Greeting From Sunny Somalia | Steve Dennis

[wind.talker]

Gaaladu, no matter how educated, still manage to miss the point:

 

Strange how wearing a

skirt

in one culture is seen as a sign of manliness and as something else altogether in another.

Somehow, he STILL manages to call it a "skirt" - while, only a paragraph before, he correctly termed it "Macawis." Also, Richard Burton's I-meet-Africans-for-3-days-and-I-know-everything-about -them legacy seems self-evident in this White boy's writing.

[El Bizarro]

Of all the posible quotes you could take from my writing to make your point I think you may have chosen the wrong one. To assume that when I say skirt in this qoute that I am only talking about the Macawis is quite presumptious.

 

The writings taken from my weblog and posted by someone else to this forum were originally a series of emails written to close friends and as such are part of an ongoing dialogue, one that covered a variety of topics such as the perception of men and their choice of clothes in _many_ cultures, not just Somalia.

 

The word skirt is from english, my native (but not sole) language and describes the various loose garments that men all over the world wear. I could just as easily have substituted Falda (Spanish), Kilt (Scottish), Lap Lap (Papua New Guinea), Lungi (Tamil) etc etc... But the discussion is in english to other english speakers about men living in cultures and countries all over the world, not just a sandy strip of desert clinging to the east coast of Africa. Therefore using skirt in the sentence makes more sense then using Macawis.

 

Of course, there are plenty of other sentences you could have grabbed from my writings to prove you hypothesis of my 3-days-in-africa-know-it-all-white-boy attitude but the the one where I say that after 6 months in Somalia: "Now that I’m finally understanding what’s going on, it’s over" wouldn't have given it much support.

 

But then again, when you're desperate to prop up a hypothesis about a person you've never met from a country you've never been to, one can be inclined to take such leaps, no? I've met lots of people in many countries who consider themselves experts on my country and culture (and those of others as well) without ever having been there. Their pomposity and arrogance equally stands out in their writings, regardless of the colour of their skin. But I wouldn't know, when it comes to race, I tend to find myself colour blind.

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Bizarro, welkam to this forum. A question for you, though: How did you discover this forum? Did you google your own words, which then led you to this forum?

I've seen guys holding hands heterosexually. But sleeping in the same bed? :eek: :eek: hmmm

Suldaanka, qaxii duruufaad badan ayuu keenay. Waxaas waxaa kamid ahaa hal joodari laba qof share gareeyo, even sadex qof, oo gees gees loo seexan jiray (meaning shafka hore ayaa joodariga saaranee, lugahaana banaanka). Ask reer Otaango, LoL.

 

Anyway, I remember one night in Neyroobi that there were nine guys and three minimum-sized joodari. Si walba waala yeelay, qof ayaa faqad noqonaaye. Finally the three mattresses waala isku dhajiye and each of us had space so scarce that we felt sleeping that night might feel like dad meyd eh; no body had a space uu isku gadiyo. The funny thing was markii la isku wada faraashay, no body could sleep, markaasna sheeko ayaa la galay waagana ku barye, kii kacay markaasna laga faa'ideystay.

[wind.talker]

I've met lots of people in many countries who consider themselves experts on my country and culture (and those of others as well) without ever having been there. Their pomposity and arrogance equally stands out in their writings, regardless of the colour of their skin.

Oh, I see. So, you should feel better about yourself because you simply did what others have done for a long time. You're not guilty - you're just following the traditions of anthropology.

 

Regardless of how "others" refer to the "ma'awis", you should know better than to call it a skirt. In Somali, a skirt is called "goono" - which is wholly different word from "ma'awis." I know, I know - its not you're fault that English is such a xenophobic and limited language. But do try to be spontaneous. I encourage you!

[El Bizarro]

I found this forum by checking the statistics of my blog and was surprised to see so many references from the forum. I'm encouraged that many of the readers here took the time to read the rest of my writings before jumping to conclusions about who I am and what my experiences have been with Africa and her peoples.

 

I'm also surprised that somebody found my writing of any interest at all, especially those about Somalia, which as I mentioned in a previous post, were originally letters home.

 

Somalia occupies a special place for me. It was neither my first nor last African experience but certainly the most challenging and rewarding.

 

As for the men sleeping together in the same bed, our guards did it regularly, as the only option was to either sleep on the floor, or, er, stand guard We Gaals find it a little hard to do this because are notions of masculinty are very different in some respects.

[El Bizarro]

My goodness Wind Talker, you are such an arrogant little sod aren't you? Methinks your nickname is quite apt yet don't you think it a little hypocritical that you bellyache about us Gaals being presumptious about African culture when you've completely co-opted that of another yourself (the North American indians) and from a ridiculous Nicholas Cage movie no less.

 

Oh, I see. So, you should feel better about yourself because you simply did what others have done for a long time. You're not guilty - you're just following the traditions of anthropology.

Xenophobic and limited english may be but obviously too subtle for you. You completely misunderstand that I was refering to _you_ and your puerile, racist little post. I tried to give you a gentle nudge but you completely missed it didn't you.

 

But go on, keep on banging on about the Macawi if it makes you feel better. You could try being a little more spontaneous (and a tad less racist) yourself.

[wind.talker]

^^

 

Okay, White boy. You win. But please sir, don't colonize me, again.

 

Seriously, there is no question about my racist attitude towards White people. Could I be less racist? Sure...but only after White people quit interfering in intra-African affairs, bombing innocent Iraqis and Afghanis, and continuing the illegal imprisonment of African American youth in the U.S. But, since none of that will ever happen, I'd much rather remain racist and rant out at attention-seeking adventure boys, such as yourself, who want to make a name for themselves by being "wanna-be" anthropologists - like hey, I got me a few Negroes to study!

 

Okay, Charlie, take care, pal!

[El Bizarro]

Yawn, how droll! Well, for what's it's worth, at least you have the integrity to admit you're a racist. But you're also presumptious and poorly informed. My family fled english colinisation too, my friend. More than 400 years of it, which destroyed our language and nearly drove my people to extinction. But then again, we all look the same to you don't we?

 

I do what I do because I'm appalled by US and British imperialism and I want to do something about it, not because of your quaint and narrow minded world views that all whiteys are the same.

 

Unlike yourself, I'm prepared to put my money, and my butt, where my mouth is. I'll be going back to Somalia, and Afghanistan to do what I can to help those Africans and others suffering from the effects of US and British imperialism. Somehow, for all your talk, I don't think I'll be seeing you there...

[Cara.]

There is a thriving economy here, yet there are kids being brought to the clinic that are 50% of what they should weigh (that is an African scale, they would be maybe 35% of what a western baby should weigh). These kids are tiny. When you look at them, you wonder what force on Earth is so great to do that to a little baby, then a cell phone rings.

This is one of the most saddest side effects of a culture in which the adult males are served first before all the kids are given a large plate of food to share. The bigger and stronger kids will eat faster, the ones that are already smaller in stature will just receive less and less nutrition. We are a lanky people naturally, so often the parents don't realize something is wrong until it is too late.

 

Steve, thank you for helping those kids. Don't mind wind.talker. If you paid close attention in Somalia, you'll notice that we are a proud people, and it rankles when we know that we need your help to feed our kids or treat our sick. We must convince ourselves that you are really getting something more out of it (maybe you are feeding us contraceptives, or trying to spread your gaalo idealogy or something). Hence the little boys' reactions, and how wind.talker picked up on your apparently patronizing comment. He is just looking for something to sneer at.

 

Yeah, and you can call his response "buufis". (Which roughly means "inflated").

 

A little tip for greetings: During the day, just say "Maalin wanaagsan". Good day, y'ken?

[Sky]

^ Callypso, you're not talking to Steve.

 

El Bizarro, welcome to the forum. It was I who posted your journals about Somalia. I have read your writings with much interest, and I must say that you're not a racist as some here claim. I would like to say thank you on behalf of the SOL forum for the service you have commited yourself to for the Somali people. I see that you have learned much during your stay in Somalia, as did I when I visited Somalia a while back in exactly the same area that you worked in. Its a shame you didn't accompany the guards when they were buying weapons; visiting the weapon's market in Gaalkacyo is really quite something. You can test out the guns for free, you'll have to pay for the bullet of course.

 

You took some awesome pictures. I was especially impressed with the shot of the desert flowers. Indeed its amazing that life seems to find its way in even the most impossible conditions, let alone that people inhabit this piece of earth without losing their mind.

 

Anyway, enjoy your stay here in SOL. Most of us do appreciate your writings about us Somalis and do not think you are a racist prick. Your reports about the health conditions in Somalia were very interesting. As in matter of fact, please share with us some more about your days in Somalia.

 

PS. The heartbreak hotel you refer to in your photo album has been completed a year ago.

 

Before:

 

 

After:

 

[NGONGE]

El Bizarro,

 

Excuse what might seem like a silly question, but I’ve always wondered how guys like you are funded?

 

Say I wanted to ditch the wife, kids and borrowed cat (the neighbours don’t mind). How would I go about moving to Peru and helping the mountain kids cultivate delicious coffee beans? Would I have to foot the bill to start with and then hitch a ride with some charity once I’m there?

 

I really don’t want to ditch the wife or kids and certainly not the cat. Besides, African sand, when it gets under your nails, is really hard to get rid off.

I would still like to know the way these things work though.

 

On this site at least, I’ve had enough of pretty pictures of Somalia and would like to see pretty descriptions of the things that go on there. Care to oblige? Don’t worry about Dances with Wolves; I am, you’ll be glad to hear, in position of some secret soviet weapons that have proven very effective in silencing him in the past.

[Cara.]

Depends on what you have to offer. Many charities and NGOs (eg Doctors Without Borders aka Medecins Sans Frontieres) recruite professionals. They pay for all travel expenses, but some money of your own wouldn't hurt.

 

I'm not sure coffee-bean pickers are in hot demand with charities. Just assauge your bourgeois guilt by buying fair trade coffee by the pound. It's how I live with my self.

 

Sky,

 

Nice photo. About the gun culture in Galkacyo. My cousin was taken there for some dhaqan celis. He e-mailed me a picture of him holding an Uzi or something. That's pretty much all he got out of the experience--the ready availability of guns.

[Chocolate and Honey]

We must convince ourselves that you are really getting something more out of it (maybe you are feeding us contraceptives, or trying to spread your gaalo idealogy or something).

 

Callypso are u dat deranged? I mean r u hoping to gain some mutual understanding with El-Bizaro by trashing your people like dat? seriously! quite to the contrary, many of us appriciate the little help we can get from da outside world, and infact we are very grateful to those who sacrifice for us. it is so unfair of you to generalize from some negative experience.

nobody is doubting dat Steve's, or whatever his name is, intentions were ligid, but his language is getting da best of him. and like he said these were letters meant for his friends, so it is ok. for him confide with them and express his confusion but why post them?

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The battle to be da best has just begun

[Somalia]

I see Abdullahi Yusuf International, waa wareey caadi ma'aha.