Heblayo Told Me ..
Will you Come with me on this journey?
Ku Soo Dhawoow [Welcome ]
salamz
Sunsets in #Africa #Somalia
#borama #Somalia #somaliland
-Africa , Somalia/Somaliland
What is Al-Shabaab exactly ? - Is it a true Extremist terrorist Organization Or Is there More to it than what meets the Eye
If the Majority of the Civilians want peace , why is this war still standing 22 years into it . - Could it Be “The Helping hands” of other Nations are really Just a pretence and Contributing if not solely Directing this madness .
Why is there No Strict Regulation on Mosques and Quranic Schools within the North to Stop the open Recruitment of Little Boys by Al-Shabaab ? Or Is the North turning a Blind eye to anything with potential benefit to Recognition
If I was a Believer in Al-shabaab teachings , Wouldn’t I just Fullfill my duties by blowing up the nearest “Fitnah Causing entity” instead of travelling 1000s of miles and spending a fortune to blow up somewhere else ? . …..[Rest of Questions to controversial to post ]
Borama, Hargeisa, Las-Anod,
Bits and Pieces of Somalia/Somaliland
I can already sense the tension rising before I even put my article on paper , But to those of you getting into a rage simply because I mentioned the self proclaimed country “Somaliland” - Here is a chill pill , relax and read what I have to say from a point of view many Somalis share.
Over the past 5 years , I have been residing in a small city north of the Capital Hargeisa , Known as Borama. this is one of the most peaceful towns in all of Somalia put together . People mind their bussiness for the most part and whatever little harrasment I have faced during my stay was very much bearable , rather entertaining I might say . Now as most of you up to date with the Somali news and politics will know , Somaliland’s president for almost 10 years was a man named Dahir Riyale. Back in 2010 he finally lost the presidential election which he was running for the 2nd time .the sequence of events that took place since is rather interesting .
Since 2010’s Somaliland presidential election , the northern region Known as Awdal, which comprises mainly of Borama has declared itself as a seperate entity known as AwdalState. Now whether AwdalState is calling itself a country or a State of the United Somalia again, we do not know yet . But what it has made clear is It is not to be associated with Somaliland anymore. However to most Somalis The emergence of AwdalState does not really come of as a surprise .
One of the main reasons there has been peace in most of Somaliland during Dahir Riyale’s presidency comes from his Tribal roots. Being from the “Gaadabuursi” tribe has during the years won him votes from both the north and the South of Somaliland. The North [awdal region] being his hometown and his family, and the South [Sanaag and Sool ] because of his clan’s rather neutral background at all times. Now that he is no longer president, the North naturally want nothing to do with Somaliland anymore. Not to mention the clashes in the small towns of Qabiiley and Dilla between the Isaaq clan [ Current president’s clan ] and the Gaadabuursi clan [ Former president’s clan] , which has worsened tensions between the Government and the North.[ Notice the tribal Politics at play at all times within Somalia]
Now that Somaliland is loosing it’s Northern Region , it has moved on to gain control over the disputed South , more specifically the small town of Buuhodle, part of the state of SSC [ Sool. Sanaag and ‘Ain ] which also refuses to be associated with Somaliland and considers itself a State of United Somalia .
Ever Since the new president has come to power in 2010, this small town has been under constant attack for no apparent reason .The most recent attack starting a few days ago . this took place while most of the male resident population were out of town attending a conference in the nearby city of Talee’h. From the many opinions out on the streets ,people seem to believe this is the one area that is yet to be secured as part of the former British Somaliland border. Hence once the borders are all secured , recognition will follow. - A tactical move that comes out of desperation and a final attempt to restore hope to a rather skeptical nation , quickly losing faith in it’s government’s failed promise of recognition over the last 21 years.
[And what better way to distract them from the problem at hand than to give them bloodshed, renew old wounds and watch as people glorify killing and rejoice in the death of one another.]
From the original 6 regions , Somaliland is now left with only 3. And at an attempt to make the remaining regions more in number and to satisfy the tribal ego in so many Somalis; it has named small villages with a population of less than 3000 people a state/region. [Divide, Rule and Conquer]
Although Somaliland might appear peaceful to most of the world , what is brewing inside this unrecognised independent country is far from peace. And despite the best efforts of the Government to silence any talks on a public scale [ the media, religious leader, Clan seniors] about the current situation, it is clear to the local reasonable resident that Somaliland has become a ticking time bomb that is ready to blow at any second.
Today it is a graveyard, A battle ground, A war zone, A prison and a Hospital with no staff. It is everything but Home
So if you have been following Universal Tv or simply the Somali Gossip lately , you will already know that Somaliland is having its annual Football championship in Burco . This is an interesting event for a few reasons . and the timing couldn’t be anymore perfect . Here’s why :
You even had the Old women on standby and everytime a goal was scored , they’d ask who scored [ that’s how oblivious they were to the whole game. to them it was just a bunch of men running around with a ball , but what they knew was they were playing the so called enemy !!!! ] and when they were told it was Borama - The drums would be playing and the whole ilyilyilyilyilyyy was the national anthem for the next 30 seconds. this was clearly tribalism invading football , a more diplomatic way of solving issues. No Guns involved , just loads of sweat on the field and a ball.
Firstly I’d like to take a minute to Wish you all a Blessed Eid , filled with happiness, love and many great memories to be remembered through the years to come. To those of you Away from your families and loved ones for whatever reason, I hope you all are blessed with a close circle of great friends to ease the pain of not being able to celebrate at home . To the fortunate who do get to enjoy this great day with your parents , siblings, children and spouses - take a moment to appreciate what you have , Look around the room, smile and thank Allah for this precious Gift.
I thought while we all are getting caught up with our celebrations , We could all take a moment to remember those that are less fortunate . The poor , the needy, the handicapped, the orphans, the sick and the dead. Since Eid is a time of giving , the least we can do is Say a prayer for all the muslims around the world - May Allah bestow his mercy on all of us , May your suffering be replaced with Happiness and Joy, May Allah forgive us for our sins, the past ones and those to come, the ones we know of and the one we do not remember . May Allah bless us all with Health , for without health life looses its meaning. - Ameen
It’s 2:00 pm , 6th November 2011 . Posting this from Borama, Somalia - Eid Mubarak lovelies <3
As almost everyone is aware . Al-Shabaab has been a problem in Somalia for the last 10 years or so . So far this so-called Islamic extremist group have only increased in number over the years, and plunged their claws deeper into the Somali society.
What is not obvious though is how Society’s perception of Islam has been affected .
Before I break this down let’s start with the mosques . I can generally classify them into three categories : The Al-shabaab mosques, The Sufi Mosques and The Tribal mosques. [ this is just generally speaking , ofcourse there are perfectly normal unbiased, non differentiationg mosques] . What has become a trend over the last few years is the recruiting of young boys usually between the ages of 16 into the early 20’s for Al-Shabaab projects. They lure them in with talks of Holy War and Paradise for those killed in the process. This is ofcourse done in Mosques, during friday congregational prayers, Lectures after prayers and so on .
After a feww thousand boys taking off in secret , only to contact their families to inform them of their mission . Mothers , sisters and wifes have become outraged with Al-Shabaaband quite phobic as well. Now with people so scared of Al-Shabaab and what they might do next ,anyone who is percieved as being too religious is considered Al-Shabaab. So in turn anyone who is too religious is treated as an outcast.
For people who are not very familiar with the exact teachings of the Quran and the Sunnah , and what is Haraam and Halaal [ which is a huge number of the population] they start to believe that if Al-Shabaab are Sunnis . Therefore being Sunni must be very Extremist. Here is where Sufism proves a very nice Alternative.
Sufi Sheikhs are not brain washing my kids. they are not making everything Haraam. They do not kill people for no reason .They are simply showing their love for Allah and the prophet. That’s Haraam too now? How can showing my Love for the prophet be wrong? . All you Sunnis are just very Extreme.
Now you have the majority of Society with a wrong preception on what Sunnah is really about, or suspecting every niqabi or beard growing male in a short Thobe as Al-Shabaab. In Turn Practicing Sunnis tone it down , shave off the beard, take off the Niqab and try to fit in . No one wants to give advice or differentiate haraam from halaal because “I might be called Al-Shabaab”.
longer post sometime later…
Muhideen Mohamed, who works with the charity, said troops from Amisom - the AU peacekeeping force which was patrolling the city - fired on the journalists as they travelled to the airport, where they were based.
“Amisom killed a Malaysian journalist and injured another between the K4 road junction and Mogadishu airport on Friday,” Mr Mohamed, the aid group’s local coordinator, told Reuters.
The claim could not be verified and AU officials were not immediately available for comment.
So al-Shabaab pull out of Somalia for the first time in years . they have been out of the capital for almost 3 weeks now. And the news headlines says : Malysian journalist shot dead in moqadishu . The firs thing that came to mind was :AL - SHABABB ARE BACK !!! IT HAS TO BE THEM !! I KNEW IT !! . But surprisingly it’s the African Union . I don’t fully understand why the very people who were brought into the country to help uphold peace would shoot a journalist to death . I remember Many Somalis being against bringing in the African Union in the first place . But the question is : Is this a one time incident ? Or has the African Union been doing this for a while , all under the Cover of Al- Shabaab? . I’m just really interested in what their statement is going to be regarding this situation.
Could it be the African Union is just as bad as Al-Shabaab?? Do they really have a role in Somalia’s 21 year long Civil war ?
Last night as my mom , the maid and I sat watching tv. My mom mentioned how 2 girls were raped a few days ago by 3 guys on their way home .The maid instantly jumped in and said
”They knew the guys , they didn’t just get kidnapped and raped , so they deserve what happened to them”.
Before I could respond , my mom was already at it :
” Just because they knew them does not give them the right to rape .Would you be okay with getting raped just because you were out with a guy ?. No one deserves to be raped and those men should be sentenced for life”.
It was only then I realized how Rape and teen Pregnancies have become fairly common over the last few years in this part of the world.
I cannot even begin to put my frustration into words when it comes to rape. But when in Somalia, Rape takes on a whole new dimension. Rape in Somalia is a quick way to make money for some. You are probably wondering how ? . Let me Introduce you to the Clan Ideology : If any harm happens to you , your Clan serve as your Justice system.There will be a meeting with the victim’s clan Seniors and the Offenders clan seniors. They will discuss the amount of damage caused and the most suitable ruling. Usually the only suitable ruling is a certain sum of money set by the Victim’s Clan. So when a girl does get raped , the rapist does not get punished in any way or form. However the two clans have a sit together and decide on the number of dollars to be payed as a form of compensation.Now here’s the interesting part .This so called compensation for the girl never makes it into her hands , However it is divided among the Clan members and the closest it get’s to the lawful recepient is through her father . A mere 2-4% of the actual compensation.the offender always walks away free of charge with a simple scolding not to repeat the offense so as his Clan do not have to pay anymore money. Behold the Clan/tribe Ideology!!!!. That is only One of the many reasons why Rape is so frequent around this place. Another reason being that very thinking so many people share ; TURNING THE VICTIM INTO THE CULPRIT.
“Oh why was she out after 9pm” .
” why was she with a guy in the first place” .
” Why was she walking in that part of town alone” .
” Why was she dressed in that manner”
She brought it on herself ,SHE WAS ASKING FOR IT , SHE DESERVES IT !! SAY NO TO SYMPATHY , SAY NO TO LOGIC , SAY NO TO REASONING!!!
I just don’t understand these statements. Nobody wants to be raped . It could happen to anyone really . It could happen at 12pm noon, to a woman dressed like a ninja. It is society that is messed up for trying to make excuses for such kind of people. Why not make excuses for the victim instead. Why not Question the offender’s behavior. Why not for once put aside all the sexism and Just say right from wrong.
About a year ago I did a post on teen girls burning themselves for what I considered silly reasons .[ here’s the post ]. Back then Rape was not so common, However there was a reasonable number of teen pregnancies.
Back in march this year I was assigned to the Gyn/Obs ward at the general Hospital in town , we did 6 days a week , 7 hour shifts for 3 months. The one thing that caught my attention during that period was the number of little girls that were coming in pregnant. Before this time , I was only familiar with the daily gossip that went around town but what I was not aware of was the actual scale of this issue.But what made this even more interesting is how when they were asked about the father of the child , Most of them responded in the same manner :
He refused to claim responsibility for the child and is in no way planning to be a part of this.
Most of these girls were lured in with dreams of being married and finding her happily ever after. They were all promised love and support , only to be used and dumped. For those of you that are sitting there thinking “Oh well she did consent to it ,She should take responsibility for it .” Isn’t the fact that she is going through with the pregnancy while still in school enough proof of her owning up to her mistake. But my question is why not place the same harsh stigmas on the other person involved,Afterall it was not a pen that impegranated her. It is that guy you make excuses for time and time again
” Oh he was young and naive” .
” He will grow to be a fine gentleman” .
“She seduced him into it , he would never have done it otherwise”
my little brother made me realise that your presence at the Horn of Africa, reached a sheer unprecedented number.
I guess you are there to help the people in need for the last couple of months.
Nevertheless, your websites and the daily news suggest that either no one is there to help, as funds are diverted for “administration purpose”, or that the situation becomes more desperate with every day that passes.
Where are our donations?
Either it will never be enough or the suffering of the Somali people became a gap in the market.
Could you please stop taking pictures of the unfortunate (sitting there, as if they were waiting for redemption) while you seem well-fed next to them, dressed in your white or blue neatly ironed T-shirt. We know that they were left with nothing, but there is no need to take away their dignity, as they believe that only Allah is their provider. Don’t mock them!
Why don’t you take pictures of the things you have achieved so far?
Why don’t you show us the figures (the thousands, the millions of US-Dollar; Euros and Pound-Sterling) showing how you spent the donations that reach you?
If you went to the Horn of Africa to boost your CV for the UN, for a political career, or simply for the name of your organisation, please leave – right now!
We need the ones who want to eat and live with people in need, instead the ones who go back to their acclimatised hotel after their shift!
We need the ones who believe in sustained development, instead the ones who force the Third World to agreements which exploit them!
Your pictures don’t face me!
Be honest to us, or simply leave Somalia, leave Africa and go back to where you came from.
Sincerely
Abdul Usman
