Kismayo — A delegation dispatched by the
Somali federal government in Mogadishu to visit and assess the situation
in the southern port city of Kismayo returned to Mogadishu on Saturday,
Garowe Online reports.
The ministerial delegation, led by Interior Minister Abdikarim
Hussein Guled, arrived in Kismayo on Dec. 27 and engaged in meetings
with the local political leaders, military officers, and community
elders.
One political insider in Kismayo, who spoke to Garowe Online on
condition of anonymity, indicated that the discussions between the
federal ministers and Kismayo local leaders "ended in stalemate" over
the issue of Jubaland formation.
"There was a disagreement over Jubaland issue. The federal ministers
proposed that Mogadishu appoint a three-month interim administration for
Kismayo district," said the source, adding that Kismayo leaders
"rejected" the proposal.
Continuing, the source said: "The Kismayo political group is actively
pursuing the formation of Jubaland supported by local clans at a public
convention."
Kismayo political leader Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Ahmed Madobe)
said: "Somalia has adopted federalism...It has been agreed that Kismayo
and the Jubaland regions will establish an administration supported by
the local people and the local people will elect their leadership."
Potential political rift
The political source in Kismayo also tells Garowe Online that the
federal ministers had told the Kismayo administration that the Somali
federal parliament is planning to introduce a parliamentary motion
"specifying" federal and state powers in the Federal Republic of
Somalia.
Under the country's adopted federal constitution, four national
issues have been deferred until a negotiated agreement is reached among
the existing and emerging federated states of Somalia in the future,
namely: distribution of power at state- and federal-levels,
revenue-sharing, a federal capital city, and the issue of natural
resources.
A political source in Puntland tells Garowe Online that Somali
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is "pursuing centralized government
where he can appoint governors to [the former] 18 regions of [1991]
Somalia."
Continuing, source said: "If the federal parliament introduces such
motion, it is unconstitutional and potentially a new political rift will
emerge in Somalia."
The Somali federal government was established in August 2012, after
the adoption of the provisional federal constitution of Somalia.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Iran slams attack on Pakistani pilgrims
Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi
Mon Dec 31, 2012 5:29AM GMT
0
7
1
Iranian
Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has slammed a recent terrorist attack
on Pakistani pilgrims in Pakistan’s southwestern province of
Balochistan.
In a message on Sunday, Salehi expressed condolences to the Pakistani government, nation and the bereaved families of the pilgrims killed in the terrorist attack.
On Sunday, at least 19 people were killed when a bomb ripped through a convoy of three buses carrying Shia pilgrims in the Mastung district, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of Quetta in Balochistan Province.
According to reports, a number of women and children were among the victims. A senior government official in Quetta said the buses were carrying some 180 Shia pilgrims, who were on their way to Iran.
Attacks against Shia Muslims in different parts of Pakistan have escalated in recent months. Since the beginning of 2012, hundreds of Shias have been killed in the country.
Last month, many Shia Muslims were killed in several attacks targeting processions held to commemorate the martyrdom of the third Shia Imam, Imam Hussein (PBUH).
Pakistani Shia leaders have called on Islamabad to form a judicial commission to investigate the bloodshed.
According to Human Rights Watch, the Pakistani government has failed to stop the violence against Shias, who account for around 20 percent of the country’s 167-million-strong population.
MYA/HMV/HJL
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Somalis reject al-Zawahiri's call for violence
By Majid Ahmed in Mogadishu
November 12, 2012
Somalis have condemned the call by al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri
for Muslims throughout the world to take up arms and support al-Shabaab.
"This new speech made by al-Qaeda's leader comes at a time when
al-Shabaab is facing a huge drop in its military capability and an
increasing decline in its areas of operation and deployments," said
political analyst Hussein Abdullahi Ahmed, a former member of the
Islamic Courts Union.
"For this reason, al-Zawahiri is trying to encourage fighters who are stressed and anxious about the unknown future after allied forces expelled them from key areas and cities over which they had control not so long ago," Ahmed told Sabahi.
In a seven-minute audio message released Tuesday (November 6th) on jihadist websites, al-Zawahiri sent a message of encouragement to al-Shabaab and urged Muslims around the world to fight on behalf of jihad.
"This is a flagrant Crusader invasion of the Muslim countries and it makes jihad obligatory on every Muslim who is capable in Somalia and its surroundings and in the rest of the world until the invaders are expelled," al-Zawahiri said. "Therefore, make them taste the fire of jihad and its heat. Pursue them with guerrilla warfare, ambushes and martyrdom-seekers."
"If the leader of al-Qaeda thinks that Somalis listen to his speeches that incite violence and support al-Shabaab, then he is mistaken," Ahmed said. "If he thinks al-Shabaab will gain strength by virtue of his calls to continue fighting, then this will only leave them weaker. Repeated calls by the al-Qaeda leader for al-Shabaab to continue fighting are nothing more than a symbol of the group's weakness."
Ahmed condemned al-Zawahiri's intentions as transgressions against Somalia. "The goal of al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab is to thwart the hopes of the Somali people who are looking forward to a better future that is free from violence and terrorism," he said.
Abdiwahab Ahmed Omar of the National Youth League also condemned the al-Qaeda leader's call to violence. "Al-Zawahiri's message is totally rejected and cannot be accepted at all by Somali youth," he said.
More than 200 representatives of youth organisations met in Mogadishu on November 8th to condemn al-Zawahiri's message.
"The objective of our meeting was to explain our stance, which completely rejects the message of the al-Qaeda leader, and to [make it clear] that we do not support terrorist groups, but rather educating youths and teenagers about the dangers of such calls that come from terrorists," he told Sabahi.
"Al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda always use deception to recruit teenagers under the pretext of defending Islam and jihad against the infidels," he said. "These tricks, however, are useless and the perpetrators have been exposed as people who do not defend Islam. If they are defending Islam, why would they blow up mosques, restaurants and stores? I call on young Somalis, wherever they may be, to reject calls by terrorists."
On Monday (November 12th), members of Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa, officials from the city of Mogadishu, representatives from civil society groups and civilians came together in a rally against al-Zawahiri and his call to action, Radio Mogadishu reported.
Deeqo Abdulqadir, head of the Wartanabadda district in Mogadishu, told attendees that the Somali people have suffered greatly because of terrorists and therefore should not tolerate any more of their transgressions.
Similarly, Benadir deputy-administrator of security Warsame Mohamed Hassan condemned al-Zawahiri's message and urged civilians to work with security forces to ensure peace in the city.
"Al-Zawahiri's call has no impact and will not be heeded at all," Gelle told Sabahi, adding that Somalis have rejected the violence al-Qaeda uses to reach its objectives.
"The Somali people know very well what terrorism means in terms of bloodshed and the killing of innocent people, making al-Zawahiri's speech utterly rejected and unacceptable," he said.
Mohamed Hassan Haad, chairman of the Council of Hawiye Elders, one of the largest tribes in central Somalia, also labelled al-Zawahiri's message as ineffectual. "The message of this big terrorist can be described as insane and it falls on deaf ears in Somalia," he told Sabahi.
"The heinous acts perpetrated by al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda are why Somalis suffer from so many problems today, so we cannot accept such silly calls released by leaders of terrorist organisations," he said.
Haad said al-Zawahiri should leave Somalia alone.
"Somalia and Somalis are well aware of their future and that of their country and al-Zawahiri should not interfere in our affairs," he said.
Al-Zawahiri's message came less than a month after a video recording was released of American-born jihadist Omar Hammami, better known as Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, calling on "the leaders of jihad and virtuous scholars" to intervene and solve the "friction" between al-Shabaab's local leaders and foreign fighters.
-
![An image from video released in October shows al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri speaking from an undisclosed location. This month, he called on Somalis to use violence to support al-Shabaab, a message Somali leaders say citizens will ignore. [SITE Intelligence Group/AFP]](http://sabahionline.com/shared/images/2012/11/12/somalia-shabaab-zawahiri-340_227.jpg)
An image from video released in October shows al-Qaeda leader Ayman
al-Zawahiri speaking from an undisclosed location. This month, he called
on Somalis to use violence to support al-Shabaab, a message Somali
leaders say citizens will ignore. [SITE Intelligence Group/AFP]
![An image from video released in October shows al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri speaking from an undisclosed location. This month, he called on Somalis to use violence to support al-Shabaab, a message Somali leaders say citizens will ignore. [SITE Intelligence Group/AFP]](http://sabahionline.com/shared/images/2012/11/12/somalia-shabaab-zawahiri.jpg)
"For this reason, al-Zawahiri is trying to encourage fighters who are stressed and anxious about the unknown future after allied forces expelled them from key areas and cities over which they had control not so long ago," Ahmed told Sabahi.
In a seven-minute audio message released Tuesday (November 6th) on jihadist websites, al-Zawahiri sent a message of encouragement to al-Shabaab and urged Muslims around the world to fight on behalf of jihad.
"This is a flagrant Crusader invasion of the Muslim countries and it makes jihad obligatory on every Muslim who is capable in Somalia and its surroundings and in the rest of the world until the invaders are expelled," al-Zawahiri said. "Therefore, make them taste the fire of jihad and its heat. Pursue them with guerrilla warfare, ambushes and martyrdom-seekers."
Al-Zawahiri's transgressions against Somalia
But Ahmed said al-Zawahiri's message will not carry a lot of weight in Somalia."If the leader of al-Qaeda thinks that Somalis listen to his speeches that incite violence and support al-Shabaab, then he is mistaken," Ahmed said. "If he thinks al-Shabaab will gain strength by virtue of his calls to continue fighting, then this will only leave them weaker. Repeated calls by the al-Qaeda leader for al-Shabaab to continue fighting are nothing more than a symbol of the group's weakness."
Ahmed condemned al-Zawahiri's intentions as transgressions against Somalia. "The goal of al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab is to thwart the hopes of the Somali people who are looking forward to a better future that is free from violence and terrorism," he said.
Abdiwahab Ahmed Omar of the National Youth League also condemned the al-Qaeda leader's call to violence. "Al-Zawahiri's message is totally rejected and cannot be accepted at all by Somali youth," he said.
More than 200 representatives of youth organisations met in Mogadishu on November 8th to condemn al-Zawahiri's message.
"The objective of our meeting was to explain our stance, which completely rejects the message of the al-Qaeda leader, and to [make it clear] that we do not support terrorist groups, but rather educating youths and teenagers about the dangers of such calls that come from terrorists," he told Sabahi.
"Al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda always use deception to recruit teenagers under the pretext of defending Islam and jihad against the infidels," he said. "These tricks, however, are useless and the perpetrators have been exposed as people who do not defend Islam. If they are defending Islam, why would they blow up mosques, restaurants and stores? I call on young Somalis, wherever they may be, to reject calls by terrorists."
On Monday (November 12th), members of Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa, officials from the city of Mogadishu, representatives from civil society groups and civilians came together in a rally against al-Zawahiri and his call to action, Radio Mogadishu reported.
Deeqo Abdulqadir, head of the Wartanabadda district in Mogadishu, told attendees that the Somali people have suffered greatly because of terrorists and therefore should not tolerate any more of their transgressions.
Similarly, Benadir deputy-administrator of security Warsame Mohamed Hassan condemned al-Zawahiri's message and urged civilians to work with security forces to ensure peace in the city.
Call for so-called jihad rejected
Dahir Mohamud Gelle, a former commander in the Islamic Courts Union and former minister of information in the Somali Transitional Federal Government, said al-Zawahiri's call was ineffectual."Al-Zawahiri's call has no impact and will not be heeded at all," Gelle told Sabahi, adding that Somalis have rejected the violence al-Qaeda uses to reach its objectives.
"The Somali people know very well what terrorism means in terms of bloodshed and the killing of innocent people, making al-Zawahiri's speech utterly rejected and unacceptable," he said.
Mohamed Hassan Haad, chairman of the Council of Hawiye Elders, one of the largest tribes in central Somalia, also labelled al-Zawahiri's message as ineffectual. "The message of this big terrorist can be described as insane and it falls on deaf ears in Somalia," he told Sabahi.
"The heinous acts perpetrated by al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda are why Somalis suffer from so many problems today, so we cannot accept such silly calls released by leaders of terrorist organisations," he said.
Haad said al-Zawahiri should leave Somalia alone.
"Somalia and Somalis are well aware of their future and that of their country and al-Zawahiri should not interfere in our affairs," he said.
Al-Zawahiri's message came less than a month after a video recording was released of American-born jihadist Omar Hammami, better known as Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, calling on "the leaders of jihad and virtuous scholars" to intervene and solve the "friction" between al-Shabaab's local leaders and foreign fighters.
Somalia grants al-Shabaab amnesty
Server 2 Problems with playing video - use our alternate server.
Abdulaziz Billow, Press TV, Mogadishu
The
Somali government has extended a 100 day ultimatum to local fighters
known as the Al Shabab. The aim is to rehabilitate the group and
incorporate them back into the society following a five year insurgency
war.
The Somali government has given the local Al-Shabaab fighter group a 100 days ultimatum to end fighting and lay down its arms.
The country’s Interior and National Security Minister issued the ultimatum and called on the people to join hands in fighting extremism and militancy in Somalia.
The group has been waging an insurgency war against the UN backed administrations in Somalia since 2007. However the group has lately been on the back foot in the past year after being forced to abandon its bases in the capital Mogadishu owing to intense pressure from AMISOM and Somali forces.
The group has now lost all the major cities in south and central regions of Somalia to allied forces. Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti and Ethiopian troops ate fighting the Al-Shabaab on four fronts and the capture of major towns has dealt a big blow to the radical group.
However, the Somali army hopes to lure the youth fighters into laying down their arms in return for government amnesty.
In recent months, both the Somali National Army and AMISOM forces have made substantial military gains against Al-Shabaab, liberating large swathes of the country, including several regional capitals. In one instance, more than 200 Al-Shabaab defectors publicly denounced the group in Garsale, approximately 10km from the town of Jowhar and some 80km from Mogadishu. Jowhar town was later captured in December; further weakening the Al-Shabaab might in south Somalia.
Both the Somali government and the African Union Mission in Somalia have repeatedly assured Al-Shabaab fighters of their safety if they give themselves up peacefully, with the hope of integrating them back into the society.
However, comments from Al-Shabaab officials have lately indicated that there has been increasing signs that pressure being placed on group is even being felt by the foreign fighters who are secretly fleeing to countries like Yemen.
Despite all this, the Al-Shabaab has managed to carry out a series of deadly attacks on government and military convoys further proving that the war might be far from over.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Madaxweynaha dowladda Soomaaliya iyo beelaha Daarood ee Jubooyinka oo sii kala fogaanaya.
Madaxweynaha dowladda Federaalka Soomaaliya Xasan Sh. Maxamuud, iyo beelaha Daarood, ee Jubooyinka ayaa sii kala fogaanaya.
Madaxweyne Xasan Sh. Maxamuud oo dhawaan gaaray magaalada Nairobi ee dalka Kenya, ayaa kulamo la qaatay Madaxda dalka Kenya, iyo qeybo ka mid ah Jaaliyadda Soomaaliyeed ee halkaas ku dhaqan, waxaana jira warar sheegaya in Madaxweynaha iyo Madaxda Kenya ay isku maandhaafeen arrimaha maamul u sameynta Jubooyinka.
Siyaasiyiin, odayaal iyo qaar ka mid ah jaaliyadda Beesha Daarood ee Jubooyinka oo shir ku qabtay mid ka mid ah Hotelda xaafadda Islii, ayaa sheegay in Madaxweyne Xasan uu si buuxda u diiddan yahay qorshaha maamulka loogu sameynayo Jubooyinka, waxaana jirta in xitaa xildhibaano baarlamaanka ka mid ah oo shirkaas joogay ay sheegeen in Madaxweynuhu diiddan yahay Federaal, isla markaasna uu qorsheynayo in la laalo qodobada Dastuurka ee Federaalka.
Siyaasiyiinta iyo Odayadii kulanka fadhiyey qaarkood ayaa ku hanjabay inay dowladda ka baxayaan haddii Madaxweynuhu talaabadaas ku dhaqaaqo, waxaana hadaladii meesha laga sheegay ka mid ahaa: in Madaxweynuhu uu doonayo in gobol gobol maamul loogu sameeyo dalka, meeshana laga saaro maamul goboleedyada, waa sida hadalada madasha laga yiri qaarkood ahaayeene.
Khudbaddii uu Madaxweynuhu ka jeediyey shirkii uu la yeeshay Jaaliyadda Soomaalida Kenya, ayuu ku sheegay in uusan diyaar aheyn sharci kala haga maamul goboleedyada iyo mid u dhexeeya iyaga iyo dowladda Federaalka, wuxuuna Madaxweynuhu carrabka ku dhajiyey in loo baahan yahay in waxaas oo dhan laga baaraan dego.
Ma muuqato wax isku soo dhawaansho ah oo Madaxweynaha iyo Daroodka Jubooyinka u dhexeeya, iyadoona sidoo kale ayan muuqanin qaabka dowladda federaalka iyo maamul goboleedyadu isu fahmayaan una wada shaqeynayaan.
Ugu dambeyntii: waxaa shaki badan laga qabaa qaabka Soomaaliya oo dhan hal dowlad u wada hoos imaaneyso, iyadoona Somaliland ay horey ugu dhawaaqday inay dalka intiisa kale ka go’day, Puntland iyo dowladda ayan wax wada shaqeyn ah ka dhexeynin, Jubooyinka uu buuq ka taagan yahay, deegaanada qaar badan ay Shabaab ka taliso, halka dadyow matalada dhinacyadaas ay baarlamaanka ku wada jiraan, marka laga reebo Al-Shabaab.
xigasho somalireal
Friday, December 28, 2012
Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders campaign for ‘love’ in Colorado
Thursday, 27 December 2012
From left to right: Rabbi Joe Black, ADL board member and
senior rabbi of Temple Emanuel; Jeremy Shaver, executive director of
Interfaith Alliance of Colorado; and Imam Karim Abuzaid , imam of
Colorado Muslim Society) (Photo courtesy Denver Post )
Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders stood united when they
launched “Love Thy Neighbor” campaign in Colorado, a newspaper reported
Tuesday.
“Love Thy Neighbor” campaign is to group people of the three Abrahamic religions to counter anti-Muslim ads that have been placed on Colorado’s RTD (Regional Transportation District) buses and to respond to recent national tragedies, Denver Post said.
In July, a mass shooting in a movie theater in Colorado killed 12 people and injured 59. Also, in mid-December at least 27 people, including 18 children, were killed when at least one shooter opened fire at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
“Our country is in the midst of a lot of divisions," Temple Emanuel Senior Rabbi Joe Black told the paper, adding that “hatred is only going to further violence and the breakdown of society.”
“Love Thy Neighbor” campaign is to group people of the three Abrahamic religions to counter anti-Muslim ads that have been placed on Colorado’s RTD (Regional Transportation District) buses and to respond to recent national tragedies, Denver Post said.
In July, a mass shooting in a movie theater in Colorado killed 12 people and injured 59. Also, in mid-December at least 27 people, including 18 children, were killed when at least one shooter opened fire at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
“Our country is in the midst of a lot of divisions," Temple Emanuel Senior Rabbi Joe Black told the paper, adding that “hatred is only going to further violence and the breakdown of society.”
The campaign will place ads,
purchased for $5,000, on 10 buses to promote “love” instead of “hatred”
by the end of this week. The ads will remain on each bus for a month.
“Love Thy Neighbor” message is “a shared concept in the three religions,” Colorado Muslim Society Imam Karim Abuzaid said.
“We felt really hurt,” Imam Abuzaid said in reference to the anti-Muslims ads placed on RTD buses in Colorado.
The American Freedom Defense Initiative started placing ads showing negative messages on Muslims on buses for four weeks in Denver, New York and Boston.
One of the ads read: “9,757 Deadly Islamic Attacks Since 9/11/01. It’s Not Islamophobia. It’s Islamorealism.”
Despite the Anti-Defamation League denouncing American Freedom Defense Initiative’s campaign as “offensive and inflammatory,” RTD legal staffers found no basis to remove the ads.
Other transit agencies that challenged bus ads in court have lost, according to the daily.
“Love Thy Neighbor” message is “a shared concept in the three religions,” Colorado Muslim Society Imam Karim Abuzaid said.
“We felt really hurt,” Imam Abuzaid said in reference to the anti-Muslims ads placed on RTD buses in Colorado.
The American Freedom Defense Initiative started placing ads showing negative messages on Muslims on buses for four weeks in Denver, New York and Boston.
One of the ads read: “9,757 Deadly Islamic Attacks Since 9/11/01. It’s Not Islamophobia. It’s Islamorealism.”
Despite the Anti-Defamation League denouncing American Freedom Defense Initiative’s campaign as “offensive and inflammatory,” RTD legal staffers found no basis to remove the ads.
Other transit agencies that challenged bus ads in court have lost, according to the daily.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Reverse brain drain: Heading home to Somalia
globalpost
“There has to be some point in your life when you go back to look after your relatives and contribute to your country."
Tristan McConnellDecember 26, 2012 06:25
“There has to be some point in your life when you go back to look after your relatives and contribute to your country."
HARGEISA, Somalia — The Kulan Art Café is a bright airy place with murals and framed paintings by local artists, potted plants, fresh coffee and ice cream, homemade cakes and a menu featuring Western staples like pizza and hamburgers.
In Hargeisa, the capital of the breakaway state of Somaliland, there is nothing else like it. Nor is there anything like it elsewhere in Somalia, which is attracting increasing numbers of diaspora Somalis as the country gradually emerges from decades of conflict.
Among the returnees is the café’s owner Ayan Hussein, a striking woman in her 40s who decided to return to Somalia two years ago.
Clutching her three young children Hussein fled the capital Mogadishu in 1997. They settled in London, first as refugees then as British citizens. The north London suburb of Hampstead became their home, and her children grew up as Londoners.
With an eye for fashion Hussein worked as a freelance stylist, designing weddings for wealthy clients and advising fashionistas on the right handbags to carry. She often worked at Browns, an uber-trendy boutique in London’s West End.
But after 15 years she decided it was time to return to Somalia. “There has to be some point in your life when you go back to look after your relatives and contribute to your country. It’s a beautiful time to come back,” she told GlobalPost over a cup of Ethiopian coffee at Kulan one recent morning.
The more than 20 years of chaos, warfare and destruction that ripped Somalia apart propelled many of its citizens abroad. Today Somalis constitute one of the largest, most far-flung diaspora communities on the planet, with an estimated 1.5 million in the US, Europe and the Gulf States.
In many cases they were the lucky ones. But although they left they continued to support networks of relatives in Somalia, sending back up to $2 billion a year in remittances according to World Bank estimates.
As Somalia’s war begins to subside, the trickle of returning diaspora Somalis is becoming a tide. The more hardy among them head to the capital Mogadishu, where the beginnings of an investment boom have been discernible since Al Qaeda-aligned militants left in August 2011, but where suicide bombings still threaten.
Others, like Hussein, choose the far safer option of Somaliland — a region that has run its own affairs since declaring independence in 1991, but has yet to be recognized by any foreign state.
“I know Mogadishu is getting better but I have family here and it’s safer,” she said.
Diaspora Somalis often bring with them skills, education, money and new ideas, making them better equipped to profit from Somalia’s fragile peace. But they also face culture shock and resentment from those who stayed behind.
More from GlobalPost: Reverse brain drain, Thais ditch the American rat race
Hussein admitted she finds it easier to identify with others from the diaspora because “they understand the ways of living outside.” Her businesses reflect this.
The inspiration for Kulan Art Café came from watching as her own children struggled to settle into their new home, and wanting to provide something familiar from “our other home,” as she calls London.
“A lot of children from the diaspora, my own included, suffer in the sense that, where do you get pizzas, burgers, ravioli with cheese? There’s no place,” she said.
Hussein’s oldest son Mohamed, 23, refused to leave London but her 26-year-old daughter Sagal, and younger sons Guled, 19, and Gabriel, 5, moved with her.
Sagal and Guled work at the café and also at Hussein’s fashion boutique across the road which stocks imported clothes, accessories, makeup and perfume, but for them the move has not been easy.
“Even though I’m from here I’m also from London so the way things are here, I didn’t expect it. It was a total culture shock,” said Guled, who can understand but cannot speak Somali.
“I tend to make friends with people from abroad,” he said.
In London he was a skater riding the concrete ramps and slopes of Cantelowes Skatepark in Camden, north London. “Here everything is dust. You can’t skate on dust,” he said. The road outside is typical: broken tarmac and dust verges studded with telegraph polls capped by crazy birds’ nests of telephone and electrical wire.
“What I like doing here and what I like doing in London are two completely different things. I had to adapt and change,” said Guled.
Guled misses his skate parks, but for Hussein it’s the green outdoor spaces, running water and reliable electricity that she longs for. And in conservative Somalia she has had to work hard to indulge what she calls “my passions: food and fashion.”
At both her café and shop customers are mostly from the diaspora. They sit at tables chatting in British and American accents drinking $0.50 cappuccinos and sharing $2 slices of homemade carrot cake.
The young women who buy designer jeans from Hussein’s shop have to hide them beneath long abayas.
“It’s difficult because it’s an Islamic country there’s a very thin line and you can easily make a mistake,” she said.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Egypt referendum: President Morsi backers urge unity
Middle East
26 December 2012
Last updated at 04:01 GMT
More than 60% of voters backed the constitution in a referendum, although only a third of the electorate voted.
Critics say the document favours Islamists and betrays the revolution.
President Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power in February 2011 after nearly 30 years of authoritarian rule.
After the referendum result was announced on Tuesday, dozens of anti-constitution protesters blocked one of the main bridges in the capital Cairo, setting tyres alight and stopping traffic.
Currency exchanges in parts of Cairo were said to have run out of dollars. Before the result was announced, the authorities declared a limit of $10,000 (£6,200) for travellers into and out of Egypt.
On Monday, Egypt's central bank issued a statement saying that the banks had "stable liquidity" to safeguard all deposits.
The BBC's Bethany Bell in Cairo says President Morsi's government will soon have to take some unpopular measures to prop up the economy, which could hurt his party at the ballot box.
'Special responsibility' On Tuesday, Mr Badie welcomed the referendum's results, tweeting: "Congratulations to the Egyptian people on approving the constitution of revolutionary Egypt".
Echoing his words, Prime Minister Hisham Qandil stressed that there was "no loser" in the vote and called for co-operation with the government to restore the economy.
The US state department responded to the vote by urging all sides in Egypt to commit themselves "to engage in an inclusive process to negotiate their differences".
In a direct appeal to President Mohammed Morsi, spokesman Patrick Ventrell said that as democratically elected leader he had a "special responsibility... to bridge divisions, build trust and broaden support for the political process".
Turnout was 32.9% of Egypt's total of 52 million voters, election commission President Samir Abul Maati told a news conference in Cairo.
Mr Maati rejected opposition allegations that fake judges supervised some of the polling - one of several complaints relating to voting fraud made by the opposition National Salvation Front after each stage of voting.
Egypt has recently seen large demonstrations by both critics and supporters of the constitution, which have occasionally turned violent.
Before the first round of voting on 15 December, the opposition considered boycotting the referendum before deciding to back a No vote.
Polling had to be held on two days because of a lack of judges prepared to supervise the process.
President Morsi's supporters say the new constitution will secure democracy
Backers
of President Mohammed Morsi have urged all Egyptians to work together
after the adoption of a controversial new constitution.
Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie said Egyptians should
"begin building our country's rebirth with free will... men, women,
Muslims and Christians".More than 60% of voters backed the constitution in a referendum, although only a third of the electorate voted.
Critics say the document favours Islamists and betrays the revolution.
President Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power in February 2011 after nearly 30 years of authoritarian rule.
After the referendum result was announced on Tuesday, dozens of anti-constitution protesters blocked one of the main bridges in the capital Cairo, setting tyres alight and stopping traffic.
Egypt referendum result
- Votes for constitution 10,693,911 (63.8%)
- Votes against 6,061,101 (36.2%)
- Turnout 32.9% (17,058,317 votes including 303,395 declared invalid)
Parliamentary elections must now take place within two months.
The political divisions surrounding the referendum have led to economic uncertainty and a reported rush to buy US dollars. Currency exchanges in parts of Cairo were said to have run out of dollars. Before the result was announced, the authorities declared a limit of $10,000 (£6,200) for travellers into and out of Egypt.
On Monday, Egypt's central bank issued a statement saying that the banks had "stable liquidity" to safeguard all deposits.
The BBC's Bethany Bell in Cairo says President Morsi's government will soon have to take some unpopular measures to prop up the economy, which could hurt his party at the ballot box.
'Special responsibility' On Tuesday, Mr Badie welcomed the referendum's results, tweeting: "Congratulations to the Egyptian people on approving the constitution of revolutionary Egypt".
Echoing his words, Prime Minister Hisham Qandil stressed that there was "no loser" in the vote and called for co-operation with the government to restore the economy.
Continue reading the main story
Constitution at a glance
- Sharia remains the main source of legislation
- Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's leading authority, to be consulted on "matters related to Sharia"
- Christianity and Judaism to be the main source of legislation for Christians and Jews
- Right to beliefs protected; state's obligations limited to Islam, Christianity and Judaism
- Limits president to two four-year terms of office
President Morsi's mainly Islamist supporters say that the new constitution will secure democracy and encourage stability.
But opponents accuse the president, who belongs to the
Brotherhood, of pushing through a text that favours Islamists and does
not sufficiently protect the rights of women or Christians, who make up
about 10% of the population.The US state department responded to the vote by urging all sides in Egypt to commit themselves "to engage in an inclusive process to negotiate their differences".
In a direct appeal to President Mohammed Morsi, spokesman Patrick Ventrell said that as democratically elected leader he had a "special responsibility... to bridge divisions, build trust and broaden support for the political process".
Turnout was 32.9% of Egypt's total of 52 million voters, election commission President Samir Abul Maati told a news conference in Cairo.
Mr Maati rejected opposition allegations that fake judges supervised some of the polling - one of several complaints relating to voting fraud made by the opposition National Salvation Front after each stage of voting.
Egypt has recently seen large demonstrations by both critics and supporters of the constitution, which have occasionally turned violent.
Before the first round of voting on 15 December, the opposition considered boycotting the referendum before deciding to back a No vote.
Polling had to be held on two days because of a lack of judges prepared to supervise the process.
Somalia: Far from a failed state?
Africa
20 February 2012
Last updated at 08:39 GMT
Remarkable things are happening which could serve as models for a new start.
It may come as a surprise that, despite coming top of the world's Failed State Index for the past four years in a row, Somalia ranks in the top 50% of African countries on several key development indicators.
A study by the US-based Independent Institute found that Somalia came near the bottom on only three out of 13 indicators: Infant mortality; access to improved water resources and immunisation rates.
It came in the top 50% in crucial indicators like child malnutrition and life expectancy, although this may have changed since last year's famine.
"Far from chaos and economic collapse, we found that Somalia is generally doing better than when it had a state," said the institute.
"Urban businessmen, international corporations, and rural pastoralists have all functioned in a stateless Somalia, achieving standards of living for the country that are equal or superior to many other African nations."
'Freewheeling capitalism' Of course many people in Somalia have suffered horribly during the past 20 years of state collapse, but some sectors of the economy, both traditional and modern, are positively booming.
I recently visited one of these ports, Berbera, in the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, where port manager Ali Xoorxoor told me: "I expect livestock exports from the port to increase dramatically from three million head of livestock in 2011 to 4.5 million in 2012.
"This is because of healthy demand from the Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia, and new markets emerging in Egypt, Syria and Oman. The Egyptians are especially fond of our camels, mainly for meat."
The livestock trade has exploded since Somalia's government imploded in 1991.
One trader told me exports from the northern ports alone is worth more than $2bn (£1.3bn) a year; this does not appear to be an exaggeration, when one considers that just one sheep is worth at least $30 and a camel several hundred.
Academic Peter Little found what he described as a "spectacular surge" in cross-border cattle trade from Somalia to Kenya, where cattle sales in the Kenyan town of Garissa, near the border with Somalia, grew by an "astounding" 600% in the years following the collapse of central authority.
In his book, Somalia: Economy without State, Mr Little describes how "a freewheeling, stateless capitalism" has flourished in the country.
These nomads know how to negotiate their way through enemy territory; perhaps they have a thing or two to teach Somali politicians and international agencies struggling to get aid to those who need it most.
Cold Coca-Cola
Special "khat planes", pick-up trucks and people on foot ensure khat gets to market before noon, the day after it is picked.
Otherwise, the khat-chewers will not buy it.
The local authorities and international aid agencies could learn something from those in the khat business about how to deliver supplies, perhaps of food, medicine and other essential items, to difficult and dangerous areas.
As Somali analyst Nuradin Dirie says: "The khat network reaches every corner of Somalia every day of the year and doesn't stop for wars, drought, floods, epidemics, Friday prayers, Ramadan - anything really.
"I suggested to the UN that it could make use of khat networks to vaccinate children as this would create an opportunity for 100% vaccination coverages.
"I have travelled quite a lot inside Somalia. To little villages and big towns, to far away rural areas and to remote coastal outposts.
"Wherever I go, I always manage to get a cold Coca-Cola. If they can store cool Coca-Cola, there is a strong possibility they can handle vaccinations too."
Other more modern sectors of the economy are also thriving.
Somalia has one of the cheapest, most efficient mobile phone networks in Africa.
It is home to Dahabshiil, one of the largest money transfer companies on the continent, which together with other remittance outfits, delivers some $2bn worth of remittances to Somali territories a year, according to the UN.
Like the khat traders, remittance companies deliver money to remote and treacherous places all over Somalia.
Can-do attitude Some humanitarian groups use these companies to deliver cash-for-food and other forms of assistance; perhaps more use could be made of these pre-existing remittance networks, which link Somalis together, wherever they are in the world, connecting them in a matter of minutes.
Many Somali camels are exported to Egypt, where they are highly prized
There is a startling contrast between the productive, can-do
attitude of the Somali business community, and the sometimes
obstructive, counter-productive approach of the politicians.
Members of the Somali diaspora, and those who stayed behind during the long years of conflict, are doing daring, imaginative and positive things.
A group of British-educated brothers from the self-declared republic of Somaliland has built a Coca-Cola bottling plant amongst the sand, anthills and cacti, creating a surreal environment of green lawns, gleaming white walls, glossy red paint, and polished factory floors.
A pioneering young woman has recently set up an art gallery in Hargeisa.
Another has opened up a boutique, where smartly dressed
attendants sell shoes, handbags, brightly coloured lingerie, and men's
and women's clothes in the very latest Somali fashion.
A man in Mogadishu runs a Billiards and Snooker Federation.
There are also political models and inspirations on offer within the Somali territories.
The most striking is Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in 1991, and has built itself up from war-torn rubble into probably the most democratic polity in the Horn of Africa.
It has done this on its own, from the bottom-up, combining the old with the new, to create a political system that gives authority to clan elders as well as those elected by the public.
The Somali business community and places like Somaliland have "worked" because they have married the best of the traditional and the modern.
Much that has "failed" in Somalia is a result of combining the "bad", divisive things about the traditional clan system with dangerous modern elements, especially weapons.
It might be more productive for anyone interested in helping Somalia back onto its feet, including those at the London Conference, to deal with and learn from the business community instead of the politicians.
With
leaders from more than 50 countries and international organisations due
to gather this week for the London Conference on Somalia, BBC Africa
analyst and Somalia specialist Mary Harper argues that Somalia's
business leaders offer reasons to hope for the war-torn country's
future.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has managed to convince some
of the world's most powerful people, including UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to come to London
because Somalia is seen as the world's most comprehensively failed
state, representing a threat to itself, the Horn of Africa region and
the wider world.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
Ali Xoorxoor Berbera port managerI expect livestock exports from the port to increase dramatically from three million head of livestock in 2011 to 4.5 million in 2012”
The conference will focus on
three issues that have already had far-reaching and devastating
consequences: Piracy, terrorism and famine.
But away from the headlines and the stereotypical media
images of skeletal children, skinny pirates in tiny skiffs, and
gun-wielding Islamist insurgents, their heads wrapped in black and white
scarves, there is another side to the Somali story that is positive,
enterprising and hopeful.Remarkable things are happening which could serve as models for a new start.
It may come as a surprise that, despite coming top of the world's Failed State Index for the past four years in a row, Somalia ranks in the top 50% of African countries on several key development indicators.
A study by the US-based Independent Institute found that Somalia came near the bottom on only three out of 13 indicators: Infant mortality; access to improved water resources and immunisation rates.
It came in the top 50% in crucial indicators like child malnutrition and life expectancy, although this may have changed since last year's famine.
"Far from chaos and economic collapse, we found that Somalia is generally doing better than when it had a state," said the institute.
"Urban businessmen, international corporations, and rural pastoralists have all functioned in a stateless Somalia, achieving standards of living for the country that are equal or superior to many other African nations."
'Freewheeling capitalism' Of course many people in Somalia have suffered horribly during the past 20 years of state collapse, but some sectors of the economy, both traditional and modern, are positively booming.
Phone subscribers (per 100 inhabitants)
| Country | 2000 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|
|
Somalia |
1.4 |
8.1 |
|
Eritrea |
0.8* |
3.7 |
|
Ethiopia |
0.4 |
6.0 |
|
Nigeria |
0.5 |
49.1 |
|
*mainline phone data only |
||
Source: UN data |
||
It may come as another surprise
that two northern Somali ports account for 95% of all goat and 52% of
all sheep exports for the entire East African region.
According to the London-based Chatham House think-tank, the
export of livestock through these ports, and the nearby port of
Djibouti, represents what "is said to be the largest movement of live
animal - 'on the hoof' - trade anywhere in the world".I recently visited one of these ports, Berbera, in the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, where port manager Ali Xoorxoor told me: "I expect livestock exports from the port to increase dramatically from three million head of livestock in 2011 to 4.5 million in 2012.
"This is because of healthy demand from the Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia, and new markets emerging in Egypt, Syria and Oman. The Egyptians are especially fond of our camels, mainly for meat."
The livestock trade has exploded since Somalia's government imploded in 1991.
One trader told me exports from the northern ports alone is worth more than $2bn (£1.3bn) a year; this does not appear to be an exaggeration, when one considers that just one sheep is worth at least $30 and a camel several hundred.
Academic Peter Little found what he described as a "spectacular surge" in cross-border cattle trade from Somalia to Kenya, where cattle sales in the Kenyan town of Garissa, near the border with Somalia, grew by an "astounding" 600% in the years following the collapse of central authority.
In his book, Somalia: Economy without State, Mr Little describes how "a freewheeling, stateless capitalism" has flourished in the country.
A trend-setting boutique in Hargeisa is one of several innovative businesses
On their way to market, Somali nomads drive their livestock
through hundreds of kilometres of harsh, hostile terrain, much of it
occupied by militias including the Islamist group, al-Shabab.These nomads know how to negotiate their way through enemy territory; perhaps they have a thing or two to teach Somali politicians and international agencies struggling to get aid to those who need it most.
Cold Coca-Cola
“Start Quote
Nuradin Dirie Somali analystThe khat network reaches every corner of Somalia every day of the year and doesn't stop for wars, drought, floods, epidemics, Friday prayers, Ramadan - anything really”
Another traditional area of the
Somali economy which has thrived in a stateless society, and could serve
as a useful model, is the khat trade, worth hundreds of millions of
dollars a year.
This narcotic leaf, grown in Kenya and Ethiopia, is delivered
fresh, with tremendous efficiency, to remote parts of Somalia,
including those affected by drought and famine. Special "khat planes", pick-up trucks and people on foot ensure khat gets to market before noon, the day after it is picked.
Otherwise, the khat-chewers will not buy it.
The local authorities and international aid agencies could learn something from those in the khat business about how to deliver supplies, perhaps of food, medicine and other essential items, to difficult and dangerous areas.
As Somali analyst Nuradin Dirie says: "The khat network reaches every corner of Somalia every day of the year and doesn't stop for wars, drought, floods, epidemics, Friday prayers, Ramadan - anything really.
"I suggested to the UN that it could make use of khat networks to vaccinate children as this would create an opportunity for 100% vaccination coverages.
Khat users insist on having fresh leaves to chew - so it must be delivered soon after harvesting
"Of course I did not succeed," he says."I have travelled quite a lot inside Somalia. To little villages and big towns, to far away rural areas and to remote coastal outposts.
"Wherever I go, I always manage to get a cold Coca-Cola. If they can store cool Coca-Cola, there is a strong possibility they can handle vaccinations too."
Other more modern sectors of the economy are also thriving.
Somalia has one of the cheapest, most efficient mobile phone networks in Africa.
It is home to Dahabshiil, one of the largest money transfer companies on the continent, which together with other remittance outfits, delivers some $2bn worth of remittances to Somali territories a year, according to the UN.
Like the khat traders, remittance companies deliver money to remote and treacherous places all over Somalia.
Can-do attitude Some humanitarian groups use these companies to deliver cash-for-food and other forms of assistance; perhaps more use could be made of these pre-existing remittance networks, which link Somalis together, wherever they are in the world, connecting them in a matter of minutes.
Many Somali camels are exported to Egypt, where they are highly prized
Members of the Somali diaspora, and those who stayed behind during the long years of conflict, are doing daring, imaginative and positive things.
A group of British-educated brothers from the self-declared republic of Somaliland has built a Coca-Cola bottling plant amongst the sand, anthills and cacti, creating a surreal environment of green lawns, gleaming white walls, glossy red paint, and polished factory floors.
A pioneering young woman has recently set up an art gallery in Hargeisa.
A man in Mogadishu runs a Billiards and Snooker Federation.
There are also political models and inspirations on offer within the Somali territories.
The most striking is Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in 1991, and has built itself up from war-torn rubble into probably the most democratic polity in the Horn of Africa.
It has done this on its own, from the bottom-up, combining the old with the new, to create a political system that gives authority to clan elders as well as those elected by the public.
The Somali business community and places like Somaliland have "worked" because they have married the best of the traditional and the modern.
Much that has "failed" in Somalia is a result of combining the "bad", divisive things about the traditional clan system with dangerous modern elements, especially weapons.
It might be more productive for anyone interested in helping Somalia back onto its feet, including those at the London Conference, to deal with and learn from the business community instead of the politicians.
Muslim clerics back Raila presidency bid
Tuesday
December 25, 2012
December 25, 2012
Politics
By NATION CORRESPONDENT
Posted Monday, December 24 2012 at 00:30
Posted Monday, December 24 2012 at 00:30
In Summary
- Cabinet minister Mohamed Elmi, Transport Assistant minister Hassan Joho and deputy Speaker Farah Maalim were among Muslim leaders present at the meeting that took place at Mr Odinga’s Karen home in Nairobi
Muslim preachers from all 47 counties on Sunday threw their weight behind Prime Minister Raila Odinga, a day after he was endorsed as the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy presidential candidate.
Led by Sheikh Mohammed Warfa, the clerics vowed to
support Mr Odinga’s bid for the presidency, saying the premier had been
steadfast in the fight for equity and justice.
“You have been at the forefront in fighting for
equity and justice for the marginalised. That is why we have decided to
give you 100 per cent support”, Mr Warfa said.
The clerics told Mr Odinga to fully implement the
Constitution if elected president, arguing that this would solve the
problems of inequality in the country.
| NATIONAL AGENDA |
|
Cabinet minister Mohamed Elmi, Transport
Assistant minister Hassan Joho and deputy Speaker Farah Maalim were
among Muslim leaders present at the meeting that took place at Mr
Odinga’s Karen home in Nairobi.
Mr Odinga assured Muslims that his government would ensure equitable distribution of resources and fight insecurity.
He also promised to expand the infrastructure in
northern Kenya to open up the region for trade and other development
opportunities.
“I have listened to the four main issues you have
raised which are implementing the Constitution, tackling insecurity,
employment and equitable distribution of resources. I can assure you
that we have the answer which is full implementation of the
Constitution”, said Mr Odinga.
Mr Odinga hit out at his rivals in the Jubilee
alliance, saying they cannot be trusted to implement the new laws. “They
did not want the new Constitution and cannot be trusted to implement
it,” he stated.
Muslims deny backing Raila bid for top job
Tuesday
December 25, 2012
December 25, 2012
Politics
Prime Minister Raila Odinga. Photo/FILE
NATION MEDIA GROUP
By NATION CORRESPONDENT
Posted Tuesday, December 25 2012 at 00:30
Posted Tuesday, December 25 2012 at 00:30
A section of Muslims on Monday distanced
themselves from their leaders’ endorsement of Prime Minister Raila
Odinga as the ultimate presidential front-runner.
They said voting was an individual decision and the PM should not to be misled.
Speaking in Nairobi, Muslim Youth chairman Issa
Ahmed Issa said the purported endorsement should not be understood to
mean all Muslims would rally behind Mr Odinga in the March 4 election.
“Some clerics purported to talk on behalf of all
Muslims but let me tell you that when we saw these clerics cum
businessmen we were surprised and shocked…” Mr Ahmed said.
Cheap gimmick
“These people went there as individuals, just like
in 2007 when we were told of an MOU whose contents we never got to
know,” he said.
The Supreme Council Of Kenya Muslims (Supkem) also
dismissed the endorsement as “a cheap political gimmick aimed at
herding the Muslims to support Raila.”
Supkem national vice-chairman Abdullahis Sirat
said in a message to newsrooms that Muslims “will be making an informed
choice” and appealed to them to exercise their constitutional rights.
On Sunday, some Muslim leaders led by Sheikh Mohammed Warfa declared support for Mr Odinga’s presidential quest.
On Tuesday, Mr Odinga celebrates Christmas at his Bondo home, where he will attend a church service at the ACK Church, Nyamira.
Sources said me important pronouncements are expected at the family get together on Wednesday.
Monday, December 24, 2012
'Young Wonders' stepped up, changed the world
December 21, 2012 -- Updated 1711 GMT (0111 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Three youngsters were honored this month along with the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012
- Jessica Rees made special "JoyJars" to bring happiness to young cancer patients
- Will Lourcey and his friends are finding fun ways to raise money to fight hunger
- Cassandra Lin's group collects used cooking oil and uses it to help people heat their homes
Editor's note: Tune in
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to catch the final re-airings of this
year's CNN Heroes tribute show. "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" will
air at 6 p.m. ET on December 24 and 4 p.m. ET on December 25.
(CNN) -- Jessica Rees was diagnosed with a brain
tumor at age 11, and she and her parents would drive to the hospital
every day to receive outpatient treatment.
"One day we were leaving, and she just simply asked us, 'When do all the other kids come home?'" said her father, Erik.
When Jessica found out
that many of them would have to stay at the hospital, she wanted to help
"make them happier, because I know they're going through a lot, too,"
she said.
So she started making JoyJars -- containers full of toys, stickers, crayons, anything that might brighten a child's day.
"She was really
particular about what would go in the jars," said her mother, Stacey.
"It had to be something cool, it couldn't be cheap or flimsy."
Jessica created 3,000 JoyJars before she passed away this January. But her parents are carrying on her legacy.
By the end of 2012, more than 50,000 JoyJars will have been delivered to young cancer patients through the Jessie Rees Foundation.
"It's what she started, and it's what we'll continue to do," Stacey Rees said.
Jessica was one of three "Young Wonders" honored this year at "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute."
"What makes Jessie a
Young Wonder is that she cared," her dad said. "And in the midst of a
world that says focus on yourself, it's all about you, she said, 'No,
it's not.' "
Will Lourcey
When Will Lourcey was 6 years old, he asked his parents why a man was holding up a sign that said, "Need a meal."
Finding fun ways to fight hunger
His parents explained homelessness and hunger to him, and Will felt compelled to do something about it. Soon, he came up with FROGs -- Friends Reaching Our Goals -- an organization in which he and his friends find fun ways to raise money to fight hunger.
From running a lemonade
stand to having businesses sponsor kids in sporting events, Will has
raised more than $20,000 for his local food bank in Texas and, in turn,
provided more than 75,000 meals to people in need.
"When you see somebody
who gets so engaged and gets so much of the community engaged, it's an
endorsement of the battle that we fight to end hunger," said food bank
director Bo Soderbergh.
In his quest to spread
awareness for his cause, Will has spoken before the Fort Worth City
Council, worked with the former mayor of Fort Worth and written for the
White House blog.
But Will is not resting
on his laurels: He has his sights set on not only eradicating hunger in
his hometown, but throughout Texas, the United States and the world.
Cassandra Lin
Cassandra Lin is changing the world one french fry at a time.
Kids turning grease into fuel
Four years ago, at the
age of 10, she decided she wanted to do something for the environment
and help the less fortunate in her Rhode Island community. She gathered
her friends and created Project TGIF
-- Turning Grease Into Fuel. The organization collects used cooking oil
from restaurants and homes, refines it and then distributes a
percentage of it to families who can't afford to heat their homes.
So far, Cassandra and
her team have collected 130,000 gallons of used cooking oil and donated
$81,000 for the purchase of biofuel. This has amounted to 21,000 gallons
of BioHeat distributed to 210 homes. These efforts have also offset 2
million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from the environment.
Last year, the group
helped draft legislation that makes it mandatory for all businesses in
Rhode Island to recycle their used cooking oil. The bill went into
effect January 1.
"I was trying to talk
about biodiesel and just could not get anywhere with it," said Caswell
Cooke, a town councilor in Westerly, Rhode Island. "And (Cassandra) came
along and did it, to get restaurants to recycle their grease. ... The
fact that it was coming from kids made it hit home a lot harder. 'The
child shall lead them' sort of thing."
Cassandra's next goal is for the program to be implemented throughout New England.
مدينة بومبي لاقت نفس مصير قوم لوط
المصدر: مدونة هارون يحيى بالعربية
يخبرنا الله في كتابه العزيز أن سننه
وقوانينه لا تتغيرنعم ( لَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللهِ تَبْديِلاً ) فكل من
يعارض قوانينه ويعلن العصيان عليه ستطبق عليه نفس القوانين السماوية. بومبي
Pompii رمز انحلال الامبراطورية الرومانية، لقد كانت هذه المدينة تمارس ممارسات قوم لوط... فكانت نهايتها مشابهة لنهاية قوم لوط.
يقترن بركان فيزوف باسم إيطاليا وخاصة نابولي، سمي هذا البركان " بجبل النذير" ولم يسم كذلك عبثاً، لقد كانت الكارثة التي دمرت سدوم وغومورا شبيهة جداً بهذه التي دمرت بومبي.
يقترن بركان فيزوف باسم إيطاليا وخاصة نابولي، سمي هذا البركان " بجبل النذير" ولم يسم كذلك عبثاً، لقد كانت الكارثة التي دمرت سدوم وغومورا شبيهة جداً بهذه التي دمرت بومبي.
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.
.
صورة تخيلية توضح حياة
الازدهار والرخاء
التي كانت تتمتع بها مدينة بومبي قبل هلاكها..
التي كانت تتمتع بها مدينة بومبي قبل هلاكها..
إلى اليمين من فيزوف تقع مدينة نابولي وإلى الشرق تقع بومبي بركان ضخم أخذ سكان هذه المدينة بحممه ورماده منذ ألفي سنة كانت الفاجعة مفاجئة جداً لدرجة أنها أصابتهم وهم يمارسون نشاطهم اليومي في منتصف النهار وبقيت المدينة على حالها منذ ألفي سنة وحتى يومنا هذا وكأن الزمان متوقف فيها
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.
.
صورة تخيلية من برنامج قدمته البي بي سي
لثوران بركان فيزوف وتدميره لمدينة بومبي
لم تمح بومبي عن وجه الأرض هكذا دونما سبب، لاشك أن في محوها من الوجود عبر وعظات تشير السجلات التاريخية إلى أن هذه المدينة كانت مركزاً لممارسة الشهوات الشاذة، كانت مشهورة بالبِغاء، لدرجة أنه لم يكن من الممكن عد وإحصاء عدد بيوت الدعارة فيها وحتى الممارسات الجنسية يجب أن تكون على الملأ…!!!
إلا أن الحمم البركانية التي أرسلها فيزوف محت المدينة عن سطح الأرض، والمثير في الموضوع هو أنه لم ينجُ أحد من هذه الكارثة لقد بدا سكان هذه المدينة وكأن مفاجأة قد صعقتهم وأذهلتهم، لقد تحجرت عائلة بكاملها كانت تتناول طعامها تماماً في تلك اللحظة، عدد كبير من ممارسي البغاء تحجروا أثناء تزاوجهم... كما لوحظ وجود أزواج من نفس الجنس وأزواجاً من فتيان وفتيات في سن مبكرة !!
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.
.
( وَأَقْسَمُوا
بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ لَئِن جَاءهُمْ نَذِيرٌ لَّيَكُونُنَّ
أَهْدَى مِنْ إِحْدَى الْأُمَمِ فَلَمَّا جَاءهُمْ نَذِيرٌ مَّا زَادَهُمْ
إِلَّا نُفُوراً اسْتِكْبَاراً فِي الْأَرْضِ وَمَكْرَ السَّيِّئِ وَلَا
يَحِيقُ الْمَكْرُ السَّيِّئُ إِلَّا بِأَهْلِهِ فَهَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا
سُنَّة الْأَوَّلِينَ فَلَن تَجِدَ لِسُنَّة اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلاً وَلَن
تَجِدَ لِسُنَّة اللَّهِ تَحْوِيلاً ) فاطر 42-43
بعض الوجوه التي استخرجت من تحت الأرض كانت كاملة لم يصبها البلى، والشيئ المثير هنا أن تعابير هذه الوجوه يظهر في ملامحها الذهول المطلق !!! وهذا هو الجانب المذهل في الكارثة! كيف انتظر الآلاف من الناس أن يفاجئهم الموت دون أن يروا أو يسمعوا شيئا ؟
بعض الوجوه التي استخرجت من تحت الأرض كانت كاملة لم يصبها البلى، والشيئ المثير هنا أن تعابير هذه الوجوه يظهر في ملامحها الذهول المطلق !!! وهذا هو الجانب المذهل في الكارثة! كيف انتظر الآلاف من الناس أن يفاجئهم الموت دون أن يروا أو يسمعوا شيئا ؟
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بعض الجثث الإنسانية المتحجرة التي ظهرت في بومبي.
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أمثلة أخرى عن الجثث الإنسانية المتحجرة
والتي ظهرت أثناء التنقيب في بومبي.
إن اختفاء مدينة بومبي كان شبيهاً بالدمار الذي ذكره القرآن، لأن القرآن يذكر الإبادة المباغثة عند رواية مثل هذه الأحداث، ففي سورة يس تقول لنا الآيات أن أهل المدينة ماتوا جملة في دقيقة واحدة
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(إِنْ كَانَتْ إِلاَّ صَيْحَةً وَاحِدَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ خَامِدُون) يس 29
مرة أخرى نجد تركيزاً على الإبادة اللحظية عندما ذكر هلاك ثمود
(إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ صَيْحَةً وَاحِدَةً فَكَانُوا كَهَشِيمِ المُحْتَظِر) القمر 31
لقد وقع الموت على سكان بومبي تماماً كما جاء في الآيات السابقة
مرة أخرى نجد تركيزاً على الإبادة اللحظية عندما ذكر هلاك ثمود
(إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ صَيْحَةً وَاحِدَةً فَكَانُوا كَهَشِيمِ المُحْتَظِر) القمر 31
لقد وقع الموت على سكان بومبي تماماً كما جاء في الآيات السابقة
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جثث متحجرة بفعل الرماد البركاني لبعض ضحايا البركان
بالرغم من كل هذا لم يطرأ الكثير من التغيير على منطقة بومبي اليوم، فمناطق الفسق والفجور في نابولي لا تقل عن فسق مدينة بومبي، جزيرة كابري هي القاعدة التي يقيم فيها الشاذون جنسياً والعراة، في الإعلانات التجارية تظهر كابري على أنها "جنة الشاذين". وليست كابري الإيطالية هي الوحيدة في العالم، فالانحلال الأخلاقي آخذ بالانتشار، والناس يُصِرُّونَ على عدم الاعتبار من تجارب الأوَّلين المخيفة ونهاياتهم المفجعة..
Africa and China: Workers face clash of cultures
Business
25 December 2012
Last updated at 00:14 GMT
The Beijing-based Afrika United football team merged Franco and Anglo speaking teams in 2000
China's new leadership has made it clear that it is still committed to developing its interests in Africa.
The Chinese ambassador to South Africa has said the
relationship "will enter a new stage of development" and China will
always be "a good brother of the African people".China's embrace of Africa in recent years has boosted trade volumes and foreign investment, and provided new infrastructure.
Business links between China and Africa may be cordial and efficient, but it does not mean that friendship and mutual liking necessarily follow in their wake.
There have been anti-Chinese sentiments in Zambia over the treatment of African workers in Chinese-run mines and rising hostility to Chinese immigrants in other African states.
Xenophobia The relationships between Africans and Chinese, either in Africa or China, are full of conflicts and subtleties.
Lebogang Rasethaba is a young South African film producer who took advantage of one of the scholarships China offers to Africans to study in China.
"I don't think there are many scholarships for Africans to go to America or Europe. If you go to China you give yourself a competitive edge over your counterparts," he says.
“Start Quote
Lebogang Rasethaba Film producerI can get a lot by just understanding the cultural nuances from either side”
"There is not much of a cultural
dialogue between China and Africa. Only now people are starting to
realise that in order to do business with each other we have to get each
other at a cultural level," he says, "That is why there is now this
need for this cultural conversation."
"I have only ever made films about Africans in China, and the
reason I chose to do that was because I thought there are a lot of
issues about Africans that were specific to China," he explains.Having been confronted with the perceptions of South Africa by other nations on the continent, when he would hear comments such as "Hey a beautiful country, but why do you guys hate us?" he felt a need to address those issues, and in particular how Africans relate to each other in China.
Set in China, one of his films tackles xenophobia. It is about an African from an Anglophone background, and another from a Francophone background, who live together in a dormitory. But they can't communicate with each other and xenophobic and cultural intolerances start coming out.
"As a black African male living in such a homogenous society I think your identity is constantly being deconstructed - if you are a black African male you can run fast you can dance well, so there is a lot of exoticism, a lot of ignorance around Africans from a Chinese perspective," he asserts.
He has had to adapt to accomplish things in China.
"The Chinese have a system whereby you need to operate internally. You need to surround yourself with Chinese people whom you can trust who can help you circumnavigate all the red tape," he says.
Tension: Africans protested after an African man fell to his death while trying to escape a visa check
He has lived in China for five years and a lot of his closest friends are Chinese."Culturally, if you approach business with the Chinese there are a lot of markers you should follow which a lot of foreign businesses don't know," he notes.
"The process of getting a government tender from South Africa, a multi-million rand tender to build a road in South Africa, how they do it in China is 100% different and something that South African businessmen might neglect or overlook.
"The Chinese might look at it in a pretty intense way and a lot of the time there hasn't been that cultural dialogue and it can create an awkward or intense situation where the deal might go sour just because of one little thing," he says.
"The fact that I speak the language helps. If I am sitting in a room with Chinese and South African businessmen, I speak the best English other than the South Africans and the best Chinese other than the Chinese, so I will always be one step ahead," he says.
"But I think I can get a lot by just understanding the cultural nuances from either side," he adds.
Local competition
There has been an increase in the number of Africans seeking
work in China because the borders to Europe and the US are increasingly
closed to these kinds of migrants, according to Heidi Ostbo Haugen at
Oslo University's sociology and human geography department.
"They are going to China not knowing very much what the economic or labour market situation is like, hoping perhaps to find jobs at the assembly lines in China which they will not find at home.
There seems to be more traffic in the other direction, mostly with Chinese people working for Chinese companies.
"They are not going to Africa for jobs as such. The ones that do end up migrating or staying beyond their contract do so because they see business opportunities to make money. So most of them are going into tiny business operations on their own, and that is one of the areas which is causing so much tension in Africa because you have Chinese people opening up small grocery stores, or selling consumer goods to the lowest end of the market," she explains.
Problems seem inevitable when you might have the political party in power wanting to increase ties with China and bending over backwards to make the Chinese feel welcome, pitted against people working at home affairs, immigration or trade departments, who have very different views.
Ms Haugen notes: "Increasingly Chinese migrants, along with migrants from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, are being targeted by corrupt officials as well as criminals and thugs who see them as soft targets."
Meanwhile, as money, goods and services flow back and forth at unprecedented levels, a deeper question persists: how well do Chinese and Africans actually know each other?
"They are going to China not knowing very much what the economic or labour market situation is like, hoping perhaps to find jobs at the assembly lines in China which they will not find at home.
Ms Haugen: Migrants are targeted by corrupt officials and thugs
"In China it is still cheap to employ Chinese internal migrants
for the assembly lines and they will not be able to get work permits,"
she says.There seems to be more traffic in the other direction, mostly with Chinese people working for Chinese companies.
"They are not going to Africa for jobs as such. The ones that do end up migrating or staying beyond their contract do so because they see business opportunities to make money. So most of them are going into tiny business operations on their own, and that is one of the areas which is causing so much tension in Africa because you have Chinese people opening up small grocery stores, or selling consumer goods to the lowest end of the market," she explains.
Problems seem inevitable when you might have the political party in power wanting to increase ties with China and bending over backwards to make the Chinese feel welcome, pitted against people working at home affairs, immigration or trade departments, who have very different views.
Ms Haugen notes: "Increasingly Chinese migrants, along with migrants from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, are being targeted by corrupt officials as well as criminals and thugs who see them as soft targets."
Meanwhile, as money, goods and services flow back and forth at unprecedented levels, a deeper question persists: how well do Chinese and Africans actually know each other?
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