" That's exactly right. Only the ambitious would risk their lives to improve them. The multitudes of bums sitting in mafrishs would never get on a boat or risk their lives in any way. Not even by waking up early. Those are the ba$tards I'd like to see drown." God, you have nailed it on the head. I would add the useless politik talkers sitting on their a$$es every café talking nothing but crap politik that differentiates people who have no difference whatsoever.

I am not sure if the world is gonna be peaceful 'cause of avatar made of few rocks, but hey, it is a good gesture and may I say 'PEACE TO THE WORLD,' even though it is highly unlikely < I know it is gloomy, but I would rather be a realist than a pessimist.

Did anyone ask about those of us who do not know their DOB's? What If I don't know my exact age? What If I was born under a tree? And as you all well know, our people don't put that much importance on the date one is born. Can I just say 'I am ageless'?

In my humble opinion, we should reserve our judgement on Obama for now and wait post election.

Sad, real sad. No other word. But one thing strikes me is how this man has his dignity and honour when most of us have lost it centuries back. I understand he's aged, but he is veteran and he is doesn't want to leave his home. Quite something, given that most of us leave the country at the drop of a hat. It is like, "give me any reason, i would leave the hell-hole that is Somalia." My friends, he is the last few of a strong-willed and dignified generation. Allaha u fududeeyo.

Could it be that because the US are the current superpower in the world, if one (in this case SL) remembers and celebrates the independence of the mother of freedom, as they claim, this could maybe give a push to SL's claim for Independence to be recognised? Just a thought. It is ridiculous. If a bunch of Landers who are citizens of the US have put this together in a sort of private way or something, it would have been kinda chewable, do you understand what I mean, but this.....NO! Irrational. There are somali kids who would have apprciated that food if they would have offered to them instead of wasting it celebrating US's July 4th.

"There is nothing sad in that pic. I see a man trying to make ends meet. We are all Xamaali ama xoogsato." True that, but the underlying problem is one where the so-called host people see you and treat you as sub-human. This isn't like a job where you have rights and there are rules and regulations stopping others to de-humanise you. There lies the problem, sxb. I have been to some of these Arab states and seen these very somalis doing what they're doing on the streets, and as he said, most of the people are not bad, but because they're aliens (no papers, no visa, no nothing), the few bad apples (and there are more) prey on them as they wish. They can't call on the police, neither can they do anything else, it is a case of 'turning the other cheek'. So,even though he might seem a guy working to earn a living, there is more to the story than we've read or he told us.

Life is so damn unfair. Just cause her father is a Hungarian she gets to safety and better life, but the rest of Somalis in those drought-stricken and dangerous refugee camps wait there hopelessly. Good luck to her. And for the record, I have no qualms of her being reunited with members of her family, but my heart is pouring out for the 1000's of our people struggling there, the 100% Somalis!

If this article's news is true, please vote Conservative at the next UK election. Finally, we've a reason to vote. It is in the interest of our community in the UK. ============================== If elected, UK Conservative Party is reportedly considering banning khat, a mind-altering leafy shrub, chewed by Somalis and others from East Africa and Yemen. Banning the possession, consumption and trafficking of this narcotic drug, is a sensible and long over due policy. The reversal of the open-border UK khat policy would be beneficial for not only Great Britain, but also, EU member-states and countries beyond. Khat is presently a proscribed drug in countries as diverse as Canada, New Zealand, Belgium, Ireland, UAE, Denmark, Tanzania, Zambia, Germany, Switzerland, Finland and the United States. Since khat is a legal product in the United Kingdom, this country has unfortunately become the transit and smuggling hub of the drug - and with devastating consequences. Law enforcement and customs officials of the numerous khat-banning countries report increased trafficking most of which originating from the UK. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2003 alone, sixteen countries reported seizure of tons of contraband khat shipments. Canada intercepted 25 tons of smuggled khat. Similarly, in 2004, US law enforcement agencies seized 50 tons of khat. Had the UK authorities and UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) discharged their national duties and international obligations by classifying khat as the drug it is, the global khat trafficking problem would have been less potent. It is important to note that the problem of khat is not a new phenomenon. In fact, the defunct League of Nations looked at the problems of this stimulant as back as 1933. Sadly, though, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and other relevant specialized UN agencies are yet to classify khat as the dangerous drug it is. Ethiopia and Kenya are the two top producers and distributors of khat. Ironically, most of the people of Ethiopia and Kenya do not use khat. For the producers, khat export is a merely a money making scheme; while their governments see the trade as a source of hard currency. In Ethiopia, khat is the second largest export item after coffee. According to the Cultures of Consumption Research Programme, “Khat tax revenue as a share of GDP in Ethiopia averaged 1.7 per cent for the 1990s while public health expenditure as a share of GDP averaged 1.2 per cent, which means khat revenues finance health expenditure.” It is obvious that khat export is a vital and lucrative source of income not only for the traders, but also for the Ethiopian government. That may explain why some members of the educated class are joining the khat promotion bandwagon. Here is how an Ethiopian khat “expert” and a Fulbright scholar, Dr. Ezekiel Gebissa, rationalize the importance of khat, "… Muslims use it to stay awake and pray, farmers use it for energy during long hours of physical work, and some urbanites, of course, use it for leisure. Farmers in higher altitudes in Latin America chew coca lives for heat. That's not the same reason as why people use the coca-derivative, cocaine, in the U.S. Obviously, the abuse of cocaine is not quite the same thing as the traditional coca use people have practiced for nearly two thousand years in the Andes region of South America. For farmers and traders in Ethiopia and countries in the Horn of Africa, khat is an important cash crop that provides employment to millions in the service sector." Contrary to Dr. Gebissa’s sugarcoating of the dark nature and the negative effect of khat, the World Health Organization, states that clinical research demonstrate that the mental state of khat chewers is characterized “by a flight of ideas but without the ability to concentrate.” Suggesting people chew khat to ponder in their prayers, is a bizarre stretching of khat reality, or to use the parlance WHO “a flight of ideas!” One might put up with the flimsy excuses of an Ethiopian scholar who is in cahoots (wittingly or unwittingly) with his compatriots who are handsomely benefiting from the selling of khat. What is hard to fathom however, is the sheer naiveté projected by Somali scholars who unfortunately are contributing to the proliferation khat use. A national Canadian newspaper, attribute the following statement to the only practicing Somali legal professional who is working to decriminalize khat in Canada! This learned Somali lawyer tells the National Post newspaper that “Every community in Canada has something that is special to their culture …Khat is specific to the Somali and Yemeni communities. So when khat is criminalized, in essence you have criminalized the culture of these communities… Any law that affects specifically a group of people to the exclusion of other Canadians is a direct violation of the Charter” Notwithstanding the exorbitant profit Ethiopian get from khat export, it should be noted that the Tigray state (the province current rulers of Ethiopia hail from) ban khat as an illicit drug. This fact alone should awaken Somalis who are oblivious to the danger khat poses to the Somali society. More than any other people on the planet, the people of Somalia are the number one victims of this drug. Khat robs the Somali state and the Somali people their meager national and individual resources. Every day, dozens and dozens of khat-filled flights arrive from Ethiopia and Kenya. In return, millions of dollars part ways instantaneously with the Somali people. The Somali people would have been lucky had the problems of khat ended with khat flights and the flight of the hard currency. There are other colossal and negative social, economic and health consequences associated with the khat trade. For one, khat creates psychological dependence. The men who nibble it turn into addicts who alternate their times between seven hours of chewing and even longer hangover period, which could at times last up to ten hours. Other direct byproducts of chewing of khat include broken families, absentee fathers and other ills such as the spread of dangerous diseases like tuberculoses. In other words, if tribalism (qabiil) is the visible epidemic that destroyed the Somali state, khat (qaad) is its creepy twin that ate the Somali society and economy inside out. In our globalized world, the negative effects of khat will not be confined to Somalia and to the Somali people. For instance, three months ago, the first UK drug-resistant TB case is traced to a Somali patient. This dangerous public health incident should act as a wake up call to the UK authorities who, for many years, ignored the menace of khat in the UK society. It is not secret that HIV-AIDS and Tuberculoses (TB) are two major pubic health problems in both Kenya and Ethiopia. UK authorities and the UN Office on Drug and Crime must have known poor Ethiopian and Kenyan farm workers perform the harvesting, sorting and packaging of khat. Thus, the khat that is sold in UK cities and then turns up in other countries, such as Canada and United States, is probably contaminated. How khat is consumed in the UK - overcrowded small rooms - is also an ideal environment for the incubation and spreading of communicable disease such as TB. The reported khat banning strategy of the Conservative Party of UK is a sound public policy plan. In contrast, the decades-long UN silence on the potent problems of khat is but a dereliction of duty. UK and UN should acknowledge khat what it is: a dangerous drug that should be banned by all nations. Source: Hiiraan.com

The brother's thinking isn't that bad, but as others have said, it is NOT a product, it is a country. And this association or anyone having anything to do with the name of Somalia is wrong. Once things take a positive turn, and you have raised your game, everyone would want to have everything to do with you. Bro, impossible is nothing, and as brothers said, have faith in your people. WE CAN GET UP ON TO OUR FEET AGAIN, INSHA ALLAH.

^Actually surveys nowadays are nothing but nuisance. There are so many survey companies (PR firms) and believe it or not, when the local media have nothing to say, these surveys are God sent. So, it is true they tell nothing nobody.

Why would the bloody pastor come out now if he wants to help Obama. He could have held his fire up until this man is done. I don't see anything but a hunger for the limelight and if he thinks that this is gonna bring him some status, he is bloody dreaming. He sealed his damn faith when he declared, "God damn America and US deserved the 911" in his sermons. Why the heck couldn't he be calculating and strike the right time. Why now? Damn it! And this man was in Obama's life for sometime as a friend and religious figure. What a friend, eh? America (some parts of it) is full of racists and these people are looking for an iota of alibi to take on Obama and what this fella has done is nothing but add a fuel to their fire. However, if this is in Obama's destiny, he will overcome all this, but extremely doubtful. I think the furthest he will go, if he is lucky, would be securing the nomination.

The race is on. There is a new somali satelite channel on air. I kind of saw this was coming as Somalis tend to copy each other's achievement/ideas. So far, I am liking the graphics and the look of the channel. Pour moi, it is Warsan tv 1 : Universal tv nil point. Let the race begin..... What do you people know of it?

^I said some people's comments were out of this world not necessarily you, walaal.

Waa yaabka yaabkiise some of the people here got their minds in the gutter, iga wallee. How could you equate intelligence to schooling. The two are different and if the individual is intelligent he might excel in fairly short time what would take ages for some. I know of people who have abandoned rural life to make their way in the big cities and have done better both in education and bettering their lives. So, people stop being so small-minded. There is more to an individual than few books one might have read. One said, "what shall we talk about once we're done with the geella...." How arrogant and patronising is that? Come on. Someone with a life's experience, and pretty demanding one at that, has more to tell than just how the camel is milked or herded. No offence intended.

Some somali drivers have driven their buses to the Qat Marfish, but luckily without passengers on board, otherwise there would have been an uproar.

The format is jokey, but the reaity and the message of it is brutally real. How simple we humans are, particularly the unfortunate ones in the west (secular communities). We prime ourselves to be so sophisticated yet the reality of our lives - death and existence - slips from our minds all the while we're busy with Dunya. Allow na hanuuni. Wallaahi, when someone mentions dikr of Allah or advises one to the dikr, he/she is doing a great of good for 'one'. JizakAllah bro, this little reminder is highly appreciated.

The muslim world is so poor and hungry and these eff-ers can't enough of their effing maids!? Eff it! Where is justice when you need it!?

I dont even know why you would post this cr@p. I have never heard such utter rubbish before in my life. For an economist, analyst or whatever to call an anarchy and what can only be described the worst state for a human as 'delicate equilibrim of power' is nothing but rubbish. The most important for life to survive is security and safety. Economics and the rest are nothing if there is no security for one's life and possessions. And anarchy is not good for Somalia's development. What we need is just order and law.

"A sovereign wealth fund (SWF) is a state owned fund composed of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, property or other financial instruments" Guld states = more than £trillion Norway = £350 gaining a billion/week Russia = Gaining $40/year China = is the largest. And as the west is short of money and the economies are facing tough times, these countries have got new muscle on their side.....What a wonderful world!

lol@Yorkshire. Btw, 'you allright' means 'you are fit, can i buy you a drink' in Yokshire. lol.

Why has it become almost fashionable, nowadays, for almost all somali kids growing up in the west to claim, "I can barely speak spoken somali, and I can't write it at all". It is really sad. The fact is, the loss of the language comes with a loss of great deal of culture and homely ways. The somali language is part of what makes us somali. Come on.....! ughhhhhhhhhhhh! Annoying. 3rd and 4th generation Chinese, Indians, Pakis etc still manage to speak their parents' tongues whilst us, who barely got here yesterday losing theirs. It is ridiculous.

To the poster, if you're really serious about not having kids for good, have you actually thought of taking an irreversible medical op to ensure you never ever have kids? Just asking.... Whatever next, walaahi. Soomali these days are having issues that used to be unique to the gaalo. What next, a somali i rehab...I am sure that happened already.....Whatever next, man. Surpirse, shock etc are mental characteristics that are easily disappearing from us...walaahi. Allah hafiz.

Aha... Care to tell us how many of the last 365 days you actually showed your appreciation or love then? LoL...What a cop-out. Answer is: none of your bees-wax.

^^Over-rated. There are 365 days in the yr which you can show your appreciation/love etc, why earmark one specific day.....Wrong..........Wrong in so many levels, me thinks.