Suuq al Soomaal

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Salaan...

 

Business iyo Soomaali isku deey. Read on.

________________

Hassan Adawi

Arab News

 

JEDDAH, 21 September 2004--If your iqama, passport, driving license or any such document is lost, don’t worry. There is a time-tested way to get them back, provided you pay through the nose.

 

Abdul Majeed, an expatriate, had recently lost his wallet that contained his iqama, driving license and certain other vital documents. He went to the police station to lodge a written complaint where he was asked to advertise the loss in an Arabic newspaper. He should also obtain a letter from his employer announcing the loss. And after a month of the announcement he should go to the Passport Department and apply for new documents which would entail a fee of SR5,000 as well as an agonizing period of wait.

 

As luck would have it, one person present at the station directed Majeed to Souk Al-Somal (the Somali souk) in Bab Makkah district, saying it was a place (in)famous for finding lost things — anything and everything, especially official documents such as iqama.

 

Majeed went straight to Souk Al-Somal where someone accosted him, asking "have you lost your iqama?" He said yes.

 

"You will find it here," said the man who told him to go into the souk with a copy of his iqama.

 

An African approached Majeed and asked where he had lost his documents. In order to verify the truth of his claim, he asked Majeed about the validity of his documents and the name of his sponsor. Then the man told him that he could have his wallet back but it would cost him SR2,500. Once the amount was agreed he took down Majeed’s mobile number and promised to call the next day.

 

The next day prompt came the call saying the wallet had been found and Majeed should meet him at the Al-Mahmal Center’s parking lot at 5 p.m. When they met Majeed was handed the iqama but not the rest of the contents of the wallet. So Majeed paid out only SR1,200.

 

Mohammad Khan is a Pakistani living in Jeddah. He had lost his iqama and driving license in Madinah where he had gone to meet his son who came from London on a visit. I looked everywhere for the lost document but in vain.

 

One of the shopkeepers asked Khan where he lived. When he replied "Jeddah", he too was told to go to Bab Makkah where he would certainly find his documents. He informed Khan that the place was well known in the Kingdom for finding lost documents.

 

Khan returned to Jeddah and went to Bab Makkah’s Souk Al-Somal to ask about his wallet that contained SR2,000 cash, driving license, car documents and bank cards. Once he entered the area he was approached by a man who asked whether he had lost anything and if so where. He took down his mobile number.

 

Two days later Khan got a call informing him that his wallet had been found and that he should meet him with SR2,500 toward his expenses. When they met at the appointed time and place he was handed over the wallet with all the documents but minus the SR2,000 cash. Khan took the wallet and left, wondering if SR2,500 was not the cost of applying for new official documents.

 

On being told these first-hand accounts, this reporter was driven by curiosity to visit the area on his own to find out what was going on there.

 

At Souk Al-Somal, I presented myself dressed in non-Saudi clothes. I too carried copies of my legal documents and was also approached and asked the same questions. The man who met me also asked whether my iqama was new or old because the expenses would differ accordingly. Furthermore, was my family included in the iqama? That would make a difference in cost as well.

 

Inquisitively, I asked what would happen if the owner of the iqama they had did not show up.

 

He said: "Easy, we simply change the details and picture and sell it to another person. There are many who come for Haj and stay back without a legal iqama ... and our iqama doesn’t cost them as much as a legal iqama."

[Salma]

Souq AlSomal sounds like a souq for the xawaalado, diricyo and Somali stuff, but It seems some Somalis can't do any business wihtout adding their favourite spice "The Forgery".

[Nomen nescio]

that spot is called "Gambiska"

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

 

Kisenyi: a haven for Somali tranquility or scams?

 

Patrick Jaramogi

New Vision

 

MANY people perceive Kisenyi, a shanty neighbourhood in Kampala city to be nothing more than a haven for thugs, pick-pockets and those who snatch people’s bags and phones. As such, it is a place to be a dreaded or so we believe.

 

But this, admittedly one of the filthiest and supposedly the largest crime-ridden slums in Kampala, located just a stone’s throw away from the central business district is a paradise to the Somali refugees who call it home.

 

An estimated 10,000 Somali refugees and nationals inhabit the wooden shacks and shanty residential blocks strewn across the maze of dusty streets and pot-hole ridden roads in Kisenyi.

 

To these Somali nationals, who are no ordinary refugees, the slum is a welcome home way from home. “Somaliland”, so they call it.

 

It is common to see groups of between three to five Somalis seated and standing together, a sign they say depicts solidarity, togetherness and unity.

 

As the wind blows through the dusty streets and the noise from the banging of steel fills the air, sending chills in the brain, a cross section of the refugees are busy smoking cigarettes and chewing miraa (a local drug).

 

Since the early 1970s, the Somalis have left behind a trail of influence in this filthy slum, leaving many Ugandans who could not adopt to their culture, no option, but to abandon the area.

 

“We tried to adapt to the culture of Uganda but found it rather hard. So we had to devise means to continue with our usual Somali life,” says Mahmud Hassan, a hotel proprietor in Kiganda zone Kisenyi.

 

The refugees lead a typical Somali life; they have huge families, some with more than three wives but all living in harmony under one roof.

 

Prayer is conducted faithfully at the nearby Tawhid mosque. Most families have between five to eight children.

 

It is common to find camel meat and milk on sale in Kisenyi. It is a delicacy for the Somali . Camel meat costs sh5,000 a kilo and the milk costs sh3,000 a litre. But the supply rarely meets the demand here.

 

Camel meat sells like hot cakes. The milk, which is purchased daily from Kenya is known to last up to six months without going bad even when not refrigerated.

 

“The milk arrives in Kampala by 7:00am everyday by an Akamba bus, while the camel meat is slaughtered right here every weekend,” says Hassan Hussein, the chairman of the Somali Community in Uganda. The camels that weigh over 500 kilos are transported in fuso trucks from Moroto every week.

 

“A few Ugandans who have acquired a taste for camel meat flock here every weekend for the meat, especially the hump that has special oil,” says Hussein.

 

This flourishing Somali culture is supported by an equally prosperous economic life, at least for some.

 

Kisenyi is among the places in Kampala synonymous with metal fabrication and flour milling machines.

 

Many of the Somalis who have earned themselves Ugandan citizenship, own huge businesses, shops, buildings, as well as lodges, guesthouses and hotels, but their source of wealth is still shrouded in mystery.

 

The rising guesthouses have put a positive mark on Kisenyi, dispelling the belief that Kisenyi is a haven of crime. In fact, Hussein claims that at least $3m (sh5.2b) is in circulation among the refugees in Kisenyi.

 

Hussein attributes the success of the Somalis to the fact that they are united and work as a team. “They are refugees, but many lead even better lives than some Ugandan nationals.

 

Because they are hard working, they are able to save and start businesses on their own,” he says.

 

Moses Nkoyoyo, the defence secretary, Muzata Zone in Kisenyi says: “These Somalis have lived here for as long as we know.

 

They are refugees but they are hard working. They own businesses and we have no problem with that, as long as they maintain peace, which they do.”

 

But many observers maintain that Hussein’s assertion is far from what actually happens in Kisenyi. They claim that the life Somalis live is so luxurious for the jobless refugees.

 

Somalis attribute their survival to businesses, but questions linger about how their wealth was acquired.

 

“We know for a fact that these refugees operate in secret and you need an owl’s eye to ascertain how they attain their wealth and how much it is,” said a senior Internal Security Organisation official who preferred anonymity.

 

A special branch police officer at Old Kampala Police Station attached to Kisenyi says: “We can’t rule out crime. We have received reports of money laundering, drug abuse, fights and sexual abuse, but whenever we try to establish the truth and apprehend the culprits, we fail to get sufficient evidence to pin.”

 

The New Vision independently established that it takes less than three minutes for one to get over $500,000 (sh852m) wired from America, Canada or the UK to Uganda.

 

Money laundering is the act or practice of engaging in illegal specific financial money transactions, metaphorically termed “cleaning of money”. It involves the transfer of money through several countries in order to obscure its origin.

 

The most common types of criminals who launder money are drug traffickers, embezzlers, corrupt politicians and public officials, mobsters, terrorists and con artists.

 

“People get money wired from any part of the world in minutes. And the money is cashed in dollars. Now even prominent Ugandan business personalities throng these places for dollars,’ says Hussein.

 

In one of the shops that serves as a forex bureau as well as offices, computers with internet access are on display to hoodwink law enforcers and local authorities. But just inside the inner room, the real transaction of illegal money transfers take place.

 

Just about a week ago, Mohammed, aged 17, was kidnapped and whisked away in a speeding vehicle soon after getting $10,000 (sh17.5m) from one of the shops.

 

Notably, a case of kidnap was reported to Old Kampala Police Station, though it was reported that only $1,000 (sh1.75m) was snatched from him.

 

Hussein, however, defends the transactions: “The money that they receive is from their relatives who migrated and settled in Europe.”

 

This type of transaction is worrying to the Bank of Uganda, the controllers of cash flow in the nation, who say such a scenario can lead to inflation.

 

“What they are doing is wrong and it is against the law. Once we get proof, we shall alert the relevant authorities to avert that,” says a senior bank official in charge of foreign exchange.

 

Disaster preparedness state minister Musa Ecweru, who is responsible for refugees, recently sounded a warning to the Somalis: “As refugees they are not supposed to engage in activities that may jeopardise their status.

 

In any case, they are supposed to live in settlement camps unless they have urban refugee status,” he said.

 

Refugees with urban refugee status are those granted permission by the Prime Minister’s Office to engage in gainful employment in urban centres.

 

Ecweru, who promised to investigate the saga warned those involved: “This should act as a warning. Those nabbed will have their refugee status evoked and they will be deported.”

 

But as we wait for the investigations to yield results, it is business as usual for Somali refugees.

--------------

 

One of the most ignorantedly reported articles I had read.

[Jacaylbaro]

I've seen this suuqal soomaal in Jeddah ,, spent only one day to do some shopping and all the saudis there speak Somali ........ Sheeko dheer baa meeshaas iga soo martay maalintaas.

[rudy-Diiriye]

yah yah... tell them to learn the somali way of doing business!

 

some how, somali business ways work in a way thats not understood by the western business world... its tax free! good job homies. lol.

 

somalis come to every corner of this world with 0 money, but make it by using their minds and effort.s so ppl get jeoluos of them... why? cuz they the phoenix bird...ppl making nothing out of something.

 

do u remember your first time u landed in disapora? how much had...and how much u got today? u cant keep a nomad down! thats for sure.

[Jacaylbaro]

how about u rudy ,,, how much do u had and how much do u have now ??

[Caano Geel]

Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar,

I think Patrick Jaramogi's article deserves a reply and complaint to the editors of 'new vision', its slanderous the somali community in uganda, its casual implications are marking a whole community as thieves, simply because they are successful in the face of adversity. How about we write that complaint.

[Chimera]

^People like him are very dangerous especially in a society like Uganda, his continues use of the word ''filth'' really reveals his bitterness( i can't believe a person would hate 10k civilians in a nation of 30 million just because they know how to do business)

 

i personally have Lebanese and Indian friends who's relatives were brutally displaced a few decades ago, and this xenophobia had it's origin with individuals like him(radio presenters, tv propaganda which then eventually was taken up Idi Amin)

 

Somali scholars must immediatly coin the term Somalophobia or Anti-Somalism cause ''anti-something'' or Something-phobia are terms politicians don't want to be associated with and they will take action.

 

here's another hate-stirrer towards the Somali community (making it seem as if there are tensions between Somalis iyo Masai's when there are none in reality)

 

Maasai,Somali and the matter that threatens to divide them

 

By REV ZEPHANIA S KORESS

 

A new controversy between Maasai, who are mainly Christians, and Somali, who are mainly Muslims, concerning the meat sold in butcheries, has erupted in Kajiado.

 

And while this might appear a minor matter to many Kenyans, it could be the reason for a major conflict between the Maasai and Somali in the district if it is not addressed early enough.

 

This regards the slaughter of animals which is strictly carried out by Muslims in all of Kajiado District’s slaughterhouses.

 

It is taken for granted by most Kenyans that the meat they eat will have been slaughtered by a Muslim. Indeed, some people will demand to know if indeed a Muslim slaughtered the meat they are about to it.

 

There are others who do care to know about such matters; all they want is meat for their meals. But now there is a new twist to this matter in Kajiado District.

 

The attack on a group of local people last November, for example, should be treated as having given rise to a new case which had previously not been addressed for lack of an appropriate forum.

 

Usually, a special prayer is quickly said over the animal that has been made to face Mecca before its windpipe is severed.

 

The point of controversy is that the Muslims dedicate the meat to Allah before consumption. But not all consumers of the meat are Muslims.

 

Now the Holy Scriptures forbid Christians from eating such meats. But I Corinthians 10:25 allows Christians to eat the meat if they are not aware of its intended sacrificial purpose.

 

They are to desist from eating it after this purpose is revealed.

 

"But if anyone says to you, ‘This has been offered in sacrifice,’ then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’ sake." (1 Corinthians 10:25-Holy Bible NIV).

 

Why does eating such meat bother a Christian? Again I Corinthians 10:20-21 and Deuteronomy 32:17-18 explain it.

 

Christians are excused for their past ignorance in such deeds according to Acts 17:30-31. At the same time, each one of them everywhere is commanded to repent once the truth has been revealed or face divine judgement.

 

The Kajiado non-Muslims have boycotted this meat since last December 21 and are demanding to be allowed to slaughter their own animals to provide "kosher" meat.

 

A group of pastors from "Bissel Christian Church" (union of all the Churches) met with the Kajiado District Commissioner, Mr Ken Lusaka, who himself worships at the Anglican Church in Kajiado, on January 11 and asked him to let the Christians eat meat!

 

He promised to summon together bishops, church and mosque leaders to his office tomorrow. (The writer confirmed yesterday that the meeting is still on and extended an invitation to the Standard.)

 

Ironically, all the slaughterhouses and meat shops in Kajiado are owned and run by Christians!

 

But Kajiado’s Muslims seem to control the state of affairs at the district headquarters because they own wholesale stores, hotels, petrol stations, residential houses and business premises in Kajiado town centre.

 

Several Somalis are members of Osilalei and Lorng’osua group-ranches in Matapato; Torosei group-ranch in Loodo-Kilani; IlDalal-le-Kutuk.

 

They have their own schools and in recent years, 90’s, they have been trying to recruit Maasai children to Islam through schools.

 

They provide free education in Islamic schools at Kajiado town, Mile-Tisa and Namanga.

 

But this enterprise has not succeed as anticipated because the Maasai culture has many points of conflict with many Islamic practices. Therefore, about 90 per cent of the children withdrew, leaving only a handful from very poor families.

 

However, the Somali people in Kajiado and the Muslim fraternity are keen to contribute to the education of their district.

 

Their current efforts revolve around a proposed Islamic university, which, it is claimed, will target Maasai students.

 

A local resident has donated a 12-acre plot at Esukuta in the proximity of Kajiado town for that purpose.

 

Such collaborative development efforts may be thrown into jeopardy if protest rallies such as the one done in Kajiado, became a common feature of the district and may have negative results if the issue is not speedily resolved.

 

Some radical elements within the Christian or Muslim ranks may not restrain or contain themselves if slightly provoked and thugs may seize the opportunity to loot.

 

Meanwhile all of Kajiado District, to the remotest parts, while supporting the meat boycott, wants to see this matter resolved speedily.

 

Maasai people who in the last couple of years or so in communities along the Kenya/Tanzania border, have felt hard done by because of the increasing influence of the Somali and their aggressive search for new converts to Islam.

 

All Kenyans, be they Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus or animists, are entitled to exercise their faith, whatsoever, as stipulated in the Kenya Bill of Rights in the Constitution.

 

No individual, group or ruling power is mandated to stop them!

 

Let the government and concerned authorities address and redress this potentially explosive issue before it hatches hatred and even skirmishes.

 

------------

 

This was an old article from two years ago, and nothing ever happened, you see this was nothing but a failed attempt to create tensions between people who have none

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Caanogeel, exactly, brother. That crap piece is far from journalism.

 

I wanted to email to that site, then I realized that paper's editors do not even know what slander and libel are, let alone publishing a sheer xenophobic article.

 

It is too erroneous piece too, doted with little facts misrepresented, including a complete misunderstanding or, worse, distortion of xawilaadda system by the reporter and the few he interviewed. "Money laundering" kulahaa. What the ...

 

It seems they cannot believe those "poor, slum-dwelling refugees, immigrants" are doing well and much better than the average citizens of their country.

 

Even google could have answered his basic questions. Heck, I bet the reporter did not even hear one of the largest suuqs in East Africa -- Islii district of Nairobi. I even bet he never heard the true industriuos spirit of Soomaalida when it comes to business and enterprising.

[Caano Geel]

Dhulqarnayn -alSumaale, we will be the somali anti defamation league. And if you live in the UK, you get to know a lot of Idi Amin's victims black, indian and arab. So its tragic to see that kind of rhetoric and propaganda being replayed in the 21century - not least by the so called educated - actually i shoudnt say 'not least', its always the pseudo intellectuals and the ruling classes that lay those fires. Ordinary people are too busy trying to build a life.

 

MMA, its not journalism, it putting out the logs to stoke the fire with.

 

jot down a couple of paragraphs and PM them to me, i will add spice to them when i get back from work and we can give the editor a piece of our mind

[Ibtisam]

^^Better still get as many people to e-mail the editor, expressing the same concerns. Two complainants don't really rock the boat. If you run/ part of an organisation send it out from the organisations e-mail account. Inshallah I will do that later today.

 

He would not be able to get away with this kind of ill researched piece of trash had it been about any other community. Hundreds of e-mails and calls would have flooded in, and although he would maintain the same view (as it stems from bitterness), he would at least try to hide it next time to avoid the hassle.

 

P.s. Can you post/ PM you final draft to me, so I can shape mine along the same lines, as I have a tendency to go off on a rant.

[Malika]

^Thats is what is needed,Somalis standing up to any unjust that our brothers or sisters encounter anywhere.

 

I see the pattern. Ugandans have issues with foreigners, especially well to do foreigner. This kind of garbage will instigate hate, with that follows the violence. Its only few decades ago the Asian Community was axed from Uganda due to similar kind of treatment, even though now Museveni has asked them to return to Uganda to help its Economy there is still unpleasantness from the indigenous.

It is often fear behind racism, and what does one do when one is feeling fearful or inadequate. They dehumanize others to make it acceptable for their social morals. And this is where the, in the worst cases, hate begins. He is racists and his article is a propaganda of hate toward Somalis.

Only if we didn’t have to be on the slums of these already struggling African countries, we didn’t need to be called Vermin or anything else..

[Paragon]

I am just wondering though; is it only lost things or stolen things that are found in Suuq Al Soomaal? I am trying to find the implied message here.

 

PS: Erm about that Patrick Jaramogi guy; don't give him any attention. Just a silly African scouting for some attention. Thats all he is really.

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Caanogeel, I will try to email them and give a piece of my mind.

 

In the meantime, here is their email: letters@newvision.co.ug.