The Danger of Single Story: Chimamanda Adichie
January 30, 2010
Filed under Media
Tags: africa, Chimamanda Adichie, literature, Media, politics, TED
How to Interrogate Pirates
Courtesy of War is Boring blog, Dave Axe
Haiti
January 16, 2010
Filed under Uncategorized
Tags: disaster, earthquake, Haiti, port-au-prince, relief
The images coming out of Haiti are simply too painful. The people of this island can’t seem to get a break. They were still recovering from the two devastating hurricanes just over a year ago. Now this earthquake. When it is not mother nature, it is man-made – civil wars, coups, and on and on.
On any given day, I follow the news closely but the past four days I have avoided the news for the most part. My heart goes out to them.
Whatever you can give – donation of your money or time – please do give.
The Hidden Iraq
January 13, 2010
Filed under Middle East
Tags: african iraqis, basra, discrimination, iraq, racism
It is a well known fact that racism is a bigger problem in Arab countries than in Europe or North America. Way bigger. An acquaintance of mine whose parents were originally from Nigeria just came back from the Mid East, after living in Saudi Arabia/Egypt/UAE for the past seven years, with tales of the worst kinds of racism and discrimination against black people. Iraq, a country home to over 1 million people of African descent, has stayed under the radar because the attention has always been on the struggles of Kurdish and Christian Chaldean minorities. Despite being the third largest ethnic group in the country, the African population has no representation in the political process so the discriminations against them by fellow countrymen have prevented them from participating in the country’s economy.
A Puzzle
January 2, 2010
Filed under East Africa, Music
Tags: cross-cultural art, Music, nagma, najma
I take a lot of pride in the music I listen to and where it comes from (not for the reasons you’d think). So there is this song called Nagma that I have two versions of it – one sung by a guy named Mohamed Waryaa and the other one by King Khalid (which is much recent and more popular it seems). There is also a Jabuti (Djibouti) version, which is sung in Anfar and some claim is the original version. I always thought this song was Somali – until I saw this:
Which of course is in Amharic. From the look of the video, the song is much older than King Khalid’s version below. But the Somali-Anfar one from Jabuti does seem to be much older than both. Yet…
This brings me to the puzzle of this song: who made the original song? More precisely, who’s ripping who? I have no interest in the original creator other than just to know. With so much similarities across the Horn, cultural borrowings is inherent in the regions dynamics. But do artists in the region credit the artist’s work they borrow? I hope they do. Then again, the song could’ve been a folksong that goes back hundreds of years; adding to the mystery of its origin.
Anyone know who is the original artist and where it originated from? If anyone is keeping count, there is at least four languages used in this song.
Goodbye, 2009!
What a year it has been. What a decade it has been. It has been one hell of a year for me. I have experienced things I never expected, met the most unlikely people, and taken one of the most enriching experience of my life. I sat across Maasai warriors in the middle of the night lost in the fascinating cultural exchange in the middle of nowhere, learned to cope with life’s disappoints with nothing more than hope, and got a haircut using sign language (it does the job).
Then there are the things that we all have seen happen in the decade: first black president in the US, wars, rise of nonstate global actors vis a vis political terrorist networks, natural disasters, global economic collapse, etc. I hope the 2010 decade will be kinder to humanity.
Personally I look forward to my graduation from university, World Cup in African soil, traveling the world, settling down for good measure, and taking the journey of doing the things I’m passionate about.
I will absolute not make any resolution for the new year. People never learn that new year resolutions defeat the purpose of making changes in one’s life. As Nike has been saying for decades – just do it.
Don’t drink on new year’s eve. If you do, don’t drive. If you do drink and drive, stay the hell away from my lane you sick bastard.
Peace!
Graduation
I recently returned from a fall graduation ceremony. I was there to cheer on for two of my friends graduating. The atmosphere was one of peace and joyous sounds. As the ceremony went underway, I couldn’t help but think about the tragedy of Mogadisho three weeks ago. The same feelings and sounds I felt today were also there in Hotel Shamo in that fateful December morning. Proud parents, graduates, friends of graduates, like me, faculty members and all kinds of family relatives. It couldn’t have been more normal; like the usual glitches with the microphones conspicuously present.
The joy and exuberant expressions on my friends’ faces were beautiful. The hope in their eyes were priceless. I can’t imagine what the relatives and friends of the graduates murdered in Hotel Shamo bombing felt but it is indescribable no doubt.
Then afterward, my friend’s father (who I just met for the first time) asked me where I was from, and when I told him Somalia, he immediately pointed out the mess that’s happening in Somalia. It only occurred to me later that the strange thing is that I’m here in a university graduation ceremony talking about the graduation ceremony bombing of three weeks ago in ‘Disho. Who knows if my fate hadn’t turn out the way it has, perhaps this conversation would never have occurred. The mystery of life, I reckon.
The War From War
Apparently Somali refugees who fled to Yemen from the fighting in Somalia are being forced to fight in Yemen’s own intensifying civil war by the rebel separtist in the north of the country. So far 16 refugees have been killed for refusing to take arms on behalf of the rebels. Others joined the rebels. Obviosly this is illegal under international law.
A while back it was the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia recruiting soldiers from refugee camps in Kenya with the help of the Kenyan governtment. Although this was not a forced recruitment, the morality of it is highly questionable to say the least.
What is Wrong with this Commercial?
Then this.
I know the quit-smoking-cigarette market has a huge profit potential for pharma companies but keeping such a drug on the market is just wrong. Very wrong.
