Originally posted by Sayid*Somal: The above people would also be honoured on the day. Can you be a little more specific sayid? What are the regular SOL resident trollers going to be honoured for? Always nice to see people taking the initiative and helping their community. All the best with the event! I might turn up Inshallah.

No way! come on sxb spill the beans. I think I know who i am not willing to expose!

Originally posted by NGONGE: ^^ Are you calling her fat? you are like a school girl NG! Conversing with the chicks and spreading rumours like wild fire! LOOOL!

Originally posted by Legend of Zu: ^^^ You just want to chat up Sabriya yeah? the classical - save me, I'm bad boy but a redeemable one! No thats not true Legend! I just wanted to ask Sabriya for advise! I wouldn't consider myself the bad boy type! and anyway I am not interested in domesticated Canadian women!

Somali Youth & Disrupting Parties http://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=3t9PhHBiG bY

Tinchy Stryder Ft. N -Dubz - Number 1 -

With all due respect Chock&Honey, what does an office administrater know about conducting research.

The two most eligible Somali chicks in all of SOL discussing my clubbing habits and love life. This is the stuff dreams are made of. P.S. I wasn't talking about myself when I said 'someone'

Having spent a few weeks in Berbera during visit to Somaliland in 2004, I can tell you that city radiates love. Love is everywhere!

What advise do you have for someone who never missed a single prayer but goes clubbing after salut Isha? There is a conflict between Islam and this decadent lifestyles of the west.

Ok i see! What happened to you Sabriya, you use to be a moderate! What triggered your interest in Islam all of a sudden? I am interested to know for inspiration. Salaam

Surely these questions are ones best asked in private meeting with your local sheikh. I don't see how people on this forum are of any benefit. All you get is a debate between the islamo-facist and the so-called moderates.

Linkedin is really useful. you get to meet a lot of interesting people and prospective employers on there. It like facebook but more work focused. Add me to your accounts! http://www.linkedin. com/in/awaleelmi

Tottenham Hotspurs because they are my local time. You can change your religion but not your football team.

If you are from Italy Prince, how many Somali people are there?

Chocolate & Honey, It’s not an issue of me being sensitive. Many of the people, including yourself who have commented on this issue lack the necessary research methods to carry out research in an objective and a balanced manner. Using anecdotes as a primary source of information is not objective. You need a greater sample of people to get all different perspective of peoples lived experiences. Presumably the people whom you are talking about are professionals but this is a small sample of people. The vast majority of Somalis are not in professional jobs nor have integrated fully as you have mistakenly pointed. NG, fabregas and yourself have no experience in conducting research and most of your ideas are not reflective of the experience of the Somali people in the west. If this was the case then we will all be highly successful and hold professionals jobs and be settled as well being political and economical represented. Yet the majority of Somalis are in low paid jobs, if any and live a life of meagre incomes.

I agree Rudy! Many of my friends go to weddings to pick chicks. Chicks go for the same reason! its disgraceful! The old generations who set the standards have died out! what remains these days are wasted! As for the clan thing. it provides security and many other provisions but we should celebrate diversity and not use it in an aggressive way that deprives others of their natural born rights so maha?? sxb!

The importance of the family and extended family. We really care about our families and the wider community. You go to a wedding or funeral and it will packed.

^ For those of us not so well informed on regional jokes this! what did this innuendo mean?

Being the only bully left on SOL i guess allows you to calling people what you like and to intimidate them at will. These days i am trying to come across as an ideas man, an academic if you like. But you and I and all of SOL know, if i return to my predatory tactics no one will be safe, least you of all people. I am glad i am good and highly respected member of SOL these days.

NG, If you don't agree with my idea then just say so sxb. No one is forcing you to agree. Unfortunately your counter argument was very poor hence why you are resorting to personal attacks on me. We all have different lived experience and this may vary according to peoples different experience but what I presented was my own view. It just so happened that other people have similar experiences as myself. These views are not universal and you are more than entitled to present your own argument, but you shouldn't claim your experiences are universal and apply to all Somali people so maha?? Why do you have the need to deliberately condescend what I have to say. You could have just not commented but instead you had to mock and savagely mock me. calling me an oaf is not nice! Attack the ideas not the person.

Osman_nz, that's an interesting observation. I'd imagine in some towns in Australia and New Zealand these processes might be different as people have no choice but to interact. I believe the issues such as gang violence and unemployment are a reaction to sociaeconomic dynamics at play in areas settled by somalis. Strawberry, Overall the Somali community is seen hitting all the buttons, they are Black, Muslims and almost all of them are refugee or asylum seekers, consequently as a community we are more likely to experience prejudice and social exclusion. However the younger Somali generation have gradually started to integrate into main stream society. This is because through advancements in education and changes in attitude from Somali migrants has seen a new wave of Somali people who are achieving as they take full advantage of the opportunities available. NG What qualifies you to call everything stuff and nonsense horta? The refugee mentality doesn't apply to people like yourself. Its for refugees! Also people like you are everything thats wrong with the somali community, although you dont even qualify to be called Somali. Sitting on the sidelines, hurling insults will achieve nothing! Also - where have opinions being dressed up as facts?

As Somalis we generally tend to perceive our settlement in the western world in temporary terms. The older generation and particularly women, generally express emotional orientation towards Somalia and are often absorbed by events at home. From my observations, we often talk about current events in our host countries, but it’s from a social habit rather than a keen interest in the affairs of the host society. Moreover we rarely establish social relations with members of the mainstream community partly due to linguistic and cultural barriers and of course perceived racism. So for most Somalis, contact with the local people is very limited as is their knowledge of British, American, Canadian or even European life and customs. This voluntary segregation has induced Somali people following a daily pattern that greatly constraints interactions with the mainstream community. Our main leisure pursuits are informal social visits to the homes of relatives and friends. Men and women usually spend their time in khat chewing sessions to create a nostalgic romantisation of life back home. Additionally wedding receptions, Eid festivities and the occasional Somali concerts or cultural events one-off social events offer some connection with Somalia. Many Somali families are headed by a single mother, whatever the circumstances, welfare benefits usually become the sole income for the family with the state replacing the husband/father as the Family provider. Even when families do stay together, Somalis suffer from high levels of unemployment and are therefore receiving benefits. This obviously impacts on the individuals’ self-esteem and confidence and deprives them of the status they once had as father, worker and provider What’s more the resurgence of clan consciousness, partly due to the political polarisation in the Somali peninsula creates further factions, thus effectively inhibiting a community spirit or a united front for a fair share of community grants. It is also crucial to recognise that even within own community; we are highly segregated, often having the strongest bond with clan allegiance as opposed to the Somali national identity. The Somali community is consequently tribally segregated across London for instance. Somalis in different parts of London constitute different clans. For instance Somalis in Tower Hamlets are predominately from Somaliland. While Somalis in Islington are mostly from Puntland and south central Somalia. But it seems as though times are changing, as younger generations, both those escaping violence at home and those born here are renegotiating their Somali identity and their relationship to the UK in a new context. Despite Somalis now in the western for more than 25 years, I think it’s fair to say we are a community in a state of flux: unsettled, neglected and fragmented in both attitude and orientation. I understand this idea has been recycled many times over. This is because it’s true and still evident. Your opinions are welcomed!

I myself hold over 80 books about somalia in both Somali and English. Would be nice to donate it to hargesia library. When I went there, they had 1968 issues of the national geographic and some outdated science texts books. Some of my personal collection include: Hal Karaan Somaliland: A nation reborn by Yusuf Robleh. 7 novels by nurradin farah -Yesterday, Tomorrow, Knots, From a Crooked Rib, Maps, Gifts, Secrets Blood and Bone: Call of Kinship in Somali Society Becoming Somaliland A History of the ****** (Western Somali) Struggle for Self - Determination Dangerous Frontiers: Campaigning in Somaliland and Oman Understanding Somalia and Somaliland: Culture, History and Society Educating Somali Children in Britain From Somalia with Love An Anthology of Somali Poetry Colloquial Somali Somalia and Operation Restore Hope : Reflections on Peacemaking and Peacekeeping First Footsteps in East Africa; Or, an Exploration of Harar The Invention of Somalia subscription to the journal of Anglo-Somali Society since 2002

^^Would it make a difference if he was a north-easterner?