Caano Geel Posted May 17, 2004 OK people, we can debate and argue our intellectual virility our good will and humanity, but in reality we've lost the battle. I'm heart broken, no thats a lie, I'm angry, i want my eyes to glow red, horns to pop out of the top of my head and start charging like a mad elephant stamping my feet and leaving nothing behind me. I can probably say this because i lead a nice sheltered life - the good life; I have the EU covering my back, little to fear, much to speculate about and absolutely no power to accomplish anything that'll make a real and lasting difference today. So exactly what use are any of us tomorrow if everybody is being wiped out today? Nuruddin Farah put us as 'a nation of narratives held to ransom' but rather, we are a nation of narrators held to ransom. Why am i saying this? Read below for what can only be Somali madness The only free hospital in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, has closed after medical workers went on strike because of threats from gunmen. Hundreds of women and sick children gathered outside the SOS Hospital, pleading for medical attention. Many were shrieking with pain. The patients inside were evacuated. The gunmen were sent to the hospital three weeks ago by the family of a woman whose womb was removed during a life-saving operation. Somalia has had no central government since 1991, with rival warlords fighting for control. Several women were sobbing because all the other clinics in Mogadishu are private, and prohibitively expensive for all but the rich. Some 20 armed men have been patrolling the wards since the end of last month, preventing medical staff from performing operations and tending to the sick. The hospital workers say that they will carry on with their strike until the militiamen are withdrawn from the building. But the woman's family are insisting that the militiamen will continue to occupy the hospital until they are compensated for the removal of her womb. The family is demanding 50 camels, which is the traditional Somali compensation offered for the death of a woman. The woman's family say she is as good as dead because she can no longer bear children. However, Bashir Sheikh, the doctor who removed her uterus, says that he had to do so in order to save her life, as she was carrying a dead baby. "I was waiting to be thanked", he said, "but, instead, I am receiving death threats". Mogadishu's traditional elders have been trying to mediate between the woman's family and the hospital, but have made no progress. Religious leaders, women's organisations and ordinary citizens have also been calling on the family to withdraw their militiamen from the hospital. bbc online --------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baashi Posted May 17, 2004 50 Camels 1 Camel = $70.00 US (estimate) 50 x $70.00 = $3500.00 Do you want this quarrel to end and the hospital function so the poor and sick can get the help they need? Someone has to pay the money! whether the woman is entitled the compensation is immaterial. If we pay $20.00 US, 175 of us can reopen that medical facility! Anyone? for hor Illaahey! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NGONGE Posted May 17, 2004 Baashi, you’ll be opening the door for a very lucrative business there, sxb. They'll attack hospitals every day of the week. So exactly what use are any of us tomorrow if everybody is being wiped out today? So exactly what use are any of us tomorrow if everybody is being wiped out today? If everybody is wiped out tomorrow we will be of no use since they’re all be dead. I suppose we’ll have to start from scratch. Not a bad thing if you ask me! Not that I’m wishing death on anyone, you understand. If I misunderstood your above comment, please feel free to correct me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabbal Posted May 17, 2004 Baashi, you’ll be opening the door for a very lucrative business there, sxb. They'll attack hospitals every day of the week. Exactly! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Caano Geel Posted May 17, 2004 lol Baashi true, as NGONGE said, tan taajir baad ku noqon kartaa! And the pessimist in me (the dominant one in schizophrenic arsenal of personalities) agrees. And admitidly i am venting having read yet another cheap excuse for mass oppression -- (I've just got back from Berlin and damn!! I think all those museums have have had an effect) -- NGONGE with regard to 'everyone' i meant those unable to escape, its sick to think qaxooti are the lucky ones. While cleansing the world of humanity will more than likely result in solving many of the planets problems - and maybe we can have a new dominant species featuring free-lovin' vegan pacifist dolphins that are into their recycling. I think that my point was that when i remembered where we're from i felt frustrated and angry at my inability and the effectiveness (or lack of) of our society. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baashi Posted May 17, 2004 Baashi, you’ll be opening the door for a very lucrative business there, sxb. They'll attack hospitals every day of the week. Possibly! And we don’t want to encourage the ransom-taking gangs by giving them incentives to do more. But what if this is not a ransom. What if this is compensation paid in lieu of legit grievances stemming from medical mistakes made by the good doctor? We sure do know that there is no venue for legal recourse for the woman to get the compensation other than “xeer”. After all, this part of Somalia is anarchic where you need militiamen of your own clan to get justice. They shouldn’t disrupt the hospital but now they did; how best this standoff can be resolved? lol Baashi true, as NGONGE said, tan taajir baad ku noqon kartaa! And the pessimist in me (the dominant one in schizophrenic arsenal of personalities) agrees. You blew my cover there! Caan geel...how am I gonna make mo dawg now . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
