Salaams Time would not permit me to write lengthily but if I leave any blunders my utmost good friend Dantey would fill the gaps. The traditional elders should elect I would say. But the problem this posses is that the fact that in the south of Somalia traditional leader’s words are seldom valued where for example in Somaliland and Puntland their words are revered consequently, since we are men who value pragmatism rather that idealism I would say that we should consider both. Guys, trust me I despise all those who are there, but that is the best (in practical terms) our society had produced. In the South we should leave it to those who are in power. In Puntland and Somaliland the Elders seem to have a grip over the society (however feeble that is). The elders set up both administrations in these two states and so far (in relative terms) they have been functioning moderately. Wabilahi Towfiq

To enjoy a thing one has to understand the intrinsic value of it. For example if you take a moderate Somali girl to dine at the Ivy; it is most certain such a girl will treat this normal gesture; this obviously stems from the fact that she does not understand the value of such high celebrated restaurant—perhaps bad analogy, nevertheless it serves the purpose.Thus, these people abuse these freedoms because they have a dim understanding of it walaalkiis. But above is the simplistic understanding of our plight. We the Somalis without the prior education found ourselves in a countries that some of only saw on the TV (kawaran hee kuwaan TV-ga qabin ee ciyaal gobolka ahaa); this obviously is something to have to bear in mind. As one above caver said Somalis are the victims not the problem.

This website is filled with chicks and chickenlegs trying to write poetry in English with dysmal effect. perhaps it is time to Embrace Somali classical poetry. The First Poem is Written by Ismail Mire: and it is title is :: Ragoow Kibirka waa lagu kufaa: Kulligood adoomaha rabboow qaybsha kibistiiye Qof kastoo kabtiya ama kalaha ama kur dheer fuula Bad kalluun ku jirra kollay ku tahay amase koob shaah ah Ninba kadabkii loo qoray Ilaah wuu la kulansiine Inaan ruuxna soo korodhsanayn kaa ha la ogaado Ninkase koob nimca ah fuuqsadee kadin irmaan maala In karuurka uu qubo horay kaafka ugu tiille Killigiiba Reer-Hagar anaa kiin ah baa rogaye Kamma Sugulle maankii sidii kuray carruureede Kas xumaa hoddaye naagta way kala fogaayeene Ragow kibirka waa lagu kufaa kaa ha la ogaado Lixda koos ee Reer Cali-gariye kaw iskaga siiyey Kasi waaye wuxu waa qabaal waadna kabataane Ragow kibirka waa lagu kufaa kaa ha la ogaado Kaysaha adduun Ina Amaan kuma qarraacnayne Ragbaa keeno gali buu is yidhi waad u koraysaaye Misna kama fileyn mana hadayn kii Israa'ilaye Ragow kibirka waa lagu kufaa kaa ha la ogaado Af xakame karkabadii u ay iyo kulaylkiiye Ka dambee Calluu yidhi intuu Kaaha guursadaye Isna kaal u tumay weyn intuu kariyey waabeeye Ragow kibirka waa lagu kufaa kaa ha la ogaado Kalmadduu lahaa Ina Galaydh kohay gadaashiiye Kaarkuba ma joogeen hadduu keeno tuluddiiye Baallacad kalyaha kuma jareen kii uu quudhsadaye Ragow kibirka waa lagu kufaa kaa ha la ogaado Raguu muxumud waal raray haduu saanta uga kaadsho Kulcad uma ay dileen oo hadana koor magaliyeene Ragow kibirka waa lagu kufaa kaa ha la ogaado Cartan dhuurta kooraha markuu kor ugu laalaayey Garaad Faarax dhay iyo karuur kala macaanaaye Misna kala khadhaadhaa dhunkaal kulankii goobeede Ragow kibirka waa lagu kufaa kaa ha la ogaado Adaa dunida kaligaa leh buu Koofil eersadaye Kashiisaba ma galin wiilalbaa keebka kuu qabane Ragow kibirka waa lagu kufaa kaa ha la ogaado Kaakici wadaadkii dagaal laguna kaalmeeye Kumanyaal laguug duub cad buu keenay Beerdhiga e Waxse kadabkii go'ay maalintuu kaday raggiisiiye Kabaalkiisii baa jabay markuu kariyey Reer Kheyre Ragow kibirka waa lagu kufaa kaa ha la ogaado Mid kuwaa ka dhigan baan arkoon kibis u laabneyne Inta uu kashbacay oo kibroo kamman wan weyn yeeshay Yuu niman karaamiyo colba leh kiish ka buuxsadaye Kashib dhaha Adoomahoow naftii kii ladnaa gadaye

Matkey I am reduced to laughing to such idiotic depiction of my character- I am not angry but I find the whole thing comical; reason being only those who have especial and higher training are those who deserve my bow when it comes to character analysis; thus I shall close the eyes to what you have stipulated above.

***********PLEASE DON'T USE QABIIL NAMES/QABIIL TALK ON THE FORUMS AGAIN*********** Admin Somalia Online [ June 16, 2003, 06:47 PM: Message edited by: Admin ]

THE MONEY TRAP! University life is said to be the most fun & carefree time of student life. Once upon a time perhaps… unfortunately this is no longer the case. Living the life of a student is becoming more & more difficult, primarily due to financial constraints. Student Expenses § Living costs, especially for those living away from home. § Tuition Fees § Travel expenses § Books § Rent To name but a few…. The Solution Scholarships & Student Awards Student Loans, as offered by the Student Loan Company (Scotland) Student Accounts & Credit Cards, as offered by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB Or is it? Statistics show, on average a student leaves university with a £12k debt! This figure will be closer to the £20k mark now as grants are no longer available and on average a student living away from home in London is entitled to £4.5k a year. On top of this university students are entitled up to £2k student overdraft from most high street banks. They come bearing gifts… High Street banks target undergraduates in a very calculative manner. Under/graduate banking is big business to these banks as they devote and create entire departments to deal with this target group. As the academic year begins, bank delegates will be waiting outside Universities and student unions to attract undergraduates. Cameras, cinema tickets, mobile phones, £20 gift vouchers are popular gimmicks used to pull in the students. However, what the student doesn’t realise is that student banking is very valuable to banks as long-term most students will remain with their banks for a very long time, therefore it is in affect a two way thing. Graduate Loans, of upto and around £10k, are also available to most individuals once they have completed their course and these are quite good for helping graduates all those things that are essential to tide you through that period of looking for a job and need to look the part. At the same time they are designed to ensure that clients once graduated stay with their banks for longer & once securing that job will bring in more money for the banks, no longer in the form of interest. Student Loans These days, for most students it is actually imperative that they take out a student loan, it is seen a as a life saving device for most students, as a part time job is usually not enough to support a student lifestyle. Having said that, many students do not realise that although the loans interest is said to be calculated at inflation rate, this does not stop the interest from accumulating each year and with each loan the student takes out and since when has inflation rate stayed constant? Student loans do not need to be payed back until the April after the individual has graduated and can usually be deferred by a year if the graduate does not earn at least £18.5k per annum. However, this does not mean the interest does not continue to accumulate. Thus, it would be a good idea to start paying your loan back sooner rather than later. Loans, overdrafts, credit cards are all a good idea but not all students manage their monetary affairs very well, and even the best of us can get carried away, especially with all the added pressures which come with student life. Students should try and be careful of the amount they borrow because ultimately it all has to be paid back with interest. Nothing is for free. Think carefully before you borrow, do you really need it? Can you do without? Will you be able to pay it back? Ø Most students at some stage take out a loan in some point of their degree to help finance their studies and take some of the pressure off. Ø Loans are a good idea but not all students are good idea but not all students manage their monetary affairs very well. Ø Once graduated, the graduate will now have to think long-term and the reality of paying back the loan and overdraft. Ø The Student

gix gix gix! walaahi war aa heysaa wiiloow, duqa adiga aa magac adag soo qortey maahinoo. taas hadaad kaxanaadey, hada kadib waxaan kudhahaayaa BAAYAC MUSHTARKa-- I hope this will not have a negative connotation.

Sophist (interesting choice of username) I do concur with what you say brother. I think that we project certain picture of ourself in order for other to like us. Such is the fakeness that the most of friendships are built upon. I enjoyed it, good piece. Keep them coming.

The problem is not Mr Farah the Somalis but the culture which you subtly agreed upon its existence. The assumption that such culture is not adhered is perhaps far-fetched. I can exclaim that there is no Somali culture; indeed our seeming culture is based on Islam, and upon abandoning Islam people have become morally Bankrupted. Without the centrality of Islam our culture is feeble.

A country that led by a socialist who had not himself read and perhaps understood the Koran but knew someone who claimed to have read Tawney and in the result of that praised the socialism ideology. The country’s existing press was muzzled. Unchecked, political leaders ceased to make any distinction between the state's reserves and their own bank accounts. Family values came to mean the President's family skimming the nation's G.D.P. The first victim was the independence of the courts, and with that gone the integrity of the public services disappeared too. In order to hold onto power the army was cosseted, but spending money on the military meant there was less for effectively educating children or agricultural extension or primary health care. Soldiers were paid; teachers and nurses were not. Taxes on the honestly entrepreneurial were hiked. People with different ideas to that of the regime were jailed and their property dispossessed. The national industries often resulted in their assets being slipped into back pockets. To retain popularity or at least acquiescence in urban areas, food prices were held down which discouraged farmers. As young boy I retain several images of the process. The brand new high-tech hospital in Somalia, with no money or skill to repair the equipment, no doctors to provide treatment (having been trained, they'd emigrated to earn more money in America and Europe), no money for food, no drugs for the patients. Meanwhile in the surrounding countryside, illness and disease caused by iron deficiency laid the population low. Much of these were because of pathological power. I remember most clearly - etched in my memory so that its vivid images return to trouble me again and again - provides a bleak paradigm for this article. Because of lack of incorruptible ideas, unfailing generosity and sympathy to others and radiating an aura of profound peace and the understanding that comes with inner reconciliation and harmony are some of the many reasons we are suffering this chronic disease. One would ponder is it tribalism that caused the political meltdown of Somali state or there is another underlining factors that the untrained aye cannot see? Personally I believe the later. Though one ought to acknowledge that the mechanism that had been utilized to demolish the country was tribalism but indeed the goal was to attain power. The elite “I will call those (the pathologically power hungry)” used this mechanism in order to reach their ultimate goal- Power. The masses went along with the idea and declared war against who ever they deemed to be the enemy. If one examines the ever changing political situation of the last couple years one would learn that the idea of “ constant and prime enemy” is sheer Somali political paraphernalia. For example, ****** and ***** fought against one another in “those hard to forget days” early 1990’s; the animosity between the two seemed at the time beyond comprehension. To the political commentators astonishment came after couple years. Some of the very enemy tribes got their troops together for the sake of power and captured Kismayo. This and other overwhelming evidences suggest that the trouble between the “Somalis is purely power”- The problem is not between the Somalis but indeed the warlords whose benefit from the devilish acts of killing sinless young children to satisfy their pathological power hungriness-. Whatever pleases them regardless of their ill-defined interest, they will go for it regardless of tribe boundary. This tribe issue had merely become a hollow- sounding mantra that is repeated ad nauseam in order to make us all feel better. It saddens me great deal that we are still falling for this Machiavellian plan – It is even flippant to employ Nicccolo Machiavelli’s name here, none the less it pre-occupies …..- after 10 odd years of anguish and distress. What dismays me even more is it looks like a different drama each time. But it is the same cast of characters playing their part with tedious familiarity. The confrontation again ends with bloodshed. It seems not only the public falls for this witless reasoning (tribalism) but also highly respected scholars who teach at esteemed institutions. They went under the impression that the fundamental etiology of the problem is largely due to tribalism. However, that is pure myth. Without a greater understanding of the basic issues involved, Somalia will remain enduring misery, mayhem and chronic disorder she had been suffering for the last decade. A patriarchal illusion that had been inherited from the past governments still remains in the minds of Somalis. It is almost chimera and sadly the main driving force of the Somali clan warfare. This classical Somali illusion is; if one’s kinsman becomes the head of the state then the whole clan will become affluent This was the case in previous governments one way or the other. But what we don’t realize is that, this would not be the case due to awareness of the general public; ironic but true- or perhaps not. It is really sad that a country that does not lack educated people to be in this critical situation in 21 century. Those who have time to read around social or political theories come may across some of current political theorists arguing that Somalia is not state. What does that make you feel my dear reader being denied Allah given right as nation? The situation in Somalia itself is remediable, since it is human beings whose make history and not the other way round. I would like to believe so for the sake of Somalia that I am not alone with this felling. There are enough young Somalis all over the world. And plenty older ones who are thoroughly and totally exasperated, dismayed and sick to heart at -Pathological Power hungry that has gone from one disaster to another without ever being accountable, without ever telling the truth, and without ever being clear about its goals and aims (except for their own survival). But the question is what can we do about this on going tribulation? Upon writing this piece I don’t quite expect an electrifying impact on your political ideas but merely to engage rational reasoning and ponder about the current Somali political saga by comparing the world around you.

Wiilka kor wax kuqorey! Maah maaha Soomaliyeed isticmaalkooda aniga ibari meysid wiilyahow. Mmm! In wonder I feel the bane you speak about. It is the lack of practicality, which the likes of you swim in pool full of toxin without the right protection. Alas the results are visible!. It is only a man with feeble vision who says the Somali politics is one that is not complex—upon reading that what springs to mind is another fitting maah maah that is: Nin aan Libaax aqoon ayaa lax karita, though in this instance the lion becomes so enraged he kills the ignorant man. Here, we see plethora of men and women indulging themselves and trying to sound knowlegable about Somalia and worst they try to formulate ill-fated ideas. Wiilyahow, hore ayaa loo yiri Cudur nin aan aqoon ayuu diloodaa. What brought down the functioning state that Somalia can only be understood after profound study. It vex me great deal that some novices after reading some ill-starred books all over the sudden have this self believe that they know the polymathic and wide-ranging problems that caused our doom! “diatribe habitual mantra” uuh if you don’t know the meaning of it I shall explain to you with pleasure! Why don’t you be a faithful novice and I shall reluctantly be your master huh?

Wilkan kor wax kuqorey, Cajiibleeys! Habar Dheli weydey Aleelo ku waalatey this phrase comes to mind. I have indeed no problem whatsoever to be refuted on rational and evidential grounds, but what I can not stand is that people coming out with diatribe habitual mantra that reeks more that a rotten fish in sewer. This is what gets to me. Somali politics is complex and without the proper tools one swim in treacherous waters. I am with of the opinion that without the proper training we all should refrain from this complex subject-Somali politics. It is our lack of knowledge that some of us unashamedly purport ideas that have no basis. Reading various websites they base their newly acquired information- an information which is full of ribal shenanigans not to mention infected with evocative words. Come on now boys and girls, let us strip our preconceived ideas from each other and search Somalihood which we all are in despretate need be that you being from Puntland, Somaliland or Southern Somalia. As I concur with Dantey, I shall indeed repeat his words: Somalis love thy-selves.

Wiilkaan ugu danbeeya, waraa adiga quraafaad lee akhrisaa. THough I am all with the idea of bringing justice to those who have caused the myhem, i am indeed quite aghasted with the idea ofr now such a thing can never be implemented. Safing the living is more important then giving justice to those who are already dead.

**********PLEASE DON'T USE QABIIL NAMES/QABIIL TALK ON THE FORUMS********** Admin Somalia Online [ June 16, 2003, 06:46 PM: Message edited by: Admin ]

Salams Woow, I never thought this topic would resurface it now! I have translated this story long time ago- For my GCSE English Class in 1997. Abduraheem! I have had the pleasure of meeting Hassan Olol Jaamac…… Maxamed Faahiye shirwac …… Ahmed Cabdule Samakaab…… Habar buu waaayey, dooraa cuntey, kabtii aa lax kaqaadatey Koombo ayaa qaraxdey!. That is his abtirsiinyo!. He is a great story teller. And you are right the story was broadcasted by the BBC Somali section decades ago. Loyan: I know the tranlator more than intimately- it is Sophist. Jaaluut, in Eastern part of Somalia they say "aa latahay" I am sure some of the guys here will explain that (though I have a hunch that you know the meaning of the term). Jamaal I thought you were from Kenya man! What are these Badhan, Karin dabeyl weyn, Karin garfood, Karin kabaal jab, Karin kun lagu cunney, Karin karmaaneed! I never knew you have been to these “exotic” places.