SOLers, YOU need to step up to the plate. CiF article on Somali community

[me]

Norf if Somalia dies, Somalis will die. The only way to save Somalis is to save the idea of Somalinimo, hadii kale waxba isuma sheegayno and nin walbaa tiisa ha ka tashado.

[NGONGE]

^^ Been telling you for years. Glad to have you on the dry side of our ditch, saaxib.

 

Hung,

That's pure wisdom there. Usually Somali proverbs are rubbish really (stuff about donkeys and their ears, etc) but this one is class.

[Paragon]

Good article from the guardian. Most don't realise the connection between statelessness and somali state of mind. But I am glad some folks are started to take this connection abit more seriously.

 

I remember posting a note about statelessness and state minds to the UK Somali Student Association yahoo group. Below is an excerpt:

 

Never have I had enough of time and concentration to compare us with them. Them being those lucky ones with a dedicated, though sometimes not so dedicated state, that serves them, works for them and caters for their need; from sense of a nation-hood and a sense of

belonging, from guul-wade to minishiibiyo, from passport control to aw-kuku and from odey-cabdille to police stations. Fortunately when

the short holiday came, and most of the universities were closed, I had the chance sit back and pour myself a cup of tea while reflecting on the state we are in or the state we never had. This mood of creating a comparison between things have paved the way for me in

many instances, and I have always been fond of employing it whenever I feel somehow disorientation from reality or when i am in complex dilemma. But before i could continue to engage in a scholarly comparison, another scenario un-folded.

Note: statelessness is affecting our state of mind and health!

 

Thu Jan 30, 2003 7:50 pm

 

So I asked myself, who is to blame for this?

 

This question needs a deep answer; it needs clever and considerate observation of the situation we are in. The reason why our community

is in such a mess doesn't necessarily mean that we're incompetent, but it shows how being without a state can affect those of us outside Somalia. The psychological effects of being without a role-model (or president) or a state (functioning government), contributes to the low-moral and esteem phenomenon that has become common amongst our community. The feeling of having no place to return to causes serious stress to older generation and drags them into a status which gives way to pessimism. And later leads to the proverb "Nin qoyani biyo iskama dhowro". The result is to see them gathering cafes' discussing nothing else but pessimistic topics spear-headed by the divisions caused by tribalism. When there were a state back home,

people had a common-unity, a sense of similarity under the state and that sense united them. Nowadays such things are long gone and though

Somalis need heroes who can bring back the glory of the old golden days, but their purposeless stubbornness blocks all hope. Majority of the community are stressed and feel out of place. They gather in marfishes and chew jaad to drawn their feelings of disapointment. Men who use to be of some importance are reduced to shifts of jaad chewing crowds. They have dreams of Somalia getting better and that dream is being shared by our old mothers who are locked in small houses, afraid of going outside, preventing to slip on the slippering snowy surfices. In Somalia, they use to go round to other mothers and performs tasks like "abaay abaay", arbaca bun-duboow and many other enchanting activities. Children don't play outside as they used to do. They don't play "kuun kuun" or dhuudhuumashow or "kabey bilato, ha bilato" and chasing home-made socksed footballs. Many of us have been victimised and racially attacked leaving us in fear for ever. Every year we effortly wait for the fate of many of our youngsters, and the cause of death? stabbed or murdered in the streets.

 

Truthfully, we're suffering from anxieties that even those in Somalia don't suffer from. Abuses are hurled at us every time and every place the name "refugee" or "asylum" is mentioned. We are

considered a parasite community. I really think those who call us names have the right to do so, coz it is our fault that we became un-ashamed parasites. What is a Somali mother to do in London? sell "yaanyo" in the suuqa weyn ee Southall? There is nothing our parents can do but to depend on ceydha, coz they is no other possible income for them except "Ayuuto" whcich comes once in every few months. We are in this kind of situation and the intriguing thing is

that our fellow Somalis back at home blame us for fuelling the war, funding every warlord and feeling the gunmen. It is true that the

wars that happen in Somalia these days do seem like the proxy wars between the west and the east during the cold-war. Old men gather in tribes and collect "QAARAAN" to buy more guns, to create more fire. The more they collect, the more the fire of war burns.

 

Those who directly fund the war clearly have blood on their hands, but how what about those of us who don't fund the war and send money

back to their relatives back in Somalia? Are we doing any good or harm by sending hard earned currency every month and creating a new dependency? Sure, we are creating some sort of dependency and by creating this dependency, we are not doing ourselves any good. We are

just transferring the dependency our state use to have on foreign aid to our own families. And the stress that is associated with sending

money every month while you work in back-breaking jobs is very high. Many Somalis gave up and became the "Marfish members" and other gave

up both hope and their lives. Communities use to depend of their state to provide basic services but there is no longer a state, so, it is us who have to provide enough money that can buy basic services to our families.

 

Citizens from dictatorship governments are better than us. For example Ethiopians, Kenyans or Djiboutians don't even think of those basic things but we do. They don't coz they have some sort of a state however weak it may be.

 

INSTEAD OF SENDING MONEY EVERY MONTH, LETS INVEST AND CREATE NEW HOME-

GROWN ECONOMIES THAT WILL CREATE JOBS AND SUSTAINABILILTY.

 

LET'S HAVE A STATE. THIRTEEN YEARS IS A LONG WAIT FOR A GOVERNMENT.

 

Cheers

 

JamaaL-11

Here.

 

Sounds very similar to the article.

 

Then when I posted I was taunted for making such a connection, but the same folks later realised the connection was real and serious.

 

Anyway, noble sentiments of willingness to help will not, by themselves, help these kids pull up their grades. As mr. me has said, find 2 people on the same page on this issue. And only when you've met that challenge will you be able to do anything tangible.

[Geel_jire]

Malika u'r a teacher ? ... dulqaad baad haysaa walee .... not everyone is cut out to be a teacher.

 

I was once strong armed into tutoring some somali kids in Math by my aunt. 2 out 10 of them were smart and quick learners I enjoyed teaching them but the rest were hopeless who were also strong armed into attending.

 

there is also this informal program where you are asked to talk to some final year high school students who interested in entering your field of specialty also organized by above mentioned aunt ... once you explain the gritty details it doesn't as cool as they expect.

 

Great thread north .. something does need to be done !

[N.O.R.F]

Isseh,

 

I agree and disagree at the same time. Does the situation of Somalia really effect kids currently going through their GCSEs? I really don't think so. They either left when they were young or were most likely born in the UK. The statelessness has effected the older generation more than the younger. This has no doubt effected the grades of Somali kids at schools due to the fact that parents think it is not their country therefore their kids will not ambitious. They are cool with this and only hope their kids don't turn out bad (go off the rails).

 

I was with a kid one day in the presence of his mom. I was asking him what he wanted to be and suggested the usual doctor, engineer or camel herder. He mom turned to me and asked, whats the point? wadankiisii ma joogee. Imagine have such an attitude and presenting it to your kids.

[PlayMaker]

Good Topic Norf, i hate to mention it but i am doing my part..it's a good feeling when someone comes up to you and says "hey i always looked up to you". I had this guy that said that to me the other day, wallahi i was kind of taken back..

I know it starts with parents but everyone of us should have that Responsibility and mentor someone, it's not too late to change your daily routines and get involved..

[me]

Norf let that grey mass of yours work and think about how the statelessness in Somalia is connected to Somali youth crime, jaad addiction and single mother families.

[N.O.R.F]

^^A limited connection which is over-played by most.

 

PM, hear hear. I recently came across someone who graduated after seeking advice from me back in 2003. He bought me a meal. A chicken burger and chips but I was chuffed with myself

[Paragon]

^^Point noted sxb.

[N.O.R.F]

Do all you can people. A little showing of interest in someone's studies can go a long way. Ignore the adults if you have to.