Santa's Elf, his mother, his his.. He always tells me he has a very bad temper and in his agitated state and mine I know that an explosive argument is about to erupt. So I don't comment but take it all in. It seems a person can't make kind gestures without them turning into bloody obligations followed by expectations and then demands! All the beauty got sucked out of it. I leave and tell a woman I know. 'May be he wants you', she says, 'and he can't handle that you're not around him as much'. Stop everything. Can't a gal give to a guy without it turning into a boy-girl situation? I don't know what is going through this old man's mind regarding me but in mine there is only the desire to help a sick, lonely, old man. Was I naive? Do men always see kind gestures as possible pairings-up? Is it that men don't give to one another as often as women do and when a woman gives to a man and she's not a mother or a sister, she can only be a potential significant other? Is that it? Do men accept gestures from women without expecting more? I hate stereotyping and talking in 'All men are..' sentences but twice in the last couple of months I've been faced with this dilemma. One guy shocked me so much I practically ran for it; and I'm still running. As for this old guy, I don't want to think he sees me as anything other than a daughter and the thought of him seeing me as more makes me quite sick to the stomach. All I know for sure is that he has annoyed me quite considerably and I want him to know that I am not his little errand girl or his posession. However, I don't want to have an explosive argument with a proud old man who will tell me to beep off in no uncertain terms. I don't want anybody to have the satisfaction of telling me to beep off, least of all an old man whom I'll find difficult to disrespect. Perhaps I will send him a note with my thoughts. He has transgressed and needs to know. So tell me guys, do I save my gestures for the women in the community and blank the men entirely? Is it possible for a gal to give to a guy and not have to worry how he will take it? Confused.

It must be love, love, love... I like it, I like it, I like it...

She asked for it and you gave it to her. Very. Romantic. Not. If she's real and that's her name, I hope she finds out and gives it to you. Hard.

OG_Girl, get well soon inshallah. I had a very bad case of flu too recently- probably the worst I ever had. Waan ashahaatey. LOL. I also took more medication than I would ever normally because I was sick of being sick and desperate to get out of the house. I practically had bed sores from all the lying down. I'm still coughing(sounds disgusting) and blowing my nose(more disgusting). The fever and the aches are gone though and for that I'm grateful. Alhamdulilaah. Some guy said to me the other day, 'U better take it easy; u might have a relapse'. And I said, 'I think that was' the relapse. Xanuun ayaan ka dhamaan waayey all through Ramadan and beyond. I hope I sweated out some of my sins in the process. Get healthy. And rock on, babes.

I knew they'd be more closet Geeks out there! I wouldn't mind a few poems being written about me(hint hint), however, obsession in any form is a no-no. The man was in love with love. I'd have stuffed a sock into his mouth. Somebody remind me of Cantar Bin Shadad and his story. I have a vague memory of my mother telling me about him when I was a girl. I'll start you off.. kaan ya makaan fii qadiimi zamaan...

Hargeisa iyo Mogadishu iska dhaaf. He's describing one of the Wembley places. IKEA isn't that far from that cluster of xawaala centres. No excuses. Other than our total disregard for creating a visually appealing place of business. Muad, I'm liking the sound of a Mongolian Yurt. Does IKEA do them?

Not sure how old that article is but have just noticed it's part of a whole section devoted to Somalia on the BBC News site. Somalia: emerging from ruins? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/africa/2004/somalia/default.stm

Somalia's diaspora offers financial lifeline By Joseph Winter BBC News, Mogadishu With up to a quarter of all Somalis now living abroad and many more having fled their homes within the country, a new Somali saying goes: "We are now a nation of immigrants who depend on other immigrants." Some estimates say that some 23% of Somalia's income has been sent there by relatives now living abroad. But in the absence of any central government, or banks, how does the money get there? Visit Wembley, north London or anywhere else around the world which has become home to a sizeable expatriate Somali community and the answer is plain to see. Clan address In just a single Wembley courtyard, there are four Somali-run "Hawala" or money-transfer companies. Two of them double up as internet cafes, so that as soon as you have sent the money to your relative in Somalia, you can send them an email to let them know. Even people living on benefits [social security payments] try to send money back home Adam Ismail Hassan Hawala - written Xawaala in Somali - is a traditional way of transferring money between members of a single community, based on trust. "We know all our customers," says Adam Ismail Hassan, the manager of Red Sea Express. "We only deal with Somalis. Our typical transaction is $200." Although between one and three million Somalis now live abroad, they still know their place within the traditional clan system, so they can easily be identified according to their clan, sub-clan, sub-sub-clan, and so on. "The clan structure is like an address," Mr Adam says. And the extended family system means that those who are left behind in lawless Somalia are not forgotten. "I send money to my aunt one month, my cousin the next month and so on," said one London-based Somali. "Even people living on benefits [social security payments] try to send money back home," Mr Adam says. Personal service After the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States, Somalia's biggest money transfer company, al-Barakat, was closed down because the US accused it of financing terror groups. Although many western countries, such as the UK, tightened the financial laws governing money transfer companies, many small firms, such as Red Sea Express, have leapt at the chance to fill the void left by al-Barakat. Mr Adam says that anyone sending more than $3,000 is required to fill in a form with their address and shown identity papers with a photograph. He displays his certificate of compliance with British money laundering regulations inside his office, which is covered in garish wallpaper, tattered lino on the floor and with old school chairs for the customers to sit down on. Despite the shoddy appearance, Mr Adam says that about 200 Somalis use his firm every day to send money back home. And this is just one of the many Somali Hawala firms in the UK. It is estimated that some $700m-worth of remittances is sent to Somalia each year. It takes just 24 hours to arrive in Mogadishu, thousands of miles away. The charge is just 4-5% - far less than Western Union, for example, which is represented across the world, except, unsurprisingly, in Mogadishu. If the recipient has a phone, the money transfer company will give them a call to say that their money is ready. Dollar payments Security is obviously tight at the offices of a financial business in a country without a government. Everyone going through the door of the Global Money Transfer office in Mogadishu is searched for guns. In the queue to collect payments, I met Hoden Abdullahi Ahmed, a student whose mother had sent back some money from Finland. "There are 15 of us at home and no-one is working," she said. I also met Ahmed Salad Kulmiye, a businessman as well as the headmaster of a small school. He was actually sending money out of Somalia, to a friend who had gone to buy some goods in Dubai. "The money I used to set up my school was sent by my son in the US, through Hawala," he said. Hoden and the other customers are paid, not in Somali shillings but in US dollars. "This means we don't have to worry about the exchange rate and it means our customers don't have to walk out of our doors with a huge bag of money," says Mohammed "James" Ibrahim Ali, Global Money Transfer's manager. Bags of money He says that he is not worried that the US may try to close down more Somali money transfer companies, like al-Barakat. Many Somalis told me that no evidence was ever found that al-Barakat had funded terror groups and Mr Mohammed says he has not heard of any new attempts to move against the Hawala companies. He says that every day, his company pays out an average of $6,000 across Somalia, sent from its 45 branches across the world. But with all this money coming into Somalia, how do the money transfer companies balance their books? One man told me that some people go to Dubai - the Middle East's trading and financial hub - carrying huge bags of cash. And of course, they work with businessmen who need money in Dubai - and elsewhere - to pay for the goods they import to Somalia. 'Lots of forms' With such a huge business empire behind him, Mr Mohammed is also not concerned that the establishment of a functioning government in Somalia - due in the coming months - would make Hawala firms redundant. It will take a long time to have a central bank in Somalia Mohammed "James" Ibrahim Ali "Modern banks will always ask lots of questions and ask you to fill in lots of forms," he says. "Our people are used to Hawala, we know it very well." He admits that a government might ask companies such as his to pay tax and comply with bothersome regulations but he is relaxed at the prospect. "If we had a government, we would no longer need to pay so many security guards when we move our money," he says. "And a central bank would make it much easier for our agencies abroad to operate. But it will take a long time to have a central bank in Somalia." Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4038799.stm Published: 2004/11/24 17:41:42 GMT © BBC MMIV In just a single Wembley courtyard, there are four Somali-run "Hawala" or money-transfer companies. Arkay oo yaabay. ..which is covered in garish wallpaper, tattered lino on the floor and with old school chairs for the customers to sit down on. Do we have no sense of interior decoration? :eek: Don't say it's about the money.

Hey Geek Squad Listen to Shehrazade Yes, Geek Squad, listen to me..you're getting sleepy, your eyes are closing, you're at my command, you will cater to my every whim, what's yours is mine, you will be at my beck and call day and night, neither sleep nor fatigue will stand in the way of your serving me, you're mine I tell you, mine...buhahahaha.. and that was a party meglomaniac broadcast by the self-appointed Treasurer of the SOL Geek Squad. ....... Classique, you really are a book lover. I've never been part of a book discussion group; I have a small dislike of analysing books. That together with my bad memory means I'm only usually left with how a book made me feel or what thoughts it brought about. The contents of the book itself don't remain with me for long. This means I can read a book years later and be delighted all over again. My girlhood was a marvellous book-reading escapade. If my head wasn't buried in a book it was in the clouds. My little black book was filled with lists and reviews of books I'd read. What dedication and love! I loved books so much, I'd smell them and my mother would catch me at it: do you how many people would have touched that book! Yes, yes, that's just it. How long had that book lived at that library, collecting dust and love, yellowing and waiting for me? I hated turning over the corners of books as markers. It always made me whince when I saw that triangular flap. Why couldn't the lazy reader memorise the page number or use a bookmark? Another readers' habit that used to drive me insane was jumping to the last few pages of a book. I'd see a reader at the library skimming the last page of a book only just removed from the shelf and wonder what kind of person you would have to be to do that! The end determining whether or not the book is worth the read? What lunacy. Doesn't that rob one of most of the pleasure of a story? Sorry I beat you to the name, Classique. ..... So we have the Treasurer and the Librarian. Who else wants to join? There is an initiation, mind! I'm going to love this.....

Thank you for sharing your piece, FF. I was having a fairly relaxed day; now I'm saddled with deeper thoughts that will last for the rest of the day. I can not tolerate those that destroy or ruin young life. Grrr..makes me mad.

Shukran. It reminded me of a promise I made.