Ninkaan camal ayaa mudan in la xuso. ____________________ Knowledge gained in Guelph helping rebuild Somalia When Hussein Haji arrived in Guelph in the early 1990s, it was the beginning of a 20-year journey back to wartorn Somalia. But first, he needed a pair of winter boots. “I arrived in September, and even then I thought it was freezing,” says Haji, recalling his first attempts to barter with a salesperson in a Stone Road Mall shoe store. “I asked her to give me her bottom price. She told me this was Canada, the price of boots wasn’t negotiable. “But since I was new to the country, she knocked $20 off anyway.” Haji has considered Guelph home ever since. And it is the city that nourished his dream of rebuilding his native land, Somalia, from the ground up. In 1990, Haji was working in the Somali capital Mogadishu on an agricultural research project funded by the International Development Research Centre—a Canadian organization that also offered scholarships for international students to come to Canada. “I was looking to do graduate work abroad, and here was my opportunity,” remembers Haji. “I chose the University of Guelph because someone told me it was one of the best for agricultural studies. I felt this was a way for me to contribute, to help farmers in Somalia.” It would be decades before his goal was attainable. In 1991, just months after Haji left, Somalia catapulted into a period of civil war, lawlessness and famine that combined to claim hundreds of thousands of lives. The country became known as the most dangerous place on Earth. Despite being safely tucked away in his new home on Caledonia Street, the conflict in Somalia cast a long shadow over Haji’s first few months of study in Guelph. “I was already a father, and my family was in Somalia. When civil war broke out, I didn’t know if they were alive or dead. You couldn’t call home, communications were completely dead. How can you concentrate when your family is missing?” Haji lost contact with his family for six months. Eventually, he flew to Kenya and sought help from the Canadian Red Cross. Miraculously, the organization located his wife and child in Somalia and evacuated them to Nairobi. From there the reunited family returned to Haji’s new home, Guelph. “After that,” smiles Haji, “everything was beautiful.” Haji then launched himself into his studies in earnest, developing an interest in genetics and plant breeding. “It’s a field where you can develop drought- and disease-resistant crops,” he explains. “You see a problem, and you try and address it. Using genetic tools, you can help farmers at no extra cost to them because they won’t need to use chemicals and pesticides.” Haji’s interest in the area of study was encouraged by Tom Michaels, a qualitative genetics professor at the University of Guelph who initially stunned his new student by cheerfully greeting him by name in the hallways after class. The two would soon become well-acquainted; Haji started working for Michaels at the university as a teaching assistant and continued to collaborate with him as a post-doctorate fellow. “All my professors were good but professor Michaels was exceptional,” Haji says. Haji proved himself to be exceptional in his field, too. Working first for Agriculture Canada and then for the Canadian Tobacco Research Foundation, he developed the first hybrid crop ever registered in Canada—a disease-resistant variety of tobacco that protected crops from the devastating black root rot fungus. But Somalia’s troubles continued to haunt Haji. So, in 2001, he created a group called the Somali Agriculture Technical Group to exchange ideas on how to help Somali farmers. When the Tobacco Research Foundation offered him early retirement in 2007, he snapped up the chance. “I had a plan. I wanted to establish something in the region, to put (Somali Agriculture Technical Group’s) flag somewhere. I went back and started exploring Somalia.” He says he was appalled by what he found. “It was chaos. The whole infrastructure was destroyed. Farmers had no support. There was no research, no agricultural policy. You could bring in any seeds you wanted. No other country in the world would allow that.” Haji opened Somali Agriculture Technical Group’s offices in Nairobi in 2009 and began making regular trips to Somalia. Rather than emergency aid, Haji wanted to create a sustainable future for his homeland by supporting farmers through technology. It was a vital task for a country where agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, despite the ever present threat of drought and famine. Three years on, Somali Agriculture Technical Group is making headway. It has partnered with organizations such as the United Nations and United States Agency for International Development and has established an agricultural research centre in Somalia. It provides training guides and workshops for farmers and is also advising the Ministry of Agriculture on matters of policy and regulation. And for Somalia as a whole, there are glimmers of hope. In August, the country swore in its first permanent national parliament in decades, and on Monday it elected a new president. “After this transition, we can get more qualified people in power. This is a great opportunity to expand our work in Somalia,” says Haji, who has been approached to serve in the new government, overtures he has so far rejected. “I’ve never been a politician,” he laughs. Politician or not, Haji is still every inch a proud Canadian and considers his experiences in Canada to be crucial to his success in one of the world’s most desperate countries. “I was trained in Canada, and the credit lies with Canada,” he says. Even closer to his heart are the years he spent in Guelph—where he maintains deep roots. His son and daughter have followed in his footsteps, enrolling at the University of Guelph. He still owns his home in the city, and has convinced his extended family to settle there. He says he plans to join them after retirement. “At first I saw Somalia as my first home and Guelph as my second,” he says. “But now it is the other way around.” Xigasho

Dadkiina caadi iska dhiga. I had no idea who made that comment on that tabloid site was here. I was reading about that tragic story of Soomaali sister killed in accident and I saw the comments section of that site. As usual, full of hate-filled by Soomaaliphobes. And who did I see catering to them? A one who claimed to be a Soomaali at the same time almost 'apologizing' Soomaali actions, whatever they were. And on the top of that claiming Islam spared the slavery, otherwise Soomaalida maanta would have been descendants of slaves or he thinks. If I knew he was a member here, I wouldn't have dragged it here. Anyway, it is still shame

?

Kenyaatiga iyagoo saan ah wax ka tuugo badan ma arkin. Even qof aad taqaanay 10 sano haddaa kasii jeesatid waaba kii wax kaa xaday, even dacaskaaga ma dhaafayaan if they have a chance. Waa dhaqankooda. From madaxweynahooda to booyaastooda. In islii, saraha iyo guryaha ay dhisaan shaqaalahooda, every afternoon markee shift ka baxaayaan waala baaraa by Soomaali waardiyo? What for? Musbaarada iyo boolalka wax lagu dhisaaye ayaa jeebabkooda laga baaraa oo ay xadaan, Iskaba dhaaf wax kale. Sar walba la dhisaayana waala ilaaliyaa 24 hours, maxaa yeelay hadduu waardiyo joogin isla iyagii kuu soo noqonaayo oo musbaarada iyo alwaaxdada kale kaa xadaayo xiliga mugdiga habeenimo, even haddaa silig ama baraako ku oodid. Many house-helps maxee Soomaali badan smartphones ka xadeen, cellphones they never know how to operate or seen, only selling them to tuugada waa weyn for something like 1,000 to 2,000 ($15-$25), who will sell them in suuq madoow for $150-250. Iyagoo saas ah, marka tuugnimo lagu qabtana they act like maskiinimo tii u weyneyd, baryootan iyo baroornimo.

Keeps reminding that he is 'atheist' to Soomaaliphobes and other haters on a tabloid site, in the process uttering the outlandish claim that Soomaalida's acceptance of diinteena Islaamka spared them being put into 'slavery.'

Che -Guevara;873819 wrote: No, I don't have a source but it seems everyone in SOL has mole in Villa Soomaaliya. Che, do you really want a 'source.' I can easily get you several xildhibaano's and wasiiro's/former wasiiro's #s any time you want. But truth be told: They are as clueless as we are. I used to meet them in Islii, waxee ogyihiin malaha. Their maxaa la sheegay isweydaarsi tan SOL ka socoto ayaaba dhaanto.

...who needs fadhikudirir. Maxee ka cabanoyaan? Tuulooyin la iska boobay ama la iska heysto miyaa? Maba fahmin, but runtii Soomaali saan kama koreyso.

Waxaa maqli jiray qofka geeriyoon doono in laga arko afartankiisa beri u dambeyso. Marka adduunka "afarkiisa beri" ku jiraa. Adduunka in uu soo gaba gaboonaayo u egtahay. Taas shaki kuma jiro. Adduunyo gaddoon wey iska soo dhowdahay.

Shinbir Majabe;873078 wrote: Gabadhaas meesha ka muuqato sawiro badan oo madaxtooyada ah ka muuqataa iyadoo caawineyso madaxweynaha. Is she a presidential aid and gabadhiisa taloow?

I agree. Axmed Ismaaciil Samatar ayaa ugu qalmo waxa meesha ka muuqdo. Reer si gaar ah u sheegan karto ma jirto jagooyinka Soomaaliyeed. Awoowyaashooda uma dhaxlin, dalka waala isla leeyahay, shanta Soomaaliweyn isla leh, reer reer kale ka badana ma jirto. Hala wala qeybsado hoggaanka dalka, oo ninba ama dumarba aqoontiisa/teeda ha reebo/to. Haddii kale maxaa meesha la iskugu haayaa haddee reer ismoodeen inay iyaga leeyihiin kuraasta qaarkood. No. Waxa dhib loogu bixi la yahay waayeba waa inkiraadka la iska indhatiraayo xaqdarada socoto iyo ku tumashada xuquuqda Soomaalida kale. Kuwii ugu roonaa la isdhahaayena isdulmintaan ku raacsan oo u sacabtumaayo in the name of bogus 'xal' and not xaq. Yaa yiri iyaga ku bilowdaa xal kuna dhamaada xalka.

Maadeey, Sh. Aweys, Eebba ha u raxmadee, aad iyo aad ayaa ugu gafeysaa. Wadaadada diinta faafiye awoowyaashaana diinta baray afkaaga ka ilaali.

Waa shil, abaayadiis. Afsoomaali waxaa ugu qoraayana waa sabab oo Ingiriis inaa ku qorno ma fiicno to spread this innuendo to non-Soomaalis. Family shattered after teen killed by car driven by older sister In the hospital, family members broke out in tears when news of their teenage daughter’s death was announced. What made the news harder to swallow, was that the car that struck and pinned their daughter was driven by her older sister. A family friend arranging the funeral service for Fartun Abdulle, a 17-year-old from Brampton with aspirations of attending York University, described the scene at the hospital when he arrived Saturday night. “I got a call from a friend of the mother and we rushed to the hospital around 8,” said Kawnayn Hussein. “The dad was actually very shaken. Very tragic. The mother was crying.” Hussein was with the father, Yonis Abdulle Fiyad, when Abdulle’s body was taken from the coroner’s office Sunday. Hussein said the older sister, Faisa Abdulle, was in shock when she spoke with police. “She was in shock. She was talking with police, you know, telling them what happened,” Hussein said. “This was just an accident ... She hit the wrong pedal, that’s what she was saying.” A funeral service will be held Monday at the Masjid Khalid Bin Al-Walid mosque in Etobicoke following midday prayers, at about 1:30 p.m., Hussein said. Fartun Abdulle, one of nine children, will be buried at Beechwood Cemetery, near Jane St. and Steeles Ave. W. Abdulle was struck while walking on the sidewalk with a friend on Attwell Rd., in an industrial area near Pearson airport. She had been in a black Toyota Camry driven by her 18-year-old sister shortly before. Police said it’s unclear when the victim left the car. After mounting the curb and striking Abdulle, the car came to a stop a short distance from the sidewalk with its front bumper against a set of concrete steps, pinning her. Emergency crews were called to the scene at 6:41 p.m. Saturday. Firefighters freed her from the vehicle and Abdulle was taken to hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries. Speed and alcohol are not considered factors in the fatal collision, police said. It’s not clear if police will be pressing charges, said Const. Allan Davidson, adding they will be “looking at all aspects before making any decisions.” On Sunday, a day after the fatal collision, a small cardboard sign that read “love” was taped on to a gate a few metres from the crash site. “She was a lovely child,” Hussein said, describing the huge outpouring of support flowing into the family’s Brampton home. “The whole community loves her.” Toronto Star

A_Khadar;873259 wrote: :D XX, the pic and your comments match.. Tell me what you keyword you searched to find exactly that pic, or you save any Faroole's pic in your library? Search afleershe. Adigaa helaayee.

Che, waala heshay. That is what I was thinking. Reer Sinigaal Muslimiin ku ogaa goormee 'revert' noqdeen. Maleyka, jar loo degay reerkaas iyo gabadhooda ee u sheeg.

Blackflash;873047 wrote: It's terrifying how quickly a life can change. She probably meant to pick her up, but hit her and accelerated as a result of panic (it happens to the best of us). I can't imagine what she and here family are going through right now. From suuqa madoow in Koronto rumour mill (and I know the girls' hooyo), waxaa la yiri gabadha shilka ku geeriyootay and walaasheed gaariga watay gaariga ayee ku dhex jireen oo wada socdeen, but dagaal af ah dhex maray. Wey joojisay tan watay, tan kalena wey ka degtay. Iyadoo gaariga sii wato la hadal istiri, fariinka intee qabato meeshee ka rabtay ayee sheelaraha ku deysay. Waa shil. Eebba ha u raxmado gabadha geeriyootay.

Jaamac, when you signed to join this forum, you also signed to abide the Golden rules. Baliis, refrain from the clan names and aflagaadada. Don't hasten your exit. This forum has very clear rules. Don't deliberately break them.

They are profiling him. Waa lagu yaqaan inay profile gareyaan Soomaalida. He kept saying this is second time. Waana runtiisa safka kaligiis laga soo baxsaday. It happens at every airport Soomaalida maraan. Garoonka magaaladaan islaamaha dhinac ayee ula baxaan xataa oo boorsooyinkooda fatashadaan, especially if they are arriving from Dubeey. Dahab badan inay wataan ogyihiin oo ay ka reebtaan or face paying exorbitant taxes. The the producers of that show must pay to that jaamac. He entertained them enough.

I believe meydka la wado or dhaawaca, if he is still alive, waxaa la geeye isbitaal Madiino. Marxuumkaas reerkiisa markee meydka baxsan doonaan $$ ayaa laga rabaa. Meesha dhan wada ganacsi ayee noqotay. That guy iska dhoolacaddeynaayo, perhaps, another $$ u muuqato oo marxuumo iyo wixii dhinto shuqulkiisa ma'ahee. Yar Nayroobi joogo iiga sheekeen jiray sidee u dhaqmi jireen kuwa dhaqaatiirka sheegto ee Madiino xukumo. Qof sii naf baxaayo oo dhaawac ah markii la geeyo ayee reerkiisa kula gorgortami jireen intee bixin karaan iyo haddee awoodaan. If aynan awoodin maba isku dhibi jirin, dhiig ku shubis iyo waxaasna ha sheegin unless they paid it before lagu shubin dhiigga. Haddee isku dayaan inay daaweyaan oo qofkiina geeriyoodo, nevertheless lacagtooda ayee rabaan oo meydka ma bixin jirin unless lacagtooda la siiyo. Kenyaatiga saas u dhaqmo isma lahayn Soomaaliya ayee gaartay. What made even worse is that daawooyinka were donated by international organizations.

Is that heesaaga Cali Najiib, on the left? Waligiisba lama arki jirin kaliya sawiradiisa. Heeso cajiib ah ayuu busta ka jafay oo soo caanbixiye mar labaad.

Damon, was this why you were so determined to be in SOL, just simply mention this TV show? I had never seen this show, but I used to live in Baltimore. What a garbage city it was, though we lived the 'pretty,' safe side of the city. I only saw the other side once, what a dreary place. However, as dreary as it is, it is much, much better than Detroit. What a wasted city that one is.

Bacaac+bacaac = laxnimo.com

Dagaalada kahor hoteelada ugu caansanaa sanadkii 1990: Shabeelle Jubba Curuba Guuleed Wehliye Maka Almakurama (in honour of the street it was located at)

Toronto Somali community’s cry: ‘Our kids are dying’ Last week, Abdul Warsame spent an afternoon at the Khalid Bin-Walid mosque in the Rexdale neighbourhood mourning 28-year-old Abdulaziz Farah. In a fiery sermon to the hundreds gathered, he warned parents and youngsters that “it’s a matter of time until another Somali kid is killed.” Within days, those words had come true. Four days later, early on Tuesday, two young men were shot to death on Jamestown Cres., in a notorious west-end neighbourhood. They were the fifth and sixth Somali-Canadian men to be killed in gun violence in Toronto since early June. “I am heartbroken,” said Warsame, co-founder of a mentorship program for Somali-Canadian youth. “What should we do … our kids are dying.” He’s not exaggerating. The bloodletting started when Ahmed Hassan, 24, was shot dead at the Eaton Centre on June 2. Hussein Hussein, 23, died on June 23. Abdulle Elmi, 25, on July 8. Abdulaziz Farah, 28, on Sept. 8. And then on Tuesday, Suleiman Ali and Warsame Ali, both 26, were found dead with gunshot wounds in an alley in an Etobicoke townhouse complex. The spate of violence has left the Somali community in Toronto crushed, its leaders desperately seeking answers. They have held meetings throughout the summer to understand why their young men are getting killed and how they can help keep them safe. They’ve asked federal and provincial politicians for more programs and services to help young people get through school and find jobs. They have asked Toronto Police to help. “We need help … I am not ashamed to say that now,” said Mohamed Farah, who works with Midaynta Community Services, an organization that helps Somali-Canadians. There are an estimated 80,000 Somalis in Toronto, another few thousand in Ottawa and, community leaders say, about 3,000 in Fort McMurray, Alta. For long, the community has battled poverty and unemployment. It tried to deal with many single-parent households. The unemployment rate for Somali-Canadians is above 20 per cent, the highest of any ethnic group. But in 2009, it woke up to the grim reality of radicalism. Between 2009 and 2011, at least two dozen young men from Toronto and Ottawa — and two young women — disappeared, allegedly to fight alongside Al Shabaab in Somalia, an Islamist youth militia aligned with Al Qaeda. As the community grappled with that conundrum, news started trickling in that more than two dozen young men, lured to oil-rich Alberta with the promise of good jobs, have died in what police called an escalating gang and drug turf war. And now this. “This is hard, I know. There seems to be bad news coming continuously from the community… but we, too, want solutions,” said Ahmed Hussen, president of the Canadian Somali Congress. He has been talking to the parents of the dead young men, to figure out whether the killings were gang-related. Toronto Police detectives have refused to comment. “We were able to turn Alberta around,” said Hussen. “Hopefully, we can do it here too, with everyone’s help.” Warsame, who is usually soft-spoken, said his message to parents was explicit: “We are in a crisis, we need to own up to the problem. We have to put a mechanism in place to protect our young people and provide better environment for them and, most importantly, we need to understand their lifestyle. The killings won’t stop otherwise.” He has told young people to “get out of this game and not retaliate.” “What else can we do?” said Warsame. “Everyone knows poverty and unemployment are big problems in our community… but no one seems to do anything. Politicians hold meetings, yes, but it takes them months to get back.” But Warsame, who is highly respected among young men in the community, says elders are reaching out to families and neighbourhoods, offering every possible help with raising children. “We are doing what we can at our level,” said Warsame. “It’s ironic; we fled Somalia to give a better, peaceful life to our children. And there’s violence here, too.” While Somali-Canadians admit the community is going through a rough patch, its leaders haven’t lost hope for their young people. They point to role models such as Fuad Mohomed, a 17-year-old from the Lawrence Heights neighbourhood who studies at Contact Alternative School. He’s a poet, basketball player and mentor. Warsame often brings him to talk to the teenagers he mentors through his program in Rexdale. “I want better for myself,” said Mohomed. “I want to make something of my life. When you look around your surroundings and take in the environment, you want better … obviously. And in order to do better, you have to want better. That is what I tell others.” He realizes there are challenges in the community — there are single mothers, there is poverty, unemployment, lack of opportunities. “But there is always a way out … we know that.” Koronto Star

Hear ye, hear ye.

Apophis;872008 wrote: ^^Keep those cheap, mass produced, soviet era architecture from our lands; we already have hideous buildings being erected in the capital and elsewhere daily. We need diversification and originality not mass production, which will look unsightly in 20-30 years. You know dowladii Kacaanka limited how many floors buildings should have and the exterior painting colours to pure white. It also kinda forced the walled houses on the main streets to paint their enclosed walls once each year minimum. Also no house's wall whatsoever would be further than his/her neighbours. All walls way simanayeen, so Xamar had those perfect straight streets, avenues and roads. Paint was nuuryo too, very cheap and produced inside the country. No wonder it was called the Pearl of Indian Ocean. It was the result of mass planning. I now understand why that was needed. Qashin dhan ayaa balaayo dhan iska dhisanaayo today at wherever to whichever colour one desires. Now pink is the favourite colour that dons the exterior of the newly built buildings and houses Xamar, themselves architecture styles imported from Kenya and Imaaraadka, ugly-looking junk buildings.