ISN'T IT ENOUGH?

Isn't enough????

Isn't it enough that our youngesters r lost in the game
A game that has no end and promises glory and fame

Isn't it enough that our sisters are losing their self respect
Forgetting their true identity i believe its time for a reality check

Wheres the community when we need them the most
At times like this the communities should have had their doors open and not be closed

Why must the world be so cruel
Why r we ignoring the quran when its our own tool

The tool to success
A tool that can lower ur stress

Life is too short to waste
And death is a event in everyones lives that all will have to taste

Isn't it enough that our boys r locked up in prison?
And our girls are killing their unborn children without a reason

Isn't it enough that we had to leave our home due to tribalism affairs
We say we want peace but its us who r fueling the fire with more flames and then say we care

My country has been raped of its basic rights
With our countrymen killing each other in endless fights

I miss the land that was so clean n pure
But now it has been diagnosed with a disease that has no cure

Isn’t it enough that our kids r forgetting their mother tongue
Isn’t it enough that the only thing they remember is the noise of the loud guns

Who is to blame?
For getting us into this game

A game that has no beginning or ending
A game that has us believing in a distorted image

Wake up brothers n sisters Somalia waits us
N we surely wont’ succeed by taking the American way of life

Can anybody hear?

Can anybody hear me?
By: Salma Hussein

Can anybody hear me?
Does anybody hear my cry?
What happened to my sons and daughters?
Did they forget about me already?

I have no one to turn to
No one to ask for help
My siblings fight amongst themselves
Blinded by tribalism

I’m so alone
It’s so cold, I dream of having a stable place to call home
Without the fear of bloodshed

What has gone wrong with my people?
Do they not see what is taking place?
Do they not see the path that we are headed towards?
Why isn’t anybody doing anything about this?

Why is the world cold?
Doesn’t anybody care?
The suffrage continues
Starvation increases
Bloodshed continues
While the educated turn the corner

Who is out there for us?
Who am I to turn to for help?
Who am I to seek protection from?
When my own people call war on themselves?

Our children are left their to suffer
Their forced to watch their countrymen kill each other
What kind of image and lesson are we passing on to our youngsters?

We fled to America and other western countries
Believing that life would get better
Little did we know what awaited us?

Our youth fail prey to the American way of life
Leaving behind their religion and culture
Our sons turned to drugs and gang activities
While our daughters abandoned their hijabs and came up with new ways to flaunt their beauties

Who is to blame?
Every person who has every used qabil to divide people
Every individual who cares for their own tribes success while caring little about the others.

I ask is qabil really worth it all?
Having no government for nearly 16 years.
Having our men kill each other for land and power

Somalia belongs to all of us
Regardless of your tribe you’re Muslim first
We need to put our differences aside and celebrate our similarities

Why have we allowed this to go on for this long?
How long can we wait for our country men to finally realize that its not worth it.

Walahi if we continue on in this path
It won’t be long before our language and culture disappears
Is that our goal?
If it is then lets continue on with this division and chaos that has raped us of our beautiful land.
But if we want to have a country to call our own we have to realize that regardless of what part of Somalia you are from were all aiming for the same goal.


A country is nothing without its people
Somalia needs us more than ever
United we stand and divided we fa

Charity begins at home

“What can I do for you?” These words have become very natural to me. I see myself, more than most people, genuinely interested in the well-being of others. Whether I’m at school, hospital or local community center I go out of my way to be helpful. Just last week, I remember going up to a young man who is a regular at the community center I tutor at walking around the university campus. I simply approached him wanting to know why he wasn’t in school during school hours. My curiosity and good heartedness were received not to well. The young man responded, “Why is it any of your business?”

At the moment, I didn’t really know how to respond to the question, but after much thought I guess the simply answer is that my HEART as well as my Eye tirelessly work towards the improvement of my immediate community. I feel a sense of responsibility to extend a hand, help carry groceries, translate a letter or simply asking a young man why he wasn’t where he should have been as a RESPONSIBILITY I have towards my community.

I want others to act and start putting the needs of others in front of their own, without expecting some reward or recognition. I call to the Somali readers of this blog, to take it upon themselves to lead by example and become the light of the community. Our elders have sacrificed so much, to give us the opportunities we have come to know living in the Diaspora and we owe it to them to GIVE time.

For all of those who are wondering where to start? A good friend of mine reminded me of the most important place where many forget, the HOME. He texted, “charity begins at home. First establish yourself. Help fam. Then help others. Don’t try to take on all the problems. Do just enough.” I must admit this caught me off guard, because all this time most of my attention was towards the greater community, but a simple text helped put things in perspective.

A call to action

Salam,


A young brother was shot and killed. According to the MPD his death is justifiable because he was using his car as a weapon against the police.

If what they are saying is true, would it not make sense for them to shoot at the tires of the car to reduce the threat, rather than shooting at him multiple times resulting in his death?

Its time we speak out against these incidents. Yeah the car might have been stolen, but that's somebody's life they just took away. As the witness said, " why couldn't they shoot at his tires?" Its time we demand answers from these very law enforcements who were put there to protect us, rather than killing our sons.


My fellow Somali family, let us join hands and make sure that our voice is heard. We cannot let this be another shooting, and as the headline of the story tells you, the media is quick to twist things.

Together we can seek our rights as a community, who won't take this as yet another young boy who wanted to inflict harm.


Here's the link to the story and please tell me there's no bias in the reporting?

http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/39137222.html

Salma

Yes we can!!!!!!

I've realized that there's one thing I've been taking for granted for quite some time, that being TIME. I find myself spending hours on various meetings, ranging from attending community advisory to reducing youth violence meetings you name it, and at the end of the day I feel that the results are pretty much the same. It seems that the only thing that ever gets accomplished in these meetings is the art of talking. I admit that I can't take myself out of the problem, but really its tragic.

I attended most of these meetings believing that it will help in the process of organizing and voicing the needs of the community, not to say that it hasn't done that, but just not in the scale I was hoping it would.

I feel that with the number of meetings held by Somali officials across Mpls, the state of our community should have long been transformed. So where are the results of all this endless meetings after meetings that have been taking place for as long as we've been in America? Well it seems as though that most of these meetings are led by selfish leaders who are only in it for their own self interest. These meetings lack young motivated youth who deeply care about the state of the community, who hold no hidden agendas as most of today's leader do.

It times young people take the lead to be the change they wish to see in their world, starting from their neighborhoods. Its time we all start investing in our neighborhoods, because if we don't you can bet that no one else will.

So we are we waiting for? Let's stop this trend of meetings, and start mobilizing around issues of concern. Let's not be a community of talkers, who can't back their talk. I know that there are far more good people, than those who intend evil, but its a matter of making this year the year we take back our name and show the rest of the state what the Somali Community is made of.

So what do you really know about the Somali community?

It seems as though there is a buzz surrounding the Somali community lately, one that wasn't there before. So it pushes me to ask, what has changed? Well I shall tell you, it seems as though the sudden interest comes from the trouble the community faces readjusting to a new country.

With the ongoing youth violence, and the young men leaving for Somalia, the community has become media's favorite. You are sure to find a story about the missing men going to Somalia to fight a holy war, and what that means for the Somalis residing here to the youth who have taken arms against each other. The title always being "SOMALI".

Having lived in the U.S for quite sometime now, this has led me to ask yet another question, how come when other Americans such as a white Caucasian man commits crimes, his place of origin is never brought up? They simply go on to say " a St..paul man has killed his entire family today", never once bringing up whether his German or Jewish. So why not do the same for the Somali Community?" 

Its not fair for any community not only the Somali's to have their name dragged in the dirt and watch their community only when something tragic happens. Where is the media when young college students come out to the local community centers to volunteer their time? Well they're definitely no where to be seen, but the minute something terrible happens they can be seen in the front line with their cameras.

Its time people ask of the media to report on the important things that give meaning to our existence. Things such as those who are giving back, students who are excelling in their studies, not on youth who have taken arms against each other and not on clan warfare in the Somali community. Unless we speak, the media will continue to report on what they think people want to see.

So the next time you hear anything about any one community, remember that there is far greater good things taking place, that the media fails to bring to attention. So get out there and get involved and be your own judge.

Put your thoughts on paper

My poem might not rhyme
But it carries a message one that concerns our time

We live in a society that focuses on dreams
Even if those dreams mean for a 14 year old girl to starve herself due to low self esteem

Were too busy to stop for second and ponder
To evaluate all the corruption thats taking place and then we wonder

Why is that the world is full of so much pain?
Why can't we learn from the past and what have gained?

I'll tell you what we gained an increase in depression
And more ways to hide our true feelings because as they say, "make a good first impression".