Qoraalkaan tries to clear the air and explain the issue. Who are the Gatekeepers of the Somali Community? Omar Jamal, Executive Director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, is the go-to guy for media coverage of Somalis in Minnesota. But does he really speak for Minnesota’s Somali community? Last week, Jamal participated in a protest accusing Minnesota’s only Muslim civil rights organization, the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) of impeding an investigation into the missing Somali youth. The protest was organized by Abdirizak Bihi, Jamal’s colleague and an uncle of Burhan Hassan, one of the missing Somali young men. I, unfortunately, know Bihi all too well. When I ran for Mayor of Minneapolis, I caught Bihi, who was working for McLaughlin’s campaign, running around the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood telling Somalis not to vote for me because “she is a lesbian.” This didn’t damage my campaign because I actually received more votes. It did however completely kill my romantic life (don’t get me started). I know who I am so I could care less of others’ opinion of my sexuality, but I was appalled that Bihi would use hate toward the GLBT community to gain political power. Not surprisingly, Bihi’s irresponsible tactics against the Somali community have also found their way into the media. In a WCCO interview, Bihi said, “They [Abuubakar Islamic Center] curse us [burhan’s family]. Call us infidels, because simply we spoke up for our son…Now we can say yes, that they do have something to do with it because they're always acting out in a sinister way." ( http://wcco.com/loc al/somali.teens.deat h.2.1035157.html) The FBI hasn’t indicted anyone in the disappearance of the missing men, yet Bihi offered conjecture and speculation that the mosque is involved. He also accused the mosque of a hit job on his nephew simply because he feels they are “always acting out in a sinister way.” The question is: where are the facts? Bihi is, according to Somali community leaders that I know, not representing their views. The Somali community’s lack of engagement with the media allows Jamal and Bihi to run amok spewing allegations that only harm the Somali community. These self-proclaimed leaders cannot differentiate feelings and conjecture from facts. Their accusations are inconsistent and personal. Jamal and Bihi alleged that CAIR-MN is ‘impeding the FBI’s investigation’ by informing the Somali community of their right to remain silent and have an attorney present when questioned by federal law enforcement. This attempt to intimidate and shame the Somalis into giving up their constitutional rights is atrocious. Having an attorney present to avoid unfair prosecution is reasonable and responsible behavior, especially for individuals who already fear law enforcement due to negative experiences they’ve had in their homeland. According to a February 2009 Minnesota Public Radio story, “Rights groups say Somalis being stopped, questioned,” a CAIR-MN representative told the story of a Somali man stopped by agents while walking and invited into a car for questioning: "There was one agent sitting in the front seat and another agent in the back seat….he was bombarded with questions. He just answered "no" to everything. He was just so scared.” Lying to federal law officials, even if you’re scared, is a felony. This man needed to invoke his right to remain silent and have an attorney present. It would ensure him to understand his rights, and to be comfortable to answer the questions truthfully. This process builds trust and nurtures Somalis to engage the greater community instead of hiding in fear. No one should be ashamed or ostracized for asking for an attorney, especially when it’s their constitutional right. According to CAIR-MN’s publication, ‘Know Your Rights and Responsibilities as an American Muslim”: “American Muslims strongly support law enforcement and the protection of our national security…..If you know of any criminal activity taking place in your community, it is both your religious and civic duty to immediately report such activity to local and federal law enforcement agencies.” CAIR-MN has been offering trainings in the Somali community long before the Somali youth disappeared. The trainings are offered by both Muslim and non-Muslim attorneys (including law professors). The information CAIR-MN is sharing with the community is no different than the information offered by the ACLU. Bihi and Jamal definitely have a right to speak for themselves, but speaking for the thousands of Somalis in Minnesota will warrant questioning of their intent, credibility and integrity. They must be held accountable to their statements. The protest against the civil rights group received media coverage. The Star Tribune’s headline read, “Somalis take to the street to protest group's actions.” Did the protest really represent the Somali community? According to a press conference the following Saturday, organized by over a dozen local Somali organizations, it did not. The Somali organization leaders asserted that the vast majority of the individuals protesting last week were the elderly with limited English skills. When approached by Somali leaders afterwards, they stated that they were told to protest against an “anti-Somali group.” When asked, most did not know the name of that group they were protesting. At the press conference, Somali leaders voiced support of CAIR-MN. Somali Community Link Radio Host Zuhur Ahmed said, “CAIR is always available to help Muslims and Somalis with legal, immigration and job issues, and they don't show up only when the media is around like some others who call themselves activists.” United Somali Movement Vice President Aman Obsiye said, “All [CAIR] is saying is that Somali-Americans are equal to all other Americans. We have the same civil rights as other Americans have...These attacks on CAIR are not from the Somali community.” http://www.startribu ne.com/local/4800535 2.html Many Somalis turn to CAIR-MN for help and these false accusations won’t stop CAIR from getting the job done. The real victims in the story are the families that lost their sons. If they are trying to get answers about their missing youth, they’ll need better spokespeople than Jamal and Bihi, who have absolutely no credibility with people that can actually help them. Star Tribune

Relief after woman stranded in Nairobi fingerprinted A Toronto woman facing jail in Kenya says she feels relieved after Canadian officials finally took her fingerprints to help settle her identity. "I feel a lot better," Suaad Hagi Mohamud said yesterday by phone from Nairobi, where she has been stranded for seven weeks, eight days of that time in jail. "I really want to come back home." Canadian consular officials, who for six weeks refused to have anything to do with the woman, took her prints and asked her such questions as where she lives, who her boss is at the ATS courier plant in Etobicoke and who is looking after her 12-year-old son in Toronto. But they did not indicate when they might match her prints with those on her original Somali refugee application made 10 years ago. "They said they would get back to me," she said. Mohamud, 31, was about to leave Kenya on May 17 after a short visit when airport officials stopped her for not looking like her Canadian passport photo – a common ruse for soliciting a bribe, she says. The Kenyans jailed her. She was released eight days later on $2,500 (U.S.) bail, pending trial. On May 21, the Kenyans notified the Canadian high commission of the arrest. A week later, a Canadian consular official wrote Kenyan immigration to say "conclusive investigations" confirm the arrested woman was an imposter. The official sent them the voided passport to help with their prosecution. For weeks, Mohamud – or the woman posing as Mohamud – begged the Canadians to take her fingerprints but they refused to return her calls. "That's all we're asking," family spokesperson and Toronto radio host Kawnayn Hussein said on hearing the prints had been taken. "It's somehow encouraging for us," said Mohamed Dalmar of Ottawa's Catholic Settlement Centre, who has worked for three years on a similar case. Koronto Star

One more reason I love this:

Come to think of it, no. I had seen quite a few mataano sisters, but never males. What is even more surprising is that we have the name 'mataan' for male twins, but not its equivalent in female twin sisters.

Waabsi.com Federalism did not work in '50s. C/qaadir Soobe ka daalay suu meel walba ula taagnaa in '60s, too. And now it won't work. Soomaaliya dal federal lagu dhaqi karo ma'aha. Federal dad kala jaan ayaa iskugu yimaado, not Soomaalis.

Qarxiska ka dhaaf igaarka. By the way, Iitob (Etob) restaurant ma tagtay wali?

Read this on the paper the other day. On the newspaper, qofta sawiradeeda driver licence, healthcardka and citizenshipka ku dhaganaa. In a way isku muuqaal jiro uma eko. Probably leenka walaasheed ama qaraabo kale soo siisay baasaboorka ku qarxay u maleynaa, and now the real "Sucaad" dacwoonoyso. Probably. It is sad, though. Is woman held in Kenya who she says she is? If a passport, driver's licence, OHIP card and citizenship certificate are not enough, Suaad Hagi Mohamud is ready to give fingerprints to prove who she is. The Toronto woman jailed in Kenya after being told she no longer looks like her four-year-old passport photo says proving her identity is easy. "When I applied for Canadian citizenship, they took my fingerprints," the Somali-born woman said yesterday by phone from Nairobi, where she is out on bail pending trial. "They can match them." She has already tried to prove her identity using all her other photo ID, plus credit and bank cards as well as a Humber River Regional Hospital user card. Her ex-husband, 12-year-old son, dozens of neighbours and her local MP – former immigration minister Joe Volpe – have all vouched for her in Toronto. But the Canadian government does not believe her. Last week, Ottawa issued a single terse sentence: "Following an extensive investigation, officials at the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi have determined that the individual arrested by Kenyan authorities is not Ms. Suaad Mohamud Hagi." For reasons stubbornly not explained, a doubt raised by a Kenyan airport official as the woman prepared to fly home after a visit has somehow escalated into Canada's rejection of her identity. Canadian officials have refused to answer questions central to the mystery: Is the real Suaad Mohamud missing? Who is the arrested woman? Why does Canada disbelieve her story? Why can't fingerprints be taken? In the sole departure from the official line, Canadian High Commission first secretary Liliane Khadour last night requested a meeting tomorrow, Mohamud phoned yesterday to report, though the purpose of the meeting was not explained. The stranded woman was preparing to leave Kenya on May 17 after a two-week visit with her mother. Airport officials stopped her, jailed her and after eight days released her when a friend posted $2,500 (U.S.) bail. African-born travellers commonly offer airport officials money to avoid hassles, a practice that might explain her problems, Mohamud said in one of several phone interviews this week. "I am Canadian and I refused." But Nairobi police also stop people on the street to inspect identification papers, expecting a bribe, she said. "Since I got out of jail, I have been stopped seven times and I have paid every time." Frustration among Toronto Somali immigrants over the case is mounting, said Kawnayn Hussein, host of the popular Somali-language weekly radio show Midnimo (Unity) on AM530. "I told my listeners, `This could happen to you.'" Toronto friends recognize the phone voice from Nairobi as genuine and fear either jail in Kenya or deportation to Somalia, said Shukri Abdi, a neighbour who agreed to look after Mohamud's son for two weeks and is still caring for him after nine weeks. "I can bring together 50 people to identify her," Abdi said. "She is outgoing. She has a job (at an ATS courier warehouse). Everybody knows her." Kenyan high commission officials in Ottawa did not return repeated calls over two days. Toronto Star

Any war ka bilowdo "ma dhabaa..." badanaaba sheeko kutiri kuteen waaye.

Wixii dhanba waa soo aruurisee, waxba ma u reebin. Banaanka hala iskeeno ama anaa ku keenaayo mee maroysaa sheekada?

Eternal Moonwalk is one such cool site dedicated to him.

Mar mar waxaa isdhaheysaa Soomaalida ku fiicneyd inay xad la wadaagaan dal Shiinaha camal ah. Markaas ogaan lahaayeen micnaha dal iyo dad madaxbanaan qiimaha ee leedahay. Dadkaan iyo kuwa lamid ah ee dal madaxbanaan la'aanta heyso, sida Tamils, Tibetans, Reer Kurdish and Karen people of Myanmar ayaa og qiimaha dalkaaga iyo dadkaaga xoriyadooda wada dhameystiran leedahay. I like their flag. It is the closest flag to ours.

Dugsigaas la dhisaayo asagaa ka qeyb lahaa qaaraan aruurintiisa, oo dadaal ugu jirayba. Soomaali wax walba si meel kale u micneeyaan, una badalaan. Runtiis waaye sida aan u maleeyo sababta u diiday loogu magacdaro ugu wacan tahay in uu yahay qof nool. Badanaa adduunka meelaha looguma magacdaro dadka nool, dadka tagay ayaa loogu magacdaraa heybad ahaan. Kaliya dadka xukunka jecel kaligiitaliyaasha isku magacaabo ama iskugu waco meelaha iyagoo nool. Waxa magaalada Ottawa habeenimadii Jimcaha ee taariikhdu aheyd 21 Nofeembar (ee) 2008 ka dhacay kulan kaalmo (fundraising) loogu ururinayay dugsi ay wax ku bartaan ardey ka soo jeeda beelaha la heybsooco oo ku yaala magaalada Hargeysa . Kulanka oo uu marti ku ahaa kuna yimi codsi dadweyne awgii halabuurka caanka ah ee Soomaaliyeed Maxamed Ibraahim Warsame Hadraawi ayaa waxa ka soo qeybgalay qeybaha kala gedisan ee bulshada Soomaaliyeed ee ku dhaqan magaalada Ottawa ee caasimada dalka Canada. Xigasho

Ninka qoray buuggaan hebel Oromo ayaa la dhahaa u maleynaa. Maxaa ka jiro, inteena iska galaan dadkaas, koley naaneys wax ka dambeyso jirtee.

Aboow aboow, Wiilo wadaad noqotay miyaana qoftaan. Ar soo mood abaayadiis. Xaa noo keentay hadiyad ah? Califalaaxyo?

You left out Abdi Qaybdiid and many others? Cabdi Cawaale Qeybdiid ma degno Ingiriiska, sharcina kuma laha xagaas. See camal idinka. Abwaan iyo Bilan, kala gambista aqiyaarta see waaye. Ismaandhaaf iyo isafgaranwaa waa dhacaa.

Oromadii iyo xulafadooda Soomaali Aboow (Boorana iyo Reer Diinle) dhan dhulkooda laga booday. NFD saas uma balaarneen qaarad dhul ahaan.

...overfilled, clogged with qashin, more qashin and qashin in the city's garbage bins. Qashin collectors are in shaqojoojin, striking since Juun 22nd. Darn, magaaladii qorxooneyd qashin aan la arki jirin laga arkaa, especially downtown area.

Abwaan, the sister waxee kugu heysataa you mentioned on the first post those characters who came or rose on the political scene after 2006. However, she didn't get the reason of your naming them -- that those named men live in Ingiriiska and do carry British passports, which this new law might or might not apply to.

Libertarians' dream come true.

Daddy is here maa tiri. Waraa Reer Kanada waa u gaftay.

Soomaaliya ha noolaato. Since the thread is directionless, let everything be so, too.

Bilaal, I know brother. What is even more sad was this fact: our correspondent had to turn back from the town of Wajid this week because, within, a man was being beheaded. A day later, a clan leader was shot dead. This clan leader lost a lug, his leg, the result of '77 war with Xabashis. He was a man who fought and sacrificed for his country and this is what he got from some probably who were born after that war. It is symbolical part that is even more sadder.

Maba quraacan xataa, dagaal lasoo toosay yariisoowgaas. Cadeygiisa meesha ku sitaa afka. Qaabkooda dhan ayaaba ah qaab mööryaan, which they probably were. Wax diin naxariisnimaba kama muuqato qaarkood.