Ethnic Classifications

The black race has been associated with everything evil by Western writers. If Nimrod or Nimrud--the brutal monster who fought Prophet Abraham (AS) was the son of Kush or Cush who was the grandson of Ham--the great grandson son who was cursed by his Prophet Noah (AS), what is the logic behind associating the bad egg with the saints of the African continent that is the "Cradle of Civilization."?

Ethnic classifications such as Cushitic (from Cush or Kush), Hamitic (from Ham), and Afro-Asiatic (miscegenation or intermarriage between African and Asian) should be sent to the dustbin and rejected altogether. Somali history is either in par with the ancient Egyptians if not older. 

A STROLL THROUGH SOKO MJINGA

Today I went downtown Karisa to pick up Eidd stuff for my children. After strolling for a while through the congested streets, finally, I ended up at Soko Mjinga aka Suuq Mugdi. Walking with a business lady I was to seal a business transaction, we evaded men pushing heavily loaded wheelbarrows, mkokotenis, ladies in Wahhabi attires, men in Kanzu, and rambunctious kids on their mid-term break.

The market is a haven for Garoobs selling various types of clothing, noisy hawkers from down Kenya, pickpockets, men in Qaadiro stages, reggae ragamuffins, ilbax-shaarres, braggadocios, youngsters devastated by the agonizing buufis, business magnates, decayed slatterns, mentally retarded youth, toothless baagamuundos, learned men and women and people of scary features.

Suuq Mugdi is the Wall Street of this historic town that is populated mainly by people of Somali decent. The general infrastructure resembles a makeshift camp (iska deg), the streets are horrifically narrow and nauseating especially the rainy season, while the entire scene is evocative of an IDP camp.

Regardless of its shape and appearance, it is a daily meeting place for the beautiful and the beastly human and of course, unbeknown to many, beneath the infrastructure, a resting place for saintly men who departed for the Afterlife before the markets' initial foundation. It is a Cafe Internazionale where when ten people meet for a conversation, nine talk and only one listens. It is a paradise for those who love to chatter like Orang Utans (upright man).

Almost all the products sold here have been imported. The only eye-catching Somali-made products are uunsi, alindi or al-Hindi ladies wear and idin or idan for burning frankincense. Everything else is foreign with Chinese products taking the lead. But wait, Kenya made products are plentiful here. In case you want to sharpen your Somali sword or spear such that the end product meticulously appears sharper than the Wilkinson Sword and Nacet blade combined, purchase a Jua Kali made utensil, get hold of any kind of seeds or grab a kilo of buunsho for your starving donkey, Soko Mjinga has it all.

This place is where supply and demand meet. Adept at selling and bargaining, you will never be discouraged when buying from a Waryaa. The place, regardless of its austere simplicity, design and shape, is a monumental economic giant second only to Nairobi's Somali dominated Eastleigh.

Should you leave this place discouraged for failure to wrest control of what you desire most, let it even be a woman of your choice, I can bet you have not gone into the unexplored depths of this majestic but monstrous market that harbors products beyond human imagination.

Somalia's Mass Murderers Must be Stopped

The recent suicide bombing of Mogadishu's Shamo Hotel (picture inset) where hundred's had gathered to celebrate the graduation of students from Banadir University has left multiple scars in the hearts of millions. This despicable act perpetrated by men who have no iota of mercy in their hearts must be stopped at all cost. In the aftermath of this suicide bombing, almost over twenty innocent souls perished including government ministers, doctors, university students, and friends and relatives. Up to sixty peaceful residents of Mogadishu have been reported to have been injured in the melee. A dozen injured have been flown to Kenya for treatment because local hospitals lack the facilities to carry out major operations. To date no one has claimed responsibility. Amazingly, a Danish newspaper has claimed that the suicide bomber was raised in Denmark and that his parents are Dutch citizens. The bomber is said to have moved to Somalia about eighteen months ago accompanied by wife and children. If this claim is to be verified, then there is cause to be cautious and suspicious of homegrown extremists.

Somalia's terrorist group, Al-shabab has refuted allegations that it was behind the deadly attack on Shamo Hotel on the fateful day of Tuesday, the 3rd day of December, 2009. However, sources report that Ayman Al-zawahri, the second-in-command of Al-qaida has been reported to have claimed that his partners who waging proxy war in Somalia were behind the bombing and that it is part of the Jihadi struggle being waged all over the world. Al-shabab has flexed its muscle in the south of the country meaning it has no other entity to challenge it.

Somalia remains ungovernable because those vested with authority have not understood or lack a grasp of the true meaning of responsibility, leadership, and nationalism. The fragile government of Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has been overwhelmed by the enormity of problems in the country. Piracy, insecurity, suicide bombings, political murders, assassinations, drought, disease, and other natural calamities have combined to make the nation beyond anyone's capability.

Somalia has become a safe haven for foreign fighters drawn from all parts of the world. They include men who have been described as international criminals who will do everything possible to evade arrest by internationally-sanctioned manhunts. The number of religious criminal gangs or factions operating in the country give these criminals complete protection from prosecution.

There are many illegal lucrative businesses operating in the country. These businesses are the fibers that feed the gangs and their foreign guests. Arms smuggling, drug dealing, money laundering, piracy, and other hideous or underground activities are the factors behind the survival of Somalia's international criminals. Religious extremism is growing roots everywhere. It's time the world join hands to eliminate this menace from Somalia before it spills over and engulfs the entire region and beyond.

Criticism Advances a Nations Interests

Criticism is a healthy way of correcting things. In healthy democracies, there are people called critics. These people keep an eye on every single negative action of the government and its sectors. There are government critics, book critics, movie critics, corporate critics and so on. The reason these people are there is to put a cap on the wrongs being committed. Wrongs can mean election irregularities, embezzlement or emptying of state coffers, corruption of all kinds, bribery and other unethical and immoral acts that are a handicap to a nation's interests. The work of a critic is to uncover a wrong so it may be corrected before things get out of hand. But please remember, men like ex-president Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, General Mohamed Farah Aideed, and Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess were rebels instead.

One of Somalia's most critical opponent of the regime headed by Siyad Barre was the novelist Nurudin Farah who is regarded as one of the best novelist of our time. The junta gave him a hard time because of the wrongs he wanted corrected. The end result was his voluntary exile. Besides Nurudin many other critics of Somali origin became victims of the ruling junta. Some ended up getting extended jail terms. Somali academics who left three decades and over ago still remain in exile. It is nonsensical that someones life is put in danger because of having different views? Thus, it is important for our readers to differentiate who is a rebel and who is a critic.

The irony is that many African governments don't entertain criticisms and healthy debates. Adopting a watch and see policy while inhuman acts like massacres or genocide, corruption and theft, arbitrary arrests without valid reasons are committed in front of your eyes without saying a word is against human conscience. If you see a woman being raped without commenting then wait until your sister, your mother, your aunt or a female relative of yours becomes the next victim. Those who stand by the sidelines without raising a word while having a clear picture of the ills and gravity of crimes committed against innocent civilians has no iota of mercy and thus belongs to the dogs.