Sharing my experience of back home

[Tallaabo]

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[Tallaabo]

OdaySomali;932405 wrote:

Djibouti is probably the worst example you could have picked... a tiny city-state that is economically entirely dependent on the port revenues it generates from Ethiopia and the fees it levies on the American, French and Japanese military bases. If it were not for its fortunate location and Eritrea seceding from Ethiopia, it would just be an insignifcant, tiny, barren coastal enclave with no political, social or economic clout or relevance to speak of.

 

Adigu rumayso waxaad rumaysanaso, im not going to futher detract from the subject of this thread.

This is an excellent thread but you can not ignore the fact that if the union of Somaliland and Somalia was good for the Somali people today we would have something to show for it.

[OdaySomali]

Tallaabo, im not going to further detract from the subject of this thread.

[Haatu]

OdeySomali, could replanting be successful then? We have the same problem all over the Somali peninsular. Perhaps planting shrubs and acacia before the Gu' season and hope that some rain comes?

[Alpha Blondy]

OdaySomali;932623 wrote:

Tallaabo, im not going to further detract from the subject of this thread.

what a terrible thread this is.....the thread starter doesn't even take question....do you want these questions pre-approved for the purposes of googling and wikipedia-ing these first ever steps across the somali peninsula. a New Yorker Bestseller beckons for Oday, ma istidhi?

[Safferz]

Haatu;932636 wrote:

OdeySomali, could replanting be successful then? We have the same problem all over the Somali peninsular. Perhaps planting shrubs and acacia before the Gu' season and hope that some rain comes?

The problem with deforestation is that it permanently damages the ecology and landscape, and there are worries that parts of Somalia are becoming deserts as a result. Replanting sounds like a great idea, but what can be done if you've already destroyed the land's ability to sustain these plants?

 

 

[Tallaabo]

Alpha Blondy;932640 wrote:

what a terrible thread this is.....the thread starter doesn't even take question....do you want these questions pre-approved for the purposes of googling and wikipedia-ing these first ever steps across the somali peninsula. a New Yorker Bestseller beckons for Oday, ma istidhi?

He is wants to force the failed union down our throats, so your questions are not welcome;)

[OdaySomali]

The villages

 

Travelling between the major cities you will drive through a number of small villages, usually one every few KM's or so. There are a lot of very small villages between Hargeisa and Berbera, very few villages (less than you can count on one hand) between Berbera and Burao and a greater number (larger too in size) between Burao-Las Anod-Garowe. The rampant poverty and underdevelopment are evident as you drive through these villages which consist of nothing more than houses that are buulal, dergado or the typical African slum-house made of metal sheeting. There are brick and mortar houses to be found in these villages, but this type of housing is almost exclusive to the larger villages and are even then few in number. As one drives through these villages, it becomes clear that an overwhelming majority of the villages are severely malnurished. Their bodies are lean, their faces look gaunt, their clothes are in many cases tattered.

 

Of course these villages do not have any modern infrastructure and though I did not explore, probably very few public amenities such as healthcare, education. Because these villages have extremely limited purchasing power, there are very few business or private enterprises offering products or services in these villages. Most of the villagers are in someway engaged in the livestock trade. The little trade that is conducted in these villages is supplementary to their livestock rearing and this trade consists entirely of selling milk, and in some cases meat, by the road-side. Some villages will have a small shack that serves as an eatery for traffic that passes through. The recurring pattern is once-again of, god bless them, Somali women almost exclusively forming the petty traders and being the small business owners.

 

The Pothole Kids & Crazy Men

 

Driving between the cities and through the villages you will find come across many surprises. Some of these surprises will be the surprise of seeing a camel or sheep laying in the middle of or suddely running across the road. Certainly not something that you will be accustomed to if you've come from abroad.

 

Other surprises will be the mentally ill men you will see along the highway, especially as you travel between the cities. These men (I did not see a woman in such a state in all my time there, makes you wonder why) who just wonder along the road or the side of it; their appearance is schocking: their clothes are ripped, they are malnurished, they have unkept and overgrown hair. These men are known as the crazy men. They are clearly disoriented, dazed, seemingly unaware of their state and location and not even remotely lucid.

 

Lastly you will find what I've termed "the pot-hole kids". I call them "kids", but really I ought to say boys. These are boys who stand in the middle of or the side of the road near their village with a shovel adn fill the potholes with sand to smoothen the drive for those who are driving through. At the first sight of them I wondered what they were doing on the road or at the side of the road when they could see a car approaching. Then, when I saw them filling the potholes on the paved road, I naively thought and said out loud: "how good and charitable of them". I was immediately told: "they are doing it in hope to get some money!". The boy finished filling the potholes with the small shovel and they stood at the side of the road. Slowly the car drove further along and the the boy stood at the side of the road, arms stretched before them and their hand extended towards the window of the car. These boys are to be found on the outskirts of most villages and in many instances we threw them some money from the window, as is the norm for those who choose to reward their effort. At least those boys do not ask something for nothing, unlike the next group of people I am about to discuss.

 

Isbaaroyinka Duceysan - The Blessed Checkpoints

 

Driving between the cities, you will find yourself stopped at roadblocks/checkpoints at every few KM (maybe every 20KM or so), from Hargeisa to Garowe (probably from Boorama to beyond Garowe). These roadblocks are "official government checkpoints" and consist of a square small mortar and brick structure that perhaps is 1.5m wide and the same in hight to indicate that this is a roadblock/checkpoint. At those checkpoints the road is blocked, often they use a rope extended across the width of the road and in other cases they use a hand operated traffic barrier. These barriers were apparently introduced after the 2008 Alshabab bombings and are used to check the contect of vehicles travelling between the cities and the road-humps at these check-points are used to slow traffic "in-case al-shabab operatives try to 'escape' or drive off after doing some malicious act. The police officers at these checkpoints will note down the registration number of the car, the name of the driver, ask that the windows be lowered and check the content and passengers on the car (I am told they keep a look out for big-beard types, foreigners and excessive baggage). The checks are as strict when you are driving "out" of Somaliland as when you are driving into it.

 

To the nuxur of mentioning these checkpoints and where the pun in the subtitle ("isbaaroyinka duceysan") is. After these police officers complete their checks and questions, they turn to personal profiteering. They will harangue you incessantly to give them "duco" and in quite an aggressive manner, ak47 slung on their shoulder on in their hand: "ducada keen", "ducada keena". I was perplexed and wondered what on earth they were talking about. Again I was told, they want money, "duco" is a euphemism for money. The peculiar choice of words is inspired by the job-roles and their official capacity as public-servants. The "duco" then, is a supposed show of grattitude from you the [returnee/qurbojoog] civilliant, to thank them for their public service. In many cases we gave them money to save us the hearache and any possible negative consequences of not doing so. In other cases we did not and they let us pass. It all determines on how determined those particular police officers are to get money out of you. You will experience the same with traffice police within the cities who will forcibly stop you, look at who is in the car and demand money: "waryaa, jooji gaadhiga. Haye, gaadhigani ma cashuuran yahay? Yaa leh gaadhiga? Gaadhigani ma casuurna (waa ka marmarsiinyo). Waa qurbojooga, war lacag keen waryaahee hadii kale gaadhiga ma sii daynayno. We had to drive off because the situation was becoming quite hostile.

[Alpha Blondy]

Tallaabo;932646 wrote:

He is wants to force the failed union down our throats, so your questions are not welcome;)

inaar, this thread and Oday's analysis of many of the themes discussed are suspect at worst and plagiarised

at best. who wants to ask questions to a man writing these posts from his council estate somewhere within the M25 ring-road that encircles London. there's no pictures either. inaar, this oday is a pathetic voyeur. his views are incredibly condescending and lack personality.

 

Oday, where are you now? fadlan post your GPS coordinates......

[Carafaat]

Alpha Blondy;932654 wrote:

there's no pictures either. inaar, this oday is a pathetic voyeuristic. his views are incredibly condescending and lack personality.

Oday, where are you now? fadlan post your GPS coordinates......

Alpha, I suggest ina Oday si deg deg ah, ku casuumtid xaruunti fadhi wanaaga ee aniga macaa aad i geysay. He desperatly needs some lessons.

[Carafaat]

the villages

Travelling between the major cities you will drive through a number of small villages, usually one every few KM's or so. There are a lot of very small villages between Hargeisa and Berbera, very few villages (less than you can count on one hand) between Berbera and Burao and a greater number (larger in size) between Burao-Las Anod-Garowe.

Tribalism in its purest form. I definetly know for sure there are more villages between Berbera and Burco then between any other two cities. Come up with facts Oday!

[OdaySomali]

Carafaat;932657 wrote:

Tribalism in its purest form. I definetly know for sure there are more villages between Berbera and Burco then between any other two cities. Come up with facts Oday!

looool o.k.

[Alpha Blondy]

Carafaat;932657 wrote:

Come up with facts Oday!

the PEOPLE have SPOKEN loudly and clearly, odayoow, inaar.

 

WE demand FACTS......does he honestly think there is an unbroken chain of ''check-points'' between boroma to garowe. this fraudster lacks any common sense than i initially thought..... if he's ignoring the reality on the ground. mise, waa delusional?

[OdaySomali]

Alpha Blondy;932654 wrote:

inaar, this thread and Oday's analysis of many of the themes discussed are suspect at worst and plagiarised

at best. who wants to ask questions to a man writing these posts from his council estate somewhere within the M25 ring-road that encircles London. there's no pictures either. inaar, this oday is a pathetic voyeur. his views are incredibly condescending and lack personality.

 

Oday, where are you now? fadlan post your GPS coordinates......

Sxb, I've expressed my disappointment in you before and I will do so again. You supposedly work in and live in Hargeisa. You have the most perfect opportunity to present us with first-hand account of life in the homeland and to post pictures, videos and keep a blog. yet you fail us sxb. Only recently after I complained have you started posting some pictures of the place (Hargeisa), albeit bad-quality and badly taken pictures.

 

So I challenge you. Start a thread and present us with an alternative narrative, with pictures, videos and all.

[Alpha Blondy]

Carafaat;932656 wrote:

Alpha, I suggest ina Oday si deg deg ah, ku casuumtid xaruunti fadhi wanaaga ee aniga macaa aad i geysay. He desperatly needs some lessons.

inaar, are we even sure he is, who he says, he is, dee. for all we know he could be a Russian Bride whose skirting around these boards for a potential victim. yaa oog? yaa verification ka bixin kara odayga?