WAR DAGAALAN MAXAA KU FILAN GEBIGIISABA!

Waa dhaqaaq, cadhowga u dhaqaaq oo qorigana ugu fiiq, xabaduna ugu rid!! Waxay ciidamada qarkood ey leyihiin 'noo daaya!, keligey inoo dayaa' laakin cid loo dayinaya ma jirto! Nin waliba faraha sida loogu taaganyahay, war 'ii dayaa, ii dayaa' ayay xaadladeenu marisa! Laakin cid loo dayniya ma jirto! Isaguna waxa weyaan 'iiiiiiiiiii' faqashta. WAR FAQASH KUMA NOOLA WAA MAYDH BARIYE WEYAAN! Waxa weyaan maantu qoomameynaya Afweyne, maanta ayuu ogyahay xaaladisu halkey marisa markey wadan kii oo dhan lagaga qabsaday! Inta yer, waxa yer oo idin ku xadhay [waa gudagalka maagaalada Berbera bisha koobaad oo sandaki 1991ka] ha la qabsado. Weerarku waynu dhamayne waxa hadhsan dhaqdhaqaaqgi iyo kudufashadi, bes! Teg imikada waa inanay in yar ee ku xadhsan bi'idinillah!

Translation:

During the final battles of the civil war in the Northern region of the Horn of Africa [modern day Somaliland] the Somali National Movement [Ururka Dhaqdhaqaaqa Wadaniga Somaaliyeed] were moving into the port city of Berbera. Much of the war had been captured on film by the Isaaq expatriate community who sought to document the situation in the region. This gave people around the world unique access to the happenings of the war that they could not find anywhere else [the war took place between 1984-1991]. A speech from one of the Commanders of the division [Qaybta Saddexaad, Aaga Medina, Sayid Ali] had been captured on the final days of the battle to take the key strategic port city of Berbera. This is a translation of part of the speech that was delivered on the momentous occasion:

What is war worth if the value that you assign it is worthless in the afterlife! This is our battle and we will win! And move with determination directly to your enemy, point all of your guns towards them and empty your magazines and let the bullets fly! There are members of our brotherhood who are saying 'Let us have them' and there are those of us with good reason who are saying 'Leave them to me!' But no one person or group will be left with this responsibility. The enemy are running scared and you can hear their cries 'iiiiiii' . THE ENEMY ARE NOT WORTHY OF LIFE, THEY ARE THE WALKING DEAD! Afweyne [the then dictator Mohammed Siyaad Barre] is running scared, he has found out that his position is untenable as we have captured the land he claims to govern! Your final goal is to take what is left [the port city of Berbera, which the SNM re-entered and re-captured in January 1991 effectively ending the armed struggle against the Barre regime]. The siege of the city has ended, what remains for us to do is to hit and hit them hard and thats it! Go now and finish the job with the Grace of Allah!

Exclusive: How MI5 blackmails British Muslims

In an earlier post The Independent on Sunday reported in September of this year that there was a real existential threat from Somalis in the UK who had travelled back and forth from their war torn motherland. They could represent a fifth column that could compromise the fragile and delicate nature of mainstream society.

However, they seem to have forgotten that earlier in the year, on the 21st May, their Law Editor Robert Verkaik revealed an exclusive about Somalis being profiled by the Home Office and their rights being undermined by representatives of the government department. Read here for the full story of how youth workers from the London Borough of Camden, whose cause is now being championed by Frank Dobson MP, were being blackmailed by Home Office officials who are desperate to gain a quick win in the war on terror.

This duplicity of The Independent raises an interesting question about the status of the corporate media in helping to cement government policy in the public sphere. On the same topic, regarding members of the same community in the UK, they managed to take up diametrically opposed positions on the status of Somalis. In this respect, the vagaries of one community in a multicultural society is being placed in the public sphere for a debate without the voice of that community being heard.

Pluralism as a result suffers in this regard. Dialogue is replaced by monologue. The social exclusion suffered by members of the Somali community is reinforced by the appropriation of their public profile by corporate bodies and groups. For wider matters of social cohesion and with a view to developing community conversations; these developments are a hammer blow to the goals of achieving a civil society for all.

Xus iyo Maamuus

Si loo sugo jiritaanka magaca halgamayaashii ayaa mid ka mid ah labada xaafadood ee ugu waaweyn Hargeysa loogu magacdaray Mujaahid Lixle. Waxaan marna maanku hilmaamayn siidayntii maxaabiistii Madheera oo guul weyn aheyd hagardaamana ku aheyd dawladii habaarqabto.

Sheekh Aadan Siiro oo ka hadlayey mujaahid Lixle ayaa lahaa : “Mujaahid Lixle wuxuu ka mid yahay dadka tirada yar ee dhifta ah ee ummada reer Somaliland ku dhaadato”. Waxaanu xusay Sheekh Aadan Siiro in ay ayaan daro tahay in dadkii noocaas ahaa ee udub dhexaadka u ahaa taariikhda dalka la iloobay.

Maalintaa ku beegnayd dhimashadii Mujaahid Lixle (IHUN) iyo Mujaahidiintii la geeriyoodayba waxaa loo qoondeeyey in laga dhigo maalinta Mujaahidiinta, waana maalin qiimo weyn ku leh ummada Somaliland oo aan la ilaawi karin,halka ay mujaahidiinta qaarkood ku tilmaameen inay ahayd maalintii ay isbarteen Faqash iyo SNM. Geesiga mujaahid Lixle ayaa tix iyo tiraaba lagaga hadlay, waxaana ka mid ahaa maansoyahanka magacaabay Aadan Tarabi Oogle, Maxamed Ibraahim Warsame Hadraawi, Ibraahim Aw Saleebaan Cilmi Gadhle, Maxamed Axmed Xirsi, Cali Banfas iyo rag kale oo badan.

Birjeex deedankeedii
Laga diday kulkeediyo
Degsan baan ku dhaartay
Lixle damacyadiisii
Diric Ina Saleebaan
Duxan baan ku dhaartay

Hadraawi

Hadaanan hadaanan
Hadaanan gadoodka
Lixloow guga maanta
La soo hadhin guusaha
Waxaan gabaygayga
guubaabada ciilka
Gammaanka cadhaysan
Gargooska ku naaxsho
Haddaan gulufkooda
ku soo gambiyaaye

Cali Banfas

Shilke-liqe, Shaf-buur iyo Maloosh, Shakaytiyo Waafi
Shakiib Burur, Shiri iyo Nagiib, Shaarub iyo Xaamud
Shir-bilihii Koosaar iyo Tusbax, Shiishaayiyo Aaden
Shayib Gurey, Shabcaaniyo Bidhiidh, Sheekeeyiyo Raage
Shulaac iyo Malgaash iyo Lixle, Shoodhe Gacma-dheere

Yuusuf Dhamac Xasa

Hindisihii ina Xaashi waa, Lama Hilmaamaane
Duqsi waa Halkuu Galay Raggii, Huriyay Duullaane
Waa Halkuu Wadaad-Diid Go`aan, Qaatahy aan Hadhine
Waa Horseedkii Koosaar Wadiyo, Haybsigii Madare
Waa Horkicii Jimcaaliyo Ragguu, Soo Hannaan baraye

Maxamed Cali Cartan (Haldeeq).

The Red Sea, The Yemen and East Africa form the Bermuda Triangle: Where people get 'lost'

Tom Morris

The Guardian

11 October 2009

Yemen's forgotten refugee crisis


As conditions in Yemen worsen, hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees are increasingly abandoned and abused


Somali refugees in Sana'a are angry. Sitting on the concrete floor of a "community centre" with no facilities, they pour out grievances against the government and the UN refugee agency. "Those who come to Yemen are the unluckiest refugees in the world," says one. "We are in an open prison. Why do they save our lives at the end of our perilous journeys only to abandon us?" The Somalis are jobless, hungry and increasingly unwelcome in the poorest Arab nation.
Yemen – the only country in the Arabian peninsula to have signed the 1951 Refugee Convention – is powerless to stop Somalis and Ethiopians from crossing the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Somalis are smuggled from Bossaso in the de facto state of Puntland and Ethiopians from Djibouti. Yemen recognises the claims of Somalis (but not Ethiopians) to refugee status.
Somalis thus report to reception centres where they are given food, water and a chance to recuperate after the two- to three-day crossing. Only a tiny minority can pay the several hundred dollars required by smuggling networks attempting to get them to Saudi Arabia. It is thought that most of those facilitating clandestine movement onward from Yemen – whether of refugees from the Horn of Africa, Yemeni migrants seeking work in Saudi Arabia or women and children trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation or domestic labour – are Yemenis.
UNHCR believes that in 2008 more than 50,000 Somalis reached Yemen and more than a thousand died. International efforts to work with the Puntland authorities to deter smugglers seem half-hearted. Those recently displaced from Mogadishu or fleeing unprecedented drought in northern Somalia may bring this year's total to between 80,000 and 100,000.
It is impossible to estimate the number of Ethiopians, as they are regarded as illegal migrants and hide from the authorities. Ignoring its obligations under the refugee convention, Yemen forcibly returns those who are political dissidents to uncertain fates in Addis Ababa.
Not all refugees are equal. Donors enable the UNHCR to feed and provide healthcare for Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria and Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt drop in. No celebs go to Sana'a and Aden. There has been a temptation for humanitarian organisations to talk up the number of Iraqi refugees in Amman and Damascus and thus leverage more funding. In Yemen there may be an opposite tendency. The government's estimate of 800,000 Somali refugees – and the popular view that there are half a million in Sana'a – is exaggerated. But UNHCR's estimate of 140,000 seems implausibly low.
Their recognised refugee status means little as almost all Somalis must fend for themselves. They generally lack the contacts with diaspora communities common among Somalis in Nairobi. Very few receive funds from relatives in the west. Some live on pavements near UNHCR's Sana'a compound.
Only the 10,000 Somalis in Yemen's single refugee camp, al-Kharaz, regularly receive food, education and healthcare. Chronic inflation makes it increasingly difficult for urban refugees to feed themselves. It used to be common for restaurants to give Somalis leftovers. Nowadays they have competition: the UN reports one in three Yemenis are hungry. Opportunities for Somali women to work as maids have declined. The only work generally available for Somali men is car-washing. Forlorn groups of men clutching rags are seen everywhere in Sana'a.
The government asserts that no restrictions are placed on Somalis seeking employment, healthcare or education, but Somalis point to systematic violation of rights. While in theory they are entitled to receive identity cards without charge, authorities routinely solicit bribes. Many cannot afford the $15 usually demanded and in any case a card may provide only limited benefits.
Police may seize ID cards and demand bribes for their return. Somalis without ID may be held overnight and asked to pay for their stay. Even if they have ID they are now banned from using public transport and report being detained at the numerous checkpoints on Yemeni highways, asked to pay bribes, arrested or dumped at the roadside without means to return to their families. It is increasingly impossible to rent accommodation without ID.
Somalis complain of indifference whenever they try to bring complaints against employers. As Yemen's public healthcare system collapses, it has become ever harder for Yemenis to access health professionals, and Somalis report being ignored when they report to government hospitals. They allege that when they are injured in car accidents they are given no help and that rapes and assaults remain uninvestigated. Only a quarter of school-age Somalis in Sana'a attend school.
Somalis allege that UNHCR does little to defend their rights to work and to move, to protect them from extortion or to monitor the staff of the Yemeni agencies contracted by UNHCR to help them. Almost all the Somali women struggling to hold families together in Sana'a would rather be in the refugee camp, fed and sheltered from harassment and racism. Somalis are accused of bringing HIV/Aids and street crime to Yemen and the pervasive belief that the Yemeni president receives bribes to allow Somalis to stay makes them fear for the future as street anger intensifies.
"What choices do we have?" asks one woman. "When you are hungry women must prostitute themselves and men must steal."
UNHCR cannot allow all the Somalis into al-Kharaz. It cannot choose its own implementing partners or force the government to give it access to detained Ethiopians. The worsening internal displacement crisis along the Saudi border is further stretching the agency's capacity.
In Yemen, UNHCR lacks the funds and the political clout to exercise its mandated role to assist and protect refugees. Yemenis are famously hospitable, but their patience is wearing thin. For all its faults, the Yemeni government has a point: if the international community ignores this refugee crisis it adds one more destabilising factor to a country at risk of becoming a failed state.
Angelina, time to fly to Sana'a

The Manufacture of Public Opinion by the Corporate Media - The Somali threat?

A disgraceful article from a left -leaning national newspaper reads as follows:

Jihad: The Somalia connection

By Brian Brady

British intelligence chiefs have targeted war-torn Somalia as the next major challenge to their efforts to repel Islamic terrorism, after scores of youths left the UK for "jihad training" in the failed African state. MI5 bosses have warned ministers that the number of young Britons travelling to Somalia to fight in a "holy war", or train in terror training camps, has soared in recent years as the country has emerged as an alternative base for radical Islamic groups including al-Qa'ida.

The Independent on Sunday understands that the number of young Britons following the trail every year has more than quadrupled to at least 100 since 2004 – and analysts warn that the true figure (which would include those who enter the country overland) will be much higher.
However, the British authorities are particularly concerned about the number of people with no direct family connection to Somalia who are travelling to fight and train there. The diversity suggests Somalia is flourishing as a training ground for radical British Muslims, who could join the local terrorist militia al-Shabaab ("the youth"), go on to join conflicts including the Afghan campaign, or return home to pose a security threat to the UK.

It was reported earlier this year that a suicide bomber from Ealing had blown himself up in an attack in Somalia that killed more than 20 soldiers. Two Somali asylum-seekers were among the four men convicted of the failed attempts to bomb the London transport system on 21 July 2005.

Although Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the main destination for British would-be jihadists, the IoS has established that British intelligence chiefs have multiplied the time and resources dedicated to monitoring the trail between Britain and Somalia. The human chain to the Horn of Africa is at the centre of a number of ongoing secret operations. The most established British Somali communities – in London, Liverpool, Cardiff and Bristol – have been placed under the microscope, but "significant investigations" have been targeted on Manchester and West Yorkshire.

The Somali connection has been played down in recent years, as security services have concentrated on more traditional terror hot spots such as Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan. A number of the "liquid bomb" plot terrorists convicted last week had Pakistani connections and the bomb makers are believed to have received training at an al-Qa'ida camp in Pakistan.
The British Somali community has grown rapidly in recent years, with thousands of refugees fleeing the fighting in their homeland. But the hardship they have experienced has raised fears that many younger British Somalis have become detached from wider society – and ripe for radicalisation. The Home Office is funding a "Prevent" strategy to tackle radicalisation in UK Muslim communities.

Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, chairman of the counterterrorism subcommittee, said: "I have
seen figures that are not in the public domain that suggest there is an increasing flow of young Britons into Somalia. There is now a mixture of British people, from numerous backgrounds, who are heading out there and that is causing great concern."

Despite international support, a series of governments has folded in the face of opposition from rival warlords over almost two decades. Al-Shabaab, a militant Islamic group with deepening ties to al-Qa'ida, is engaged in a vicious struggle with the latest transitional government.
The organisation, which has been designated a terrorist group by the US government, has imposed sharia law in the areas under its control. US officials also accuse al-Shabaab of recruiting young children to train for suicide missions in Somalia.

But it is the ability of Somali militants to reach beyond their own borders that is causing the greatest concern. A confidential report from the non-governmental organisation Partners International Foundation in 2002 identified at least 16 terrorism training camps. The Americans claim the network has grown since then.

Three men from Minneapolis have so far pleaded guilty to terror-related charges stemming from a federal investigation into Americans travelling to Somalia to fight with Islamic militants. At least three more have died, including one whom authorities believe is the first American suicide bomber. Australian authorities last month revealed they had uncovered an alleged plot by immigrants, including three Somalis, to carry out a suicide attack.

The alarm has been echoed in the UK, where undercover surveillance operations have identified a growing number of suspect visits to Somalia.

"We would have started at below 20 five years ago, when Somalia was not significant enough to be put under close surveillance," a senior Home Office source said yesterday. "It has been climbing noticeably every year. You have to remember that Somalia is not a place you would go for a holiday. It is particularly striking when people with no Somali family are going there; it looks as if some people are being attracted by the lawlessness."

The British Somali who became a suicide bomber is believed to have entered Somalia on foot, over the border from Kenya. The unnamed 21-year-old reportedly blew himself up at a checkpoint in the southern Somali town of Baidoa in 2007.

Sheikh Ahmed Aabi, a moderate Somali religious leader in Kentish Town, north London, said that he had heard from families of sons travelling to Somalia to join Islamist groups. "I'm hearing it from parents," he said. "They say they [their children] are joining the jihad. This is a big problem facing our community."

A troubled history

1960 British and Italian Somaliland join forces on independence to form the Somali Republic under the first president, Aden Abdullah Osman.

1969 Mohamed Siad Barre assumes power in a coup.

1993 US Army Rangers are killed when Somali militias shoot down US helicopters in Mogadishu. Hundreds of Somalis die in the ensuing battle, shown in Black Hawk Down. US mission formally ends in March 1994.

2007 Jan US air strikes target al-Qa'ida but reportedly kill civilians – the first known direct US military intervention since 1993. President Yusuf defends them. Interim government imposes state of emergency.

2007 Jun US warship shells suspected Al-Qa'ida targets in Puntland.

2008 Mar US launches missile strike on town of Dhoble targeting al-Qa'ida suspect wanted for

2002 bombing of Israeli hotel in Kenya. Insurgency spreads.

2008 Apr US air strike kills Aden Hashi Ayro, a leader of Al-Shabab insurgency.

2009 may Islamist insurgents attack Mogadishu.

2009 Jun Security minister killed by hotel suicide bomb. Officials ask neighbouring countries for troops.

Victoria Richards

The government's counter-terrorism strategy

Click here for a detailed report from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the Pursue, Prevent, Protect and Prepare counter-terrorism strategy unveiled in June 2009.

The context here is that representatives of the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham are focusing on the prevent aspect of this strategy in relation to the Somali community in the area and surrounding environs.

Those who have an interest in this matter and wish to formulate a response should consider the content of this report. It is a must read to gauge an understanding of the discourse that is being used today by those in public office.

How relevant is culture?

The word culture comes from the Latin cultura which stems from the word colera which means loosely 'to cultivate'.

There is however no one definition for the term and it holds a different connotation for different peoples around the world. The world however has become a small space and the supremacy of one social model over all others [discussed in previous posts] has had a significant impact on the status of communities on a number of different levels. The supremacy of the Anglo-Saxon economic model, the dominating impact of the English language and the trans national flow of capital, goods and services has led to the cultural hegemony of all peoples by one dominant power. The disparities that are apparent on the international stage [when you consider the developed/underdeveloped perspective of the world] are equally stark when looking at the status of Diaspora communities in and around the nations of the North-Western Hemisphere. The current order has suffocated the space that was apparent at a time where peoples could co-exist around the world with a degree of autonomy.Those who have benefitted from the status quo are seen as the supreme examples of being able to achieve the full potential of the human existence. The technological shift of the last decade in particular has pushed the change into overdrive; all of the people around the world aspire to live one way, speak one language and become independent generators of wealth whilst striving to 'live the dream'.

This for the majority of the hopeful migrants is an experience that has been far from a dream, more of a nightmare. For , as they say, all that glitters is not gold; people have to see beyond the surface. For example, when one considers the following stanza from the famous Somali linguist Mohammed Mooge Liibaan there is something beyond the combination of words:

HARGAYSINA XORNIMADEED,

CIDNA KUMA HALYSEEN,

HEERYADII MA DIIDEEN,

DAGAAL MA HUBQAATEEN,

WAA HABKAAN U FALAYEE,

HAL ADAG MA YEELEEN.

There is the story of a people's history and struggles. The words hold one meaning, the sub-text and connotation hold another. Despite it being 30 years old, his work resonates with a people who connect with their culture in a particularly peculiar way. Unique, so to speak. Take this next stanza:

HAWRAARTU LABA MALEH,

KII HALGAMI LAHAA IYO,

KII HUGURIGU LEEXSHIYO,

HALYAYGII JIHAADOOW,

TAARIIKHDU WAY HADHI,

WAANAY KALA HUFMAYSAA,

XISBIGAN HEEGAN KA ANA,

GUUSHA U HADHAAYA.

In this stanza, he talks of present sacrifices and struggles that will be compensated by a victory that would be the symbol for the end of a people's suffering. Again, on the surface, these words are just that. Words. For a generation of Somalis this is now the case as they have struggled to maintain their connection to the one aspect of their culture that is in their possession: their language. These young adults, parents of young children, are now culturally disconnected from their Somaliness. They no longer understand the words that have driven the narrative of their history. In this context it is easy to see why fundamentally this community have failed to integrate into mainstream society and struggled to find a voice in the public sphere.

The dilemma here is that there is a risk that the gap between the host/migrant communities will grow. The lack of a common method of communication, linked to a lack of a resolute reference point for the migrant community, ensures that wires shall remain crossed. The crisis of identity that follows from the failure to find a voice and place in the public sphere is an obstacle to the possibility of garnering a socially cohesive community. What is apparent is that if Somalis do not understand Mooge, then what hope do they have of learning Shakespeare? If they struggle to enhance their own public profile, what hope do they have of finding their voice and engaging in mainstream society?

SAAN Potential Future Activities

Subject to the agreement of the organisation, the list of activities is growing and it reads as follows:

[1] Working with Connexions in addressing NEETs [Not in Education, Employment or Training] who are of Somali origin. This includes helping to produce a database of those aged under 21 in the West London Alliance boroughs and sharing this data with other interested bodies. This could involve a massive amount of research and will look to be backed by the LEA [Local Education Authority] bodies in the boroughs concerned.

[2] Following on from the above, working to engage the ever-growing prison/youth offender/mentally ill population of Somalis. Helping to produce an outreach system that has been sorely lacking, in particular re-integrating inmates from HMP/youth offender institutes back into society with existing organisations who can provide the necessary support. This could include a process that begins engaging inmates in said institutions and working with them through to their release date and re-integration back into general population.

[3] Working with the law enforcement professionals in helping to disseminate information to the previously excluded Somali community in West London and possibly beyond. This provides the ideal opportunity for those members of the community to dictate to the servants of the public what they are expecting from their law officers. The emphasis here is on engagement and change.

[4] Moving into First Base/UPG office space along the Uxbridge Road, in Shepherd's Bush; with a view to helping the organisation grow from strength to strength.

Our presence was felt at the Community Relations Group meeting on Monday 12 October, contacts were made and activities for the future look promising.

The importance of being earnest

If the truth is told, whilst there may be exceptions, Somali community organisations have manifestly failed their audience in the UK. Despite a massive 375 organisations in operation across the country [according to the United Kingdom Guidestar charity database which you can find here] community services are proving to be an obstacle to the potential development of Somalis in the UK.

The exisitng organisations that are currently funded to service the needs of the Somali community are issue-based; they are in operation to help women, the unemployed, the young, the homeless, the mentally ill, the disabled etc. This is possibly in line with the funding criteria outlined by the trusts and providers who look to help deliver projects that would improve 'social cohesion' for 'new arrivals'. As has been mentioned in previous posts, it allows for those who wish to see Somalis isolated and socially excluded to say that 'they tried to help'. The idea here is that the medicine to cure our social ills derives in some way from the poison that affects the body of the community. The hope being that we must endure the pain now to benefit from good health in the future.

Well people, the future has arrived and Somalis are undoubtedly still facing major problems in engaging in mainstream society. To date, the hundreds of thousands of pounds [if not millions of pounds] that have been spent over the last two decades has had no effect. This is in part due to the piecemeal approach to funding provision; where any Tom, Dick or Harry can form a 'community service' and be in receipt of a 'grant'. In the London borough of Ealing alone I have been informed that 88 Somali community organisations have been registered with Ealing Community and Voluntary Service. A contact there informed me that none are registered with the Charity Commission and all operate out of private addresses [usually corresponding with the home address of the individual who created the organisation]. So we have the ludicrous situation where a person is living in social housing, in receipt of state benefits for their personal needs and supplemented by monies that are issued as 'grants' to their 'community organisation' that meets the needs of their constituency. This would be funny if it was not so tragic.

The funding providers know, the public sector bodies know and the various intermediaries know that the current system is flawed. Why do they not change it? Why not allow for a formal strategic plan to address the needs of all of the people who are living as an underclass in the UK today? Well, because it would mean [a] a lot of people who are in the system would be out of work and out of pocket [b] turkeys, if they could, would most definitely not vote for Christmas and [c] Somalis themselves have been co-opted in small numbers to ensure that the status-quo is maintained.

S.A.A.N will look to take these issues to those in positions of responsibility and repeat the need for change . We are an evidence-based organisation; looking to the facts as they are on the ground with a view to addressing the abject needs of the Somali community not only in West London but across the nation's capital and the country as a whole. The facts will eventually speak for themselves, the truth will then out and the liars will be exposed.

Social housing? If its a problem then just demolish them!

There are thousands of social housing sites in the Hammersmith and Fulham area. These houses and flats are home to a large number of the Somali community in the borough. The Conservative run council is considering implementing a new policy in the area; inspired by recent developments [the 100+ housing units being built along the Bloemfontein Road] removing the social housing requirements they are looking to re-house tenents. The area is in the top 10% of the most deprived London boroughs.

Shepherd's Bush MP Andrew Slaughter released documents in the summer that he obtained under the Freedom of Information which track the evolution of a so-called "bulldozer policy" and Greenhalgh's attempts to sell it to the Conservative Party nationally. Greenhlagh leads the Conservative Councils Innovation Unit, which is developing Tory local government policy ideas. The documents show:

- Extracts from a presentation given by Greenhalgh to Eric Pickles, Chairman of the Conservative Party and Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government, and to Grant Shapps, Conservative Shadow Minister for Housing. Greenhalgh proposes that local authorities should provide homes only for those who are unable due to age, infirmity or disability to provide it for themselves. Everyone else should instead be given welfare payments sufficient for them to find their own accommodation in the private sector, for example a room in a shared house.

- Extracts from a presentation Greenhalgh made in January to James O'Shaughnessy, Conservative Party Director of Policy, saying that what is needed is "a solution to pockets of deprivation." His solution in Hammersmith and Fulham appears to be to demolish all or large parts of at least seven housing estates, including the White City, which contains 2,027 housing units, and two other smaller ones nearby; the Ashcroft Square and and Queen Caroline estates in Hammersmith (just over 500 units between them); and the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates in the Earls Court area (663 units). It not not clear what would become of the people currently living in these places.

- Possible blurring of the non-political roles of Council officers into performing political functions, and recruitment of political activists to do work normally undertaken by Council officers. For example, invitations to a round table discussion in March about "creating mixed communities in concentrated areas of deprivation" were sent jointly from the Council and right-wing think tank Localis, which hosted the event. The material for discussion was prepared by Council officers.

- A connection with Richard Blakeway, Boris Johnson's housing adviser, who wrote an email responding to a summary of the round table discussion asking "Are you thinking of reconvening this group again? Impressive group," and indicating that City Hall might be able to assist in the development of the policy.

- An awareness of the possible political implications of pressing ahead with the policy, which would involve breaking up communities containing many natural Labour voters. Material prepared by Council officers recognised the risk of being accused of [Shirley] "Porteresque" gerrymandering or social engineering and the need to rebut it.

This plan would end up with the re-housing of thousands of Somalis with old style private lanlords [the likes of Rachman of Notting Hill Gate in the 1960s springs to mind] and the gentrfication of the borough with a view to changing the make-up of those who live in the area [hence the reference to Dame Shirley Porter and what she did in Westminister under the watch of the Thatcher government in the 1980s]. All of these developments are happening beyond the vision of the public eye and this could be part of a wider national plan which could be implemented if the Conservative party enter government after the elections in 2010. This will be raised by the Somali Advocacy and Advice Network at the LBHF Community Relations Group meeting on Monday 12 October. An update will be posted on the blog once we receive assurances about the status of those 75% of people who are reliant on the social housing in the White City/Wormholt/Hammersmith area who are largely made up of people of Somali origin.

People need to act now or cry later!

Freedoms, rights and responsibilities

Freedoms, rights and responsibilities are interconnected in democratic, liberal post-industrial societies. Freedom is defined by civil liberties and individual rights. These rights are enshrined by law and protected by the third branch of the state; the judiciary. Individuals in society are bound by state law to act responsibly, any deviation from the line is thus considered a breach of the law and any individual who breaches the law would be punished by the state.

The question here is, in these societies what constitutes freedom? Isiah Berlin's depiction of a positive and a negative liberty/freedom dominates political discourse. There are those who may be described as left of centre who depict a positive form of freedom that allows for the development of an individuals potential [freedom from the law/the state] . Freedom here is defined as freedom from poverty. disease, coercion and oppression. In this instance, freedom could be seen in post-colonial societies across the third world. Here there was the removal of the imperialist colonisers who had subjugated native societies and exploited their resources for their own gain. The change in power, the promise of equal rights for all and the move towards a campaign against poverty and disease in most post-colonial societies can be seen as a clear example of positive liberty/freedom. In this sense, when Mohammed Mossadegh became Prime Minister of Iran in 1951 with the policies of increasing the powers of the majlis [parliament] and curbing the power of monarchy were steps toward a positive freedom for the majority of Iranian people. The prospect of limiting the power of the ex-colonial power, UK, by nationalising BP [formerly the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company] controlled Iranian oil fields was another step towards economic freedom.

The second form of freedom, that of the negative variety, derives from the understanding that human societies are chaotic, dynamic phenomena that require a degree of coercion and sacrifice to secure freedom. This form of freedom exists within recognised constraints, in most societies now that can be seen as being within state law. The state acts as the ultimate arbiter in ensuring that individuals in society do not exploit one another. In liberal democracies this is now the recognised norm, this is a particularly European definition of freedom. It derives from the historiography of Northern Europe, for example the work of Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan emerges as a response to the English Civil War in the 17th century. This form of freedom exposes all kinds of problems when you consider the last 500 years of Northern European political culture. As this form of freedom has gained ground and has developed into the party political exchanges we see in elections on a regular basis, we see the flaws in the system. The popularity of corporatist systems and the democratic deficit in the political cultures of Northern Europe indicates that negative freedom really means the freedom of some and the exploitation of the many. In the USA 1% of the population owns more wealth than 95% of the populous, According to statistics from the Inland Revenue, the wealthiest 1 per cent owned approximately a fifth of the UK's marketable wealth in 2003. In contrast, half the population shared only 7 per cent of total wealth.

These interpretations of essentially contested concepts have had a massive impact on the peoples of the world. Mossadegh was seen as promoting an uncontrollable form of freedom, branded as a communist and overthrown by a UK-US backed coup. This led to the installation of the Shah Mohammed Reza of Iran, who slaughtered his people on mass and crushed his opponents. Internationally however he was an excellent customer for UK-US companies and seen as a strategic ally in the Middle East; in this sense the negative form of freedom in international relations has allowed for the maintenance of imperialist foreign policies that should have died a death 100+ years ago. The position of the exploited masses is further undermined by non-governmental organisations operating nationally and internationally to maintain an order that has brought misery to billions of people around the world.

Diaspora communities, those who live in Western Europe in particular, should move to address the needs not only of their local communities but also those who are suffering under the status quo. I offer that it is no coincidence that Somalis are amongst the poorest members of the UK and rank just as low in the scale of international poverty indicators. The maintenance of the current order is what keeps poor people poor. The few Somalis who deem themselves to be modern, free-thinking individuals are those who have been co-opted and hoodwinked into thinking they are part of civil society. Those who deem themselves to be benefiting from a system that allows for the creation of wealth and social mobility need to think again. A polarised society, where the benefit of the few is a direct consequence of the suffering of the many, is a hot-bed for extremism. Extrapolate what happens here domestically onto the international stage and it is clear to see why the system does not function.

No taxation without representation

Democratic, liberal, post-industrial capitalist nations function on the basis that a state is the ultimate arbiter for its subjects. Ultimately, the glue that binds the stat and its subjects together is the principle of taxation. People are willing to engage in a system of taxation in all its forms if it fulfills the goals of a civil society. The checks and balances that are in place in most of these societies are in place primarily to ensure that people are getting their monies worth. The capitalist ideals built into the liberal democratic model means that a state acts as a provider/client and the public are its customers with the social contract being underpinned by the taxation system.

The mechanics of this machine are impressive. The ways in which tax is procured by the state in all its forms is extraordinary. The institutional structures that tower over the public function efficiently. The problems arise when fractures appear in the body politic and these fissures affect the system. In the USA for example, there are more black males residing in the prison industrial complex than there are in the further/higher education colleges. These individuals are more likely to serve a longer sentence than their peers from other social groups. These men when they leave prison are then denied their right to vote in any election. African-Americans are statistically at a socio-economic disadvantage to their counterparts in the USA. There is an estimated 40 million African-Americans residing in the USA, which is largely seen as the beacon shining down upon the earth and an example to all nations. Inherent in its system however is a fundamental flaw; the benefit for the few comes at a huge cost to the many.

An estimated 100 million, that is 1 in 3 people, in the USA do not have adequate health care coverage. The implications of this damning statistic for the lives of those people is massive. Yet there is still a debate about the nature of free [at the point of service] health care for all of its citizens. The health care system in the USA is a booming industry, it accounts for 15% of its GDP. Their lobbyists spend millions of dollars to ensure that members of the House and the Senate refrain from engaging in such futile matters as a 'free for all' health care system. To put it quite frankly, a lot of money is generated from the sick in developed nations. If this changes, it threatens the profit margins of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. These are the sad facts of the current system we live in; the hypocrisy of democracy.

Current debates in the USA have huge implications for the rest of the world. Particularly when it comes to debates about the provision of medicines to under-developed nations. That is that pharmaceutical countries have always opposed Brazil, India and their ilk regarding their position on patent obligations as members of the World Trade Organisation. Brazil et al deemed that for reasons of national security, the welfare of their subjects, they would produce copies of AIDS medicines and sell them at a cheaper price than the current market alternatives. This was challenged by the giants of the pharmaceutical industry in the guise of the developed nations, chief of whom was the USA. Under the cloak of investment in R&D, the pharmaceutical industry argued that their more expensively produced goods should be protected in line with their interpretation of intellectual property rights. However, Brazil et al circumvented the system and acted independently; challenging the status quo and exposing the fragility of the current global trade system. African nations have been slow to follow in this respect as they appear to be in no position to either challenge the status quo or possess the capability to produce vast quantities of pharmaceutical materials. Instead they choose to lobby for the pharmaceutical industry to lower their prices knowing full well that the balance sheet is the main determinant for their activities.

For Somalis to succeed in general they must try to address this situation: that there is no taxation without representation. At the moment, they risk aping the situation that other minority communities in developed nations face. The African American community in the USA is a classic example of how integration has totally failed to engender equality. Let alone allow for progressive interpretations of social justice. Somalis and others at present in the UK risk being chopped by the double-edged sword that hangs over their heads waiting to fall. If continually members of the community are statistically over-represented in the criminal justice system and mental health facilities and under-represented in acheiving high levels of educational attainment and employment then something is wrong. It is not the responsibility of the indidvidual in this case to change, if so many people are being isolated and excluded then it is the responsibility for society to change. Until then, the mantra holds true NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.

What a tangled web we weave...

The Desert Flower is the true story of Waris Dirie, an autobiography that tells the world of the plight of women in Somalia. This is a book written in English, published in the languages of Northern Europe illustrating in detail the world of the Orient. Parts of the world that otherwise could not be reached, due to a collective sense of indifference towards Somalis, can be glimpsed in the capitals of Northern Europe by people who know little better. The only thing Somali about this book is apparently its central character, Waris Dirie and the fascinating backdrop to the narrative. Now, the film adaptation of the book has removed this key component. The trailer for the film can be seen here

The lead character in this oriental fantasy is Liya Kebede. This now removes the last vestiges of Somaliness from the narrative; what is left is derisory. All of the individuals associated in the film have managed to reduce the complexities of a culture and its practices to a Hollywood drama about one woman's journey towards a better life. Here it is the case that one is subjected to misery until one experiences the joys, the freedoms, the beauty and the life of those who are our betters. Which is actually a lie.

Joseph Goebbels said:

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

This applies to the case in hand. We witness today the mistakes of the past and those who learn not from the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat them. The powers that be engage in manufacturing consent from a gullible public with the objective of maintaining the status quo and its time that the people woke up to the truth.

Arab Media Watch - British Media Potrayals of Somalia

This is a detailed study on the representations of Somalis and Somalia in all forms of media in the UK. You can read the report here.

Two things here are interesting to note; one is that an organisation concerning itself with the Arab world and its representation in the media has taken upon itself to include Somalia in its remit. This appears to be a matter only of political expediency as for some stupid reason the author has conflated religion [Islam] with race [African/Arab]. In this instance it follows for retards that all Muslims are Arabs and all Arabs are Muslims. Once this is the case, then it means that non-Somalis are dictating the terms wherein which Somalis should be represented in the media in the UK. This as we all know is ridiculous. Nevertheless, this is the case.

The second area of interest that is of note in this article is that stupidly by affirming that Somalia's political climate is being simplified by the media, Arab Media Watch then go on to simplify the complexities of Somalia's political culture. They have become part of the problem rather than being part of the solution. It is again worth highlighting the fact that language + thought = action. That is that if this organisation claims to be part of the change in discourse about the Horn of Africa nation then they should understand that in this context language + thought = action [producing the report in the Somali language + involving the Somali community in the report's formation = the action for change in the current representation of the Somali community in the media in the UK].

There are points raised in the report that are an accurate reflection of the current climate but they are masked unfortunately by the methodological flaws that mark this piece. Fundamentally it exposes the need for Somalis to talk about themselves publicly, communicate with one another effectively and act as a collective.

Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?

This question applies to the plight of those who have and those who have not in today's mainstream society.

The scenario takes on added significance when you consider matters pertaining to welfare to work schemes and other government initiatives that attempt to address the myriad of problems that plague vast swathes of the UK. In this case let us consider the relationship between cause and consequence, the chicken or the egg. Which comes first and does every action lead to an equal and opposite reaction?

Public sector bodies in all their many forms create a climate wherein which the third sector [those bodies that are involved in charitable organisations] can exist and thrive. They in turn rely upon the funding provision allocated to them by the very same public sector bodies. This dynamic contributes nothing in the way of solving issues that are faced by the much-maligned socially excluded members of UK society. Instead of providing a solution to a problem this dynamic has become a feature of why in the words of development economist Micheal Lipton why poor people stay poor. Endemic poverty is not just down to individual/collective choice, its not down either to alien cultures, values or practices. It is all down to systemic failure, something that is apparent in the world of finance, that has exposed the fractures that have been evident in UK society for decades.

The underclass, lumpenproletariat, kulturegemeinschaft etc have all been part of political thought since the Industrial Revolution in Western Europe. There has always been a suspicion that should these members of society become organised and active that they would seek to compromise existing power elites. This suspicion holds true when considering that public debate on key issues like immigration, crime, unemployment, poverty and race. Public discourse is shaped by those who are interested in maintaining the existing social structure; where matters of complexity are always reduced to throw-away soundbites. This in turn shapes public opinion and has a great influence on the way in which communities integrate into mainstream society. By conflating issues like race and crime, by reducing complexities into throw-away soundbites those in power are guilty of manifestly subjecting 11.4 million people in the UK to a life of poverty.

Philosophers considered what came first: the chicken or the egg? Cause or effect? It is evident that when considering the plight of Somalis or any other ethnic minority community in the UK, there is a case that those in power have deliberately shaped the world that we find ourselves in. It is now up to us to challenge them and influence change.