Why I prefer my kids to grow up in the Middle East [video]

[Rahima]

Juxa;959788 wrote:

Good available, physically present parenting will do. Discipline, great expectation, encouragements also help

Whilst i agree that discipline, great expectations and encouragement do help, i don't believe that they are enough when living in the West. I acknowledge that living in a Muslim country (i use that label loosely) doesn't provide full guarantee that your children will not become ciyaal suuq but it sure does lessen the chance.

 

Even more problematic with living in gaalo countries is that our children will forever feel different. I'm so sick and tired of being different and i certainly don't want my children feeling that way. I'd love their normality to be waking up to the adhan, dugsi as an everyday event, and eid as a major celebration. My son started kindergarten this year and already i have to contend with Easter and birthdays with parents who insist on drinking at every given opportunity. I envy those who live in Muslim countries (even Kenya and Ethiopia) and hope to some day soon inshallah be there myself.

[Juxa]

I honestly think no amount of Muslim environment can compensate for good parenting

 

Although environment and sense of belonging deen & dhaqan wise help, it is not a substitute that a child needs good and balanced upbringing .

 

I always see parents when things go wrong and I am astonished by the level of blame and gaalo did this to my child finger pointing.

Of course I concede I am not a parent and it is easier said than done bluh bluh

[N.O.R.F]

I still don't know which is better. Theres good and bad in both but, for me, the main thing is rights. Although you may be a Muslim in a Muslim country you're rights are not guaranteed as they are essentially 'countries' and their own nationals will have more rights. In terms of learning Islam a Muslim country is better but then racism and bad manners more apparent and abuses are more common.

[underdog]

Mad_Mullah;959780 wrote:

Somali societies in the ME are overlooked, nobody notices them. .........

 

As for the point of them having a slave mentality and having low self esteem, I don't agree with that. I think it's the complete opposite, they adapt and become arrogant themselves. I think that might be the case in KSA only. Not Egypt or UAE.

Ignored and overlooked.....low self-esteem, hmm, Interesting.

[Maaddeey]

Nort, racism is here as it in every place in the world. Meeshii awoowgaa ka soo jeedo wax kuu dhaama maleh!. Samatar baa hadda fahmay, waana 2+2=4.

 

Juxa, good parenting and availability (still negotiable) helps as good, muslim environment helps too, but we should not forget hanuunka Allaa iska leh, Noahs son and wife, Lut's wife, Ibrahim's dad and Mohammed (saw all of them) is an example.

[ElPunto]

What's the real problem being in the west? Kids in jail, lost kids, kids who are leading other kids astray. And by kids it's the males. In my travels in the middle east I didn't see large numbers of males incarcerated or in trouble with the law. There may not be many opportunities to better yourself in those societies but the overall outcomes are better than here.

[Coofle]

Big mistake, If you are not a Middle east native, then don't try it...don't take them to the middle east, I believe as che said "no substitute to Good parenting" If its inevitable, Then Their home country is the best choice (Somali Speaking environment) ...Most of Families send their Kids and wives to Middle east, While father is back in the west, Without direct Paternal supervision over the boys they go awry and distracted by the civilities middle east has to offer (and they are many)....

[Mad_Mullah]

Thing is with Kenya, Tanzania etc. it's just a matter of time before the police themselves turn against the Somalis. Just like what happened in Kenya in the last few months. Random arrests, torture, etc.

[Mad_Mullah]

underdog;959836 wrote:

Ignored and overlooked.....low self-esteem, hmm, Interesting.

You know what I mean. There are 30.000 Somalis in Dubai alone with large numbers in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, etc. They cause no trouble, live their lives relaxed, they're just one of the many communities there like Sudanis, Egyptians etc.

 

Unlike Eastleigh where the whole capital notices them, one little skirmish and that's it - Bantu vs Somali again.

[underdog]

Mad_Mullah;959946 wrote:

You know what I mean. There are 30.000 Somalis in Dubai alone with large numbers in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, etc. They cause no trouble, live their lives relaxed, they're just one of the many communities there like Sudanis, Egyptians etc.

 

Unlike Eastleigh where the whole capital notices them, one little skirmish and that's it - Bantu vs Somali again.

I understand what you're implying however there is more to Kenya than Eastleigh. As a matter of fact I wouldn't recommend anyone raise kids in Easteigh. If you can afford it, there are excellent neighbourhoods in Nairobi and Mombasa and Dar-es-Salam. If you can afford it there are top level health services and internationally accredited schools.

 

The problem I've seen with parents moving their kids away from the west is that they want to live on a tight budget and minimum problems. That formula doesn't work.

 

Whether you're in Dubai or Nairobi or Toronto, you get what you pay for, and if all you can afford (or willing to pay) is at the lower end of the social class then expect dismal results.

[Mad_Mullah]

Yeah, I heard good things about Mombasa. Plus the city looks wonderful, maybe this thread is a bit biased because I know Arabic and would be easier for me to settle in an Arabic speaking country rather than a Swahili/English one.

[Alpha Blondy]

QansaxMeygaag;959779 wrote:

Africa is the best place; kids here don't grow up with all that racial baggage, being called names by snotty-nosed Arabs or white riff-raff.

they'll learn dirty somali insults and tribal slurs. my kids are home schooled and have very minimal interaction with the outside world.

[Wadani]

Mad_Mullah;959968 wrote:

Yeah, I heard good things about Mombasa. Plus the city looks wonderful, maybe this thread is a bit biased because I know Arabic and would be easier for me to settle in an Arabic speaking country rather than a Swahili/English one.

I have long noted ur obsession with Arabs. It's pathetic really.

[Mad_Mullah]

Wadani;959983 wrote:

I have long noted ur obsession with Arabs. It's pathetic really.

Obsession? You're probably one of those Faraxs that can't wait for their kids to appear on World Star Hip Hop to prove how 'westernized' we've become. My father spend more than a decade in The Middle East, so did I. It's like saying London Malis are obsessed with UK/Canada etc.

[Blessed]

To be honest, there are pros and cons to everywhere, Allah has made humans weak, so don't expect perfection anywhere. That, said, I personally would like my children to experience life here, there and everywhere. Our dhaqan and deen are integral compenents of who we are, I don't need to be at a specific place to be Somali or Muslim. However - it's things like crime rates, career opportunity, quality of life that determin where we live.

 

As for parenting, like Juxa said them most important thing is to be engaged parents. I would add, that you need to be very clear about what you want for your children. Then be slightly obsessed in ensuring that you lay the foundations for them and shut out anything that would undermine your plans for them - I'm all for 'tiger mothering /parenting' with an Islamic twist.