Sunday, December 26, 2010

Expatriates return to lead Somalia

For years, Abdulkareem Jama commuted from his home in Fairfax, Va., to a cushy office in Washington. Now, his desk is in Somalia’s war-torn capital. For years, Abdulkareem Jama commuted from his home in Fairfax, Va., to a cushy office in Washington. Now, his desk is in Somalia’s war-torn capital. (Sudarsan Raghavan/ Washington Post)
By Sudarsan Raghavan Washington Post / December 25, 2010
MOGADISHU, Somalia — For years, Abdulkareem Jama commuted from his home in Fairfax, Va., to a cushy office in Washington. He commanded a six-figure salary. Now, his desk is in Somalia’s war-torn capital, next to a window with a golf ball-size bullet hole. He is fortunate if he gets paid his much-shrunken salary on time.
“I was standing there when the bullet came through,’’ Jama said, pointing to a spot a foot from the window. “Three bullets also entered my residence.’’
In recent months, a considerable number of Americans have joined or tried to join Somalia’s radical al-Shabab militia, raising concerns among US officials that they could one day pose a threat to the United States.
But Americans of Somali descent have also returned to their motherland to help prevent al-Shabab from gaining power. They are part of a large community of Somali expatriates who have arrived here from all over the world to join Somalia’s fragile transitional government despite immense risks.
Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, a Somali American from New York, was appointed prime minister in October. His Cabinet includes several members of the Somali diaspora.
“Life is short and I want to put it to good use,’’ said Jama, the chief of staff for President Sharif Ahmed but soon to be the minister of information.
Somalia’s experience is similar to that of other violence-torn nations, from Afghanistan to Iraq to Liberia, where returning immigrants have entered politics and built businesses, providing linchpins amid war and instability. These immigrants remained intimately connected to their homelands via the Internet and satellite television.
Abdi Rashid Sheik Farah, 45, fled Somalia in 1991, following the collapse of the Siad Barre regime. He ended up in McLean, Va., and attended Catholic University. Farah, a lawyer and father of four, became a leader in Washington’s Somali community.
When Ethiopia invaded Somalia in December 2006, he felt compelled to return home. “I wanted to stand up to the Ethiopians who invaded our lands,’’ said Farah, who joined the transitional government and is now a member of Parliament.
Recently, Parliament approved the new government after weeks of disputes over the inclusion of so many technocrats from outside Somalia.
It has been nearly 25 years since Mohamed last set foot in Somalia. After working four years in the Somali Embassy in Washington in the mid-1980s, he earned a history degree at the University of Buffalo. He later worked for the city of Buffalo’s municipal housing authority and taught conflict resolution at Erie Community College.
In August, when Somalia’s previous prime minister abruptly resigned, Mohamed submitted his resume to Ahmed, the president. Somalia’s complex, clan-based political system required that the next prime minister be a member of the Darod tribe. Mohamed fit the bill.
He met Ahmed in New York for a preliminary interview. Then Mohamed got a phone call from Ahmed’s staff asking him to fly to Mogadishu. “I was not aware I was the top candidate,’’ said Mohamed, a father of four.
His family didn’t understand why he was leaving.
When he landed at the airport, Mohamed said, he was informed that he was the new prime minister. It was his first time back in Mogadishu since 1987. Mohamed denied local speculation that he was appointed because of US pressure.
After a recent meeting in which he urged Mohamed to give more rights to minorities, Mahmoud Bare Hussein left the room shaking his head. A member of Parliament, he wondered aloud why the second-most powerful political position would be given to someone who left the country nearly 25 years ago.
“He knows nothing about the country. That’s why he will fail,’’ Hussein said.
One of Jama’s daughters recently sent him an e-mail informing him that she was taking karate classes and that he should be with her, not in Somalia.
“That’s not a good feeling,’’ he said. “But in the overall scheme of things, how people live and die here, that is a small price to pay.’’  Boston.com

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

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Sultan Kenadid
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Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

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Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
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Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
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May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

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His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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