Social Debate: My observations on the character of the Somali individual

[Positive]

Walaal shaqsii,

 

The problem is in our culture . We have evolved from pastoralist based culture but have not YET found ( new ) common cultural identity.

We have not in fact " evolved " from the culture of our forefathers but rather have thrown it away . And where are we now ?

 

Now we have no culture. Whatever we have and call calture have the wrong social and caltural values .

 

Wrong values breed wrong consequences

 

The bright side of the matter is that we are LEARNING from our mistakes. Of course that we are becoming AWARE of our cultural shortcomings is ITSELF a learning.

 

Let us not be discouaraged ! Everyone of us is a creative Soul that can take care of itself and it's environment. WE ARE CREATIVE SOULS ! HURRA !

 

Let us come with creative solutions !

 

Positive

[Thinkerman]

^^^^^ That makes quite a lot of sense to me saxiib ^^^^^^^^

[4get-me-not]

Its funny that you gotta ask, almost similar questions were going through my mind for the past few weeks, and i still cant find an answer.

 

I was in college, and then i heard that there's a fight, so i asked who was fighting? someone said that it was between Somalians and some Arabs. So i ran to the scene and all i could see is Somalians vs Somalians. i got confused so i asked again: Excuse me, i dont see no Arabs involved here. So i was CORRECTED, its Somalians vs Arab Somalians.!!!!

 

and the rest was history!!!!

 

I cant even put down in words the disgust, shame and discomfort i encountered from that expression+ the horrible event that was taking place at that sad moment.

 

What has the world come to? if our people"REGARDLESS OF BACKGROUND AND UPBRINGING" are brother/sister hating, how can we see our country MOVE FORWARD and make all the necessary and crucial steps to enter the so long new millennium?

 

Im an arab somalian female. i have met somalians from all across the world here, and i respect em all, menatality and background wise. although we are all somalians, we are yet so different and there is alot that we could pick from one another if we were only open minded and not so lost in our little self centered souls. When i tell Somalians from Europe, America or whereever that im an "arab-born&bred" Somalian, i cant help but notice the funny looks, hearing funny remarks and i always get"oh u dont think ur the only one that can speak Arabic" type of look when im speaking Arabic. And that makes me wonder why? Why do some Somalians get so defensive when a group of Arab Somalians "as they classify us" choose to speak Arabic among themselves? I mean, its no big deal when European somalians use Dutch , Finnish , Swedish ,etc. to communicate!!!!!! Is it some sort of envy? lack of self confidence? i cant put my hand on it. its just simply beyond my humenly limits of analysing and understanding.

 

if any of u out there read this and feel me on it, then please dont hesitate in sharing your opinions cause u never know, u might be the one that can help get me out of this circle of confusion that i got caught up in since i decided to live here in England and leave my little safe net in Arabia.

 

im sorry if this is too long, its just that i had to get this of my chest once and for all!!!

 

A SOMALIAN arab!!!! NOT an ARAB somalian!!!!

[LuCkY]

WeLcome 4get-me-not...WeLcome back shouLd i say.

 

Anywho i feeL you. I cant speak for everyone or those peopLe you are taLking about matter fact.

 

But i can reLate to what you are taLking about. I have seen it way too many times and yes its quite sad and disgusting to say the Least.

 

Some peopLe envy or are jeaLous of arab raised somaLis due to some bewiLdering reasons to me...so they turn to one thing they know-Loathe...hating on them just because and for Lord knows what reasons.

 

But nonetheLess they-meaning aLL the hater are ignorant to say the Least because instead of taking the time to get to know their feLLow brothers/sisters they waste aLL their energy hating them-pathetic reaLLy.

 

ALL i can say or hope for is that they have a change of atmosphere meaning they shouLd Look at situations,events,ways of Life of other peopLe in a different Light-a different perspective.Maybe then they wiLL be abLe to see and understand their brothers/sisters in IsLam not to mention SomaLi untiLL then aLL we can do is pray for the best.

 

Thats aLL i got to say on this matter...weLL for now anywayz untiLL then peace out!

[- diamond princess -]

Tuff Questions, Can you answer mines by the way?

 

1.What goes up and never comes down?

2.Who's line is it anyway?

3.Why did the chicken cross the road?

4.What comes first the chicken or the egg?

 

Now, you answer mines and return I will answer your brain teasers...how ironic...NOT! LOL!

 

.:peace n luv:.

[LuCkY]

Diamond Princess whats wrong...with you girL? :confused:

 

YOu either had too much coffee to drink or not enough.Need i say more?

 

Whats with aLL your questions...

[- diamond princess -]

Just having a bit of fun... and I am seriously high these days, school got me stressed out... ah well.

 

.:peace n luv:.

[LuCkY]

Dont worry girLfriend i am headed in that direction right about now...so be aware you have been warned.j/k.

[QUANTUM LEAP]

Plato once said "Better to be unborn than untaught

for ignorance is the root of misfortunes"

 

I would definitely say most of the problems stem from Ignorance and the fact that Somalis cant tell the difference between what a Somali is or not, could only mean two things. Total luck of confidence as said or probably too ignorant to know better. If only they knew that UNITY is strength, they would have been aforce to reckon with.

[Nephissa]

We no longer can afford the luxury of self-pity.

 

Instead of keeping the spotlight on failure, lets try to focus on HOW (rather then WHY) we move forward as a community.

[QUANTUM LEAP]

"We no longer can afford the luxury of self-pity."

 

Agreed Bisharo ...however, if you dont know whats wrong how do u get to solve the problems we face today. Alot of us dont even know that we are wrong and in need of changing and evolving. I think its better to know whats wrong with us before we get to sorting these negatives out. This is a good start for us all to bring out what we suffer from so we can get to the cure them.

[Jactadman]

Lets face it (Somali maryooleey); we are all responsible of what is hapening in somalia regardless of where you are in the distruction.

we had a strong culture but chose to traded it with obsolute zero. " wiil geel jir ah iyo gabar timaha tidcani waa waxa dhulkeena u gar ahoo laynagu gartaa" there is nomore wiil geel jiraa neither gabar tima tidcan, what we are seeking is what we don't want! which is alla ka cabsi .

the answer to the question is: If each one of us submits to allah and does as muslim/muslimah we will overcome this agony and dismay, but if we choose not to we will be history. PS " ILAAHEY NIN UU CAAWIMO DOONO CID UMA SOO TUUGO NIN UU TIN IYO CIRIB GOYN RABANA CIIDAN UMA DOONTO" <<>>>>

[evolving_sista]

salam calakum sistas and brothas....This topic addresses many of our downfalls as somalis. I would like to take a minute to express that along with the bad come the good.I do agree that as a nation we do love to involve ourselves in others lives. What you must focus on is that your life is yours and you can't live it according to how your dad's friend thinks or how your aunt thinks you should.

If we understand that to help eachother in times of adversity and to not judge but to encourage eachother will benefit us all individually in the long run.

Culture should not over shadow diin.

[QUANTUM LEAP]

I think since this is a social debate we can start with what are suffering from as community then at least begin to find answers on how we can tackle these problems. However, We shouldn’t totally focus on the bad nature of our community only but also think of the positive things that have come about as a result of the misfortunes. At least now we get to see what suffer from as a community in comparison to other non-Somali communities. We need to heal and support each other for a better future.

 

For sometime now I have been trying to find out of there is a possibility of seeing a Somali school but haven’t seen any. When you look at the Indian and Jewish community, they all have their schools that make sure their children never forget who they are what they are. They teach them their children about their culture and make sure they never lose their ways of life. Everyone in the world is fighting so hard to keep what’s left of their culture intact and here we are totally assimilated and worse still we don’t even know that.

 

MAY ALLAH BLESS US AND SHOW US THE RIGHT WAY FORWARD.

[Waaq]

Once a Somali always a Somali... to me the beauty of being a Somali is the contradictions. We are chameleons, adept at adjusting ourselves to our circumstances. Somali culture is not diseased, deficient, or flawed. We have suffered much in the last 13 years, but must I remind everyone that it has only been 13 years. Somali culture has the most wonderful ability to absorb and expand to fit new ways and people. This has occured for at least a thousand years with the assimilation of Arabs, Persians, Indians, and other Africans. This is not the curse many believe it to be. This fluidity allows us to remain Somalis without destroying ourselves. I like many of you become fustrated when I face certain aspects of Somali culture, but I am continually surprised by the unity inherent in being a Somali. I for one know, that when pushed to the absolute brink, no culture is as strong. This absolute refusal by most to give up being a Somali. Sure you might stray for awhile, but you always come back.

 

As a people, Somalis are rather small in number. We don't have the density or raw size to have many communities of substantial size (In the Bay Area of California, there are an estimated 500,000 to 1 million Indians). However, those communities that are big enough are doing wonderfully. For example, the Minneapolis community has managed to create basically a Somalia in the United States.

 

Don't despair, the concept of a "Somali" is changing. Change is always painful, but I am confident that Somalia will emerge stronger than before.