Akhiirana waaynu isku arki doona

one of my qaaci favorites from the legend Dhuule:)

“WACANAA DHULKEENNII”

Dhaxan lagu bukoodiyo
Qabow lagu dhintaa iyo
Hawo leyska dhawriyo
Baraf dhuuxa kaa gala
Midna male dhulkeennuye,

Marka dhibicu hooree
Dhulku wada cagaar yahay
Ubax dharab ku yaalloo
Dhaayaha u roon iyo
Dhirtii wada udgoonayd
Ma wax loo dhigaa jira?

Innagaa dhaliilnoo
Ka jeclaannay dhoofkoo
Dhakafaarka yurub iyo
Dhibta raaxo moodnee
Wacanaa dhulkeennii.

Dhudi caano geeloon
Biyo iyo dhir lagu darin
Oo maydhanaankiyo
Danbar ugub markaa dhalay
Iyo dhayda xoorka leh
Saddexdoo is-dhinac yaal
Ninba dhiil ka buuxsadey
Tuu doono uu dhamay
Dabadeedna dhereggii
Dhacadiid u jiifsaday
Ma wax loo dhigaa jira?

Innagaa dhaliilnoo
Ka jeclaannay dhoofkoo
Dhakafaarka yurub iyo
Dhibta raaxo moodnee
Wacanaa dhulkeenii.

Dhiineey lo,deenniyo
Adhigoo gugii dhalay
Dhulka oo barwaaqa ah
Biyuhuna u dhow yiin
Dhulsan iyo beeraha
Dooxyada is-dhaafiyo
Durdurradu dhex marayaan,
Xeebteenna dheer iyo
Dhoobadiyo ciiddaa
Dheemmaniyo luul ehe
Ma wax loo dhigaa jira?

Innagaa dhaliilnoo
Ka jeclaannay dhoofkoo
Dhakafaarka yurub iyo
Dhibta raaxo moodnee
Wacanaa dhulkeennii.

by: Abwaan-Cumar Aw-Jamaac

Just cant get enough of Mutabaruka Poetry

 

dis poem
shall speak of the wretched sea
that washed ships to these shores
of mothers cryin for their young
swallowed up by the sea
dis poem shall say nothin new
dis poem shall speak of time
time unlimited time undefined
dis poem shall call names
names like lumumba kenyatta nkrumah
hannibal akenaton malcolm garvey
haile selassie
dis poem is vexed about apartheid rascism fascism
the klu klux klan riots in brixton atlanta
jim jones
dis poem is revoltin against 1st world 2nd world
3rd world division man made decision
dis poem is like all the rest
dis poem will not be amongst great literary works
will not be recited by poetry enthusiasts
will not be quoted by politicians nor men of religion
dis poem s knives bombs guns blood fire
blazin for freedom
yes dis poem is a drum
ashanti mau mau ibo yoruba nyahbingi warriors
uhuru uhuru
uhuru namibia
uhuru soweto
uhuru afrika
dis poem will not change things
dis poem need to be changed
dis poem is a rebirth of a peopl
arizin awaking understandin
dis poem speak is speakin have spoken
dis poem shall continue even when poets have stopped writin
dis poem shall survive u me it shall linger in history
in your mind
in time forever
dis poem is time only time will tell
dis poem is still not written
dis poem has no poet
dis poem is just a part of the story
his-story her-story our-story the story still untold
dis poem is now ringin talkin irritatin
makin u want to stop it
but dis poem will not stop
dis poem is long cannot be short
dis poem cannot be tamed cannot be blamed
the story is still not told about dis poem
dis poem is old new
dis poem was copied from the bible your prayer book
playboy magazine the n.y. times readers digest
the c.i.a. files the k.g.b. files
dis poem is no secret
dis poem shall be called boring stupid senseless
dis poem is watchin u tryin to make sense from dis poem
dis poem is messin up your brains
makin u want to stop listenin to dis poem
but u shall not stop listenin to dis poem
u need to know what will be said next in dis poem
dis poem shall disappoint u
because
dis poem is to be continued in your mind in your mind
in your mind your mind

by: Mutabaruka

Saying whats up:)

Greetings blog world!

just want to drop in to read view blogs, and if anyone cares to read mine forgive me, I have been lazy and out of material to write lately but i will soon shake off the dust and cream the ink. In the meantime I want to share two things that have been bothering me-

1. Modern Somali weddings- this past month I went two weddings and both were in a modern seating. one of them was held in a fancy hotel and the bride and the groom were seating in the front about 9 feets higher thn everyone.  The damn hall was the smallest hall ive ever seen. and so much work to be fancy that they were welling to feed the guest with turkeys and mash potatoes. worst of all bad DJ. I mean if you are going to have an expensive wedding why do you need to have a “waji-xume” scan artist as your singer? and since you are so westernize why dont you just bring an american Dj or artist? Oh and how could I forget Minnesota and the awkward wedding- A somali couples went so far to be modern and it wasnt because they were  in a limousine in and out of the wedding. it was because the wedding was held in the side of an empty metro park. The guest was about 30 people and we were divided into 15 in each side to welcome the groom and the pride. There were no seats, no soft drinks let alone a food, and no music- just an empty spot waiting for the flash of the camera to hit you as you listen to the birds sound. hey who said I dont have my complains (RIGHT).

2) Facebook is not a qabiil (tribe) platform. i’ve no right to say you cant share some pride, but making groups base on tribe affiliation one after the other is little bit barbaric. its almost 2010, your country  have been falling apart  for two decade mainly for the conceit of tribes- which is also the reason we have lost 118000 Somalis just in the last 3 years. Being patriot is one thing, but tribalism is another; so lets love each other in the name of SOMALINIMO!

Bill Gates pushes for more attention on Africa

By MICHAEL J. CRUMB, Associated Press Writer Michael J. Crumb, Associated Press Writer – Thu Oct 15, 1:22 pm ET

DES MOINES, Iowa – The world can make huge strides in reducing hunger and poverty by helping the world’s poorest farmers become more productive, Microsoft Inc. co-founder Bill Gates said Thursday.

Gates, co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, spoke at the World Food Prize symposium, where he said more needs to be done to help small-holder farmers in Africa increase production and get their crops to market.

“If we can make small-holder farming more productive and more profitable, we can have a massive impact on hunger and nutrition and poverty,” Gates said.

The World Food Prize and the annual conference where it is awarded was founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug, a crop scientist known as the father of the green revolution.

Ethiopian scientist Gebisa Ejeta, now a professor at Purdue University in Indiana, is this year’s recipient of the $250,000 prize. Ejeta was recognized for his breakthroughs in developing a drought-resistant sorghum widely used in Africa.

Earlier Thursday, the Gates Foundation announced nearly $120 million in grants to help bring a green revolution to sub-Saharan Africa.

About half the grants will go toward agriculture research in Africa, including experiments with sorghum, millet, legumes and sweet potatoes. Several unusual projects also were announced, including proposals to use cell phones and radio programs to educate small farmers.

The foundation gave the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa $15 million to influence agricultural policy in more than a dozen African nations. The alliance plans to train about 400 agriculture economists at several African universities so they can analyze policies and advocate for change.

“Helping the poorest small-holder farmers grow more crops and get them to market is the world’s single most powerful lever for reducing hunger and poverty,” Gates said during his speech in Des Moines.

He said the global effort to help small farmers is being threatened by a divide between those who want to increase productivity and those who promote sustainability.

“It’s a false choice,” he said. “It blocks important advances. It breeds hostility among people who need to work together. And it makes it hard to launch a comprehensive program to help poor farmers.

“We certainly need both productivity and sustainability and there is no reason we can’t have both,” he said.

Gates said the environment can benefit from increased productivity.

“When productivity is too low, people start farming on grazing land, cutting down forests, using any new acreage they can,” he said. “When productivity is high, people can farm on less land.”

He said the world needs to develop crops that can grow in the world’s harshest conditions and survive drought and floods, while producing higher yields.

Gates said the global movement to reduce hunger must include everyone but that Africa must lead the way.

He said African leaders met in 2004 and pledged 10 percent of their national budgets for agriculture. While some countries, such as Ghana, have reached that goal, most have not.

“African leaders should hold each other accountable,” Gates said. “Is there any reason not to find 10 percent of your budget … for the biggest problem the poor face?”

Gates said the solution must be all-encompassing.

“We need foundations, universities, the U.N., the World Bank, scientists, farmers, groups and other to intensify their support,” he said. “And we need corporations to play a role.

He said research companies can use technology they’ve developed for big agriculture and adapt it for the needs of small farmers.

“They shouldn’t try to change the customer to suit what they sell; they should change what they sell to suit the customer,” Gates said.

He also called on food companies to use their buying power to create markets for small farmers.

“These companies have a huge opportunity to help poor farmers by turning to them as suppliers,” Gates said.

He said poor farmers are “not a problem to be solved.

“They are the solution,” he said. “The best answer for a world that is fighting hunger and poverty and trying to feed a growing population.”

___

Associated Press writer Donna Gordon Blankinship in Seattle contributed to this report.

“Out of Africa, into Wales” by the Guardian

Like many other people from an ethnic minority background, few Somalis visit the British countryside. Photograph: Alamy

As soon as the goat is brought in, Zahra Mohomed bends down and expertly milks it, before turning back to toss another lahooh, a type of pancake made with yeast, on a hot skillet. Mohomed is originally from Mogadishu in Somalia and now lives in London. Today, with another 21 Somalis, she’s at a hill farm in mid Wales and seems as at ease here as she once was in her own country.

“Everything is organic,” she says, indicating the Welsh flour. “It reminds me of back home. I love the fresh air, the fresh food.”

We’re at the Degmo Centre for Somali Heritage and Rural Life at Hamish Wilson’s farm in New Radnor. Wilson was partly brought up in Africa and, due to his father’s experience in Somalia during the second world war, had such strong connections with the country that he became a camel boy, herding camels through the deserts with the nomads in the 1980s. He went on to join the liberation movement during the civil war. Now settled in Wales as an organic livestock farmer, he wants to recreate Somali traditions on his farm.

Somalis have a custom, he says, of sending their children to live in the countryside during the summer months with their nomadic relatives. “It imbibes them with a sense of their own culture and the language. Unlike other Africans, it means they don’t turn their back on village life even after they’ve moved to the city,” says Wilson.

However, Somali people in this country often do not have the means to send their children back home. It might not seem immediately obvious that instead of travelling around with the Mi, nomadic pastoralists in Somalia, children should be sent to a rainy, hillside farm in Wales. But Wilson is at pains to point out that it is the Somalis themselves who dictate how the centre is run. A number of Somali businesspeople, including Abdirashid Duale, the chief executive of Dahabshiil, a money-transfer service for the Horn of Africa, have paid for the creation of the centre.

Wilson works with Somali communities in Liverpool, Sheffield, Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester and London. His major partner is the Ocean Somali Community Association (Osca) in Tower Hamlets, east London with which he meets every two or three months to discuss how Degmo should be run. The centre also has a Somali board of patrons who assist in the decision-making.

Osca’s most recent concern is how to encourage Somalis to be more interested in the environment and sustainability, and in response Wilson initiated a programme of tree-planting on the farm. Osca is also keen to keep Somali women’s customs alive, and a programme of weaving traditional rush mats will begin soon.

Thanks to the intervention of Osca, Degmo now provides private family-sized tents instead of communal accommodation. Somali families come for private visits, and the money they pay is used to fund trips for unemployed or low-income families.

The centre aims to recreate a sense of life on a traditional Somalian settlement with a series of tents filled with mattresses and woollen blankets. There are hot showers and two large, round yurt-like tents with a cooker, a fire and a number of Somalian artefacts. “Degmo” means settlement in Somalian, and the idea is to create a place to stay that has an ecologically low impact and allows people “to hear the birds and the bees”, says Wilson.

“I was born in a place like this, on a mattress like this and with a tablet like this one for learning,” says Musa Hersi, chair of the London-based Somali Carers Trust, indicating a wooden slab with a fragment from the Qur’an written on it. “We wanted to come here because of Hamish’s connection to Somalia.

“We’ve brought all ages of people with us, from children to the elderly. It’s about remembrance for the older generation, enjoyment for the middle-aged and learning for the youngsters.”

Migration to the UK

Somali communities have been in the UK for 125 years, originally as migrant labourers who maintained their families back home. As the political situation deteriorated in their own country, they started returning to live here in the 1970s, and numbers escalated in the 90s. Official figures suggest there are 43,000 Somalis living in the UK, but experts say there could be anything from 95,000 to 250,000.

Like many other people from an ethnic minority background, few visit the British countryside. Even though 8% of the UK population is from an ethnic minority, only 1% of ethnic minority communities go on day trips to the countryside, according to the Campaign for National Parks.

For Summer Duale, 21, who is studying architecture at Kingston University, this is the first time she has milked a goat. “It’s lovely here but I miss my hair straighteners and makeup,” she says.

Hersi’s 17-year-old daughter, Amal, who is still at school, says: “Dad told me I had to come because we would be milking goats. I thought it would be boring, but it’s not. It’s fun, but you have to get used to it.” She is wearing a dress over jeans and thin pumps, just as she would have done back home in north London. Wilson sighs with exasperation and hands Amal a pair of swirly-patterned wellies.

A couple of sheep are brought to the tent to be sheared. One is clipped with electric shears, the other with a pair of hand-held metal shears. Wilson explains that Somali sheep don’t have wool and aren’t fat like ours; instead they store what little fat they have in their tails. The older generation nod sagely – the fatty tail is highly prized. Mohammed, 7, grabs a scrap of wool, sniffs it, makes a face and throws it away.

Four teenage boys stand with their arms folded trying not to look interested.

“It’s very interesting – the difference between Somali and English sheep,” says Abdi Elmi, 17, from Tottenham. It’s his first experience of both camping and visiting the countryside, and he is exactly the age group that the Degmo Centre wants to engage.

“Many of them have never been to visit Somalia. They question who they are. Everything they hear about Somalis is negative, whether it’s the disturbances in Mogadishu, street crime in London, conflict with African-Caribbeans in St Paul’s, Bristol. Their parents find it hard to impress anything on them,” Wilson says.

It is largely thanks to his father that Wilson was able to set up the centre. Eric Wilson fought in Somalia in the second world war and was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery. Much later, Wilson junior was given the opportunity to buy the farm in New Radnor along with 210 acres of land. Unfortunately, he had no money. But his father believed so strongly that his son should set up a centre for Somalis that he sold his Victoria Cross to raise the funds.

The centre is now working in collaboration with the Soil Association to help low-income families visit the farm; the charity is campaigning to raise money to send 150 Bristol-based Somalis there over the next two years. They are also looking at replicating the Degmo model with other ethnic minority groups in the UK.

• Sanjida O’Connell is the author of The Naked Name of Love, published by John Murray

I am Africa!

I am Afrikan diary- I am the blood in congo, the droughts at the horn, and the refugees in Darfur. I am the half naked kids, and the barefooted women with baskets in their heads. I am the paradise of a black love, and the aftermath of slavery. I am the queen of many great civilizations, the ritual of hope, and the cold streams of tribal clash. I am the story of revolution, an epic of violent, and the setback of colonial rule. I am the victim of conventional pity, the million guns they supply, and foreign aid debt. I am the warm breeze of the Nile, the blue sky of Mali, and the scent of Ethiopian coffee. I am the clean line of the Kenyan horizon, as well as the heat of Morocco. I am the open wave of Ivory Coast, and the nomads of Djibouti. I am the drums of Sudan, the smooth jazz they recite in Somali, and the smile of Uganda. I am the diamonds of Sierra Leone and the cattle’s of Botswana’. I am the charms of Cameroon girl, and the scholars of Timbuktu. I am the pride of a lion, and the custom of Adam. I’ am the chief of abantu, and the mother of zulu. I am the Royal Kingdom of Askia the Great, Mansa Musa, Haile Selassie, and the spirit of Samory Toure. I am the civil voice of Nelson Mandela, the vigilance of Malcolm and the memory of Marcus Curvy. I am Africa and “I owe my being to the hills and the valleys, the mountains and the glades, the rivers, the deserts, the trees, the flowers, the seas and the ever-changing seasons that define the face of our native land.

A human presence among all these, a feature on the face of our native land thus defined, I know that none dare challenge me when I say – I am an African!

And I owe my being to the Khoi and the San whose desolate souls haunt the great expanses of the beautiful Cape – they who fell victim to the most merciless genocide our native land has ever seen, they who were the first to lose their lives in the struggle to defend our freedom and dependence and they who, as a people, perished in the result.” Thabo Mbeki

by Kulmiye Ali- A.K.AThe Proud Afrikan!

INK of Twilight

Inside sentiment of ease
Clustered by infamous thoughts
With wind of dwell in dreams of twilight
America screamed … the Lion roared!

Yet, oh my Empire, under your flag’s floating,
My deeper love, remembers you to-night
And I know our people’s hearts are sore,
Grieving for him who comes no more;
And though the task for me is great,
No longer can I silent wait, AFRIKA O’AFRIKA

In silence, listening to the streams of endless rain
While the autumn leaves reel beneath the oak tree.
to nomadic self the lion is heard roaring at night-
midnight listens to the lion’s roar,
but sometimes in broad daylight
the lion’s sullen roar at noon-

If gold or love of conquest drove thee on,
To spill thy children’s blood in foreign lands,
Yet did they die in peace; and so the lion roars

Your Nubian spoke with two goats ahead,
“you are a goddess in a long boat carried on the back of crocodiles
as you ride the Nile. You are the nomad mother carrying her child gathering the vegetation needed to keep her family alive. You are the bare feet creating a dance on the good earth singing songs for a full harvest. You are the woman in my arms curled close for the night. The lion roars.”

O’ Africa,
The rhythm wielding my head has long overshadow my
chances of a good sleep. In sense of solitude
still inside there is need to liberate
myself out of my infinite infatuation

handed my name to the army commander
and grab my pen to mandate the thoughts,
while the I-pod provided the instruments.
Praised be the silent revolution to a
mystery war
The Lion has roared! can a bird fall in a snare
upon the mighty sword?

Kulmiye

strangers meet

I saw her at this festivity,
Moment of a spark
Heart tempo to surge up
Her smile brings a shift of thrill
A glimmering of interest
still haven’t said a word to carry the glare

desire in hearts of hesitant
I can vision our souls on an intimate landscape
But don’t want to seem too apprehensive
thou I’m sure she would consent those thoughts

chills of autumn night
my tenacity kicks in
yet I yell to God religiously
for only he could understand
the rawness of what I feel

the smirk on her face says more than eyes meet
I took a glimpse of her waist, the texture of her skin
Twilight of may,
My bravery hasn’t sway in
But the intensity is same

I seat there for couple minutes
Trying to read her expression
Gold earnings hang over her neck
Long hair of red lines
I stood up, “whats good love”

And she responded “you’re a quite a man”
I said I appreciate the compliment-
you’re?

She said I am Sweet,
The voice that’s calls you
When you’re alone sleep
the body you long for
to keep you warm in dreams of ecstasy,
you ‘re?

And I said, I am nomadic Prince
the presence of a brown skin
searching for romance among
the darling tales.

Yearning for HOME!

“This tiny Cyberspace is home to unspoken memories: of friendship, of youth, of yearning for all that was, and for all that could have been but never came to be.”

Africa on my mind, It’s humming like an echo from old song, but not an old sweet song, more like a piece of wood scratching guitar strings. I hear it everywhere and the resonance amounts to a fabric memory. In close sight is a smear of my childhood -with dusty shoes roving from village to village in Northern Africa. The image etching in my head is that afternoon seating in the front porch accommodated by grandma and few other family members. Usually grandma will fill the room with her presence and her art of storytelling, but that afternoon I was more intrigued by the scenery of my space. It was glorious, golden light covering the sky and how the sun peeks behind the trees. Now that moment is a blurred experience. An experience which my soul yearns to observe once more. I MISS HOME!

Leave old habits & be part of the “CHANGE”

I couldn’t help but notice the overwhelming emotion that came with Barack Obama Inauguration and as much as I would like to admit my excitement – inside I was shattered by my frustration, and allusions regarding the black youth in America. As much as anyone else-The black community needs to utilize on Obama’s presidency by developing a stronger leaders, and reform an agenda to destroy thug mentality in America. And I do advise the Black men to step up and accept their responsibility in order to reform a better community. I believe for us to move forward we have to start with the youths. The brothers in the system are gone, and grown enough to know right from wrong. Now its time to teach the youth before they walk the same path –before anyone, fathers need to step up and should accept their roles as family men; maybe then our government wouldn’t worry so much about passing a legislation to punish the kids for saggy paints, instead of putting more jobs in the community.

Black men are quick to remind sisters, especially single mothers, that a woman can’t teach a boy to be a man. But who else is going to be able to help them re-establish their manhood and teach them how to be Black men? Who else has what they need? Who else are they going to see themselves in? Who else are they going to pattern themselves after?

It’s really time to step up and grow up. We have the first black (family) in the white house. It’s up to all of us to set an example of what’s to come. Our communities are under the cordon of mainstream rappers who glamorize thuggish attitude. The Black man is getting sucked up in a horrible vacuum. Our youth are dying too young and being incarcerated for life for mostly non-violent crimes. Let’s all be revolutionist of change. Oh by the way – young brothers- keep in mind after high school, you’re an adult. Put your pants up and act like an adult. And keep in mind masculinity is a rap issue- in the real world you’re judged by what you know- not what you wear – welcome to adulthood-

Thought spills

Hello

Perhaps you’ll understand that it’s easy to get caught up in your everyday life that you forget to put any rasping thoughts into its sanctuary. So I’ve decided to give up a small amount of my time to liberate myself from the breeze of adulthood. Ok so first of all, the thing that got me over the edge: is the clash between modernize Somalis and the social orientation between the males and females… living under the popular customs and values of white America. Many Somalis are unable or unwilling to accommodate and it’s hard to purge this awful mind-set. For instance, I went to San Diego during the Ramadan and was fortunate enough to stay there for view weeks. And although I spend great deal of time in the Masjid for tarawiih,I occasionally found myself chatting with the “ciyaalka xaafada” posting along the gates as they burned their Black-n-Mild into the night sky. In one occasion there were about four Somalis, and one Ghanaian kid standing together under a palm tree in late afternoon. Most of them were on my age; so I decided to enter the scene as I shook their hands maturely. After we passed the greeting, the Ghanaian asked me what State I was from? And giving my response, he said he was planning to transfer to Minnesota University. One of the Somali kid, Mursal who seemed like he just woke up shouted with enthusiasm and said “Devon, you going to fuck a lot Somali bitch’s.” and Devon responded, “man I’m going to put some rims, and new speakers on my car and head up there flashy.” My initial reaction was a mixture of shock and disgust as I took off with any humility I had left.

Walahay it sounded to me like the dude was selling his sisters in a bright daylight..(akh) Honestly I always used to wonder why do the sisters are so harsh on us- in fact view days ago a sister told me that her mother told her to find herself any men but Somali. And want nothing to do with Somalis. I was sadden by her result to the situation, and want to tried to convince her that giving time she will learn that we are not all bad apples- as Benjamin Disraeli said “the greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.” and brothers keep in -women are our equals, and should be treated with respect. Prophet Muhammad taught “Paradise lies at the feet of your Mother”. As a community we need to wash the bad boy mentality and put a weight in stilling morals and traditions in our youth.

I’ll stop myself before I get in trouble, but it feels great to be back:)

writing out of my tea cup of insomnia

image by Herb Ritts.

Usually my insomnia kicks in when I have something important to do the next morning. … It’s been like this for years but its gotten more severe in the past view months or so. ESPN and Late night movies are becoming my best friend!. Through my insomnia I have finished reading at least three books, one being the autobiography of Nelson Mandela “Long Walk to Freedom.” the sequence of events in this book made me captive to every page. The book did not only shed a light on Nelsons legacy, but tells a journey of a man who rose from poverty and epic of struggle into inspirational genius.  “Mandela has spent his lifetime fighting for the rights of black Africans, and eventually came to include all the peoples of South Africa in the struggle for justice. He did so without compromising his own integrity or the integrity of his people. Like the tribal leaders he grew up with, he listens to the voices of all of the peoples of South Africa. He supports all efforts that enable groups to learn about one another and acknowledges all parties in the dialogue for South Africa’s future.”

As the Chief says in the FRONTLINE film: “We, as Thembus, have no grudge against any wrongdoers. If we cross each other’s road today, tomorrow that’s long past and forgotten. That is a good symbol of a good leader, because if you are a leader, all people are your subjects. You have to listen to them. You have to pay homage to them when the occasion arises.”

I have always believed that to be a freedom fighter one must suppress many of the personal feelings that make one feel like a separate individual rather than part of a mass movement. One is fighting for the liberation of millions of people, not the glory of one individual. (Long Walk to Freedom, chapter 11)

Not all freedom fighters live to see their struggle bring about the change they are fighting for in their lifetimes. Sometimes, they set the stage for the next generation to realize the fruits of their labor. Social change happens when individuals make a choice to fight for justice and against oppression. Mr. Mandela’s struggle achieved his desired outcome. South Africa is now a democratic country with a constitution that guarantees rights for all its people. And I hope to see familiar leadership from every African country that faces the dilemma of tribalism. particularly my motherland where war has tear down the virtue of past civilization- and where the rulers are delusional airheads who holds the principles of Hezbollah as a vital tip to liberate a country out of 20 years of meltdown.

P.S. I would like to express my deepest sympathy to those in Indonesia and to the Indonesian community at large. I pray to allah that everyone recovers from this earth quack tragedy. may god bless to those who have lost their life’s.

Lets talk political

From a kid who grew up in the midst of poverty and war into a journey of unconventional playground-my life is a trail of unforgotten tragedy and epic of solitude. It has been sinuous of hope as well as illumination of courage. Perhaps you would say it’s a refined story of success as well as the barriers of adversity. Some may argue that my circumstances would have been different if it hadn’t been the rivalry between the Soviet Union regimes and the power hungry America. But then again, I am a man of faith who believes and knows that everything is scripted before his origins. Thus I’ve little to be grave about, and will genuinely admit that I’ve a great a deal of love for America. In spite of racial occurrence and view nights of police harassment- I remain Loyal and Liberty has offered me the opportunity and the freedom to pursuit my dreams. Through the wall of free education I’ve learned the value of fairness and honor, all without a cost. Having said that, I want to be political for once and question the integrity of this nation.
Recently I’ve learned that the white House is working on a budget to send more troops in Afghanistan, “a damning confidential report by the American commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan has warned that the war is likely to “result in failure” within a year for the West without urgent reinforcements. Although Gordon Brown turned down a previous recommendation for an increase from the service chiefs, backed by the then defence secretary John Hutton, the Cabinet is now said to be ready to back the reinforcements. The size of the Afghan army would also be raised from 92,000 to 240,000 and the police from 82,000 to 160,000 by 2012” (The Independent, Tuesday, 22 September 2009).

“I don’t have any real expertise on Afghanistan, but I do think it would be morally wrong simply to abandon the Afghanis when they have wished for our help. However, that help does not have to be of a military nature.”If America is really concerned about Al-Qaida, and Taliban building a secret haven why are they not pushing any Military agenda for Somalia? “Somalia has been a safe haven for Al-Qaeda ever since the U.S. military pulled out of the country following the infamous Black Hawk Down firefight,” reported CBS’s David Martin (1/10/07). CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr made the stakes clear, reporting ominously (1/6/07), “Today, here in East Africa, the concern remains that unless Somalia is shut down as a terrorist safe haven, the threat of another attack remains very real.”

So far Somalia remains shaded out of the Western military action, and over the last two years, Somalia’s Islamists—now more radical than ever—have regrouped and roared from every angle of Muqdisho.  In 2008 Chicago Tribune reported “On a single day, they flexed their muscles by killing nearly 30 people in a spate of bloody car-bomb attacks that recalled the darkest days of Iraq. And their brutal militia, the Shabab or “Youth,” today controls much of the destitute nation, a shattered but strategic country that overlooks the vital oil-shipping lanes of the Gulf of Aden.
“Somalia is one of the great unrecognized U.S. policy failures since 9/11,” said Ken Menkhaus, a leading Somalia scholar at Davidson College in North Carolina. “By any rational metric, what we’ve ended up with there today is the opposite of what we wanted.” Now my questions where is the military action for somalia? Or is America interested in soil of Afghanistan?

*Amal iyo ayaan roon*

Aar:

Horta qaaliyeey
Nin kuu qushuucay
Oo kuu quudhay qurux iyo amaan
Qaayo walal laguma adkeeyo
Quraanka cadeeyee,
Qaadir wuxu I baday
Inaan qaabilo ayaanoo
Aan qaddar sudho qoonkii naftu jeclaato
ku qafilay xasuus meel ee,
adaan kaydiin sheekada
Ii qoo wuxu qalbigu u sacab tumaayo.

Amal:
waxad tahay qeydo hadal macaano
ku qoray qiso qarankii asxaabtiyo
qaayo hogol dugsoon
waxan qoray inaad qancisay qalbigaa dhexdiisa,
oo qafil saartay beerka ee
maad ii qadimin aroos, oo
qunyar i sudhi qaar’dhaaska
aan garaab wada ahanee

Aar:

gaybisay falaadhahoo
Qaaliyey, qaatin
qaayo culus baad I saarto
Qabsaday warkagoo
ku qadiiday qudhaca hoostisa

anoon qaybin aayaha,
qalbiga adkaystay oo
kama qaloonin qaayaha ee
xagaan ka qaadnaa?

Amal:

Qaan caano lagama maalee
Qabanqaabi darajo aqoon wacan
Qiyaamaha ninkii khayr dhigtaa dheefsadoo wacane
Ku dabaalo duco iyo aamin
deegaanka barwaaqada
ku dadaal inaad dahab I saarto

By: Kulmiye Ali
date: 6/10/2009

The shades and the shadows

she inspire me to new levels
allowing me to see
the dreams of past lives
come to past
awaken within me a new spirit
a breath of fresh life
i rise above the things of this world
encouraging words from dear ones i know
take me to new heights
i no longer fear shadows of doubt
i merely smile and laugh in solitude
fore i am now secure in who iam

and my trials have allow me to grow

so I continue to grow……

Alhamdulilah! I thank God for giving me the strength, as well as the experience of love and life and the opportunity to grow and inspire. I believe and know that he is the source to my Journey (for good and bad) and for that, I thank him every minute I breath:)

Sheeko Baruur presents “Xagaa Dheere”

Beri miyi waxa ku noolaa nin Alla kood ah oo la odhan jiray Ina Xagaa Dheere. Xaga dheere wuxuu lahaa adhi badan. mar baa waxa ku dhacay, adhigii baa xanuun ku dhacay. oo dhimashadii adhigiisa ayaa aad u badatay. Waxa la’yaab la noqotay sababta adhigu u dhimanayo. Sidaa darteed wuxuu go’aan ku gaadhey in uu adhiga kala qaybiyo oo uu qayb siiyo Illaahey (god), qaybna isagu qaato. Markaas adhigii laba qaybood oo isleeg ayuu ka dhigay. Xagaa Dheere Illaahay ayuu la hadley oo ku yidhi “Illaahayow adhiga adigu qeybtaas ayaad iska leedahay, ee sidaad doonto u maamul, laakiin qaybtayda shaqo kuma darsan kartid.”

Adhigii uu soocday Xagaa Dheere xanuunki iyo dhimashadii ma daynin, laakin xoolihii Illaahey uu usoocay waxba kama dhiman. Markaa wuu ka fakarey, oo wuxuu go’aansaday in markasta oo adhigiisa wax ka dhintaan uu isna wax ka dillo kuwa Illaahay.
Maalin ayaa waxa dhimatay lax adhigiisa ka mid ah, markaas ayuu intuu Xagaa Dheere warran soo qaatay ayu lax ka mid ah kuwuu ilaahay u soocay ayuu ku dhuftay. Laxdii ayaa qaylisay markaas buu Ina Xagaa Dheere yidh “CAAAAC, afka xun day. Kuwayagu miyaanay naf laheyn”.

Maalin ayaa roob da’ay markaas odaygii Ina Xagaa Dheere dhulka ayuu afka biyo kaga cab is yidhi. Ileen Illaahay baa u cadhoodaye, dhulkii ayaa afka kaga dhegay. Wax uu sameeyo ayuu garan waayay, firig firig iyo kaadi baa ka dhamaatay, markaas wuxu xasuustay in uu Ilaahay ku gafay. Beryo ayuu iska ilaalin jiray in uu Ilaahay ku gafo, maalintii dambe ayaa adhigii aad u dhintay markaas ayuu is hayn kari waayay oo yidhi

“Haddii aan aamuso xoolaha sidaa laga deyn maayo. Haddii aan hadalnona waa af salax kula dheg.”

Sheeko Baruur is a collection of Somali folk stories by Kulmiye Ali. these stories have been passed down from generation to generation, and I want to continue the legacy.