The legal context of the missing Somalis case

There are now 14 people with connections to Minnesota charged with terrorism-related crimes. Many lived here for some amount of time, some allegedly recruited fellow Somalis to return to the fighting in their home country.

Click here to listen the legal context.

A Somali man is implicated the missing men departure to fight in a foreign country.

Click here to read the article -

The Religious Wars by Nicholas Kristof of Times

Interesting article - Kristoff critiques in a very unique way about how modern books fight over the meaning, direction and reasoning on religion and the true essence of it.

Click here to read his article

Somali Pirates Big Payday from Spain

Great question- Spain is stepping into a complex world on how to safe her 15,000 fisher boats from Somali Pirates. Click to hear more from NPR.

Paying Ransom, Does It Exacerbate Pirate Issue?

Sheekh Sharif iyo Somaliland - Dembiyada gaarka ah ee uu ka gelayo

Waxa socota dacwadda Cali Samatar - Jeneraalkii qirtay inuu amray burburinta iyo duqaynta magaalooyinka waa weyn ee Somaliland. Waa Sarkaalkii Ciidamada xilligaa ugu sarreeyey ee ahaa Wasiirka Difaaca isla markaana ahaa Abbaanduulaha. Waa Madaxii ugu sarreeyey ee hawsha fulinayay.

Muddo dhawr sano laga joogo ayaa dad dhibaato ka soo gaadhay dagaalada iyo xasuuqa ay dawladdii Somaliya ee markaa jirtay geysatay ayaa waxay maxkamadaha dalka Maraykanka ka codsadeen in kiiskooda la dhegaysto oo Cali Samatar maxkamad la soo taago.

Dhawrkan qof ayaa waxay xaq u leeyihiin inay dacwad ku soo oogi karaan shakhsi kasta oo dembi dagaal ku gala meel kasta oo adduunka ka mid ah.

Cali Samatar wuxuu xaq u leeyahay inuu maxkamdda tago oo uu is difaaco iyadoo si sharci ah lagu kala baxayo lana eegayo wixii caddaymo ah ee meesha yaalla.

Maxkamadda hoose ayaa afar sano ka hor laashay kiiska oo sheegtay inaan Cali Samatar maxkamad la soo taagi karin mar hadduu ahaa hogaamiye siyaasadeed. Waxa xilligaa Cali Samatar taageerayay Wasaaradda Arrimaha Dibadda ee dalka Maraykanka oo garab siisay.

Hase yeeshee qareenada dadka dacweynaya oo xirfad badan u leh dembiyada dadka xasuuqa geysta horena ugu guulaystay maxkamado ay saareen jeneraalo dalalka Laatiin Ameerika ka soo jeeda oo dadkooda sidoo kale laayay ayaa waxay rafcaan ka qaateen xukunka maxkamadda hoose.

Maxkamadda rafcaanka ayaa iyadu kiiskii soo celisay horraantii sannadkan ka dib markii la sugayay muddo dhawr sano ah. Waxayna sheegtay in Cali Samatar maxkamad la soo taagi karo oo aan la hor istaagi karin inuu hor yimaaddo si dembiyada loo dhegaysto isna isu difaaco.

Shabciga Somalida ee deggan dalka USA ayaa aad u kala jabay oo noqday waxa la odhan jiray reer koonfur iyo reer waqooyi. Taasoo macne qabiil noqotay. Iyadoo arrintu tahay dadkii dhibaatada dagaalkii dawladda Somaliya kula jirtay sanadihii 1988 - 1991 oo dhinac ah iyo Somali inteeda kale oo dhinac ah.

Sababaha ay mar labaad Somaliyi isaga raacday dadka Somaliland dega ayaa waxay la yaab ku noqotay shacbiga oo is lahaa 50,000 inta ka badan ee qof ee dhintay ayaa waxay heli cid masuuliyaddeeda dusha looga saaro

Qareenada Cali Samatar oo ka naxsan in maxkamaddu bilaabi doonto dacwadda yaa waxay rafcaan u dirteen maxkamadda ugu sareysa dalka USA ee loo yaqaan Supreme Court. Waxa khubaradu sheegaysaa in aanay maxkamadda sare wakhti u helin kiiska noocan oo kale ah oo ay hor yaallaan kumannaan kiis oo kale oo ka muhiimsani. Hase yeeshee jawaabtooda la sugu doono muddo sanado ah. Cali Samtar oo hadda deggan gobolka Virginia ayaa ah qof da'ahaan aad u weyn lagana yaabo inuu xilligaas ka hor tiisu timaaddo oo uu dhinto.

Waxa arrintan Somalida sii kala fogaysay dawladda Sheekh Shariif oo soo fara gelisay. Waxana la sheegay inuu Sheekha laftiisu telefon u soo diray Cali Samatar una ballan qqaday in maamulkiisu "Wax kasta u qabanayo oo arrintan lagaga hortago."

Waa yaabe godobka ay reer Somaliland ka galeen Sheekha iyo Somalida koonfureed maxay tahay? miyaanay ogayn in dadkiisu ay ka buuxaan suuqyada Somaliland oo magangelyo la siiyay? Maxaa kellifay inay Somaliyi marlabaad isugu tagto reer Somaliland oo qaarna afka Cali Samatar ku difaacaan kuwo kalena lacag qareenno loogu qabto u ururiyaan.

Cadaawadda ayaa si cad uga muuqatay maanta mar uu Sheekh Sharif waraysi siiyay idaacadda afka Somaliga ee BBCda. Mar wax laga weydiiyay arrimaha Somaliland ayaa wuxuu sheekhu yidhi, "...dad badan baa wax tabanaya oo Soomaali oo dhan dhibbaa soo gaadhay ee waxa loo baahan yahay in midnimada laga shaqeeyo.." Waxana cad in sheekhu u jeedo inay dhibku u gaar ahayn Somaliland ee ay Somaliyi dagaalka ku hoobatay.

Ma xuma, hase yeeshee Sheekha oo aqoontiisu gaaban tahay wuxuu illaabay in shacbiga Somaliland ay dawlad dagaal ku qaadday (State Sponsored Genocide). Xasuuq dawlad ay awooddeeda ciidan, maaliyadeed, diblomasiyadeed, iyo maamulba ay go'aan ku gaadhay in diyaarado lagu rusheeyo, shabciga guryaha laga baxo oo xitaa ay ku badbaadi waayaan caasimadda dalka oo ay dalkooda hooyo ku noqdaan waxa loo yaqaan second citizen. Iyadoo qabiil lagu soocayo.

Sheekhu wuxuu is barbar dhigayaa dagaalada beeleed ee Somalida weligeedba dhex mari jirtay illaa haddana taagan iyo dawlad dadkeeda xasuuqaysa.

Sheekhu Cali Samatar ayuu ka doortay shacbiga somaliland oo u harraadan in dadka la gumaaday luxudka si ay ugu ledaan ay helaan caddaalad iyo cid masuuliyadda qaadata. Mustaqbalkana noqota arrin laga caago oo haddii cid maanta loo qabto berri aanu ninkale ku dhicin.

Waxase is weydiin leh, dawladda Siilaanyo ee soo socotaa, maxay ka qaban doontaa? Waayo waa caddaan in maamulka Dahir Rayaale aanu diyaar u ahayn inuu isku furfuro arrintan sababo shakhsiyadeed ama beeleed aawadeed.

Doorashada madaxweyn ee Somaliland ee soo socotaa, ma laga yaabaa inay wax ka beddesho arrintan?

The Pain is more and real when a muslim commits a crime

This week's shooting by a Muslim soldier in Texas have reignited the suspicous way Muslim Amaricans are viewed.

Clinck here to read the report: Suspect was to be sent to Afghanistan

It suddenness me deeply when I realize that each time a Muslim American acts up, does something wrong or commits a crime we all pay the price in one way or the other.

This blanket of suspicion to all Muslim Americans has become natural as we share a faith with the accuser. This is mortifying. We are all guilty by association in the eyes of most other Americans. This is not because our fellow citizens hate Muslims, but the media sensation that covers the crime more often speculates the motive of the suspect.

Imagine how you would react if you are a regular citizen bombarded news reports every evening about the evil side of the Muslim faith. Imagine if you regularly get that prime time news every night for the past decade. You are human and that will effect your judgment.

We love America; most of us would defend with our blood. We go to work every day to make a difference in our communities, cities, states and our nation. We are part and parcel of this great nation. We benefit when this country is in good shape and we share the pain with our neighbors when the time is tough.

But the pain is more real and personal when someone that you don’t know but happen to be the same faith as you are commits crime and the rest of the country points fingers at you. The pain is real when your place of worship is under attack. The pain is real when Muslim children are harassed at school. The pain is real when you feel like you are sub-citizen and neighbors, coworkers and strangers ask you if you know the person or share politics with him.

Humans commit crime regardless of their faith but the notion that Muslims commit crime because they have ulterior motive is absurd. Some may have political agenda, but few nuts among the millions of Muslim Americans can’t be the face of the community. It is extremely unfair to live in fear when a Muslim person does something horrible.

How many brave Muslim soldiers I know are enlisted in the military or fighting to defend this country as we speak? How many others teachers, scientists, doctors, engineers, professors, nurses, police officers are hard at work at this moment trying to improve the lives of Americans.

We loathe seeing crimes or acts committed by a fellow Muslim. We become accustomed to change our daily routine, take extra precaution or even sometimes totally reduce our schedule and remain in our homes when a Muslim person commits a crime or is accused, just to avoid the spotlight. Most of the time that person is not even part of the community we live. Not even in our state and we may have never heard of what he does before that day. But simply we share a faith, his action affects our life, community and rights as American.

The perception of guilty by association is killing us, unbearable and we ask our American brothers not rush to judgment and always treat each crime separately. When a Muslim American is accused of committing a crime, please don’t assume the motive to be political or extreme ideology. Take the time to sort out what it is and make your mind after all the facts are presented.

Don’t rush to judge because your perception and judgment will affect millions and will disrupt the lives of millions of others.

Somaliland Expands its Petroleum Licensing Round Acreage

HARGEISA, Somaliland--(Business Wire)-- The Somaliland Ministry of Water and Mineral Resources (Ministry) announced today that it will add 6,221 square kilometers of onshore acreage in block SL3 to their petroleum licensing round, closing in December 2009.

The bid round now includes nine concession blocks comprised of more than 95,845
square kilometers of onshore and offshore areas. The deadline for final
submission of bids is December 15, 2009 and concessions will be awarded on March
15, 2010.

Seismic, aeromagnetic data and interpretive datasets over the region are
available from TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company (TGS). The information on bid round
application is also available through TGS.

Minister of Water and Mineral Resources
Republic of Somaliland
Mr. Qasim Sh. Yusuf Ibrahim, + 252 2528766
MWNR.info@gmail.com
http://www.somalilandgov.com/

Does VOA Hate Somaliland or Is It a Perception? Lets find out

Unbelievable - that is the only way I could describe of this Somali language article published on Somaliland papers in Hargeisa and the popular Somaliland owned sites.

The article basically explains in detail the original hiring process, which I concur, as a sham and extremely bias (I will explain my reasons later) and the way VOA Somali Service is managed now.

Of course Somalis are divided into tribal camps and yes any clan would mistress the head of the program if he is not one of their own. But what gave this article more credibility is how the author constructed the facts. And here is the fact check;

The Article claims that the man asked to hire the initial employee is from Ethiopia. His name is Mr. Mengesh. Mr Mengesh has made a good choice of going to Minnesota to recruit the future VOA radio Somali broadcasters. (Minnesota is the home of the largest Somali Americans)

First, he (Mr. Mengesh) asked people through word of mouth (that Is not professional, typical third world way of disseminating information instead of using other methods such as community papers and local media) to come to Hayatt Hotel in downtown Minneapolis to take a simple language test in early September - at that time, the article explains, almost all would be potential candidates from Somaliland were absent from the state to attend the annual Somaliland Conference organized by SOPRI. The article got it right because as a Somali Minnesota Media member, I was at the Conference in DC area too and never got the chance.

So, Mr. Mengesh and his Somali guide, helper or assistance (don't know what he has called him at the time) who happened to be from Puntland, Mr. Said AKA Sayid had deliberately made a strategic decision to focus to hire predominantly non Somalilanders as the timing of their quest suggests. In that faithfull day, none of the attendees were from the main cities of Hargeisa, Burao, Berbera or Erigavo except one girl named Zuhur.

Yes, there were two or three other individuals that grew up or maybe lived in Hargeisa but none the less were not members of the majority clan that hails from Somaliland - couple of them ended up being hired - of course for no fault of their own - But hear this, no one else was present to take advantage of the limited scheduled testing time.

The reason I concurred this is because I sent this email to Mr. Mengesh upon my return from the conference in DC explaining my credentials and how much I wanted to be part of the process.

Secondly, as the article explains and I have verified after I interviewed some of the original test takers this week in Minnesota (I’m in Minnesota as I write this piece), Mr. Mengesh and his handler were asking people about what region they come from during the interview. It seems that the VOA Somali section that is being created had already made a strategic decision to identify their candidates through the tribal glass - The article claims that this was an attempt to exclude the Somalilanders from the process by not even seeking a single resident of Minnesota from Somaliland.

Thirdly, after Mr. Mengesh hired the new aspiring would be Somali broadcasters from the twincities and elsewhere, he realized that most of them were not well known in Somali speaking communities through out the world. That was a blow to VOA since it would likely to compete with the much popular BBC Somali in London. So he hired couple of famous Somaliland broadcasters - Hereri and Awke - to boost the marketing and to compensate his original shortcoming of not hiring "real" Somalilanders. Eventually those two guys left in few months, for whatever the reason.

Of course the VOA would naturally need a Somali to report from Hargeisa (the capital of Somaliland) and so they hired a native Hargeisa lady. After Hargeisa's reporting was so overwhelming for her, they have decided to hire a guy to help her.

But the article claims that none of the other major Somaliland cities has a reporter. The article compared how other, even smaller cities of the Somalia proper has reporters. The article also complained that the only reporting VOA Somali is interested is to “create division among Somalilanders by focusing only debates on the three Somaliland National Parties to enhance their disagreements.”

Within a year or so the VOA Somali Services decided to have a Somali Chief Editor, Mr. Yabarow who was an editor already got the job.

Yabarow later recommended the hiring of the only broadcaster from Somaliland working in VOA main office in DC. This journalist's name is Fathia - and the article explains in detail the difficulties Fathia is facing to do her job and how her voice is rarely heard in the radio. To be fair, the article refrained to explain more!

This is, also, the tricky part for me, since I can't verify independently for what is happening in those VOA DC Studios. But since the article got the other above points right, I'm willing to take its word for this as well, unless I heard the VOA's version.

Don't get me wrong. I don't have any hurt feelings for not getting the opportunity to show what I could do - I moved on to pursue my media career elsewhere - I also happened to know the Chief Editor and several other VOA staff members - But my courtesy is limited to these insinuating circumstances the article has claimed to be true, which are overwhelmingly close to the truth.

And my blogging about the article and its contents is not, by any means, a slandering VOA Somali Service, its leadership and/or its staff, but rather a critical gesture to suggest a soul searching action that may clarify the fact based perceptions out there and to develop a new strategy to balance their approach onto Somali tribal society.

Like I said, yes, Somalis are divided into mistrusted clans and any head of a public program like this would be a subject to unkind scrutiny, but the opportunity to continue to self correct and counter measure still exists. AND that is why I think the management (Mengesh, Yabarow, the lady -forgot her name) and the staff of VOA Somali could take advantage of this critical article and other feedback they receive from outside- to help them improve their stand in Somaliland public. To communicate better and to clear the air- After all, they are in the media- public relations business and ignoring this article as a necessary nuisance is not wise.

Like all other Somalilanders out there, I wonder if VOA Somali Service Management would ever explain the main question that the article raised; How come there are no Somaliland editors in the VOA Somali Service Program?

History shows that Somaliland media personalities used to dominate airwaves in BBC, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and most of all medium that broadcast in Somali language through out the world.

I would accept any response, but please don't tell me that you can't find someone talented in this rich pool of Somaliland Americans. Can't wait to hear the answer!

Somalis in the US should take some responsibility

After all, the country that gave you shelter, safety and other opportunities such as education, jobs and place to call home is not asking that much in return.

What America wants is not for us to go and fight but stop those among us that are trying to destroy the same freedom we enjoy. Is that too much to ask?

Come on people - It is obvious that we are sadly divided into tribal groups. Everyone belongs to a clan and most likely clans don't trust each other, for whatever the reason. But when it comes to our common interest - be part of a larger American community with civic responsibility- Shouldn't we take serious for that responsibility to get rid of the bad apples that are recruiting our youth to become murders?

Those elements among us are not doing us a favor! If they harm America, the same country that did so much for us, they are hurting us. They are hurting the future of our children. Our name is dragged and associated with the enemies of the state.

If we have complained in the past that the Bush administration had an agenda to repress Muslims wherever they are, here or abroad, what do we have to say now that the new administration is willing to dialogue? Don't you get it? This is our country as much as it is the white Minnesotan's or the Midwestern citizen's next door.

Let us put our political differences on how to run Somalia and which clan should get what resources (if there is any at all) aside and focus on what is important here. USA is our home that gave us second chance to be whoever we would like to be and it deserves better.
Our freedom we enjoy is not free! People had died to achieve it and people are dying to keep it as we speak. All we have to do is to clean our conscious and take those bad apples out of the community. We need a serious house cleaning!

Somaliland: What Somalia Could Be

Somalis from what used to be the Southern Somalia complain about the bragging of Somaliland politicians on how the peace in the north have been acheaved -Through local reconcilation without enterfarence from outsiders - However, with out the bragging and avoiding what some may see an idea that is forced in their throat, it is really important that the rest of Somalis should follow the example and create homegrown stability and democracy. Something belongs to Somalis that they should be proud of.

Below is an article by Professor Pham explaining why the rest of Somalis should follow the Somaliland model.

Somaliland: What Somalia could Be
By J. Peter Pham

It came as no surprise when Foreign Policy magazine and the Fund for Peace released their “Failed States Index 2009” three weeks ago that, once again, Somalia topped the rankings. What I reported two weeks ago about the country’s “Transitional Federal Government” (TFG) continuing to lose what little ground it has left in the face of an onslaught from Islamist insurgents is even truer as the forces of al-Shabaab (“the youth”), the al Qaeda-linked group formally designated a “foreign terrorist organization” by the U.S. Department of State last year, and its allies, including the Hisbul al-Islamiyya (“Islamic party”) group of Sheikh Hassan Dahir ‘Aweys, a figure who appears personally on both United States and United Nations antiterrorism sanctions lists, seize control of more and more neighborhoods in Mogadishu.

Click here to read more..

Source: Family Security Matters