User talk:Abdikadir Noor Aaran/sandbox

I ought therefore i can.

Interconnected hearts
Somalis in South Africa Somalis settled in south Africa in post-apartheid time when the ANC won the first democratically elected elections then led by the late struggle icon Nelson Mandela paved the way for a smooth democratic transition. The first influx of the Somali arrivals was 1994 when the African national congress came into power and the south African government with the UN mandate of refugee’s section 24 gave asylum to those fleeing persecution in their home countries. Wore broke out in Somalia leading to the ousting of the then president Mohamed Siad Barre by militias loyal to General Mohamed Farah Aided, that war was bloody and with it came a lot of destruction and deaths. Many who survived the merciless ethnic cleansing by the militias fled and sought refuge in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia. Kenya accepted and settled the refugees in camps where they received aid from Unhcr and Care Kenya. Most of those refugees settled in dadab refugee camps, a semi-arid town in Garissa county. Unhcr hosted and registered refugees and asylum seekers in three bases, namely, Ifo, Dagahley and Hagadera. The number of refugees living in these camps is over 200,000 as of 2019 making it the third largest camp of it's kind in the world. Many Somalis settled and adapted to their new life as refugees in these camps. Unhcr and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) resettled many eligible Somalis to Europe and North America where they had adapted to life in another foreign land. Adaptation is a key survival skill among all living creatures and humans are endowed with the ability to adapt to any climate. The war brought with it connotations such as clan supremacy and segregation on tribal lines. The majority of those displaced were eager to reconstruct and bring together what they have lost in the war, among many things wealth and identity. The Somalis are traditionally nomadic pastoralists and they are well known camel and other livestock herders. Their nomadic lifestyle that entailed search for greener pastures as an essential for their survival made it easy for them to discover and inhabit unknown and foreign lands easily. Those who settled in Europe and America despite the culture shocks and extreme climatic changes adapted and settled favorably in their new found fountains. Social security benefits systems in the west has eased the struggle for survival and some even accumulated wealth from the manual weird jobs they found in their host countries. The Somalis in St Paul Minneapolis is the largest Somali diaspora in the world and many survive by working in warehouses, poultry farms, butcheries and driving cargo trucks across States. Entrepreneurship is an essential skill among many Somalis and some are seen running shops in local malls. The Somali community is very closely knit on tribal and clan lines, they are interdependent and therefore support one another on clan basis, the somali in Minneapolis supports and sends money to people back home. Families who have relatives in the west are well off than those who don’t have one and receive support on regular monthly bills from the wages their relatives earn in Europe, America and South Africa. Its regarded as an obligation and compulsory thing for one to do for his relatives and one particular business emerged and thrived as a result, (xawala), money remittance services, are seen in every city corner of the world where Somalis live. The (xawalas), created interconnected hearts and became the only banks the Somalis could use and trust across the Atlantic. The pioneering Somali society in Europe and the Americas created another in-group across the African continent, South Africa being the economic powerhouse of the continent became the most attractive and sought after viable destination for many Somalis. Many of them sought refuge and economicprosperity in South Africa, majority of those are living in major cities and some are running (spaza) shops grocery store in the townships. The transition was far from easy but gradually they like their counterparts in Europe and the Americas settled well. The difference with south Africa from the western countries is it`s failure to integrate the refugees into the system and many still remain undocumented after ten years of living in the country and the lack of such basic need leads to denial of basic social amenities like the banks as a financial intermediary and as a result use unsafe financial practices like keeping their money with the (xawalas) which can some times lead to loss of the money with no insurance given by the remittance services or storing their money in their shops making them top target for thugs as an easy prey. The Somalis in the major cities seem to be at home but those at risk of looting and murder are those trading in the townships. The biggest threat comes local competition and causes conflicts with the locals sighting unfair pricing advantages, disregard for the law and illegal business practices among some of the issues. Some foreign owned shops are accused of selling allegedly expired goods and are often looted and destroyed as a result. Xenophobic attacks are fueled by the staggering unemployment rates and service delivery failures of the ruling party who are overwhelmed by the sheer burden they inherited from the apartheid government. Locals are heard saying something like "these foreigners are stealing our jobs" and therefore security is threatened as a result. Johannesburg, cape town, Durban, Pretoria and Port Elizabeth are the major cities where Somalis live in south Africa. Johannesburg is home to the highest number of Somalis in south Africa, 89%, from some 2012 local statistics. Mayfair the “Mogadishu” as it’s known among the locals has undergone vast demographic shifts as the suburb is overwhelmingly occupied by Somalis. Mayfair is far different from the conditions often reported from the townships that include looting and destruction of businesses here there's no such tension and Somalis are seen on every street corner. Local restaurants making some local Somali dishes like, (canjero, cambuulo, waslad), and many other traditional delicacies are seen on every corner restaurant. Elders are often seen watching Somali cable TV channels in restaurants and loud ( Qaarami) music is heard playing in the local barber shop. Some are seen chewing traditional stimulant leaves known as khat, talking loudly and driving wildly. On some streets others are seen sitting in round tables outside cafeterias sipping on a cup of tea as they chatter and passionately fight over esteemed clan politics back home, (fadhi kudirir), as its famously known in the old age Somali tradition. Interconnectedness is what pulls Somalis together and as I mentioned earlier the Somalis in south Africa are also bread winners for their families and contribute as much as their counterparts in the west. Amal shopping plaza is a famous landmark in Mayfair and in this complex are shops selling every kind Somali traditional stuff from (xalwo,uunsi,dirac etc), the complex is the heart of the Somali society in Mayfair and houses the major (hawalas), money remittance services in the country and cars are parked anywhere on the street as there's no enough pparking space for the amount of cars in the vicinity. Traffic police officers are always in loggerheads with the locals administering parking ticketing. I sometimes wonder if the locals were wrong by calling Mayfair a Mogadishu. Interconnected society are the Somali people and despite the trauma and unrest back home the soul, heart and pride of the Somali is intact. Abdikadir Noor Aaran (talk) 22:13, 28 July 2019 (UTC)