We thus urge participants in the conference to take note of the examples offered by practices in Somaliland in crafting a path forward for Somalia. While Somaliland cannot provide a transferrable model for peace, experience there demonstrates the importance of external support for locally-led processes. Hope they all have their notes and pens ready to write down the experience ...

Abdirashid Duale is CEO of Dahabshiil and a proud Somalilander. Dahabshiil is one of the biggest international money transfer companies in the Horn of Africa and I caught up with him between trips (his, not mine) between London, Hargeisa (the capital of Somaliland) and Dubai – where Dahabshiil has its second main office. Duale himself is a representative of Somalia’s most successful export – its energetic business community; running offices from multiple international locations, and making money in what are pretty difficult circumstances. Positioned in the Northern part of the Somali region, knowing how to refer to Somaliland can difficult – it claimed independence in the early 1990s and has run its own affairs (quite successfully) since, despite receiving no official recognition from international bodies such as the UN. This is a major sore point for the Somaliland population, and could prove a bigger challenge at the upcoming ‘London Conference’ on Somalia’s future than its convenors perhaps realise. If the best motivator for innovation is necessity, then Dahabshiil is a perfect example of this maxim. Whilst the company was founded in 1970 by the present CEO’s father as an import-export business, it would be fair to say that its present structure and focus only developed after the start of the Somali civil war. Duale tells me that during the civil war they “more or less we lost everything.” This forced the family to reinvent the business, adapting to the restrictions, and opportunities, of the political environment. The move towards money transfer was motivated by the flight of thousands of Somalis to Europe, America and the Middle East, who still wanted to maintain contact with their families in Somalia. Money transfer therefore became both a business opportunity and a lifeline, and for isolated communities, particularly in the South, this is what it remains. Able to operate in environments deemed too challenging for its international competitors, the company also undercuts the market – its business model is based upon making many thousands of small transactions, and gaining a reputation for speed and reliability. As Duale states, “as Africans we know the African market very well.” Dahabshiil is, in many of the least secure regions of Southern Somalia, a more constant presence than the local administration, which have, over the past 2 decades, changed hands with a violent and destabilising rapidity. However, Duale also states that it is the people who live in these areas, not the administrations, that Dahabshiil serves – irrespective of the nature of their government, people still have the same aspirations for a normal life including healthcare, education, electricity and housing. It is reasonably well-known that Dahabshiil’s main Somali competitor (Al-Barakat) was shut down through anti-terrorist measures taken by the US government post-September 11th 2001. The story goes that Dahabshiil profited greatly from the space this left in the Somali money transfer market. However, Duale explains that regulations enforced after 2001 made it harder to run the business in Somalia. The company had to be better regulated, with staff trained to take measures that prevent potential financing of suspected terrorist organisations. Not ending up like Al-Barakat is clearly a matter of some importance to Duale, who with a smile, asserts – “compliance is number 1…in fact, we aim to be extra-compliant!” Dahabshiil is an example of how the entrepreneurial strata in Somali society has survived the country’s long-running upheaval. It combines diaspora expertise and money with a particularly strong desire to support communities back home, and in doing so to make a healthy profit in an underdeveloped business environment. Duale tells me that the diaspora are the biggest source of investment in Somalia where, particularly in the more stable regions, the housing and construction sectors are booming. Flights back to Hargeisa, and even to Mogadishu, are frequently booked out, as diasporans, and globe-trotting Somali businessmen fly in to visit extended families and check up on their investments – not the image we normally get of the country. The business community in Somalia lies at the heart of any effective programme to develop the country. Duale says that “Government can learn a lot from them, and they already contribute a lot.” He is proud of Dahabshiil’s record in CSR initiatives, but perhaps more significant is the manner in which it provides money transfer services to humanitarian and other international development organisations including the UN, Save the Children and Oxfam. When I ask whether the ‘business community’ has been invited, in significant numbers, to the ‘London Conference’ he says “I think not”, which probably betrays everything you need to know about how, in the words of BBC Africa Editor Mary Harper, we ‘get Somalia wrong.’ Listening to the experiences of more people like Abdirashid Duale would probably help us to do the opposite. Magnus Taylor is the managing editor of African Arguments Online. Copyright © 2012 African Arguments.

SOURCE

Somaliland Focus (UK) welcomes the attendance of a senior political delegation from Somaliland as a non-signatory participant at this week’s London Somalia Conference. Bearing in mind the long history of tension over the issue of recognition of Somaliland, the interest of the British government in having Somaliland’s senior political representatives at the table is a positive step, as is the willingness of Somaliland’s representatives to participate in an event bringing together key political actors from across the Somali region as well as international leaders. We hope the event can act as a springboard for a shift in international focus away from Somalia as a source of woe for the world and towards solutions that seek to offer lasting benefit and stability to Somalis themselves. Such solutions can only work in the long term by utilising local indigenous political and social institutions. Somaliland offers many lessons in this regard. Since declaring independence from Somalia in 1991 it has, through grassroots negotiation, defused fraught local rivalries to build a genuine democracy through a series of elections. In 2010, its presidential vote saw a peaceful and orderly transition of power, a rarity in Africa, in an election declared free and fair by international observers. We thus urge participants in the conference to take note of the examples offered by practices in Somaliland in crafting a path forward for Somalia. While Somaliland cannot provide a transferrable model for peace, experience there demonstrates the importance of external support for locally-led processes. External military intervention has not served to promote Somali stability or development in the past, and cannot be expected to provide any more than interim stability in the future. There is, for example, a real danger right now that extremism which has plagued the south of Somalia could be displaced to Somaliland and neighbouring areas, and any decisions taken need to pay due attention to this risk. We welcome the UK Prime Minister’s recognition that solutions to UK security concerns for the Somali areas must be built on local development. We urge his government and all those present at the conference to take this commitment seriously. Indigenously-based solutions require long-term engagement with localised groups, and demand willingness from international actors to engage with all groups who are able to demonstrate legitimacy at a community level, regardless of whether they claim religious or clan affiliation or both. Cecilia Milesi, chair of Somaliland Focus (UK) said: “Somaliland’s quest for recognition is wellknown. Less well-known are its efforts to build a state and democracy from the bottom up, with the recent launching of a national development plan showing how far Somaliland has travelled. We urge all participants in this week’s conference to learn from Somaliland’s example. Creative ways must be found to give Somaliland assistance to keep following its path.”

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Dictatorship ....

Researchers at the Kajimoto Laboratory at the University of Electro-Communications in Japan (of course) are working on a machine that can replicate a kiss from the Internet. Just approach the box, move the straw with your tongue, and your partner gets a straw moving in their mouth the same way. True bliss. Imagine young girls (or boys!) everywhere staying up late making out with a program of Justin Bieber's kisses. It's a million-dollar idea. This device could actually reduce the miles we travel to be with people we want to kiss HALKAN

Sheekada meelahaa inoo taala iyo SOL ha isu keenin niyow ,,, hadii kele waxbaa kala kacayee

Somalina;791783 wrote: Xaji Xunjuf wuu yaqaan sida loo hadlo, kan Kulmiye waa mid lagu qasaarey, waa JB oo suit loo xirey oo la yiri noo hadal. Xataa anaa ,,,

Sayid*Somal;791769 wrote: Jacaylbaroow - ninyahow maad meshaan ku soo dhejisid sawirada aad 'facebook' ku haysid - oo tusaya khaladdada ay Soomaalidu samayso markay isku dayaan in ay Af Ingiriis ku qoran magacyada dukaamadooda? Ma aniga ??

KASHATAA na maxay ahayd ?? ,,,, waleee haduu igu yidhaa waxaa inaan bir madaxa kaga dhufan lahaaa

... waa laftiisii deee

Serious ,, eh ??

The last part is Hilarious ,,,, Thank you ?? ,,, taana waanu qabsanaysaa

Still too much to be done ...... good afternoon peeps

;)

Amin Caamir ayaa sidaah horay u shaacinayba loo balan qaaday lacag gaareeysaa 100'000 Dolar iyadoo hor marisna loo siiyay 10'000 Dolar, iyadoo haatana uu khilaafka ugu xoogan dhaliyay inuu Amin Camir yareeyey Kartoomadii uu soo saari jiray ee xagga Dowladda lagu been abuuraayey, taasoo ka careeysiisay FARMAAJO oo rabay in maalin walba hal Kartoon Dowladda lagu Dhaliilo, taasoo AMIN u suuroobi weysay. Eesh Calaa Bacaaac ...

Barre Hagi Elmi Ahmed, nicknamed Badho, was the son of known merchant in Hargeisa who owned a corner-shop in downtown Hargeisa. Barre lost his mother when he was a child. He attended the Biyodhacay Elementary and Intermediate School in Hargeisa, although, from time to time, he took some classes at the Qalax Boarding School in Gabiley. He then started his secondary school education at Halane (Hargeisa). After he completed the first school year, he transferred to the 26th June secondary school in Hargeisa, and six months later he again transferred to Ga’an Libah secondary school in Hargeisa. Barre was slender and tall, and a handsome teenager. He had long black and straight hair. A young man with bright future, Barre was cheerful and lively. He was seventeen when on the first day of the “Dhagaxtuur”(1) students’ protest against the arrest of “My Teacher's Group”(2), on the 20th February 1982, around 12:45 a.m., he received the deadly bullet on his chest from the Dictator Siad Barre’s army. His short and promising life ended under the Jirde Hussein Building in front of Hindigii Jaantilaal’s corner-shop, while his classmates and friends were rushing him to the hospital. Barre was buried at Xawaadleh cemetery in Hargeisa around 6:00 p.m. the same day. People who knew Barre told me that he was lovable and a very brave man, and he had a wonderful sense of humour. He was a good role model for the young and possessed a leadership spirit. His friend, Yussuf Isse, who was present that day in the protest, and who was jailed by the Somali regime after that eventful day, said "we missed Barre for his sense of friendship, his sense of fearlessness and bravery, and for his sense of laughter". Barre died for a cause that he believed was right. He left this world as he lived in it, conscious of the danger, fearless of death, and sure that the students’ struggle against the military regime could carry us a long away. People like him never expected repayment for their deeds, for no one can repay what Barre offered to us; his young life. Their reward is acknowledging that they did the right thing, and to let the younger generation know of the sacrifices they made. I and Barre did not know each other, even though our paths may have crossed during the school years and during the “Dhagaxtuur” event on that dreadful day. I pay this tribute to him as a young hero who has given so much to us in his short lifetime and who continues to do so even after his passing, as he will be remembered as a symbol of my generation - a generation that paid much for freedom and had survived the cruel treatment of the military dictatorship of Somalia. I extend to his family members, who I do not know personally, my deepest sympathy and condolence, after almost twenty years from his untimely departure from this world. May Allah rest his soul in peace. Aamiin. Jama Musse Jama

looooooool@at least one way

A priest kept chicken at his church, one evening one of the cocks went missing. In the next mass the priest asked, "who has a cock ? plz stand up" .. All the men stood up. "Ooh I meant who has seen a cock?" ... All the women got up . . "No no no who has seen a cock that is not theirs?" ... Half the women got up. "For God's sake who has seen my cock?" ... All the choir girls & nuns got up ..........

That is the spirit ...