Thank you for posting these pictures. This is great. walkforsomalia.org this is just the beginning my friends, the movement continues....

Paragon, thank you for this...i know i've been out of the loop for sometime, but issues of migration are dear to me. i am currently trying to look for different routes taken by those who fled the Mad Mullah in his time of reign...so if any of you have some insights, let me know. And Adam, great dream, i second on that notion, inshallah it will happen.

Salaam my peoples i just watched Nuruddin's interview online, and in days time, my people from toronto informed me of his talk in the city. So for students in the Toronto city take advantage of the opportunity, it is very rare that we witness african writer's discussion and get their signatures. I met Nuruddin Farah in South Africa a while back and it was an Honour. For those interested, here is the information i recieved on his visit to Toronto. "...for a little under twenty five years I have dwelt in the dubious details of a territory I often refer to as the country of my imagination" -Nuruddin Farah, YESTERDAY, TOMORROW: VOICES FROM THE SOMALI DIASPORA Dear brothers and sisters, I want to inform you about a visit at York University by Nuruddin Farah, Somali author of 9 books (including the latest, KNOTS). He's the winner of the 1998 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. Rumour has it that he'll be nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature this year. Here's the info on the event: Thursday March 8 (free!): 1. Luncheon, McLaughlin College, 12-1 pm (Nuruddin will give a brief talk and Q&A)2. Meet & Greet with Somali Students' Association, 1:30-4pm 3. Reception, Senior Common Room, McLaughlin College, 5-6:30 pm 4. Talk/Reading at the course 'Canadian Writers in Person,' ACW 206, 7-8 pm For those who can't make it on Thursday, and still want to see him, well, see him a day earlier on: Wednesday, March 7 (Downtown Toronto): 1. Harbourfront Reading Series, Nuruddin will be reading with Barbara Gowdy, 235 Queen's Quay W, 7:30 pm This is a ticketed event. Tickets are $8 (less for students) and are available at www.readings.org

It is interesting to see that all over sudden the talk has been on the war in Magadishu. what happened to those who are suffering from hunder at this moment as i write and your read this post? Lets be realistic here, you can sign the petition of stopping the war, very small input could be done, but if you ALL I SAY ALL send letters to your governments and RALLY on demanding more money going into the food aid agencies to go to SOMALIA. then maybe something RADICAL COULD HAPPEN. People will die under the wrath of the gun, we as the diasporeans can't save the innocent lives the way we can for those who are suffering from the famine at the moment. I am suddened by the silence thats happening in somali communities throughout the cities in the North Americanos and europanos. this is not the way it should be, if we want to liberate somalia, then the diasporeans have the will and power to do so, MOBILIZE, AND LETS TAKE CHARGE OF THE AFFAIRS. WE PAY TAXES JUST LIKE ANYONE ELSE, SO LET US DEMAND SOMETHING THAT WILL SAVE OUR PEOPLe.

Mashallah, now that is what i call true human behaviour, the beauty within expressed in the most divine form. at ease and love, for the religion is all about love, and sharing of good thoughts and ideas. thanks for sharing love

That is awesome. I came across another website, unfortunetly i don't have the link right now, but it had the history of the oud, and the somali adaptation of such an instrument. I am so glad to hear about Xudaad, because this gives me so much hope, that you guys in england now have the opportunity to learn the ancient instrument. Is it possible for you to share the full adress of this school, when i come to England Inshallah i would like to come visit. thank you

Juba am glad you asked that question, because when i was reading, i was like wow, another blonde, because how could you be african and say such a statement? shiish, sometimes we get to north americanized that we forget our past. i don't mean to be harsh bro, but i didn't expect that comment. Right now everything is an issue of people looking down to africans, no body asked people to look down to us, yes the past has a lot in cause with our current state, i don't know if you looked at the european history, but how many years has it taken them to cool down things, since the'r so called industrialization era. Another thing, one has to have faith, and believe, unfortunatly the world today is all driven by economics, and greed, so if you are not into helping one another, keep you comments to yourself, beause i don't think we have the right to belittle or judge one another. For it is Allah's duty. The issue of civilizations, the human being is one creature that always thinks he/she is flawless, and the greatest tool he/she has is the mind, for it is with the mind that one creates technology and weapons, and the ambition of power. Africans problems are highly controlled by man, because when you see millions of children dying just because of famine, while the other side of the same land there is a lot of food, but being shipped of for trade, just because they cannot give that food to the hungry children, it will desturb the economy of the country, then am sorry, it is the human mentallity. W allow to be controlled by this thing called economics, which is man made, hence it has flaws. Which even the capitalist of the capitalist are seeing now how this so great system, that is hailed has cracks, and soon will crash. hence, be aware of your surroundings, and question what is the truth to the mere facade of truth. Innocent people dying over man made mythologies.

here is something someone sent me, loool ONLY KENYANS > >1. Are engaged for 5 years or more > >2. Never bother to divorce, they just separate > >3. Are late to church, work, and everything else EXCEPT when the >club is free before9pm > >4. Refer to diabetes as " SUGAR" > >5. Show up at weddings, showers, graduation, birthday parties >with a new outfit on with nails and hair done but no gifts. > >6. In relation to #5, they eat like parking boys and take the >plate home > >7. Consider 'clubbing' or 'henging' as a monthly expense > >8. Leave bills (instead of insurance money) behind for surviving >relatives. > >9. Borrow money for a wedding. > >10. have mothers who can use curse words and religion ALL IN ONE >ENTENCE e.g. "Lord, give me strength because I'm about to knock >the hell out of this child" > >11 . Spend the car insurance money on everything EXCEPT getting >the dent fixed. > >12 invite co-workers and all of their friends to their child's >1st birthday party which happens to have a professional DJ with >only about 3 kids (including the child) in attendance. And then >expect the guests to "changa" for the bash. > >13. Start every sentence with "Me I..."e.g. "ME I donno why you >are saying that I always say 'Me I'. > >14. Say ''Spend' when they are staying the night elsewhere from >home, e.g. "Are you going to spend at her place?" > >15. Put in iron rods in all windows and main doors...referring >to them as ''Burglar'' > >16. Use "Ngai" as an exclamation mark e.g. "Ngai, what are you >doing?" > >17. Believe "Ati" is an English word for "What?" > >18. Think it is cool to drink and drive and get away with it "I >don't know how I got home that day..the way I was soo drunk!" > >19. Think all their economic and social problems are caused >by"Moi" when in fact some have never been to school. > >20. Pack up all their earthly goods to go to "shaggs" for a week >in December, only to pack them all back again after that one >week And return to "Tao" > >21. Call travelling "flying out" e.g. She flew out (no one ever >seems to wonder where all these Kenyans fly to) > >22. Think that taking a clerical job in a company is better >and"cooler" than toiling in their parents' family business. > >23. Prefer washing cars and dishes in USA to toiling in their 20 >acre tea farms in Kenya. > >24. Call their homes "at ours". eg "At ours, we eat Githeri >every day" > >25. Complain for five years about poor governance and corruption >then vote in the same clowns back to parliament. > >26. Had a chief Justice who has no law degree! > >27. Go on strike for one day and expect the govt. to resign! > >28. Sit back in their homes and expect their MP to "bring >Development" > >29. Refuse to insure against anything and expect you to >bankroll them when calamity strikes... thro' Harambee. > >30. Sit calmly and sometimes cheer as a mad man drives them in >a ramshackle at breakneck speed to certain death. > >31. Drive with their windows wound up when they get to city >centre because of 4 year old brats armed with human feaces, and >still claim to be free people! > >32. Think its cool to say "I AM MOBILE"while they can only >afford fuel on pay day! > >33. Buy the biggest fridge in town but its always half empty. > >34. Get 'mob kidos' to name after all their 'relas' then >complain that they are always broke. > >35.Have sex or make out with people they call Friends > >YES ONLY KENYANS!! > >Have a Kenyan day-wont you!

aisee, i've been out of the mitandao, was just checkin wat i missed, ati nyanayako mzeee hadi chawa za nywele za tembea na bakora, aloo, this is too funny, haven't heard mabezo like this in a long time, since my childhood, damn. Raula, nimesikia Macho, jamani, umenikumbusha mbaliiii. tell me how could i give u guys a song to listen too, lets see howmany zenj fans are here, lol

Raula, nakuvulia kofia mtoto, ati nyimbo'kijeba wayaweza' na 'ucheshi ni maumbile yangu' kali hiyo

Raulaa, unaniua aisee! lool this is amazing, ahsante sana for sharing, namkumba Malika sasa, <listennin to the link of east african melody DEBE TUPU duh, maneno hayo, babu K! maanayake, if i was five years old, i think this song would have been sccreened, what do you call that alert-PARENTAL ADVISORY lool

there is no contradiction, it is all an opinion of definitions such as rebelling, and revolting to something one is not against. If u look at the historical context of why women were asked to veil themselves, was inorder for them to stay alive in much longer years, not treated as sex slaves and so forth. So now tell me, by them making a choice and veiling themselves in their societies was indeed standing up for their rights, and respect. A woman had to be veiled to get the respect and power she deserved, hence they(those who chose to wear the veil then) were rebelling against the sex slave mentallity and all the exotification of a woman's body. Rebeling against the man's world is one thing, and against the societical pressure is the other, so it all depends to your own way of thought on ur own actions and beliefs. Last time i checked one had the right to voicing their opinions. So you can take it however you want, but am just pointing out, there is more to veiling than what meets the eye.

Because you are still living in a closed eye state, you still see what they want you to see. Inorder to understand you have to look deep within yourself, and find who you really are and not what people parents atc want you to be. and not wat religion wants you to be. i always ask people, do you pray because you are told to pray, or pray because u want to pray?

rebelling against the system, the sexism, the society of demeaning women, and the aspect of comformity as i said. it is like wearing your dirca in a city center, and at work.

o, by the way, i read the alchemist in a one day, and so interms of the complete relevance and breakdown, i'll have to read it again, to get and catch the messages paulo was trying to say, instead of the obvious stuff.

well, the story of Issah(A.S.) is thathe was a shpherd boy, or so that is what i heard. but it is similar to his story, in a sense of we are all humans working our way to fulfil our chi. And so was what Issa's life. I mean the good thing about all religions, is that all the prophets were Human just like us, yes they were the chosen ones, but it is one of the greatest signs of the almighty, that they were human, who were pious and knowledgable to an extent than us now. Yet still, the religion challenges us to be knowledgable, and question and seek the answers of the world. If the quran did not speak of this, then it would have been a useless quest in being a muslim. so you see, we are all living a journey, and just the issue of santiago being a muslim or not, i think paulo is working on something else here. you see religions are a form of comformity and security and confinement, they are made like governments per se, cause for now i can't remember the word i wanted to say. You see it is an evolution of man that all these religion show us. Islam started with Zabur, Torat, Injil and Quran. All under the same fundamental ideology, yet changed by man'sgreediness of power. The message Mussa (A.S) brought to the people wasbelieve in one god, Allah, and so did Issa(A.S) and Muhamad(S.A.W), and non of them said they were the son of god or anything like that. But it was not understood by the people of the period, due to the issue of knowledge, and so it was thought of being impossible. and ontop of it, man always thought high of himself from other creatures. And so it was those people in those period that created the division of religions and sectors, towards their own benefit, and chose and said and inforced the stories, which until today are believed to be. So all am saying, we all believe in one god, and you could call god anything you want, bbut it is the issue of soul and listenning to your heart, for one is living should live amongst the living and not the dead. And yes, i believe everything has a soul, and that the universe is conspiring to my benefit and others, unfortunatly man has created his own damnation that it becomes even more challenging now. And also there is that issue of good and evil, these were stories and myths, but they do exist. but thats a discussion for another time.

Ladies and Gents. i would just like to make a few commments, from this long debating of hijab being sexy and what not. first of all, calling a woman withhijab 'sexy' is demeaning the whole aspect of hijab. 'sexy' the word itself has lost its meaning, and especially in explaining the serenity and beauty of a woman in an islamic attire. Secondly, hijab is not just about what the quran said about women wearing it, and thats the end of it. It is a rebelious move towards comformity, and men. If you look at the historical stories, women were walking quite normally, and you have that bellydance picture notion of how it was in the days, per se. And so women were continously being used for sex, and sex pleasure. Now the religion was the first way to give women's rights, and cause a rebelious movement to this male dominant society. So now again, when you say hijabis look 'sexy' i would be too careful on that, evenif it is the street lingo, but be aware next time, and know for a fact, it is still a struggle for women, and they are REBELLING WITH PRIDE. so you know, support and respect and give them power too!

Great discussion, am so glad you brought it up sis. hmm, i don't know where to start, i just finished the book a couple of weekends ago, and my o my. unfortunatly now is not the good time, but here is one point that adds a whole different layer, i was talking about the book to afriend of mine, and he said the 'shepherd boy?' i was like yeah, he was like, or another story of jesus. so since i had a different look to the book, which i'll discuss later, thought of just bringing this in for now, and see in which other forms does the characters form/play/ create meanings? and the underlying message coelho is trying to send.

HAZEL HENDERSON* Caracas (Venezuela) - 16th December 2004 http://www.alia2.net/article3237.html The widely-touted , so-called " Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics " isn't a proper Nobel Prize at all. For many years, I and others have sought to correct this widespread error by reminding people of its actual name: The Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Science in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The Bank set up this $1 million prize in 1969 , as I have held, in order to legitimize the economics profession as a science. Since then, economists with their claims to knowing how to manage national economies, have wrought untold damage, from the "shock treatment" they advocated for Russia to their "Washington Consensus" formulas for economic growth (free trade, privatization, floating currencies, opening to global capital flows, etc), which contributed to financial instabilities and excessive debts. As I pointed out in" G-8 Economists in Retreat" (IPS, June 2003) economics is now being undermined by new research in many other scientific studies. Now, in an exclusive interview with me, Peter Nobel, Alfred Nobel's descendent, emphasized that "There is no mention in the letters of Alfred Nobel that he would appreciate a prize for economics. The Swedish Riksbank, like a cuckoo, has placed its egg in another very decent bird's nest. What the Bank did was akin to trademark infringement-unacceptably robbing the real Nobel Prizes ." Nobel added "Two thirds of these prizes in economics have gone to US economists, particularly of the Chicago School-to people speculating in stock markets and options. These have nothing to do with Alfred Nobel's goal of improving the human condition and our survival -indeed they are the exact opposite." As this year's Nobel Prizes were awarded last week, a number of scientists went public criticizing the mis-labeled "Nobel" Memorial Prize in Economics" as an embarrassment which is diminishing the value of all other Nobel Prizes. In an Op-Ed in Sweden's main newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, December 10, 2004, Swedish scientists, Mans Lonnroth and Peter Jagers, a member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, proposed that the prize in economics should either be broadened in scope or abolished. They reiterated similar criticisms of the economics prize by other mathematicians and physicists, because it is often given to economists who mis-use mathematics to claim that they have optimal ways of organizing societies. Lonnroth and Jagers cite this year's economics prize, which was awarded to Finn E. Kydland and Edward C.Prescott as typical of this mis-use of mathematics. Prescott and Kydland's work in a 1977 paper, describes a mathematical model which purports to show that this model can be used for guiding whole economies ( and therefore, societies ). The implication is that such political guidance is best left to economists rather than trusted to elected politicians. The statement of Sweden's Royal Academy of Science, which selected Kydland and Prescott, states that "Already, in their 1977 article, the Laureates ?..work has had a far-reaching impact on reforms carried out in many places (such as New Zealand, Sweden, Great Britain and the Euro area) aimed at legislated delegation of monetary policy decisions to independent central bankers." This is exactly what many democratically-elected legislators oppose. The Swedish Central Bank's Prize in Economic Science, in its continuing subtle campaign to legitimate the economics profession as a "science", still hopes to portray economics as politically neutral. It is precisely these claims as a science, clothed in apparent "value-free" objectivity and mathematical precision that has given economists their mystique and predominant role in public policy-making worldwide. In my Politics of the Solar Age, published in Swedish in 1982 as False Priests, I documented the evolution of the economics profession and how it came to colonize other disciplines and dominate public policy in Chapter 8, " Three Hundred Years of Snake Oil ". I showed how the theories of economists were largely unprovable hypotheses --- quite different from those in other hard sciences, which could be empirically verified or refuted by such evidence. For example, the equations which guide spaceships to the moon or in constructing a bridge must be correct. Or the bridge will collapse and the spaceship self-destruct. On the other hand, economists' so-called principles are mere concepts, which often conceal political or social ideologies behind smokescreens of fancy mathematics. Other scientists joining the critical mass denouncing the Swedish Bank Prize include noted physicist, Prof.Dr. Hans Peter Durr, of the famed Max Planck Institute for Physics, who told me that "economics is not even bad science, it is incorrect in many of its basic assumptions". I had previously asked Prof. Durr "how could such a scandalous mis-use of other sciences have continued unchallenged for over 40 years ?" Durr had replied that academic etiquette usually restrained scholars from other fields from straying into other disciplines, especially with such criticisms. Austrian physicis, systems theorist and best-selling author, Fritjof Capra told me that "The dimension of meaning, purpose, values and conflicts is critical to social reality. Any model of social organization that does not include this critical dimension is inadequate. Unfortunately, this is true for most theoretical models in economics today." Mathematician and chaos theorist, Prof. Ralph Abraham at the University of California, Santa Cruz adds, "The prize in economics should be broadened in line with the full spectrum of social sciences to which it belongs and it should be distanced from the Nobel awards, like the Fields Medals in mathematics." Yet Peter Nobel maintains that economics is not a science. Riane Eisler, systems scientist and author of the best-seller,The Chalice and the Blade, agrees. Psychologist, David Loye, author of Darwin's Lost Theory of Love goes further and shows how Charles Darwin's great work was co-opted in Victorian Britain to emphasize" the survival of the fittest" and justify class divisions and competition, which Darwin mentioned only briefly. This model of human nature was adopted by economists as their "rational economic man" who maximized his self-interest in competition will all others (still taught in economics). Darwin focused instead on the evolution of altruism, cooperation, bonding, sharing and trust, as one of the bases of human success (for more, visit www.thedarwinproject.com) It seems that a major scientific scandal is emerging, with historians of science including Robert Nadeau, author of The Non-Local Universe, and his devastating dismissal of economics as full of assumptions that have little basis in reality. Stay tuned! Hazel Henderson author of Building a Win-Win World and other books, co-created with the Calvert group of socially-responsible mutual funds,the Calvert-Henderson Quality of Life Indicators -- ------------------ War remains the decisive human failure. - John Kenneth Galbraith

This is quite interesting, it is something to be looked at critically and analysed. for the brother or sister above who commented on the issue of brideprice being a western formalization. let us not breakdown this research to that simplicity. the researcher is a she, most probably she has suffered some of the patriotich miscalculations of our somali culture. this topic and research not only is for grading but for aquiring and learning more about her own people. seeing the rooted issues and what not cannot help a writer get a little emotional. and the concept of brideprice could be debated later in detail, to the extent that language-the english language, how the language plays a role in a systemic putdown(the word flew out of my head). but you know, the condemnation of eastern cultures. i mean by translating a language so coded like somali into this colonialistic language which is relevant, but due to the systemic practices of society and institutions one is forced to use the language and translation plays a double play on finding the closest word that would mean something that english and the english people in their wildest dreams will never understand.

It is good to see similarities with other people's thought, and spoken word/poetry u name it what you want, tends to do so, heavy and deep, your sharing is greated from one artist to another, keep it up, ignoring the reality makes one forget and dis-attached to the inner heart. so u know what, who cares what people say and do, but i think it is time to break off shed of the materialistic ideologies and be what we ought to be. the soldiers of the army to be. for the almighty will always be waiting for thee.

Well, this si something, am poverty is not only about food guys. and about the west sending food to the third world just because people are dying of hunger, does not mean that there isn't any food in the continents/countries. IT IS ALL ABOUT WHO HAS THE POWER THAT POVERTY ERADICATION WOULD BE POSSIBLE-and yet still WITHOUT YOU AS A PERSON BEING CORRUPT- in the mentallity of money and the western ideology.

hello i would be cautious on the honey aspect, i was just told/found out too, in a book, that honey is not something to be taken internally. for the sugar is so high, that it may cause some sort of pancreatic act up, and even death. so i mean be catious on the relevance of these things.

kwakwakwakwa, vituko vya uswahilini. lol raula umenikumbusha jokes kabambe, unajua basi yule jamaa aliyekua anaweka shati juu ya nzi, alikuwa high on handas. so, jama kazidiwa, anaona joto, sindiyo akaona hook, kumbe nzi, basi anaenda kutundika shati, nzi aruka, nayee anafata, akikaribia tuu, nzi huyo, sasa jamaa akuna kichwa, mbona hii hook yanikimbia? viking brother, unamtafuta mr.ebbo, nadhani unaweza kupata vimbwanga vyake at www.mzibo.net au www.africanhiphop.com au www.darhotwire.com na raula, hamna taarabu kama yaki zanzibar, and bongoflava like bongo's, haha, lakini usimsahau malika kidogo basi. lol

Well brother Ngonge, i hear what you are saying. You see it all comes down to the ideology of globalization. And i think we all know the saying of, 'what you don't have is what you always want, and what you have is where the defaults are at' that kind of thing. so Somali's in somalia want what is in europe, arabia etc, and for those leaving in the west, want to take their lifestyles and experience and implement them to their home land. i have no problem with that in a sense of, everyone has a freedom of expression to their comfort level. (do i make sense here by adding that globalization also works in this kind of a cycle?do you guys see it?) I know inshallah, if it is meant to be it will be by Allah Subhaanaa Wata'ala. But my one main concrete plan and reason to wanting to go to Somalia is the language aspect. Attaining the usage of language and dialogue, learn the language fluently, and be able to understand the orallity of this ethnic group. Hence allowing me to understand the beauty of this language and apply it more tomy daily experiences in the west, and world wide. For i believe it is time for the Somalis to be known for their artistic expressions of their language and poetry etc.