Focus on Arabia’s Abusive Masters and their Mistreated Maids

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Painful narratives of maids being abused by their millionaire masters in Arabia have escaped the attention of many Arab governments. Natives of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait who have little or no time for house chores usually hire maids brought into the country from as far as Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. These maids who do all the dirty works for Arab households often work grueling hours without breaks while under constant supervision and harassments.

The overall management of maids coming into these countries is the prerogative of employment agencies and influential individual figures having connections with the immigration departments of their respective governments. However, the responsibility of the agency ends immediately a maid is transferred to a household or employer. The only time an agency may get involved is when a problem occurs.

Stories of maids subjected to worst forms of torture abound in the Arabian Peninsula. With strict religious and cultural observances in place in these countries, a sexually agitated male household member in search of sexual relief may indiscriminately and forcefully rape or assault an innocent maidservant without the least fear of judicial ramifications. In a land fraught with gender stratification, color bar, and xenophobia, the number of unreported incidents experienced by innocent maids and intentionally swept under the carpet must be enormous.

The few demeaning or dehumanizing occurrences surreptitiously reported to the media include cases of rape, banging of heads against walls, rape and assaults, denial of wages, overwork, denial of sleep, rest, and day-offs, driving of nails and needles into the bodies of poor maidservants, refusal to communicate with friends, relatives, and the outside world, racial slurs or occasional use of annoying epithets, and denial of food and medication.

Despite the use of the N-word by radio host Dr. Laura responding to a caller of color rattling millions of people worldwide, in the Arab world, the use of exasperating and unpleasant names like Hemar (donkey), Kelb (dog), Aswad (black), and Abed (slave) serve as daily condiments and appellations hurled at people of color that may never be appealed or objected.

Once upon a time in one of the cities of Arabia, a man of color walked into a restaurant in a busy section of the city, sat in a corner and then ordered himself a meal from one of the waiters. Minutes later he was brought the food he ordered. After finishing eating and paying the bill, he decided to sit for a while and talk on the phone. In the meantime, while the cutlery he used was being taken away, seven Arab men walked in, sat opposite where he was sitting, and ordered food. Thinking that the man they were about to backbite was not paying attention, one of the men spoke to the waiter taking the orders by telling him, “please don’t serve us with the plate used by that abed (slave)”. Feeling insulted but pretending not to have heard their conversation, the man carefully left the scene. A few minutes later, the aggrieved man returned to the restaurant and shot seven of them dead before they could finish eating their hot, spicy, and delicious meals.

The wisdom behind this story is "all men have been created equal"; we humans chose to divide ourselves". Never underestimate a fellow human being. Never use color, creed, sex, religion, political affiliation, country of origin, and other factors to separate yourself from others. The human DNA is a testimony to the equality of the human race.

The Controversial Arrival of Sudan’s el-Bashir for Kenya’s Constitutional Promulgation

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A well-organized ceremony with heightened security convened in Nairobi’s Uhuru Park for the promulgation of Kenya’s new constitution, left many surprised at the arrival of the President of Sudan, Hassan el-Bashir. According to Kenya’s media sources, the nation’s airspace remained closed to air traffic for four hours. Instead of arriving at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where all heads of states frequent, el-Bashir’s presidential jet landed at Wilson Airport which is usually reserved for smaller aircraft.

Members of Kenya Parliament, cabinet ministers, and the public felt offended by the presence of el-Bashir-a man who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes of genocide in his country. Even the President of the United States, Barack Obama, commented on the issue of el-Bashir in Kenya. Kenya is a signatory to ICC and many wonder why el-Bashir was invited in the first place.

Flanked by Najib Balala, Kenya’s minister for tourism, el-Bashir took part in the promulgation of Kenya’s new constitution without any problems. Ironically, even Raila Odinga, Kenya’s Prime Minister was not notified of el-Bashir’s coming to Kenya. From this incident, we learn that Kenya is not a country whose affairs can be dictated by outside forces and that it will apply all the necessary means to safeguard its sovereignty and neighborliness.

Sudan is a neighbor of Kenya and Kenya has played a big role in the implementation of peace in Sudan in the past. Kenya’s current special envoy to Sudan is Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi-a man who has been in the forefront of restoring peace in many parts of Africa including neighboring Somalia, Rwanda, and Burundi. Arap Moi preceded Mwai Kibaki as president of Kenya. He is regarded in Kenya as a statesman and peacemaker.

Amin Amir: Somalia’s Unquestionable Cartoonist

The awe-inspiring works of Amin Amir, Somalia’s undisputed cartoonist, speak louder than words. Before Somalia descended into chaos almost two decades ago, Amin’s work played great role in the dissemination of revolutionary propaganda that were the hallmark of the fallen military regime. Upon Somalia descending into its current ungovernable state, Amin transformed his nature of drawings into a more structurally defined art of criticism that came to greatly affect many heinous warlords, ineffective leaders, merciless and coldblooded assassins, and tribal hegemons with varied negative intentions. A devoted defender of the rights of the poor, his characterization of political misfits continues to inspire millions of displaced Somalis who have been driven from their homes. On the contrary, he has been called names, threatened, and insulted by parties and individuals who feel his premeditated artwork depictions as being the cause of their miserable failures and gross miscalculations.

Criticism in the form of a cartoon is a healthy way of establishing the causes of political miscalculations and a viable alternative to deliberating the causes of crime and lawlessness, transgression, anarchy, unprofessional conduct, and a plethora of social ills bedeviling a nation like Somalia. However, among Somalis, criticism is an indication of provocation and must be contained at all cost.

Amin’s exemplary creativities have angered many loquacious rulers of cantons and sword-wielding mullahs in a divided Somalia. Arguably, not everyone can become a cartoonist overnight; it is a talent and knowledge that can be learned. It requires methodical brainstorming, time and effort, and philosophical and logical thought to characterize an entity into a definite picture so as to capture the attention of a broader audience.

In the meantime, we learn that the valued cartoonist is training his young son in the art of cartoon making. Sounds a great idea because, we need more people in this field in times of war and peace. I would also suggest Somali female students whether in the Diaspora or in Somalia give a thought and reflect on the importance of this treasured art for the future of the Somali nation. Those who have access to the internet should consider taking lessons online. In the long run Amin Amir will prevail in his cartoon war-a war that calls for more united cartoonists whose only weapon will be paint, brush, and paper.

Somalia’s Transitional Government about to Fall to Insurgents

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A devastating suicide bomb brought Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital city, to a standstill yesterday when about two to three insurgents from the militant group al-Shabab penetrated Muna Hotel frequented by government figures and military officers. The well-orchestrated infiltration resulted in the death of over 80 people including parliamentarians, military officers, employees of the hotel, and civilians. Disguised as members of Somalia’s armed force as they were dressed in military fatigues, the insurgents made their way to the hotel without meeting with any resistance. Upon entering the hotel premises, the insurgents shot the hotel occupants one by one. Later, two of the suicide bombers who were suspected of wearing suicide vests denoted their bombs leaving behind a bloodbath that caused international outcry. The third accomplice, according to sources, was shot outside of the hotel by security officers while he was fleeing the deadly scene.

A few days before this terrible incident, a spokesman for al-Shabab sounded his drums of a looming war-a warning the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and AMISOM troops failed to heed. In actual fact, both al-Shabab and Hizb-al-Islam proclaimed that a major offensive was in the making during the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims observe a prolonged 30-day fast from dawn to dusk. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan began on the 11th of August and will continue until the 9th of September according to the sighting of the next new moon.

In Islamic history, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) proclaimed a decisive victory over the pagan Qureish tribe of Mecca in the Battle of Badr in the Hejaz region of present-day Arabia on the 17th of the month of Ramadan in the year 2 AH corresponding to March 17, 624 AD . It was in this war that Muhammad’s chief antagonist, 'Amr ibn Hishām was killed, according to the biographies of the prophet and the authentic hadith (traditions). Likewise, it is anticipated that a bitter war will erupt in Mogadishu on the 17th of Ramadan which falls within a few days from now. Reports that the two militant groups have mobilized a large army for this battle remain to be seen.

Somalia’s underserved military and the African Union peacekeeping troops stationed in Mogadishu have embarked on a major offensive meant to push back the advancing militants. In the meantime, there is a grounded fear Sheikh Sharif’s government could collapse anytime soon should the insurgents continue to gain more ground.

Somalia's Beauty and the Beast

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Somalia is a Horn of Africa nation bordering Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean and endowed with assortments of natural resources yet its people are starving-in fact it is fed by the international community. Majority of Somalis are followers of Islam; predominantly Somali is their language; and they share identical physical features. Somalis are categorized as Cushito-Hamitic and they have historically traded with Egyptians, Phoenicians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Ottomans, Abyssinians, Arabs, and Persians. In historical antiquity and depicted in hieroglyphic writings retrieved from Egyptian tombs, Somalia has been referred to as the "Land of Punt" or the "Land of Gods". The "Hamitic Theory" conceived by colonial European explorers, missionaries, and discoverers is placed somewhere in the Horn of Africa. Perhaps, archeological excavations would reveal much about the past history of the Somali people. Besides the tall stature and acquiline features that make them distinct from some tribal groupings of Africa, the preservation of relics and artifacts such as the "Sibraar" or headband worn by adolescent Somali girls that resemble those worn by female pharaohs of Egypt, the cluster of cave paintings notable in the northeast of Somalia, Somali style of tribal hierarchy and administration, the discovery of Somali vernacular wordings identical to Egyptian hieroglyphics, Somali nomadic women mode of dress, and the vast archeological mounds resembling Egyptian pyramids could hold significant historical treasures if only there was stability and assured peace.

Geographically, Somalia’s physical features range from arid to semi-arid, tropical coasts, mountain terrains and ranges to the northeast as the great Rift Valley that runs from Jordan to Mozambique dissects a portion of the country, depleted tropical forests in the south, and a patch of burnt land known as Guban. It has two perennial rivers-the Shebelle and Juba Rivers respectively. It has dry river beds and ravines, creeks, and anthill mounds. The growth of acacia tree species sustains various types of wildlife and livestock as it is indigenous to the arid and semi-arid ecosystem. Perhaps, trees that grow in the Somali wilderness are the Acacia albida, Acacia senegal, and Acacia seyal. These acacia species may also be found in the Sahel or much of sub-Saharan Africa. Species like Cassuarina equisetifolia, Casia Siamea, and the neem tree that capture the landscapes of many towns and cities have been introduced recently before the outbreak of civil disobedience.

The beautiful gazelle-like Litocranius walerii or Gerenuk has its name derived from the Somali word Garanuug which translates to "Giraffe-necked". Once home to the big-five game-Elephant, Buffalo, Giraffe, Lion, and Rhino-the horrors of poaching and the crackle of gunfire has driven many animal species toward extinction. Also, environmental degradation and human encroachment have driven many animals across Somalia borders into neighboring countries. What was once a land teeming with leopards, cheetahs, lions, hyenas, elephants, and giraffes has been rendered useless and empty as animal breeding grounds and the soil that could sustain vegetation has been denuded of vital nutrients. A few miles outside of the town of Garissa in Kenya, herds of migrating giraffes have now found safe haven in a snactuary managed by the public with help from Kenya's wildlife department.

Even Somalia's bird and insect species have not been immune from the general calamity either. With the collapse of the central government, so disappeared the science of insectology and ornithology. A great many nesting fields and breeding grounds have instantly disappeared. The tampering of the ecosystem accelerated the demise of many bird and insect species only to be replaced by swarms of locusts and dangerous weeds, creeping deserts and intermittent doughts.

The southern part of the country has the potential to support agriculture. Before the collapse of the central government, Somalia was the second leading producer of bananas in Africa. Somalia's banana industry was funded and overseen by Somalita-a joint Somali-Italy consortium-consequently making Somalia a haven for bananas. Prior to the outbreak of the civil war, citrus and mango farming sustained a sizable population of the Juba and Shebelle regions. What is left today is not worth mentioning. Heartless warlords drove out farming communities into destitution either as refugees or internally displaced persons surviving on humanitarian handouts. Shockingly, the once arable lands that served as Somalia's breadbasket have been replaced with massive marijuana plantations. It is the introduction of the very mind-altering or psychotic drug that has affected many of the youth serving narcicistic warlords. The absence of drug control procedures and pharmaceutical companies has inundated Somalia with multitudes of controlled substances having debilitating effects. Coupled with insecurity and destitution and the collapse of the education sector, the rate of decimation on fauna and flora remain dispropotionally beyond comprehension. The central and southern regions once contained large swathes of forests that have been indiscriminately deforested by previous warlords who burnt vital tropical trees for charcoal processing. This coldhearted decimation of forests has been harmful to the sustainability of nitrogen-fixing tree species. Charcoal is in great demand in the Middle East where it is used for fireplaces and for barbeque. Climatologically, various regions of Somalia can effectively maintain arboriculture*, agrisilviculture (tree + crops), agrisilvipasture (trees + crops + pasture/animals), hortipasture (fruit trees + pasture/animals) and horticulture**.

Unlike some densely populated parts of Africa where land is scarce due to population explosion, Somalia’s sparsely populated and empty lands could be transformed into ranches so as to entice livestock owners abandon their nomadic lifestyles. Despite suffering educational retardation, a good number of educated Somalis in the Diaspora will unleash expertise and monetary value once stability is found. Regardless of the two decades of war and the destruction it wrought on the country, still many educational institutions training the future creams of the nation operate inside Somalia. Universities and colleges can be found in almost every region of the country today. In the past before the current turmoil, Somalia had a ministry that was solely responsible for overseeing forests and rangelands. An institute outside of Mogadishu in the town of Afgoi produced the bulk of foresters. Foreign governments and international organizations provided the funds and expertise for various projects related to forestry, agro-forestry, and silvipasture.

The most famous project spearheaded by the fallen military government was the Shalambood Sand Dune Stabilization Project that ended in success. A massive airlift for people affected by the prolonged 1974 drought in the towns of Obbia and Aynaba led to the creation of three settlements in Jujuma, Sablaale, and Kurtunwaareey in a program that came to be known as “Danwadaagaha” meaning “collective duty”. In early 80s, the United States Agency for International Development or USAID provided $800,000 to the Somali government to fight deforestation. Thus was born the Jalalaqsi Reforestation Project. Working in concert with Africare Inc., an African-American humanitarian organization and the Somali Ministry of Forestry and rangelands, hundreds of thousands of trees and cactus were planted inside the town of Jalalaqsi, within several refugee camps, and alongside sand dunes. It is here I worked as a Social Science Field Assistant working directly with a PhD candidate in Sociology. This inspiring project brought together foresters, nursery managers, field assistants, and an array of faces drawn from the U.S. and the Somali government respectively. I am not sure if this project reached its final phase or if it was abandoned midway as I left after the expiry of my contract in 1984.

In the Sanaag region, the towering Caal Madow mountain range is suspected to contain unexploited petroleum and other natural reserves. In the 70s and 80s, several Western-owned oil consortiums carried out explorations in several parts of the country though the end results of their activities remain elusive. Of the two hydro-electric projects conceived in Somalia-Faanoole and Baardheere-not much power has been generated. From what I know, the southern town of Gelib (Jilib) had enough supply of electricity while Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia, experienced continuous blackouts at all times.

From the time a hijacked German airliner landed in Mogadishu in the 70s, the relationship between Somalia and East and West Germany have been good. Consequently, the West Germans brought several projects to Somalia including the water and sewage projects implemented by Saarberg Interplan that may be credited for the installation of water systems in Mogadishu,Jowhar, Afgoi, and Shalambood. Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit or GTZ in short, played a great role in the provision of technical expertise by training Somali technicians. On the other hand, the West Germans were responsible for the maintenance of the fleet of motorcyles and police vehicles operated by the Somali police force. LibSoma and RomSoma were two other bilateral projects visible in the country perhaps operated by Libyans and Romanians.

To the north east of the country straddle the famous Golis Mountains teeming with exotic wildlife. This is the perfect place for wildlife conservation, national parks, and tourist attractions. Hard currency extracted from tourism could stir the economy and also create jobs for thousands in a land where unemployment rate is a staggering 80%. Somalia’s pristine beaches that had been neglected by previous governments could be a hotbed for luxury hotels. However, in order to achieve success for the hotel industry, effective running should be the prerogative of foreign companies that possess tested knowledge and experience.

Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa measuring approximately 3,333 km. To the north is the Red Sea and to the south is the massive Indian Ocean. With abundance of fish and other types of marine life, these two bodies of water can sustain the entire Somali nation of ten million. Unfortunately, since 1990, illegal fishing of Somali waters by foreign fishing trawlers has drastically reduced Somali fish stock. The proliferation of piracy and the contamination of Somalia’s pristine and tropical coastline with industrial wastes remain obstacles to maritime management and exploration. The coastline of Somalia contains a wealth of fishes and marine life ranging from tuna, crabs, mackerel, sardines, lobster, shrimps, turtles, sharks, exotic porpoises, and dugong. During the rule of the military government, Somalia leased trawlers from foreign governments exclusively for the exploitation of maritime waters. Located in the Sanaag region inhabited by the Warsangeli sub-clan of the Darod, the famous Las Qoray Fishing Cannery was reputedly the biggest in Africa producing processed canned fish that was exported to European destinations and a sizable product consumed locally. The factory was funded and run by the Russians before their departure from Somalia in the late 70s. Surprisingly, the cannery is now in operation thanks to the efforts of Warsangeli entrepreneurs.

On the other hand, Somalia is endowed with livestock. It is estimated that the number of camels in the country outnumber human population. Besides, there is a wealth of cattle, goats, and sheep that, if effectively managed, could be used to rejuvenate the economy. If the Somali-inhabited Garissa District in Kenya has the highest concentration of Livestock in East and Central Africa, likewise, Somalia’s livestock population must be vast and boundless. Previously, the ports of Berbera, Bossasso, Mogadishu, and Kismayu served as major transit points for Somali livestock destined for Arabia. Originally built by the Russians, the port and airport of Berbera was rehabilitated by MWK Int’l Ltd. Inc., based in Seattle, WA. I worked in the accounting department of this massive project which in fact was made possible by a contract agreement between the United States Department of Navy and the Somali Ministry of Defense. On the other hand and upon completion of the Port of Berbera, the Somali government this time embarked on the rehabilitation of the Port of Kismayu located in the south of the country. An overseas-based company by the name George Fuller Company became the final benefector for the bid. Unfortunately, the fragmentation of the nation into fiefdoms controlled by warlords, religious factions, autonomous governments, and tribal secessionists handicapped the operation of the livestock industry. Most of the nations infrastructure was either sold as scrap metal in the Middle East, became delapidated for lack of maintenance, or became target for artillery fire. It beats logic that Somali livestock are being sold at throwaway prices in North Africa and the Middle East. A goat or sheep bought in Somalia by Arab merchants fetches the same price as a plate of rice sold in Arabian restaurants. Surprisingly, whether in Cairo or Jeddah, Arabs, are fond of consuming meat originating in Somalia because of its freshness, delicacy, and taste .

*The study and care of woody plants; example trees.
** Care for garden.

Morals and Manners

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Millions of people in our world are living in fear of other powerful monsters. Likewise, millions of employees live in similar conditions. Thus, these tormented people harbor resentment and negative feelings. “When people work in conditions of perceived unfairness and unkindness, they fall into self-protective mode. Like turtles, they crawl into their shells and hide. They’re not motivated to take positive risks, to dig deep inside to discover all their talents and bring those talents to bear in creative ways on the challenges of the corporate business. Their emotions are tinged by fear and resentment, and these negative feelings block the flow of positive emotional energy they could be putting to work in their daily activities.” (Tom Morris, p. 121)
For most humans, with the exception of a few, morals and manners are part of their daily lives. The famous saying “charity begins at home” serves greater good if observed by all. Good manners, helping the needy, being kind to relatives and neighbors and caring for parents should be the unbending observable pillar of everyone’s life. Humankind must learn to abhor belligerence of every kind. There are people who have no consideration for the rights of others. Ethics and morality have been in existence since time immemorial though there are millions who disregard respect for the law and for fellow human beings.

De-icing your feeble neighbor's car in sub-zero degree temperature, feeding the poor, assisting widows and orphans, partaking in fundraising activities, caring for your parents when they attain old age and not abandoning them in old age homes as is common in Western culture, raising a hale and healthy family, going the extra mile in pursuit of justice for the wronged, being patient when in a queue, respecting the opposite gender, and working as a volunteer without expecting anything in return are part of good morals and manners and a gateway to paradise in many religions.

Helping others as long as you are in good health determines who you are. Helping start a jammed neighbor’s car is an act of piety. You have been helped many times by strangers so why should you not be of help to others when they need you most. There are people who act surreptitiously or dodge when their assistance is sought. These types of people are charlatans. When they need help they shed crocodile tears.

Almost all educational institutions have rules and regulations that govern them. So are firms, associations, and organizations. Such rules are meant to instill peace and create harmonious working environments. Goodness is true nobility-Iphicrates. What is your understanding of morals and manners?

Managing Effectively while Inculcating Equality

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All cruel people describe themselves as paragons of frankness-Tennessee Williams

We now learn from the scientific and biological fraternity that all humans are a product of X and Y chromosomes. Geneticists can now reveal to us that there are 35,000 genes in the human DNA and 3 billion chemical base pairs in the human DNA. This is a testament to human equality before the Almighty God. Overemphasizing differences hides prejudices that are disgracefully inappropriate in context. Overemphasizing similarities is the best tool to attaining accomplishments in the workplace. The belief that “all men are created equal” should be the best applicable emphasis.

The first thing to have in a modern workplace is a balanced culture, if not code of regulations to be equally observed by all regardless of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, political affiliation or sex. Rules that call for tolerance and harmony in the workplace must be applied to ensure tranquility and serendipity. A good leader is the one who discourages negative behaviors like incivility and other detrimental actions that are appalling in perspective.

Self-reliance Criterion
Having close affinity to employees of like racial group sets a bad precedent as it is a harbinger for discrimination and favoritisms. Here is a parable of two managers: One would always speak in his native tongue to some select employees he/she shared cultural background with while the other discouraged speaking in his mother tongue. The later is the kind of leader ripe for multicultural leadership. Organizations can discourage leaders not to rely solely on self-reliance criterion when making strategic decisions by acknowledging the cultural backgrounds of individuals and groups by first using the golden rule that states: “do unto others as they would have them do unto them.” It is important to empower the leader to learn contrasting cultures even though the implied cultures may be in disagreement with one’s values. Leaders must instill social justice, harmony, and moral development and also have contact with different cultural groups so as to create a healthy atmosphere through a succession of cultural exchanges.

The Monitor Role
The monitor role has long appeared less interesting to many people because of their futile beliefs that it entailed keeping a watchful over other people’s daily activities or mode of operations. But to a leader or manager with modern thoughts and processes, it carries much weight in “maintaining high performance in both individuals and groups" (Quinn, Faerman, Thompson, and McGrath, and St. Clair, 2006, p.113).

The Mentor Role
The mentor and facilitator roles are the two most important key managerial leadership roles as they are tasked with establishing effective relationships. The mentor role, also called the concerned human role, is reflected in the science of caring and empathy where the manager is supposed to be thoughtful, selfless, and responsive and open to discussions and not shunning ideas, be friendly, openhearted, and reasonable. A mentor is a good listener who attracts new ideas, is appreciative, rewarding, and influences employee actions by motivating. Failure to observe the mentoring role leads to derailment, pseudo-transformational leadership, dictatorship, arrogance, and intolerance. Understanding self-worth opens the door for understanding others. Delegating effectively and developing employees is part of mentoring. In the real sense of the word, the remark “mentor” has its meaning rooted in Greek, which may mean trusted counselor, coach or guide and therefore derives its true meaning from The Odyssey, a poem written by Homer and addressed to Odysseus asking him to tutor his son Telemachus. Understanding the keys to effective delegation involves conscientiousness, influence, and answerability. Thus, the mentor role is about understanding self and others, communicating effectively, and developing employees.

The Facilitator Role
The Facilitator role rests on three important pillars namely: building teams, using participative decision making, and managing conflict-all part of the organizational improvement process. Furthermore, group work means having a commitment to a common goal or purpose, having a concrete sense of mutual responsibility, sharing information and having common communication structure, and setting clear roles and responsibilities that are equally interdependent in outlook. Roles are sets of expectations relevant to the individual and others in a given situation. With role clarity implying the absence of two demanding conditions notably role ambiguity and role conflict-role ambiguity entails interacting with others while role clarity leads to inconsistency or contradiction of information. Sending conflicting information is cause for role conflict. The facilitator role requires knowledge of the levels, sources, and stages of conflict. Differences in values, attitudes, beliefs, needs, or perceptions have been shown to cause conflicts.

Handling Communication Overloads
Ironically, the flow of information has transformed tremendously over the years and taken major leaps and bounds since the discovery of microchips and other technological advancements such as nanotechnology. Our capability to store and retrieve information through optical scanning and “data compression” and our ability to do research without resorting to the olden ways of searching through library shelves, is a clear testimony as to how we have advanced “two steps forward” and “one step back” though we have heavy responsibilities of “taming the electronic tiger” as we advance towards new innovations and immeasurable outputs. Thus, it is imperative for today’s managers to grasp the importance of modern office keeping by observing the TRAF system-which connotes to mean Toss, Refer, Act, and File-a novel way of overseeing the predicted modern paperless office.

On the other hand, recurrent work interruptions and overloads caused by excessive messages such as telephone calls, voice mails, cell phones, Personal Digital Assistants or PDAs, faxes, the intranet and internet, and e-mails should not instill fear or cause alarm but rather create challenges and enhanced momentum if effective management is to be observed in the workplace. Today’s managers are emboldened by their fervent desire to exploit the universally accepted sets of procedures known by the acronym OABC which stands for Opening, Agenda, Body, and Closing-four valuable tools for deciphering written messages regardless of whether they are in the form of a memo, circular or other regular correspondences. Likewise, face-to-face meetings are as essential as other forms of communication and should not be taken off the table. Teleconferencing, a contemporary hi-tech inclusion invented as result of human necessity, has been found to be in conformity with the international superhighway. Monitoring demands analyzing core processes, monitoring the value chain and output like judgments and opinions given, resources allocated, decisions made, mistakes detected, products planned, commitments negotiated, and courses taught.

The Myers-Briggs Type Inventory
The Myers-Briggs Type Inventory which is based on Carl Jung’s works highlights the five-factor model or basic tendencies with each factor named for one of two ends of a continuum namely neuroticism, extraversion, open to new experiences, agreeableness and conscientiousness. Agreeableness and extraversion are interrelated in that with no explicit leadership, the one who emerges with extraversion, agreeableness, and emotionality emerges the informal leader.

Johari Window
Named after Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham, the Johari window is another exemplary framework that helps increase one’s self-awareness. The Johari window is divided into four compartments namely: open, blind, hidden, and unknown. Hidden inconsistencies and hypocrisies including hiding, rebuffing, and evading learning about themselves, has been found to be a common attribute of many people. Sadly though, popular television shows, movies, and books are acted in such a way that the end results, because of concealment of true feelings or lack of self-awareness, characters may end up skeptical or tolerant.

Effective Interpersonal Communication
With acute logjam to effective interpersonal communication evolving as a result of inarticulateness, hidden agendas, status meant to impress and not offend, hostility due to lack of trust, and differences in communication styles, Chris Argyris of the Harvard Business School implemented what became known as “the left-hand column issues” which implies “what is thought” and “the right-hand column” in reference to “what is said” so that “discussables” can be differentiated from “undiscussables”.
The golden saying, “nature has given men one tongue but two ears that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak”, as noted by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus, is a superior contemplation in the real sense which requires that we understand what is being said by others. The use of reflective listening helps us understand what others are saying and instills empathy in our inner souls.

Understanding Conflict Resolution
Understanding conflict resolution in the intrapersonal and interorganizational levels could be an added advantage. Avoiding approaches, accommodating approaches, competing approaches, compromising approaches, and collaborating approaches are some of the dimensions used in conflict management strategies. However, there are advantages and disadvantages of conflict management approaches. Also, as research has shown, allowing some degree of conflict could propel new ideas, innovation, and change. Conflicts can be stimulated and agreements managed by introducing guidelines for advocacy groups.

Team Building Strategies
There are informal approaches to team building and barriers to team building. Team building is an ongoing process and not an event. One approach to team building is for the team members to understand each other and have the willingness to observe each other consistently so as to generate substantial results. Social interaction among members like sharing a meal after work, holding annual holiday celebrations, and other important events opens a plethora of opportunities and other out of the ordinary accomplishments. Ironically, barriers to team building resurface due to not having the knowledge or experience of team building. One major factor that hinders team building is the lack of planning and coordination. Creating incentives to reward employees with exceptional performance emboldens employee resolve and attitude, increases social and economic standings, and lowers tardiness and the impervious “free will” attitude. Autocratic, consultative, and group decision making are some of the strategies used to define who should participate and when.

Effective Meeting Management
Meetings may be horrifying and end in disasters because of poor facilitation or they may be well managed, heartening, and all-inclusive. Understanding the rules of effective meeting management, coming up with the required tools, and setting the stage with certain objectives in mind is a prerequisite for modern management. Understanding the meeting objective, creating appropriate participation, selecting the time and place of the session, and preparing and distributing the agenda in advance is a requirement if pitfalls are to be avoided. However, running the meeting with sets of priorities in mind is a good way of giving the attendants a new lease of life. For a meeting to be professional it is essential to have someone take the minutes; the leader should review the agenda; make certain participants know each other; do not diverge from the agenda; ease interruptions; promote overall membership; and bring to a close the meeting by reviewing decisions reached.

Understanding Four Dimensions of Leadership
Influencing others depends on having a concrete understanding of the values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations (VABEs) of the people involved. Having the feeling that it is a God-given responsibility to change how others feel and believe leads to underestimation of those under your command. Those endowed with authority should grasp the benefits of morality, ethics, legality, and cultural context. Individually determining what’s right and wrong is known as morality; ethics is a body of knowledge and established and conventional guiding principles of conduct created for groups of people or organizations; legality implies acting upon the established laws of humanity; while cultural context refers to observing the cultural values of others in the workplace. In public and professional conduct it is best to apply ethics and in private and for personal values wrap yourself around the garb of morality. When dealing with those under your authority, always keep in mind that what goes around comes around. It was Charles Grodin who once said, “It always surprises me that otherwise intelligent people don’t realize that if you treat people badly, it will eventually come back to you”. To give you an example of what goes around comes around, it is worth looking back what history has to tell us. “In the year 260 C.E., the Roman Emperor Valerian fell captive to Sasanid forces. He spent his last years at the Sassanid court in Ctesiphon, where his captors forced him to stoop and serve as a mounting stool when the Sasanid king wanted to ride his horse". (After his death, the Sasanids preserved Valerian’s skin as a memento of their victory over the Romans), (Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler ). One’s leadership qualities should not be repugnant to justice and to the subjects providing essential services or else there could be serious ramifications resulting in the dissolution of the entire enterprise. For example, a medieval law stated that “if two persons fell under suspicion of crime, the uglier or more deformed was to be regarded as more probably guilty” (Wilson and Hernstein, 1985).

Elements of Individual, Professional, Organizational, and Societal Levels of Multicultural Competence

Martin Luther King, Jr. via last.fm

Understanding the importance of individual/personal, professional, organizational, and societal levels of multicultural competence carry heavy weight in modern management/leadership styles. Comprehending cultural competence in multifaceted dimensions helps alleviate ethnocentric monoculturalism, ingrained biases and prejudices, hate and fear of others at the individual/personal level. No one is born to fear and hate others but that it is learned. As suggested by Sue (2001), cultural incompetence begins at birth. Likewise, misinformation about others’ cultural differences is not acquired through free choice but imposed through a process known as social conditioning (Jones, 1997; Carter, et al., 1998).

Overcoming personal belief systems, behaviors, and emotions for both trainers and trainees could be a personal journey to overcoming cultural incompetence and a major challenge for leaders.

In order to believe in justice and democracy, it is equally important to overcome the biases that threaten our self-image. Understanding how our own biases and actions perpetuate and constitute injustice helps every concerned leader bear greater responsibility in order to administer powerful change. Honesty and openness for each other, overcoming fears, fostering concern for all groups of society and being acquainted with the effects of prejudice and discrimination and how it affects others opens equal access and opportunities for all people. However, Sue (1999, 2001), provides four helpful and important principles that could herald for individual cultural competence. Initially, individuals will have to familiarize with and learn from different perspectives and not exclusively rely on the media or what the neighbors say. Secondly, immersing in the culture to be learned generates a balanced analysis of what is expected to be reaped. Thirdly, supplementing realistic intellectual capacity with practical certainty of individuals from that culture is a way of identifying with that culture and can be applied as a supplementary encouragement. On the professional level, management and leadership styles have been shown to over and over again experience the impacts of cultural values, beliefs, traits, and decision techniques.

Different cultures view leadership from dissimilar perspectives. In American cultural way of thinking, leadership is portrayed as forceful and independent whereas in Japan, good leadership is based on the theory of harmony and fairness. The latter Japanese view is the view I share and scrutinize wholeheartedly. In France, a manager is expected to answer a subordinate’s query accurately. American mangers and leaders are regarded as problem solvers who take time to provide answers to the subordinate’s concerns after thorough examination and head scratching. In modern Japanese culture, respondents described a leader as one who displays fairness, is flexible, has good listening skills, is outgoing, and is responsible while American respondents described a leader as one who is intelligent, honest, understanding, determined, and possesses effective verbal skills.

Leaders who value multiculturalism have organizational structure that treats all employees, suppliers, and customers equally. For leaders to be competent, the organizations they serve have the responsibility to create strategies, policies, procedures, and implementations acceptable to their employees.

Though organizations have contrasting procedures in the way they deal with cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, and gender issues, overcoming conflicts and misunderstandings in the workplace should be a prerequisite for any organization willing to do away with institutionalized monoculturalism.

Monocultural organizations are those organizations that operate on Eurocentric and ethnocentric ideologies. A prime example is the former apartheid regime of South Africa whose mode of operations was built on racial divide and racial superiority. Based on outright exclusionism, either explicitly or implicitly, the former Boer regime of former apartheid South Africa marginalized people of color and other minority groups. This means, people were divided into racial categories. With Whites on top of the privileged ladder, Indians and Coloreds enjoyed the center stage while Blacks remained at the bottom. Besides the Whites, all other races were persona non grata in exclusively reserved white neighborhoods, white shopping centers, and white schools. Blacks lived in the Ghettos with no jobs, no sewage, no viable infrastructure, and no decent schools. In other words, South Africa of the yesteryears was a discriminatory organization where the color of the epidermis and the sex of a person determined where one belonged in the government registry of races and sexes. On the other hand, the strong believe in the melting pot and equal opportunity for all should be a driving factor for cultural equality. Culture should have the least impact on management.

Historically, courageous men and women spent time and effort to fight American discriminative policies of the 60s. Mention is to be made of Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a Nobel laureate who lost his precious life while fighting human injustices. Despite civil and human rights activists dying for the cause of equality and justice, disparities in employment, education, employment, and social facilities do exist in modern America.

On the contrary, nondiscriminatory organizations are more culturally significant and sympathetic. However, foot-dragging remains an impediment to the advancement of affirmative actions; equal employment opportunities are taking a grudging stand, prejudice and biases do exist, and policy implementations remain inconsistent and elusive.

Assumingly, the United Nations is the biggest nondiscriminatory organization the world has seen. Looking back at its past line-up of hierarchical leadership history, we find that the top echelons were drawn from multifarious nationalities. Formerly the League of Nations, the United Nations, came to fore after the end of World War II. Its first Secretary General was Trygve Lie of Norway (1946-1952) followed by Dag Hammarskjöld of Sweden (1953-1961), U Thant of Burma (1961-1971), Kurt Waldheim of Austria (1972-1981), Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru (1982-1991), Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt (1992-1996), Kofi Anan of Ghana (1997-2006), and currently Ban Ki-Moon of South Korea (2007-). Because the world is regarded as a one big society, the position of the Secretary-General of the United Nations is based on equal distribution between the various continents. So far, Western Europe and others had three secretary generals; Latin American and Caribbean Group had one; Asian Group had two; while the African Group had two secretary generals.

The greatest challenges facing the United States today include the issue of race, the existence of unfair disparities between racial/ethnic minorities and Euro-American groups that are invisible and deeply ingrained, and the absence of open dialogue regarding racial inequalities, and bigotry and racism. Despite the efforts of former President Bill Clinton in his issuance of Executive Order No. 13050 and his creation of the Race Advisory Board to examine race and racism, a lot needs to be done in the fields of racial reconciliation. The issue of race in the U.S. is so ingrained in the minds of the American social fabric and that the society itself is ill-equipped to tackle it alone.

The glorification of racism has been used as an unbending instrument by monoculturally ethnocentric fanatics whose strong cultural superiority is based on past biased historical legacies. The presence of the Ku Klux Klan and others of like mind must be cause for alarm in America’s racially divided nation. In conclusion, knowledge, skills, and awareness in leadership in a diverse and multicultural environment could be an added advantage for millions in management worldwide.

Book Reviews: Comparisons and Contrasts

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Summarized herein in the form of an essay is a review of two books written by two distinguished authors of European origin. The books, Eternal Egypt: the Civilization of Egypt from Earliest Times to Conquest by Alexander the Great by Frenchman Pierre Montet translated from the original French by Doreen Weightman and Africa: a Biography of the Continent by Anglo-Saxon, John Reader.

In his book, Africa: A Biography of the Continent, John Reader, eulogizes the prevalence of domesticated plants and animals, technological innovation, the establishment of villages and increasing level of social interdependence in the now empty and waterless Sahara desert even before the pyramids were built (Reader, p. 151). On the other hand, he articulately and meritoriously adduces evidences regarding the cultivation of food-crops such as wheat, barley, peas, and lentils along the Nile River despite these crops being cultivated earlier some 9,000 years ago in the “fertile crescent” of the Near East in reference to “the land between the two rivers”, formerly in the ancient nation of Mesopotamia and currently in the modern state of Iraq. Thus, cultivation of indigenous African plants did not begin in Egypt but rather in the south, an indication of the ancient nation of Nubia. Nubia, a vast land straddling the Nile valley to the south of Egypt was once a colony of Egypt. Both authors unanimously confirm the colonization of Nubia by Egypt. Pierre Montet further explicates how Nubians had their own form of arts and crafts and at the same time borrowed Egyptian artistic traditions (Montet, p. 118).

Rich in natural resources, Nubia was, for over 1,000 years, a major supplier of gold, ivory, timber, animal products, and slaves to Egypt until the emergence of powerful Nubian rulers who instituted a centralized authority that would have severe repercussions on the dwindling pharaonic empires. The arrival of powerful invading Assyrian armies wielding weapons of iron eventually led to the collapse of the once powerful Cushitic kingdom in Nubia. Both authors acknowledge the majesty of the civilization that thrived in Meroe. “Yet the Kingdom of Meroe can be given credit for having carried Egyptian civilization further south than the pharaohs themselves had ever succeeded in doing”, says so Pierre Montet while John Reader concludes its downfall accordingly: “Meroe was effectively an expression of Egyptian civilization rooted in what the pharaohs had called the land of punt-indigenous black Africa.”

The absence of genuine documentation, as Montet claims, is convincing evidence that Egyptians did not reach the confluence of the two Niles. Perhaps, by the two Niles, the author is referring to the two tributaries the Blue Nile originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia and the White Nile which originates in Lake Victoria and is at the confluence of the Bahr al-Ghazal and Bahr al-Jabel Rivers.

At least the two authors agree on the name “punt” to which they separately refer to as “the land of the God” (Montet, p. 120) and “God’s land” (Reader, p. 196). On the other hand, the authors fail to agree on the exact location of punt in our modern world map. Pierre Montet suggestively assumes the location of punt to have been in the Bay of Hafun figuratively pointing it to the south of Cape Guardafui. In a nutshell, he is of the view that the incense-bearing tree Queen Hatshepsut sought after to exploit is plentifully found in Africa and Arabia Felix respectively.
Pierre Montet, despite employing persuasive historical and scientific research methodologies gained from his many years of distinguished career as an Egyptologist and his accumulated experience during work at the German Archaeological Institute of Berlin, fails to garner convincing consensus to uncovering the validity of the Land of Punt. He implausibly postulates two unrelated localities and as a final point fails to make amends with the reader. In their pursuit of literary reputation, no wonder, many writers tend to huggermugger. On the contrary, John Reader, relying on available evidence, easily recapitulates without making mangled assumptions by placing the location of punt “between the Red Sea and the southern Kordofan province of the Sudan”. Several African tribes and states lay claim to the historical Cush kingdom.

Most notably, Somalis, Amhara, Tigre, Nubians, Oromo, and Sudanese-Arabs place profound hereditary and historical inclination to the Cushitic kingdom of old. Currently, in the modern state of Somalia, there is a region known as Puntland located on the eastern corner of Somalia bordering the Red Sea and closest the Gulf of Aden where frankincense and myrrh -the two most prominent products sought after by ancient Egyptian pharaohs abundantly grow in the wild to this day.

Whichever claim is true; our reliance on historical inscriptions found in the tombs and pyramids of Nubia and Egypt and information gathered from archeological excavations should be enough to serve as concrete and compelling evidence for the moment simply for educational purposes until novel exposures reveal otherwise in the future.

What amuses the skeptical reader is the paragraph in John Reader’s book that state, “the concept of the Nile as a corridor through which the civilizing influence were conveyed to sub-Saharan Africa is the basis of an essentially Eurocentric interpretation of African history, implying that Africans were incapable of developing their own versions of civilization. It has an appealing simplicity, but is contradicted by the evidence.” (Reader, p.195). In one way one or the other, the author himself seems not to the point as regards whether Africans were civilized or not. The judge who could arbitrate on the flimsy and much-debated issue of who-was-who in African civilization is the infant and tender baby archeology whose distinct brushes and micro-blades have failed to go beyond the borders of America, North Africa, and Europe. John Reader reports that, according to the high official Henu, the expedition was undertaken on behalf of Montuhotep III c.1975 BC. On the other hand, Pierre Montet states that the ships were built in Chaldea and that they “sailed down the Euphrates to the Persian Gulf, went round the enormous Arabian Peninsula and eventually reached the land of Punt.” Reader tries to make a case in point by claiming the ship was carried piece by piece across 150 km of desert to the Red Sea coast. (Reader p. 196)
Cited Sources
Pierre Montet, Eternal Egypt: The Civilization of Egypt from Earliest Times to Conquest by Alexander the Great, 5 Upper Saint Martin’s Lane, London WC2H 9EA
John Reader, Africa: A Biography of the Continent, Alfred A. Knopf, New York 1998
Ibid. (Montet, p. 118)
Ibid. (Reader 197)
Ibid. (Montet, p. 120)
Ibid (Reader p. 199)
Ibid (Reader, p. 196)
Ibid (Reader p. 195)
Ibid (Monetet p. 124)

Somalia’s Proliferation of Tectonic Cantons and the Quest for Tribal ‘Lands’

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All of Somalia’s so-called leaders share one mindset: the dismemberment of the country into cantons ruled by ruthless tribal chieftains whose ultimate goal is to ensure the security and protection of their clans. Previously, it was Somaliland that seceded in 1992 though not recognized by the international community. What is currently referred to as Somaliland, was before the collapse of the military government in 1991, composed of five separate provinces, namely Awdal, Sanaag, Sool, Togdheer and the North West region. However, despite Somaliland claiming sovereignty, the three regions of Sool, Sanaag, and Cayn remain violence prone as the inhabitants of these regions prefer to remain with the rest of Somalia.

In 1998, Somalia’s former Eastern region, declared autonomy with established governing institutions in place headed by a president and seconded by a cabinet. During the colonial era, this part of Somalia currently called Puntland was known as Majertinia-a reference to the Majertein clan that is the dominant clan in the region. Now we have Maakhirland, GalMudug, and Hiiraanland-each drawing governing styles from their predecessors Somaliland and Puntland.

The current transitional government of Somalia has no mandate over the rest of the country because it is surrounded by hostile Jihadi forces determined to enforce sharia law by sheer force. With his mandate restricted to an area the size of the Vatican, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the current transitional president, relies on African Union forces for protection.

The recent inhuman expulsion by the Puntland autonomous government of internally displaced persons from central and southern Somalia to the unforgiving city of Galkayo demonstrates the sadistic and appalling behavior of Somali tribal leaders and their total disregard for harmony and coexistence of Somali tribal groups. Perhaps, the current visible territorial divisions will set the stage for a future federal government based on tribal demarcations.

Atomically-Charged Sheikh Atom and Faroole’s Violation of Refugee Protocol

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Somalia's Puntland regional state under Abdirahman Faroole is in flagrant violation of the international refugee protocol for forcefully repatriating refugees from central and southern Somalia to the city of Galkayo. To avenge the escalation of violence and assassination of political figures perpetuated by unknown factions in towns and cities across the autonomous state of Puntland, President Faroole's administration has embarked on a sweeping security swoop that target innocent refugees from southern and central Somalia.

According to a UNHCR report carried by AFP news service, approximately 900 refugees have been forcefully repatriated to the city of Galkayo so far and the figure could be rising. After being uprooted from their homes in Puntland and after being subjected to brutal punishment and harsh treatment by the police in Puntland, these poor displaced persons have been left abandoned in a city where conditions remain unforgiving. A clear explanation of the area of conflict and the politics behind is best explained by Ali H. Abdulla in his article The Galgala conflict and its misleading Association with Islamic Extremism.

Having been a refugee himself in Australia-in fact a PhD Candidate at La Trobe University, Australia-Faroole should have known better how to preserve the sanctity of human life. Anyone with an iota of mercy should be perturbed at how a man who has been a refugee himself in the past in a foreign country living-off on taxpayers money, becomes an enemy unto his fellow needy countrymen and countrywomen who have settled in his canton in search of peace and prosperity and the pursuit of justice.

In a recent interview with a Somali news service, a spokesman for GalMudug confided that those who were evicted from Puntland have been law-abiding citizens. These mass deportations have not escaped international media scrutiny and human rights organizations. Some television stations continuously rebroadcast the same event for days. Faroole’s inhuman actions are in par with the harsh conditions subjected to poor Somali refugees living in Saudi Arabia who often become victims of repatriations by the dreaded cane-wielding Saudi police.

Faroole’s administration is in violation of international journalism and freedom of press. The arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of Abdifatah Jama Mire, Director of Horseed Media, has been strongly condemned by the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). “Today press freedom was buried in broad day light in Puntland and indeed it is a black day for independent journalism in Puntland and all across Somalia,” said a statement from NUSOJ. The statement by Omar Faruk Osman titled NUSOJ Condemns 6-year jail sentence against media Director in Puntland, states that Abdifatah was caged for six years simply for interviewing Sheikh Atom.

Undoubtedly, Puntland under Faroole has had its share of regional instability and more violence is expected to follow soon. The sighting of heavy military hardware destined for Sheikh Atom’s forces in the northern Galgala Mountains must be a source of concern for Faroole's poor state. Reports that the Sheikh’s tribesmen are pouring into Galgala must not be taken lightly in any way and that's why the area is constantly becoming atomically charged day after day. Having incited international maritime piracy in his region and having abetted human trafficking across the Gulf of Aden, the administration in Puntland feels it has no other alternative left in the eyes of the international community other than opening a new political inferno.

In the Galgala Mountains, Sheikh Atom is mobilizing a die-hard army of religiously motivated youth whose goal is to unite with the Islamist forces in the south. In Mogadishu and in the south and central Somalia, the forces of Hizb al-Islam and al-Shabab are more than determined to overthrow Puntland State as soon as they are done with the current bitter struggles they are engaged in with the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), Ahlu Sunna wal-Jama'a and AMISOM forces respectively.

The expulsion of southern and central Somali refugees from Puntland has put Abdirahman Faroole in a political dilemma. For now, his administration remains besieged from all sides by remorseless forces. Meanwhile, al-Shabab's black flag is flying high in the mountains of Galgala despite Puntland forces claiming to have routed Sheikh Atom’s forces. Even if Atom’s were to be dispersed and defeated, one thing is clear: they will regroup and resort to guerilla warfare-the same tactics employed by the Union of Islamic Courts when Ethiopia’s occupation forces poured into Somalia.

During the Vietnam War, the “men in black pajamas” caused great havoc for the world’s strongest army and for today in Somalia, it will be a headache for any force to defeat the “men in green pajamas”. Consequently, Faroole's recent inhuman expulsions will further incite violence and endanger the lives of millions of Puntlanders. Perhaps, instead of repatriating these displaced people, it was best they were left in peace to assimilate for the good of Puntland’s economy.

Unlimited Somali Ideophones Revealed

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In this fast moving 21st Century of information superhighway, you should feel obliged to expose yourself to the rest of the world so that your presence in words and deeds can be felt by others.

Long time ago, it was the Europeans who studied our languages and cultures and then published them in their lands while making hefty profits from these publications for the future of their grandchildren. Today, it is quite different as the computer enables anyone with the will to write to do so without much stress as information about the whole world has been fed into search engines and libraries for quick retrievals. That means, anyone who is computer literate can write exhaustively in almost any language and yet reap the same hefty profits or more than the Europeans made in their heydays.

Watch out what I'm about to reveal. It is nothing new to you since these are words in our wonderful Somali language that revolve around in our daily conversations. But first let's have a glimpse of where in the world the Somali language is mostly spoken.

The Somali language, spoken by over 15 million worldwide, is popular in Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya, and Ethiopia; it is also spoken by immigrant Somali communities living in North America, the EU, and the Middle East, and quite a number living in some African countries and other parts of the world. It was first written in Latin in 1972 during the reign of Mohamed Siyad Barre (deposed and deceased).

Language is the method people communicate with each other using gestures, sounds, disarticulation, and good organization while phonology is the study of sounds and sound structures in a language and incorporates phonetics and phonemics. Differences abound in dialect or accent among speakers of the Somali language depending on where one lives.

Dialect means a language composition spoken among people of different social and regional defining features due to sexual characteristics, ethnic group, and background. The intermingling of the Somali with other societies has brought about changes in accent, dialectical composition, sounds, and pronunciations. So far, many dictionaries have been printed in Somali that circulate in many parts of the world, though; further work and additions may be needed to accommodate all speakers.

Consequently, many polyglots attest to the strangeness of the Somali language and its abundance in ideophones used instead of words. These sounds describe peculiar actions as they happen and may also be found in Bantoid, Hamitic, Cushitic or Omotic, and other Nilotic langauages.

Sounds or ideophones are few in the English language with the exception of a few you may have heard many times like: the ding dong of a church bell or the tick tock of a clock. In contrast, it is quite different in Somali as sound sciences commence from the time a child is conceived when it is referred to as mujuq, munjuq, or munjuluq-meaning delicate in nature and appearance.

Buluq, which may be described as the sound composed during delivery that evolved as a result of the baby's contact with amniotic fluid-the transitional period from the womb to the hands of the gynecologist and baq when it is laid to rest on a hard surface which could be the skin or hide of an earlier sacrificial lamb reverberating with a qabac sound.

The waaq of ducks; caac of crows; baj or tufoo from the act of spitting; fiif or fuuf from the act of nose blowing; quxu and qax qax from coughing; bac which denotes a baby's flimsy blow; taw meaning to jump or spring up; fag or fagax means to run; fiiq describes the action of sipping tea; nac nac being useless talk; baf which implies to break or dislocate a bone; kaf is to separate two co-joined things or raf to pull with sheer force; yac or yoo being regret; ruq which means to uproot and jiiq from door lacking lubrication are sounds entirely used as describing actions as they happen instead of words.

Wab, wish, or nash all mean to whip or cane as punsihment; haw and fash indicate flow of blood or liquid; with ham being baby feeding technique; buc buc means a baby is stomach full; dhuq dhuq and fajaq are romantic acts; dhaq dhaq and dhiq dhiq all mean uncontrolled laughter; biq is anger; wac is a blow; qac is someone of low intelligence; kaw is demise while naf means being at the brink of death; biiq is being a coward or may also mean the act of breaking wind or furting.

Murux means laceration; bash is the breaking of glass; wiif is a stray bullet and qish or qash is to plagiarize. Wir or car is to dare something that will have consequences; muluq is recuperation; dhaw or dhac is a slap; wagagac is the flash of lightning; baq is fermentation or being frightened; bul is a blaze; jiq is like an impenetrable forest; juuq and jaaq means keep quiete and say nothing; dhub or dhukub denotes one is deaf or hearing impaired; jaf is to peel; uu and aa all mean a war cry or groan in pain; qajac is chuffing of feet; kadh, qadhab, and kadhaw mean to staple together while baw is the beating of drums.

Jug means a blow or to swallow with force; juq or nuq is to penetrate or insert; tatatac is to walk lamely; dalaq means to enter without aim or knowledge of or to swallow as in food; qub though meaning to spill or maize cob, it also denotes the sound emanating from players of certain past time games; while qab is echo from a door shutting or closing.

Haakah is sound emitted by one bitten by an insect or serpent while it also may be the alarm sounded by one scared of injections or thorns; hodhodho implies empty or useless talk; xuf and xaaf is speed; manaq manaq is being mischievous; bodh bodh connotes bubbling; bidh bidh represents radiance or an object appearing from a distance; fagax is to race; buq is the sound made when a lid is removed from a container; balaq means to collapse though it also means the male organs; jaw is a continuously reverberating sound; fatalaq is to tumble; jaq is to suckle while ciic is to use sheer force to emit excretion.

Fud and foq all mean to spring out as from a hole or enclosure; faq is to scramble; fashuuq is to squeeze as lemon or orange; fash indicates gushing liquid or blood; bash again means to splash; daf is to snatch; rif means shearing or jerking of hair; kud iyo kir means "back off with your aggression"; kaf is to rip off; quuq and qaaq is a form of crying; qiiq which means smoke also is the abrupt application of car brakes; damug and dam refer to total darkness or blindness; qumbuluq is to fall in to a ditch; qajajac is to crush under the feet or unsubstantiated talk; huuhaa implies talking senselessly; hayaay is an exclamation; shiiq applies to frying; shab denotes spraying or splashing while bariiq is to trip over, stuck in mud or fail an exam or quiz.

Fuuq is to drink heavy drinks like milkshake or creamy liquid; bacaac is the cry of the lamb while baac is a fool; fadfad is the bubbling of sticky cornmeal on a cooking pot; xaax is to feel cold; xuux is to instill fear in children; yaq is something nasty in appearance; aq is uttered when smoke disturbs one's visibility; yar is astonishment; uf is bad smell; bash is for any object that split into pieces when dropped while bush is when a jelly-like substance falls on the floor then splits in to bish; shabaax is sound from sea waves or meandering river water; dhibiq is for falling droplets; dhaw dhaw and qaw qaw is scrubbing of metals; hatishow is to sneeze; qabac qabac is when an object is blown by the wind; qab qab and dhow dhow is a knock on a door; brrr can be sounded with lubricated lips and is commonly used by livestock herders when watering their animals with ish and cay sounded when driving livestock.

Hag is used to move a donkey faster; haah is sounded when bringing goats to a resting place; tuuw enables a camel to kneel down; heey and jac is to scare away wild animals especially at night while jooh is to restrain a camel or bull.

Nig, dhag or rig is a slight blow or slap; nag means impossible; dhab is to tighten or hold tightly and tuss is the release or escape of air from a balloon. Qalaw qalaw is the ringing of a bell or like nature; "wii is the sound made by a wounded or dying Dik-dik and way is an exclamation of distress or disappointment (Professor Georgi Kapchits) while qar-rac is to tear apart. "Wii Sagaaro iyo way Sokeeye midna lagama soo waaqsado" (Somali proverb).

Such is the simplicity of sounds in the Somali language and that communication in clicks is possible among select groups without resorting to words; therefore, allowing them create exceptional form of conversation that flows ceaselessly and flawlessly more or less similar and of the same wavelength with some Southern African click languages.

In the absence of a strong central government and the collapse of our educational systems, our beautiful mother tongue is headed for extinction. The only way to resuscitate it is through the formation of a strong national government before 2010 slips away.

The Unsolved Misery and Suffering of Somalia’s Minority Tribes

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“An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor does a black have any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood”-Prophet Muhammad’s farewell message

The West has time and again been accused of pioneering social divide along color lines with whites enjoying the fruits of independence and the black race clinging to the bottom of the ladder in social, economic, and political life. In America, it was as recently as 1965 when Rosa Parks, a black woman riding in a public transportation was plucked out of a metro bus for refusing to vacate her seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. Rosa Parks’ great grandfather was of Scottish/Irish ancestry. This event triggered a racial revolution that continues to have tremendous impact on the daily lives of millions of Americans to this day. In modern-day India, the ancient division of society into categories resulted in the creation of the caste system where the lowest and most despised are categorized as Dalits, untouchables or outcasts. In order to conceal or erase the derogatory name Dalit from the specter of society, Mahatma Gandhi concocted the name Harijan which means ‘children of god’. Similarly, in today’s Europe, descendants of the once thriving Roma civilization are unable to come to grips with daily social huddles and communal stratification. Unfair treatment of the Roma society and denial of basic necessities continue without legal justification. The use of the insulting name ‘gypsy’ is still dominant in many European languages.

Upon taking over the mandate of what was once Ruanda-Urundi (Rwanda-Burundi) from Germany, the Belgians elevated the rank and file of the taller Tutsi tribe over the medium height Hutu and the shorter Twa or forest people. Belgian and French demographers and anthropologists gave conflicting views regarding the cause of the visible height difference between the three Central African tribes. However, it was Marcus Garvey who theoretically attributed the tall stature of the Tutsis to the abundant dietary intake extracted from livestock raring with meat and milk providing vital proteins necessary for growth and development. The survival of the medium height Hutus depended on farming while the Twa or forest people lived off the land as hunters/gatherers.

Until the inauguration of Nelson Mandela in 1994 as the first black president, a form of social stratification known as apartheid (separateness) existed in South Africa. Following the election of 1948, a new legislation that classified inhabitants into black, white, colored, and Indian came into effect. A similar enforcement in 1958 stripped blacks of their South African citizenship. This enforcement paved way for the creation of self-governing homelands known as Bantustans- a raw deal that delivered inferior services to blacks. Up until 1994, white Afrikaners referred to blacks as ‘Kaffir’-a derogatory word borrowed from Arabic that means ‘heathen’, ‘infidel’ or ‘disbeliever’. Portuguese mariners were the first absorb the disparaging word from the Arabs thereafter calling black people they encountered along the coasts ‘Kaffir’. They passed on to the Dutch, Germans, and then the British.

However, in Africa, the legacy of slavery, imperialism, and colonialism left a bleak picture in social demographics with superiority of one tribe over another tribe remaining ubiquitous up to this day in the absence of social control and pertinent legislation. Even though majority of Somalia’s tribes or clans may claim to have suffered the most during the twenty years of the civil war, undoubtedly, it is the minority tribes who have been subjected to pain and anguish and other forms of collective punishment before and during the two decades of hostilities. The rise of the notorious warlords that emerged after the fall of the military junta in 1991 brought to an end to thriving civilizations along the southern coast of Somalia and along the banks of the agriculturally productive Juba and Shebelle rivers respectively.

For centuries, Somalia’s marginalized societies provided the aristocratic warmongering nomadic ‘Tartar Horsemen’ with the essential war implements such as spears and shields, knives, daggers and scabbards, cooking utensils, sewing needles, axes and machetes, and clothing and shoes to conduct warfare, and the grain for warrior survival. In contemporary Somalia- beginning with the proclamation of independence in 1960-a section of majority tribes controlled the military, managed government business, and directed the economic sector while a sizable population lived peripatetic ancient lifestyles raring livestock away from the splendor of civilization. The displacement of the Bravanese, Bajuni, and Bantu tribes that industriously provided the bulk of Somalia’s fishing and agricultural produce triggered shortage of essential commodities and hastened massive national starvation.

In later years, the disintegration of the Somali navy fleet saw the nation’s expansive coastline fall victim to illegal fishing by foreign trawlers dragging internationally prohibited fishing nets consequently depleting the once blooming fish species. The sudden termination and crumbling of the Somali fishing industry resulted in the conception of piracy dragnets coordinated by disgruntled members of the defunct Somali Navy and former fishermen along the world’s busiest shipping lanes eventually prompting international condemnations and allied interventions. Regardless of the arrest, trial, and imprisonment of a handful of pirates by allied navies and the subsequent killing of an equal number, ransom money generated from merchant ships captured by Somali pirates has swamped the dwindling economies of a few Horn of African nations.

In the Juba and Shebelle regions, warlords embarked on massive land grabbing schemes resulting in the confiscation of farmlands belonging to struggling families. These unmitigated actions resulted in the same farmers reduced to playing the task of sharecropping or at times succumbing to the role of laboring in their confiscated farms while earning ‘starvation wages’. Mockingly, some of the warlords replaced the grabbed farmlands with huge marijuana plantations. They forced the displaced farmers to partake in the implementation of their illicit drug industry. Shockingly, the bulk of fighters serving Somalia’s warring factions are displaced farmers, fishermen, tradesmen, widowed mothers and orphaned children.

Even the Digil/ Mirifle, two large tribes occupying Bay region, Somalia’s ‘bread basket- who are anthropologically Somali in physical features but linguistically speak a language unintelligible to the other three bigger tribes, have not been exempt from the atrocities that followed the collapse of the central government. Baidoa, the capital city of Bay province was dubbed ‘the City of Death’ by the western media in 1992 due to widespread hunger that evolved after pitiless militias torched granaries that housed the region’s agricultural produce. It was this atrocity that prompted the international community to declare a humanitarian disaster with the U.S. and the U.N. spearheading what became known as Operation Restore Hope.

Besides, Somalia had a handful of ostracized minority tribes whose primary source of survival was the art of shoemaking, metal forging, and running of slaughterhouses, house décor, tailoring, and ownership of amusement centers. These tribes also produced talented musicians and great entertainers. In Somalia’s capital city of Mogadishu, there is a tribe called ‘Rer Hamar’; because of their light-skinned complexion, Somalis call them ‘Cad-Cad’-meaning whitish. They are industrious, creative, and highly skilled in many trades that are alien to the domineering Somali. There are also the Tumaal and Madhibaan who, despite being highly skilled, have been subjected to harsh living conditions for centuries. The use of derogatory language was rampant in Somalia. While curly or soft-haired Somalis regarded themselves as ‘jileec’, they referred to Somali-Bantus as ‘jareer’-a term denoting thorny or hard-haired. It was not permissible for minority tribes to marry from majority clans and vice versa. The trend continues to this day.

Ramada Mubarak! Ramadan Kareem

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Islamic Events 2010*
•Al-Hijra - 1st Muharramn (Islamic New Year) December 18, 2009
•Israa'/Me'raj (Night Journey to Heavens) July 08, 2010
•Lailatul-Bara'at (Night of Salvation) July 26, 2010
•Ramadan Fasting Begins in North America: August 11, 2010*
•Lailat Ul Qadr (Night of Power): September 05, 2010
•Eid-Al-Fitr (End of Ramadan): September 10, 2010
•Eid-al-Adha (10th Zul-Hijjah) November 16, 2010

The Horrors of Female Genital Mutilation

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I have a bone to pick with our friendly readers and esteemed followers of this blog. For almost two decades beginning with the fall of the military junta in Somalia in 1991, the most burning issue posted on many Somali web sites and continuously debated over and over echoed topics related to the state of the Somali nation yet little attention has been given to social issues- especially the most excruciating practice that has caused unspeakable pain and suffering to our daughters, sisters, mothers, nieces, and grandmothers-living or dead.

It is a practice that is commonly known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)-a practice whose origins remain shrouded in mystery. Other than unreliable mythological explanations, questionable rationality, historical narratives devoid of relative validity, and philosophical thoughts immersed in objectivity, societies who practice FGM have miserably failed to come up with religiously and theoretically convincing evidence regarding its benefits to womankind.

Female Genital Mutilation-also known as FGM was coined by the United Nations to refer to a practice found in some African and Middle Eastern cultures whose origin goes back to the era of the pharaohs of Egypt (though no historical data exist to substantiate such claim) where women underwent the ritual of clitoridectomy which implied the removal of the clitoris, and infibulations meaning to surgically cut-off either the labia minora or labia majora or all at the same time.

Many reasons have been given as to why people of those days applied this agonizing procedure to their wives and daughters. One theory suggests that Egypt of those days was always embroiled in wars internally and externally which meant women and girls left behind became prey to servants and other men around them. We also learn from authorities familiar with the cultural practices of Egypt, Nubba, Abyssinia, and Somalia how women resorted to unusual artificial sexual procedures to satisfy their sexual desires in the absence of their men. One definition to infibulation is “to close off or obstruct the genitals of, especially by sewing together the labia majora in females or fastening the prepuce in males, so as to prevent sexual intercourse.” [1] The picture shown above depicts a female baby being circumcised probably without procedural anesthesia. The surgical tool being used in the operation, regardless of whether it is a double-edged Gillette or a Nacet blade could be contaminated and may have been used dozens of times.

To discourage a victim of circumcision from raising any objection to the procedure in adulthood, parents ensure their daughters undergo the cut at an early age. Here are some key facts from the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding FGM:
• Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally alter or injure female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
• The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women.
• Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later, potential childbirth complications and newborn deaths.
• An estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM.
• It is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15 years.
• In Africa an estimated 92 million girls from 10 years of age and above have undergone FGM.
• FGM is internationally recognized as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

For many women, FGM is a rite of Passage. The healing duration depends on the strength of the victim’s immune system. Medications used during convalescence include application of sifted ash to affected area, herbal medications, sprinkling of capsule powder (preferably antibiotics) or any feasible medication. In many societies where the practice is widespread, it is societal pressures that lead women to undergo the procedure as a precondition for marriage. [2] Regardless of the implications this pharaonic practice may have on women and girls, leaders who are strict in the observation of local customs condone the continuation of the practice as a deterrence for HIV/AIDS epidemic and other sexually transmitted diseases.

In some communities such as in Sudan and Somalia, the practice is so common that it is as if those engaged in the practice are going by the adage, “old customs die hard”. Almost 90% of women in Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia have had the cut in one form or the other. Worldwide, the practice is widespread in 28 countries. Feeling emotionally broken, females who feel affected most by the cut have a propensity to resort to atheism or other religious practices after renouncing the faiths they grew up in. In some documented cases, immigrant parents living in the west have been accused of taking girls back to countries of origin to undergo the cut.

While many who practice FGM cite religious references, some Islamic scholars disprove its use in the strongest terms. Those scholars who refute FGM claim it is neither obligatory nor supererogatory and that it is simply tribal customs that has been in continuation for millenniums. FGM leads to lacerations, microbes, and deformities. As you will see on a YouTube debate between two Arabic-speaking scholars conducted by a female moderator on memritv, 95% of Egyptian prostitutes are circumcised while 100% of prostitutes of the west aren’t. [3]

The agony faced by the millions of women who had the cut cannot be described in a simple essay. Removing the clitoris of a woman is like removing the penis or tongue of a man. Where there is no tongue, there is no sense of taste; and where there is no penis, penetration, climax, and erection are hard to achieve. No matter how many Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra a penis-less man consumes and no matter the power and pressure of suction of an erection pump, sexual satisfaction will remain an elusive attraction. We'll leave it to our experts to come up with remedial measures to save the rest who are waiting in line for the procedure from further harm.

[1] http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/infibulate

[2] Iraqi Kurdistan: Girls and Women Suffer the Consequences of Female Genital Mutilation, June 16, 2010
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/06/16/iraqi-kurdistan-girls-and-women-suffer-consequences-female-genital-mutilation

[3]

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