The Atlantic

Last month, the United States announced a new policy toward Somalia. In a September 24 press briefing in New York City, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson said that the U.S. would "work to engage more actively with the governments of Puntland and Somaliland," two autonomous regions within Somalia. This ends the U.S. policy of relating exclusively to Somalia's transitional federal government (TFG), which can be described as the country's central government only if "central" is understood to mean controlling several blocks of the capital with the help of 7,000 foreign soldiers. The change was driven by escalating violence in Somalia's south from the al-Qaeda-aligned militant outfit al-Shabaab, the TFG's clear ineffectiveness, and the relative security that both Somaliland and Puntland have enjoyed. Though this new policy falls far short of recognizing Somaliland's long-sought independence, thus creating a new African state and fundamentally reshaping the Horn of Africa, some observers believe the U.S. should now give independence a closer look. The U.S.'s hope is that by engaging Somaliland and Puntland, those regions will be better equipped to contain the spread of violence. Carson made this clear, saying that both regions are expected to "be a bulwark against extremism and radicalism that might emerge from the South." He continued, "We hope to be able to have more American diplomats and aid workers going into those countries on an ad hoc basis to meet with government officials to see how we can help them improve their capacity to provide services." Though Somaliland declared its independence on May 18, 1991, it is not internationally recognized; Puntland declared itself an autonomous state in 1998, but has not sought outright independence. Carson, by referencing these regions as countries, drew questions from reporters on whether the U.S. was contemplating diplomatic recognition of them as independent states. He replied that the U.S. "still recognized only a single Somali state." But Somaliland's representatives believe the U.S.'s policy shift does not go far enough. I spoke with Saad Noor, the North American representative of the Republic of Somaliland, who believes that as long as its independence is not recognized Somaliland's relative stability will be in jeopardy. He noted that, at present, Somaliland cannot engage with international institutions such as the World Bank, IMF, or even the Universal Postal Union. Noor also pointed to businesses' hesitancy to engage in the region because Somaliland's status as an unofficial country makes it difficult to insure their investments. Without recognition, Noor claimed, "our people's hopes and adherence to the state will erode day to day. If you cannot employ and educate the young men and young women, if you cannot build roads, if you cannot bring businesses that provide jobs, everything will be in a state of continuous deterioration." Noor is also unhappy that the U.S. is explicitly linking its Somaliland and Puntland policies. "Puntland never left the union," he said. "Puntland still flies the flag of Somalia and uses the same currency. They say that they would like to have a federal republic of Somalia." Most of the scholarship to date regarding Somaliland's independence supports U.S. recognition. Peter J. Schraeder made the case in a piece he wrote for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Matt Bryden proclamed that Somaliland "looks like a state, smells like a state and tastes like a state." (Honestly, it makes more sense in context.) To be fair, ideas that are far from being implemented frequently have more public advocates than adversaries, and only garner more opposition once they look like they could become a reality. I spoke to a few opponents of recognizing Somaliland to get a better sense of the debate. Abdulkadir Hashi, Puntland's State Minister for International Cooperation, called me from Puntland and voiced a fundamental philosophical objection. "The world is coming together," he said, pointing to the European Union as one example. "So it doesn't make sense for Somali people to be split up." Puntland thus does not seek independence, and opposes independence for Somaliland. Another opponent of Somaliland independence is Abdiweli Ali, an associate professor of economics at Niagara University who has advised some of Somalia's political entities. Ali told me that geopolitical concerns include territorial disputes between Puntland and Somaliland, which he believes could make cause conflict. Some of the clans in these regions identify with Puntland rather than Somaliland, for example. In my conversation with Saad Noor, he brushed this concern aside, pointing out that Somaliland declared its independence almost twenty years ago. "Why haven't those bad things happened so far?" he asked. Another objection that Ali raised is the precedent that Somaliland independence might set. "If you allow Texas to secede, how can you deny Oklahoma?" he asked. Advocates of Somaliland independence point to the fact that it once was an independent country: the former British Somaliland Protectorate gained independence on June 26, 1960, and was recognized by 35 countries before voluntarily forming a union with the former Italian Somalia five days later. Peter Schraeder wrore that Somaliland independence would not "call into question the African mantra of the 'inviolability of frontiers' inherited at independence." Instead, dissolving the union "would constitute a unique case of returning to the boundaries inherited from the colonial era." While Abdulkadir Hashi acknowledges that Somalia's north has historically been short-changed by the government in the south, he told me: "I don't think that the grievances of the Somaliland people, great as they are, really justify secession." He suggests that there may be intermediate solutions short of independence, such as giving the country's presidency to Somaliland. Whether or not recognizing Somaliland's independence is the right solution, the U.S. would do well to understand the challenges that the region confronts. As Noor said, "Somaliland is held up as a shining example because of its successful recent elections and security situation. But it could lose its shine. The situation is not sustainable unless the international community invests in it." And it is clear that the U.S.'s engagement with Somaliland and Puntland will only grow increasingly important, since the new U.S. policy is an acknowledgement that the TFG is not up to the challenges that confront it. So the policy is not just about Somaliland and Puntland: it is also about admitting to ourselves that the violence in the South will not end anytime soon, and searching for ways to contain its spread.

Another Somalilander makes it to the top ...... Hambalyo.

Kaddib markii Gelinkii hore ee shalay koox sahan-deegaaneed ah oo watey hal baabuur degaanka degmada Dhahar (Sanaag-bari) uu raggaas iyo baabuurkoodiiba rasaas Oodda kaga qaaday nin u dhashay degaankaasi ayaa waxa halkaas ku geeryoodey laba ka mid ah raggii sahanka ahaa waxana sidoo kale dhaawac culusi soo gaadhey hal nin oo isla kooxdaas ka mid ahaa sidoo kalena baabuurkoodii ayaa waxyeello soo gaadhey halka raggii kale ee kooxdaas sahanka ahaa qaarkood duurka u firxadeen qaar kalena magaalada Dhahar gudeheeda cararkii ku galeen. “Saaka abbaara 10:30-am ayaa koox sahan deegaaneed ah oo baabuur watey magaalada Dhahar agteeda nin degaankan ka mid ahi rasaas ku furay halkaasna laba nin ayaa raggaas kaga geeryoodey hal nin-na dhaawac culus ayaa soo gaadhey, waxana dhaawacii iyo dhimashadiiba Odayaal dhinacaas (Puntland) ka yimid u qaadeen xagga Qardho, baabuurkoodii oo waxyeello gaadheyna weli halkan (Dhahar) ayuu yaallaa”. Sidaas waxa yidhi Maayorka Degmada Dhahar Cali Kilwe Cismaan oo isagoo halkaas ku sugan aannu khadka telefoonka kula xidhiidhnay. Waxana Maayorku intaas kusii daray “Arrintu wax laga tashaday ma ahayne waxay daba joogtaa Aano la xidhiidha ninkan oo aabbihiis hore loo diley”. I sagoo ka hadlaya dhaqdhaqaaqyo arrintan ka dhashay oo isugu jira ciidammo la sheegay dhinaca Puntland in ay ka yimaaddeen iyo diyaargarowga ciidammada Somaliland ee Aaggas deggan wuxu yidhi “Arrintu sawir ahaanteedu waa Aano marka hore degaankuana Ooshu waa isku soo guurtey dhinac kastaba haseyeeshee waa jiraan dhaqdhaqaaqyadaasi iyo ciidammo dhinacaas (Puntland) ka yimid oo caawadan/xalayto aan kula hadlayo gaadiidka iyo ciidammada Puntland waa soo gadheen degaankan(Dhahar), ciidammadii Somaliland ee Aaggan degganaana waa diyaar amniguna khatar ayuu ku jiraa magaaladuna (Dhahar) caawa waa Bandoo”. Sikastaba ha ahaatee arrintan ayaa abuuri karta mar kale dagaallo hor leh oo degaannadaas (Sanaag-bari) ka soo cusboonaada, tasoo sababi karta isku dhac labada maammul (Somaliland iyo Puntland) ee had iyo jeer ka dhex jiro muranka maammul iyo gacan ku haynta degaankaasi.

Yes, coz they have to be shown how it works in Hargeisa ,,

Maamul goboleedka Somaliland ayaa joojisey shaqadii taleefishinka afka Soomaaliga ku hadla Then do u have to read the rest ?? ,,,

It is not a riddle ,,,,

Maad fahmin halka aan ka hadlayo inaabti .....

That is the problem when your get your news about Hargeisa from Kismaayo..... Here is the fact: The government had concerns over the TV and they wanted to request a meeting to discuss those issues. The management failed to respond to the calls. This happened many times. The Minister then TEMPORARILY suspended the Television to pressure them for the meeting. Not a big deal indeed ........

WAREYSI WARIYE KAMID AH WARIYAYAASHA MUQDISHO OO SIMINAR UTAGAY HARGEYSA KADIBNA U QAATAY INUU YURUB DHEXJOOGO LISTEN HERE

Waad fahantay ,,, markaa iska fiiri sawirkiisa

Morning efri badhi ....... Hargeisa waa Hargeisa ....... Reer Burcaa ka buuxa Cara, just try.

Waad ka habsaantay ,,, mar horaa lagu kala tegey ,,

loooooooooooool@hawshiisa .... Kuwaasi khayr ma leh iga dhaaf.

HERE

ACLU, local service providers debunk allegations in KPBS series on East African asylum-seekers A coalition of community groups and service providers–including the ACLU, Horn of Africa, Somali Family Service, and the San Diego Refugee Forum–sent a letter to Rep. Brian Bilbray today debunking allegations in a recent KPBS series that East African asylum seekers may be connected to Al-Shabab, a Somalia-based Islamic terrorist group. After the series came out last week, Bilbray called for congressional hearings on the issue. “We write with concerns that your call for congressional hearings on the purported national security threat posed by East African asylum seekers is based on inaccurate reporting and misconceptions about the asylum process,” the letter says (download the pdf here). Amita Sharma’s three-part series (which you can listen to and read here, here and here), which was broadcast last week on KPBS, quoted anonymous federal sources who had suspicions that East African asylum seekers may have terrorist links because they take a circuitous route to the United States and supposedly told immigration agents suspiciously similar stories after they arrived here via Tijuana through the San Diego port of entry. But Sharma apparently made no effort to independently verify the federal sources’ allegations. Her reports don’t include any interviews with asylum seekers or their lawyers. She also fails to explain why the U.S. government’s asylum program for East Africa has been shut down, which probably has something to do with why Somalis opt to make a grueling trek instead of seeking asylum through proper channels. Making the report even more problematic, federal agents themselves couldn’t say for sure whether the asylum seekers actually have links to Al-Shabab. “We are responsible for the security and safety of the people of the United States and we really don’t know who is coming,” one source told KPBS. (Our emphasis added.) The letter calls the KPBS reports “factually inaccurate.” Among its findings: * The report notes that Somalis obtain illegal identification documents in order to get into the United States, but fails to note that the State Department “recognizes” that Somalis can’t be expected to have state-issued ID cards because Somalia has been in a perpetual state of collapse since the early ’90s. Immigrations agents refuse to accept false identification from asylum seekers, requiring them to provide evidence to prove their identity. * Federal sources told KPBS that asylum seekers pay upwards of $60,000 to get to the United States, but the letter says that “would appear to be a gross exaggeration.” Local immigration attorneys who work with Somali asylum seekers say that the trip normally costs between $4,000 and $10,000, and never more than $12,000. They usually raise the money by selling their property and possessions and getting remittances from family members in the diaspora. * The report discussed a Pennsylvania man who’s been indicted on charges of smuggling Somalis, but it didn’t mention the man’s questionable credibility–DHS has been reluctant to use him as a witness, even though he’s a former federal agent, because he’s apparently failed polygraph tests and there are “implausible aspects” to his story. Also, there’s no indication that he’s actually helped Al-Shabab. * Considering the U.S. government’s “exceptional intelligence capabilities” regarding the Somali-based terrorist group–for example, U.S. forces once assassinated an Al-Shabab commander while he was hiding out in a remote area of Somalia–it seems unlikely that Al-Shabab could pull off a secret infiltration program of this magnitude. Plus, San Diego’s Somali community works closely with the FBI and DHS to keep Al-Shabab from infiltrating. The letter also challenges the federal agents’ claims that the U.S. government is doing a poor job of keeping track of asylum seekers and weeding out suspicious ones. The letter notes: * The asylum process includes an extensive array of security procedures, including a one-on-one screening and a “credible fear” interview with Department of Homeland Security officials, extensive background checks, and hearings before an immigration judge in which DHS prosecutors dissect the asylum seeker’s back story. In the hearings, asylum seekers must “meet an exacting burden of proving their eligibility for asylum.” * Due to increasingly strict federal regulations, applicants who have “associated with terrorists, supported terrorists or engaged in terrorism” cannot receive asylum. They’re ineligible for asylum even if they were involuntarily forced into helping terrorists, for instance, by feeding them at gunpoint or having their money stolen. “The result is that innocent victims of terrorism and oppression have been found ineligible for asylum or legal permanent resident status,” the letter says. * Asylum seekers are detained once they reach the United States, often for months or even years. DHS does not release anyone who doesn’t have identity documents. We here at CityBeat agree with the letter’s assessment that the KPBS series is misleading and factually inaccurate. We would’ve liked in-depth insight from service providers who work with Somali refugees–not to mention asylum seekers themselves–rather than the few perfunctory sound-bites included in the reports. We also can’t help but be skeptical when a news report relies mostly on anonymous federal sources. After all, in the run up to the Iraq war, it was nameless, faceless agents of the federal government who used the mainstream media as a tool to justify the invasion of Iraq because Saddam Hussein supposedly possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction. Needless to say, we all know how badly that turned out.

uu soo bandhigay Prof Maxamed Yusuf (IQRA) oo bari sare ka ah Jaamacadda Al-Cayn ee dalka UAE Carabo dheg cas iga dheh ,,,,

HERE + PHOTOS

The northern section of Somalia, which proclaimed its independence in 1991, is free of the mindless violence tearing the rest of the country apart and offers rewarding sites from age-old rock paintings to spectacular escarpments to blinding white beaches -- much indeed to interest the visitor who ventures on this road less traveled. Getting There From Neighboring Countries: Overland from Ethiopia is a relative, if potentially uncomfortable, cinch by bus from Jijiga; at the border group taxis drive on to Hargeisa, the capital, all easily doable in a day. Air travel remains suspended following a bomb attack against Ethiopian targets in Hargeisa in 2008. From Djibouti, there are supposed to be daily landrovers, but these can take 20 hours or more, travel mainly at night to avoid the heat so you don't see much, and are subject to frequent breakdowns. So I went by plane. There are four flights a week by two companies, Daallo and Jubba, the latter suiting my timetable. On A Wing And A Prayer: Well, it does at least have two wings -- but that's about all you can say for it -- and many a prayer on the part of yours truly. Jubba's 1,000-year old four-engine Russian Ilyushin 18 turboprop is something out of science retro-fiction. It's filthy, the seat belts don't work properly, corroded immutably and for eternity into maximum stretch for vast vodka-filled bellies; and don't even think of pulling down the table in the seat back -- I did, and it had repulsive calcified food remains from the 60s. Come to think of it, they could be mine; the last time I flew an Ilyushin 18 was in Cuba in 1966; perhaps this is the very same plane, and these the remains of my 1966 repast. Fortunately it's only 45 minutes to Hargeisa. On landing, the Russian pilot is out on the tarmac giving a very suspicious glower at the outer right engine, tapping it as though it were a tuning fork to see if it sounds safe to take off again. Security: Other than a deadly bomb attack in 2008 against UN and Ethiopian targets in Hargeisa, apparently by Al Shabab Islamists from the south, there has been little major violence. But security is pervasive with zillions of police and army checkpoints on all the roads. At the time I was there (July), just after democratic elections in which the opposition won and actually took power peacefully, it was possible to go by public bus to Berbera and the inland city of Burao and the Ethiopian border. Travel further east, where clan loyalties to the Puntland autonomous region of Somalia have caused tension and clashes, requires renting a 4X4 and an armed security police guard, the latter costing $15 a day. Unlike many other African cities, Hargeisa seems relatively safe to wander around in the center till at least about 10:30PM. Sights and Sites: The premier tourist attraction is Laas Geel. Large rock overhangs on outcroppings on the vast savanna an hour from Hargeisa make a natural shelter against the elements on the 4,000-foot high plateau where 7,000 to 10,000 years ago some artistically inclined cavemen felt their home needed a make-over. They set to work with the rock minerals at hand -- deep red, white, yellow -- and produced some truly remarkably paintings. OK, the Mona Lisa, or Last Supper it ain't, but then old Leonardo had some 6,500 to 9,500 years of technological advances to work with. They're not the sort of rock paintings you have to strain your eyes and imagination to decipher. The deep red cows with udders waiting to be milked, the men in white shirts, the group dancing, and the family dog with his upturned tail certainly deserve to be put on UNESCO's World Heritage Sites List, regardless of non-recognized independence claims. Berbera on the Red Sea coast is a bit of a wreck as are most of the cities, due to the heavy damage inflicted in the pre-independence civil war. But the coast is great for beachcombers even if searingly hot. The drive inland to the plateau through spectacular mountain gorges is splendid, and the vast lonely plateau stretching out to the horizon with the occasional nomad 'homesteads,' permanent small mosques and milling camel herds is incredibly evocative. Finally the fantastic escarpment by Daallo mountain with its drop of thousands of feet near Erigavo in the east is truly awe-inspiring. For this I needed to rent a 4X4 at $200 a day with driver, guide and the armed security guard all in. Money: compared with neighboring African cities, it is really cheap. For instance when I was in Hargeisa the Oriental Hotel charged $15 for a clean room with fan and shower and $4 for a great meal in a great setting -- a large indoor courtyard with pergolas and balconies -- right in the center of Hargeisa. Fortunately dollars are accepted everywhere, otherwise you'd almost need a donkey cart to cart your local money around -- at 6,000 shillings to the dollar, and 500 shillings the highest denomination. If you want to see Rothschild a la Somaliland, there's a whole lane in the market lined with money changers sitting on the ground, their little tables piled high with huge bricks of bank notes in bundles a couple of feet tall, some using the loot as foot rests. In Erigavo, it's even worse; they use the Somalia shilling and if Somalia's highest note is 1,000 shillings and it takes 32,000 shillings to equal $1, just do the math. Talk Of The Town: If you're at a loose end in Hargeisa after dipping into the cacophonous effervescence of markets crowded with donkey carts amid the amplified calls of the muezzin, you could do worse than go to the Imperial Hotel, just beyond the walled presidential palace. The building is run down, but its meal and tea garden is the watering hole for the local literati, gliterati, politicati, and reporterati as it's bang in the center of government offices. Here, at little tables scattered amid copses of flowering bushes and trees, the latest scraps of 'news' can be gathered and regurgitated in the 'information bourse' as you seek out the latest Somaliland "deep throat" and generally fill up on local gossip, local color and local what-ever among the friendly patrons.

Originally posted by Cara.: JB, since you are at Ground Zero for canjeelo/laxoox making, can you find out how to make qamiir from scratch? Make little qoosh, put it somewhere warm and leave it for two days ...... u should have your khamiir by then ,,,

Well, make some light food for yourself .... u can have snacks on your way home though ,,, I'm enjoying some coffee right now and preparing to go home ,,,,

Never Trust Arabs ..............