Physician for Human Rights

I recently became a member of this organization and have been appointed as committee head for the International Section. I don't have much time this semester to be working on a huge project so I am inshallah planning to highlight 'how political freedom is curtailed around the world'. I picked Iran and Ogaden region of Ethiopia to be my focal points.

I will be screening two documentaries followed by a post discussion; ' The Green Wave' and 'Silent Cry'. I am not completely conversational with Ogaden's genocide and political wrangling unfortunately and therefore find myself in search for credible sources to use. So far I have made some headway but I need to contact a human rights or media spokesman/woman who will give a fair and objective summary about the situation. I have been warned that the Ethiopian government seeks to muffle anyone who is vocal about whats going on the ground in Ogaden but I didn't think it would be so hard to find someone in the West who will be helpful/interviewable.

So, on the off chance that you, my reader, happen to read this post and know someone who can help me, I would be so so so so so indebted to you. I am at my wits end especially since I actually want to kick off my semester with the Ogaden documentary screening and my planned date is drawing oh so near :( If you can help drop me a line in the comments and I'll definitely follow up.

Till then I am off to expand my mind!!

Ramadhan and Muslims

First off Ramadhan Kareem and Saum Maqbul to my beloved readers.

Today as I was sitting in contemplation during my lunch hour, something on TV caught my attention. It was a story of a muslim woman suing Disney because they wouldn't allow her to work with her hijab on, at least not while she was hosting. According to the report Disney told the woman that she is allowed to dorn her Hijab in the back but when she was interacting with Disney guests she had to remove it. A minute later former Mayor of New York Rudy was on the tube talking about the Cordoba Mosque.

I am not sure how to feel about Islam in the media lately. Personally I can understand the stance Cordoba Institute is taking regarding the planned construction but I feel that perhaps in the interest of peace they should just find another site to build their center. Its apparently is a hot issue for some New Yorkers and now its gaining national momentum.  A house of worship shouldn't stir such hateful sentiments and if it does then its better to rethink the decision.

As for muslims in general I feel like we have invited this type of attention and phobia to ourselves by secluding ourselves. The muslim communities/families around where I live stick to their own kind and never branch out into the community or society. In America we enjoy the freedom to practice our religion how we want to but we have isolated ourselves and our communities by being so close knit. Perhaps if we talked to John down the street he might come around to ask why we fast during Ramadhan or why Samira wears a hijab.

We need to intergrate ourselves into our communities like taking part in national night out or the local fair. Thats my humble opinion and I pray each day that USA doesn't become like Europe and strip away some of the freedoms we enjoy. Education is the key here and I hope we all do something to better the situation instead of making it worse.

WC 2010 Final

The stage has been set. 32 teams came to prove themselves on a pitch and only two survive; Espana and Netherlands. The only question that remains to be answered is who will be left standing.

This has been a historical world cup from the get go. It was the first world cup held in Africa, it was the first world cup where 5 Latin American countries advanced to the 16, it was the first world cup that an African nation had gotten to the Quarter finals and now the contenders for the WC are two teams that haven't ever won the world cup!

What can we expect in T minus two hours? These two teams are different in their approach, tactically as well as mentally. I am looking for Espana to be dominating the midfield and possession. If Pedro gets to start then he will most likely provide Inesta the ability to move from left to right at leisure. Espana has a lot of speed and can overun the midfield if allowed. Holland has to play smart and not allow through balls to Sergio Ramos who looks very strong from his position and is constantly moving up, as was seen in the Semi, when he gave Boateng a run for his money.

Holland have to be extremely disciplined in this game if they want to win. Defensively they have to keep their back line and Robben and Snejder, who have the knack of losing balls, need to be extra vigilant today and stick with patterned play. Any deviation might mean a loss. So far Lady Luck has been on their side with the goal posts helping in goal scoring but they can't depend on this. Holland has to test Puyol, Pique, Busquets by being confident that they can penetrate into Espana's box, after all in the last few years it was the Dutch who molded Barca style of play.

Finally Espana has only had seven goals throughout the tournament. It doesn't say much about how they can get results even with their tactics but in the finals the slates are wiped clean and all the World will remember, is who emerged victorious. As for me, I will be donning my Oranje shirt today and hope that this will indeed be a historical day for the Dutch (winning the WC) and South Africa (a start to heal wounds that have long been there).

Picture courtesy of nydailynews

Dear LOST, I am a believer!

Today, as I dropped my sister off I saw this banner hanging off a balcony and I just had to snap this photo. I have been an avid LOSTIE for six seasons. I have introduced the show to people who have joined the cult and tonite I watched the culmination of six years of believing in two brilliant producers.

For the audience that hasn't watched LOST or caught an episode and was confused by the storyline, may I encourage you to set aside the whole summer to watch this TV series. The mind boggles at how religion/spirituality plays such a central role in this series. For a society that is steadily moving to secularism coupled with a decline in institutionalized religion, LOST has been able to capture the attention of millions of Americans.

The island is symbolic. Jack was being tested. He had to accept that he had died and find the people whom his life touched in order to move on. Move on to where exactly? That is unknown. That is left for interpretation. For the believers of Heaven/Hell, Jack would seem to have moved on to Heaven. For the believers of another life after death, Jack could have very well moved on to another life. For an atheist, I guess Jack just screws it all up for there is nothing after death!

Thank you Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse for a wonderful show that thrilled me every single week with questions that you have not yet completely answered. It was a blast and I shall miss you!

International Women Day

Ok I know it was yesterday but I wanted to discuss a report that came out today that has to do with marking this day. This report is the Global Gender Gap report and is released annually by the World Economic Forum (WEF). This report measures the gap between men and women in terms of education, health, political representation and economic activity. Iceland topped the list followed by Finland, Norway, Sweden then New Zealand. Canada came in at #25 and US at #31. What surprised me was South Africa being ranked #6. This is not because South Africa is not particularly egalitarian but rather that women in South Africa cannot be termed as equal, certainly not in economic activity and one of the reason why South Africa inched up in ranking is because of the influx of women appointed by the new government.

So my question remains, are women really gaining any foothold when it comes to equality in society? Yes, there are more women in school than before, certainly there are more women in the workplace but the sad fact remains that majority of women do not command the same pay as men do. We have acquiesced on maternity leave and childcare services for the long hours of work with shoddy pay. Scandinavian countries seems to have the right recipe for women with paid parental leave and childcare system in place to support women especially single mothers. How about adhering to quotas of women representation in politics like Rwanda does? US for all its wealth and power has a long way to go in terms of a egalitarian society.

Different day, same old story

I missed writing in my blog but recently I have taken to utilizing the more personable journal by my bedside. It holds my thoughts bound tight within its pages but today, today I will let my blog be privy to these thoughts. Have you ever been caught in a moment in your life that makes you go "Hmm, boy does this look familiar!" No. I am not talking of deja vu but rather repeated patterns that emerge throughout the course of your life.

These moments are precious and should be regarded with reverence. Why, you may ask? Its simple. It is the ability of your consciousness to identify the pattern and bring it to your attention that makes this moment precious. Many of us go through life not examining it but rather going through the motions like farm animals in a barnyard. We don't strive to use the highly developed brain we have been blessed with, to think and analyze our daily occurrences. Therefore when a moment comes that strikes you as familiar, STOP!

This is where men are separated from boys or to be a feminist women are separated from girls. I have found myself in said situation and I didn't stop. I didn't analyze. I didn't blink. I waltzed passed that reverent moment without so much as a nod of acknowledgment. What I should have done was recognize the moment and the repeated pattern. Then I should have gone digging in my memory banks and examined what I did in past when I was presented with the same pattern. If I did examine the past, then I would have found that I have repeatedly done the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

Einstein once said that the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. These precious moments of reverence are opportunities. Opportunities of correcting a repeated mistake. Opportunities of ending a cycle and unfurling your path to new possibilities. Dare we dream? If we did we would grab these opportunities with both hands and change our fates. For once we would masters of our own destinies, but alas a minuscule amount of us see these precious moments for what they really are. Sadly I am not among the minuscule either.

Asiye funzwa na mamaye hufunzwa na ulimwengu

Translated this means whomsoever is not taught by the mother will be taught with the world. It is a swahili proverb that I have heard repeated over and over again during the course of my life. It is funny when you really think about it because a mother is the first thing a child encounters in this world. The mother becomes the focus of the child and will continue to be so for millenniums to come no matter how much our society changes.

What role does a mother play then? She is a nurturer. She will pad the nest to protect her young and attack anything that comes close to them. She feeds the young and in the case of the homo sapiens build a protective shield around the young. This shield protects the young from the world and until this morning I never understood that there was one, or that I was also casting my own shield of sorts to protect others from the world.

I am here to inform you that it is an exercise in futility. It is impossible and very detrimental to the 'protectee'. This person will grow up thinking that life is A-Ok. This person will grow up not having a care in the world because the nurturer has done all they can to ward off the world. So is it then in our best interest to protect our young? Do we then not disable them and leave them prone to shock when they first encounter the real world?

What if the first time your child was bullied, instead of acting like a mother hen and talking to the parents of the other child or advising your child to walk away, you instead let your child figure out a solution themselves? What if the first time your child comes homes to find your spouse gone, you don't make up some lie about them being away for business or family emergency, and you actually told them that you were getting divorced? Will your child break or shatter into pieces?

YES, I know I am nuts but hear me out. Our personality and character are shaped by events that occur throughout our lives. If I hadn't gone through X,Y,Z I wouldn't be ina hebel, but now I wonder were there things my parents protected me from? If I had experienced them would I be someone else?

In essence I am wondering if we shouldn't, from the get go, let our children experience life and just be there as parents for them;a support system in place whereby they can come for advice or a hug or unconditional love. Could we go against our inherent need to shelter our young and let them feel grief/pain/torture/love/sadness/exhilaration/exasperation/etc? Would I be able to? Would I be wrong if I did that?

Are you a snitch?

If you saw a crime being committed would you tell the authority? Would you tell the authority even if you know the person is of your race/qabil/clan/family? Would you tell the authority even if you know that you are placing your life in danger?

I have heard of so many crimes that happen within our community and there are witnesses who can identify the perps but they keep their mouths shut. This is not a spectacle found only in Somalis but also in the African American, Latino, African, Pakistani, basically most immigrant communities.

I have always wondered why we bundle up the perps and send them somewhere else to evade the authorities. Don't we ever put ourselves in the victim's family shoes? How would you feel if you loved one was hurt and there were plenty of people who saw it but no one came forward. You are left wondering if there is any justice in this world.

We should stop this STOP SNITCHING campaign. Seriously, its our own people we are hurting by protecting these thugs and killers. Trust me you are doing them a disservice by protecting them from the consequences of their crimes. I am sure its really hard to see someone you love being incarcerated especially if you are the tool behind that but please think of the victim's family and SNITCH!

Perfect Private Parts

Thursday evening as I was catching up on my recorded shows, I noticed a program running on BBC America. The title intrigued me enough to postpone my DVR viewing. I snuggled into my blanket a little bit as I berated myself for cleaning up my dinner plate at BELLA. The show was a documentary about cosmetic surgery that women want performed on their private parts due to self esteem issues. The show was hosted by a middle aged lady with two children. She followed a young girl as she set out to have the surgery performed. Asked why the young girl felt a need to have the surgery performed she mentioned that her mates laughed at her and her sister telling her potential boyfriend that she was a little lippy down there. She felt that perhaps if she thinned out her labia she would be more confident. This young lady didn't even go to her doc to have pap smears due to her feelings of disgust for her private parts. The camera follows her into the one day surgery room whereby she is given a local numbing agent as she braces herself for the knife. The surgery takes a few minutes and the young lady leaves to tend to her wounds at home. The surgeon informs the host the he performs between 10-15 surgeries of the labia per month.

Next the lady goes to some sculptor who is casting women's private parts in order to show the variations. She is hoping that this helps dissuade young girls from going under the knife all to gain a 'designer p****' . The host gets her private parts cast. The host sends one of interviewees to get her private part cast in hopes that she will not decide to have surgery. It works with the woman and she realizes she is not in any need of surgery and she actually is overcome emotionally. The host then heads off to interview an alternative therapy practitioner. In therapy apparently women are made to look at themselves and perhaps have a one on one confrontation with their private parts. Its a bizarre session and almost borders on new agey to me. Another interviewee ends up going with the host to the alternative therapy session. This young woman seems to have some issues with how she looks like down there and is presumably at peace with herself at the end of the session.

The coup de grace for me was when the whole issue of hymenoplasty. This issue brought up the subject of religious as well as cultural beliefs that are close to home. Women in our culture are judge on the purity during the wedding night. In the documentary a muslim girl is frantic to get the surgery so to hide the fact that she is not a virgin from her parents as well as her bethroed. The host ask a young indian/paki man if he expects to marry a virgin and he adamantly said that there was no way he would marry anything other than a virgin even though he might not be expected to be a virgin himself. Its a double standard that most women have to deal with. The host is overcome with tears as she notes that western women pride themselves for their sexual liberation and here they were chopping their bits all because they felt inferior to images that men have of them.

"Its all about presentation ain't it. When I have a meal I wouldn't like it to look like its being slapped together would I?" exclaimed a painter. All in all I knew about hymenoplasty for a while and used to think women were dumb even to undergo that since the hymen is cartilaginous tissue that can break by the simple act of riding a bike/camel/horse. Women are made differently Mashallah and some women can be married and still have their hymen intact. Its an odd world when a woman worth is judged by things beyond her control.

World's AIDS day

December first marks the one day the world set aside for one of the deadliest epidemic; AIDS. I would like an opportunity to highlight a program that President Bush heralds as one of the success of his presidency Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief - commonly known as PEPFAR.

This program was launched in 2003 and its aim was to provide treatment to two million people (afflicted with HIV) in 15 focus countries. 13 out of the fifteen countries are in Africa.

....... In FY2007, PEPFAR-supported programs reached 57.6 million people with support for prevention of sexual transmission using the ABC approach (Abstain, Be faithful, correct and consistent use of Condoms). The U.S. Government (USG) has supplied nearly 1.9 billion condoms worldwide from 2004 through 2007 — as Dr. Peter Piot of UNAIDS has said, more than all other developed countries combined. From FY2004 through FY2007, PEPFAR has supported prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) for women during more than 10 million pregnancies. For PMTCT clients who have been found to be HIV-positive, antiretroviral prophylaxis has been provided in over 827,000 pregnancies, preventing an estimated 157,000 infant HIV infections. With Emergency Plan support, focus countries have scaled up their safe blood programs, and 11 of them can now meet more than half of their annual demand for safe blood — up from just four when PEPFAR started.

PEPFAR has supported HIV counseling and testing for over 33 million people to date, and supported care for more than 6.6 million people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, including 2.7 million orphans and vulnerable children. Through September 2007, PEPFAR partnerships have supported antiretroviral treatment (ART) for approximately 1.45 million men, women, and children — approximately 1.36 million of whom live in 15 PEPFAR focus countries, and over 1.33 million of whom are in sub-Saharan Africa. Illustrating the broader effect of treatment, PEPFAR treatment support is estimated to save nearly 3.2 million adult years of life through September 2009, and many more beyond that time frame. These additional years of life are ones in which people can play their vital roles as parents, teachers, or caregivers......... (PEPFAR)

It is common place for people to make fun of Bush's presidency but with an initiative that has such results I will give credit where credit is due. Whether this program will continue to flourish and help in easing the burden of many AIDS/HIV afflicted families in the Africa is yet to be seen, but for now it seem to be accomplishing what it set out to do.

We can all do our part to commemorate World's AIDS day by increasing awareness of this deadly virus. More so in our culture where it is taboo to talk about anything sexual. Many of our teenagers and adults practice unprotected sex cocooned in the firm belief that none of us could be a carrier of the virus. It is a childish assumption and instead of sticking our head in the sand pretending that sexual encounters don't happen in our circles, we should instead seek to spread the ABCs of AIDS; encouraging abstinence, being faithful, and using condoms, with abstinence as the only sure way to avoid the sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS.

Eugenics in the Media

Of all people I would expect a comment underlying eugenics to come from, I was most shocked that it came from James Watson. Even if you have taken just general biology courses the name should light a bulb in your head. James Watson is the same guy who came up with the double helix structure. Let me not fail to mention that he did this in partnership with Crick. Anyway, the guy was on a book tour and he made a comment to Sunday Times stating he was

“inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa” because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really"

He is not the first scientist who has used science to support eugenics. A few years ago a book "the bell curve"was published that discussed intelligence and genetics. Its funny how people forget that the bed of civilization was never in the West but rather in the dark continent. How does race and genes translate to intelligence? Where is the proof in that? Doesn't the burden of proof lie on the one who opens their mouth? Why doesn't Watson and any other scientist out there provide duplicable proof that intelligence lies with the lightness of your skin? Absolutely disgusting that this great figure can say that but I am glad that they suspended him from his job. He needs time to reflect on his actions.

What was worse is that I asked on campus the day the news broke and no one knew what I was talking about. It further supports the fact that American students are not concerned with what happens globally or even nationally. Where are placards? The editorials? If this is the generation that is going to invoke a change then I am ashamed to be counted among its members. I don't even think I saw a statement by the NAACP in regards to the Watson comment. I guess no one cares huh?

4th July

So 4th of July was preplanned for me. I had errands to run in the morning and in the evening I was going to take the kids to Valleyfair. Its sort of a ritual for me because I get to spend some time with them without getting a sore voice. Last year I forewent the ritual because a week later I was taking them to Six Flags. Anywho, the gang and I pack lunch and drinks for the trip. I took my camera cause my cuzs from Sweden were visiting and I wanted to chronicle their time in the US. Since its been a couple years, I didn't have a clear picture of what I would see, but nothing could prepare me for that day. From the ticket booth to inside the park I saw a bunch of loitering somalis. Young boys who did nothing but stare at people entering. They even tried to hustle me by offering me a discount for a bit of money. Next was the amount of young girls walking around in skimpy outfits with guys hanging on their arms. A decade ago when I moved to MN, I went to valleyfair annually. The atmosphere was different then. You saw proper young ladies with their family dressed decently. Now, instead of family it was boyfriends. As I was standing in line with my siblings, I looked across the queue and noticed a group of rowdy somali guys and girls. Next to us were two African American women. They looked at the group then looked at us, then back at the loud talking group. One of them started a sentence, "I thought they were supposed to be dressed **mumble mumble**." She had noticed me looking at her. She smiled at me and turned towards her friend. I could feel my face getting red but I wasn't entirely sure if I was mad at the group of somalis or at the expectation to be the same.

I normally don't care what other do or wear but lately I get irritated at the direction our youth seems to be taking. I have to check my sister's attire as they step out the door. No jeans , no revealing, plunging neckline and no tight clothing. Is decency a lost art or am I old fashioned? Whatever the case, I have gotten into the habit of keeping my siblings away from the "dhocil" generation and I would rather they stay home and keep each other company!

Institution or Institutional Madness

Ever wonder what a shut out is? What it feels like?

We live in a society where we have shut outs. They are so intergrated into the system that we barely notice them let alone acknowledge them. I want to concentrate on one shut out. The one I wish to candidly speak about and is close to my heart is the shut out the smart people enforce and the ordinary live by. Case in point the famed SOL.

Its a website for nomads. The first thing you notice when you log into the site is the number of people signed on during the night hours. The other is the division of content.

1st Division:- We have the Camel Milk Debate. Its subtext boasts of intellectually social debates. Make no mistake you enter this section at your own risk. The members who post here speak of evolution, natural progression, nationalism, world politics, ethics etc. The range of topics is expansive but more to the point is the tone of voice in each piece. Personally and I have remarked this on occasions I feel like I am reading a dissertation. My mind tries to grasp what the person's point is but finally it gives up. Maybe I am just lazy or my brain is fatigued but I feel inferior when I venture into this section. I remember the first lesson I learned in English composition. Write for a range of audience, do not insult their intelligence yet inform them at the same time. Guess this rule goes out the window here.

2nd Division:- Here we have the women section. Why the separation? Are there somethings in this section that are not meant for the male eyes? Personally I believe that both sexes have a lot to share with each other. Segregation of a certain section of the website to female orientated subjects doesn't sit well with me. There are many things that we as Somalis hold as taboo and would not discuss in mixed company due to xayat reasons. Case in point FGM and virginity. A society is compromised of males, females, young, old, rich, poor ...........thus shouldn't we all be given a chance to be heard in an equal setting if the end goal is information and education?

I am going to stop dissecting each section because I haven't got the time right now. I will wrap up my point by saying that SOL started out as a website that was a break from the childish talk. A place where one felt among their peers and would benefit from others leading overall to a better community . I am sad to say that for me SOL has not fulfilled this goal. I usually feel like there is a competition when you read the posts. People are so bent on sounding smart and knowledgeable that they leave a good number of us uninformed. By the time I sift through the superficial layers and looking up works and books of people, I have lost interest and track of the read. I close the page and go back to reading my books. It might seem that I might be daft or slow or intellectually challenged but I can hold my own in an argument, I just do it in a professional and undaunting way. I lull my subjects to a sense of equality. I bring them to my level of thought progressively almost like teaching a child to take their first steps. I let go of their hands and Lo and behold they take their first steps without assistance. The first steps into a society of forward progression and not of Instituitionalization.

I yield my pen to you

POV

There was once a man who said, "I disapprove of what you say but, I will defend to death your right to say it." Strong statement isn't it?

Everyday we meet different people in life and each of them either regurgitate someone's opinion or have one of their own. These days its rare to find someone who has original opinions because of mass media and their influence so I would think that coming across an individual who actually possesses originality our hearts would skip a beat. Unfortunately I met people who would rather that everyone have a uniformity of thought.

As I sat and argued against this disillusionment, I thought to myself how misunderstood uniqueness is. If I play the devil's advocate I certainly will be prone to be shoved to the side and painted as a sore on society. A tear in the wall of conformist and an abhorrance to look at. If everyone thought and did the same thing we wouldn't have Graham Bell,Newton, Martin Luther King Jr. I mean come on these people thrived on their uniqueness and held on to it even though at times they were faced with adversity.

So here is to you Ngonge..........to your misunderstood genius and your corky thought processes. I applaud your uniqueness and am glad of your existence because you go against the grain of normalcy. Cheers Mate!