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Why people from Somalia understemate the other Somalis who were not born or brought up in Somalia and think they don't know anything about life in general.

SomaliNet Forum (Archive): General Discusions: Archive (Before Dec. 16, 2000): Why people from Somalia understemate the other Somalis who were not born or brought up in Somalia and think they don't know anything about life in general.
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yaabsan

Sunday, October 29, 2000 - 08:31 am
Why people from Somalia understemate the other Somalis who were not born or brought up in Somalia and think they don't know anything about life in general. Do all those from Somalia know everything about life?

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Yare

Sunday, October 29, 2000 - 08:34 am
They think they know more about u that is why sista.But don't ever listen to anyone who is bringing u down aight. No matter who.

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SINNA

Sunday, October 29, 2000 - 09:54 am
I FEEL U 4 REAL, THEY THINK WE R SOME WANNA BS 2 LIKE IT IS OUR FAULT THAT WE WERE BORN AND BROUGHT UP IN OTHER COUNTRY OTHER THEN SOMALIA..

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nimo

Sunday, October 29, 2000 - 10:21 am
I feel it too.

I understand what you said sister cause I get it all the time even from my friends (the ones who grew up in Somalia) who know me and know my childhood background. It is not because we don't know the culture it is because despite everything we can't realate to some of it since we did not use it or grew with it. And that is not our fault it is just how it is. Another thing that they don't realise is that when a person is taken out of context it is hard for a person to relate to the relevance of the cultural technicality.

Cultural practise is only valid when you are surrounded by people who know about it and practise it like you everyday.So this is what most Somalis seem to be missing but it is understandable I think since it is hard for them to relate to it.
What I would say is give them some time especailly when they have childern who might grow up in the foriegn countries we live in and then they might understand our frustration.


Take care

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Ice-Man

Sunday, October 29, 2000 - 10:56 am
Don't let anyone validate you as a Somali
Know who you are, and live with it

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Africanni

Sunday, October 29, 2000 - 11:15 am
And also they tend to forget the slight difference b/w you and them is due to the environment that we are brought in, but not ignorance. I find most ppl from Somalia to be intolerant.

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T-GIRL

Sunday, October 29, 2000 - 11:48 am
Finally a topic I can relate to.......

Yaabsan
I hear what U saying sweety. I get that kinda crap all the time. I was born in Europe and educated in Asia...so when my friends come over for tea they make fun of my pictures as a child coz they condemn me for not being able to be in the "IN" crowd. If I ask them to share the joke they tell me..."What the hell do U know, U were raised in China". That gets on me nerve.

U know what a person in that predicament does ....I started to learn Somali....intensively.. I have a collection of Somali songs and I can finally relate to whatever the hell that is they are refering to....

My advice to U is don't take it personally. If I were U I would make this a personal challenge and rise above it and show them that U R multi lingual and know your culture inside out.

PEACE

"T"

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US MARINE

Sunday, October 29, 2000 - 05:24 pm
OOPPS!!!! that is the problem i was facing too.
who was reading my mind. just kidding.
somalia is one of the few countries in the would with no cultural diversity. so when somali is born in somalia they look different to other somalias born in Ethiopia, kenya, middle east and the rest of the world. it is not there fault. they don't know what cultural diversity is. somalia was 99.9% somalis, so what do u expect. if u believe or do what they don't like they will think u might not be somalis.
but like us who are born in other countries we were raised in different cultures you will respect those cultures and we are minority in those countries. i hope u understand the difference. bye all

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Hakima

Sunday, October 29, 2000 - 05:47 pm
May be it is the other way round!
Because some of us who were born or raised abroad, tend to think that they are better than those who are in somalia.

We just need little bit of understanding and No
Prejudice. And lots of respect to our identity and culture (no matter how weird it sometimes may sound!)

peace...

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Anonymous

Sunday, October 29, 2000 - 06:10 pm
hakiima

You right. I always thought it was the other way round.

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4EVER

Sunday, October 29, 2000 - 07:30 pm
to yaabsan,

that is because you guys had it easy; while we were going through "THE AFWAYNE" regime you guys were drinking milk and having fun.
We the ppl who grew up in Somalia know what rough life is and you guys don't. So please don't pretend you know what we went through. Don't get me wrong those were the best times of my life and I wouldn't change if for the world but sometimes it was very rough. That is why we think we are know life more than you guys "ciyaal mama waaxid"

peace 4EVER

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Somali-Yankee

Sunday, October 29, 2000 - 08:04 pm
well interesting....my cousins were born in the US ...n we have no trouble relating to each other...true we behave differently but da bottom line we remain true to our somaliness

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Confused

Monday, October 30, 2000 - 05:26 am
what about me?
I was born in Djibouti yet Somali people treat me differently. They laugh at my dialect because it's not the pure language and they think I'm not one of them. What's up with that people?
Am I an outsider? Where is the solidarity here? Do you have to be born in Somalia to be qualified as Somali?

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Haad

Monday, October 30, 2000 - 05:41 am
well, well !!!!

what a topic?.....I think the somalis are caught into the cancerous plague of tribalism. so they consider somalis from outside the country as not of their own.

A case in point is that of people from east afrcica(somalis)...They usually use the word "sijui to describe other somalis. Sijui means i don't know.......so, when a somali from somali proper asks a kenyan/tanz/ugandan somali about his tribal linkage, the answer he gets is SIJUI.

Isn't that an ideal thing to do ? to overcome the barrier of tribalism?...

Not so, according to somalis, the sijuis are a bunch of idiots, fools etc who have forgotten their somali culture of tribalism.

I bet that, if reality could be a thing for somalis, they could have realised that , the sijuis are the only true somalis living in the world.

By distancing themselves from real somalis(sijuis), the somalis show how ignorant they are....

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TINKYBELL

Monday, October 30, 2000 - 10:51 am
T GIRL, WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PASS THE BOOKS MY WAY? WELL I DON'T HAVE A CLUE MOST OF THE TIME WHAT'S GOING ON. ANYWAYS, I CAN SPEAK SOMALI, WELL SORT OF. BUT THE THING IS WHENEVER I GO TO WEDDINGS AND STUFF, EVERYONE IS ALWASY SINGING A LONG TO THE SONGS, AND I'M LIKE KEEP SMILING, JUST KEEP SMILING, IF YOU KNOW WHAT IMEAN.

I TRIED TO REVISE SOMALI MUSIC BUT I ALWASY SEEM TO MISS WHAT THE STORY IN THE SONG IS.

SO YAABSAN, YOUR NOT ALONE SIS, THEY'LL GROW OUT OF IT.

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T-GIRL

Monday, October 30, 2000 - 11:01 am
That is like a double standard, ain't it though?

4EVER
U sound just like the ppl I associate with..What U should bare in mind is that we are not responsible for our parents actions....U think we had it easy......Atleast U never went through

-PPL touching your hair and asking you if U bathe with sand...
-PPL asking your mother if they could keep you for a day coz they never saw a black person in their life.
-PPL touching your skin randomly and asking you blatently if the black in your skin comes off..like ever.
That is a trauma all by itself brother. Trust me that alienates you from the world coz if the Somalians reject you and the foreigners reject you...U live in resentment and pain all your life.

Maybe U outta think about that next time U call anyone "CIYAAL MAMO".

PEACE
Trouble

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4EVER

Monday, October 30, 2000 - 08:55 pm
T-girl,

I hope you are not comparing someone touching your hear and asking you why you are black to avoiding getting shot. Some of us grew up
- in a country were the electricity worked 3 days
out of the week(if you are lucky).
- in a country were small % of the population
had every thing while the rest didn't and we
all know how that story ended.

Then leaving that country they called home when they were 14. Leaving behind their Father, Mother, Friends, Family and not knowing if they were ever going to see them again. Then starting a new life in a country far far a way from home and ppl calling you names and telling you to go back home and not being able to fight back in words because you don't speak the language. now that is the life that we (the ppl who grow up in Somalia) had to go through. So excuse me miss T-girl If I don't cry when you tell me that your life was hard; frankly running out of your favorite cereal doesn't count as a rough life.

Peace 4EVER

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ue marine

Monday, October 30, 2000 - 11:01 pm
4EVER.
what about the somalis who where born in kenya , ethiopia, tanzania, uganda and djabuti did they had life better than you? i don't think so u talking to T-girl born in china and somaother place. i understand her to she was discreminated coz of her color that one is worser than anything else.ur minority. have u seen the blk American and south African up to now they have some psychological problem from the colonism. so the sister being though some hard time too. in somalia it was u against ur cousins and brothers but in her case was different.
we from the east africa countries we had problems more than u. bye

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Yaabsan

Tuesday, October 31, 2000 - 11:35 am
I reased up this question because i know there is lots of people like me trying to learn Somali but those who speaks the language very well and know the culture are not helping at all.

Nimo
I totally agree with u

T-Girl
My policy is if you don't like they way i am you can go to hell. I never took it personly but i can't help wondering why are they like this, i see other notinolity help thier pple.
i think they envy us because we speak more languages than them.
Learningsongs won't make me Somali besides the singers use a big words that not in use now adays.

Us-Marine

Hakima

I agree with you that some of us think they are from different planet and i think because they tried but gave up quickly.
Have you ever said a wrong word infront of Somalis instead of correcting you they laugh and tell every one what you said and make it story.

4EVER

What a rediculous excuse!!!!

Ice-Man
I never let any one to understmate me. thanx for the advice.

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somali

Tuesday, October 31, 2000 - 12:07 pm
true somalis are those who endured ten years of war and somalia is rightfully theirs...you people in the diasparo call yourselfs something else other than somali.the word somali only refers to those inside somalia and the occupied lands.

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SABAX

Tuesday, October 31, 2000 - 05:01 pm
To Yaabsan girl

Well, one of the reason or thoughts ppl ..think of ..u that way is most ppl who where not born n raised outside of Somalia think ..

That in Somalia everyone who lives there is poor n under proverty or living shanty houses..WHICH THEY DON'T..well if i relate to my self....i am a one who supports Somalia from those who lead down.

So perhaps those ppl will understand u when ppl like u try to understand...the values..n ways of living in Somalia...n its cultural underpinnings.

peace

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SABAX

Tuesday, October 31, 2000 - 05:03 pm
My bad....i mean most ppl who were not born n raised Somalia.

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US MARINE

Tuesday, October 31, 2000 - 05:19 pm
i don't think anyone can tell us that we are not somalis, and whatever someone says that will not degrade me. i am somalian i speak good somali and i can bearly read it but that does not mean that i am not somalian so whoever think somalis are the one who survived from the civil war. nope it is not those are called survivors not somalis. who ever claims his parent/parents are somalis then he is somalian. who ever has somalis citizen born and raised in somalia weather jew , white or arab he is somalain. it doesn't matter weather they speak the language or not.
i am proud to be somalian and ain't asking permission to anyone weather to call myself somalian or not. bye

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Waleed

Tuesday, October 31, 2000 - 06:01 pm
Yaabsan, Hmmmmmmmm. Hala Walla Hala. Is it possible that we know each other?

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Yaabsan

Wednesday, November 01, 2000 - 10:02 am
Waleed, looooooooooooooooool!!!!!!!!!

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Troublegirl

Wednesday, November 01, 2000 - 10:05 am
US MARINE
Thanx for sticking up for the travellers

4EVER
Let me give you an insight of my world..shall I? A speacial preview. U spoke about the water and electricity problems in Somalia....Well I experienced that too....I was in Somalia during the war ok and I went through it like the rest of the nation.....And as far as my favourite cereal was concerned..living abroad 98% of my life was not a ride to Disney land. How would you feel being a stranger in the world.....The somalians don't want you coz U not from somalia....the foreigners don't want U coz U a black kid.....The Indians don't want you coz...Well that is a different story....LOL

When U go back to Somalia U will understand what I was going on about. U will know exactly how it feels to be alienated........but I am guessing U will be lucky coz U won't be alone....U will always have another somalian who is from Abroad sharing your stories......

PEACE
Trouble

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Ismahan

Monday, November 06, 2000 - 01:43 pm
4real there is one thing i would like to ask u, my brother. Who is the person that put you in that sad sitiution? Is it someone who wasn't born/raised in somlia or is it allah, ur creator?
U have no right to blame us for all the sad things that happended in ur live. Just because your problems are so obviouse, THE WAR, does not mean that can blame us. We had our own problems in our lives that you know nothing about. But do u see or hear us moning about it 24 hours a day and speak about it to every one we meet? nooooo... problems are part of live and u are suppose to learn things from it. U can't except to live a happy live forever (not in this world anyway). Everyone goes through a hard time, and i am sure that everyone in this room have or had their own problems and they would be fools if thy all blamed you. You have to understand that ALLAH is the one that decides what happens to eveyone, good or bad. And HE also promised that we someone goes throgh a hard time it will be over and good time will fallow. So whatever happened in the past happened for a reason so have faith in your lord and be thankfull that it is all over. It was all A test.

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Waleed

Monday, November 06, 2000 - 02:41 pm
To be frank, I don’t give a freaking jack about those who give me an attitude simply because I was born out of Somalia. In my humble opinion, it is a privilege to be born out of Somalia, and before you start attacking me, let me at least state my reasons. As for my self being born out of my native country " United Arab Emarat", my attitude in life is treat others the way you want to be treated, and Tribalism isn’t in my dictionary at all, and defiantly it is not going to determine how are am I going to treat you. I treasure my character, and oh boy, not too many Somalis even know what it means to have a character. I’m not here to put my countrymen down, beside no one is perfect. But, those who were born in Smalia always label us as idiots, and easy to fool type of people. Well, we have proved them wrong by our conduct as well as our achievements in this life. Now a days, ask any Somali female who would she prefer to marry, a man who was born in Somalia or a man who was born elsewhere, you will be surprise to hear that we are wanted by many of our sisters. My main argument here is we don’t judge Somalis in term of qabeel, but we rather judge them in term of their personality and behavior. Knowing my countrymen, I’m expecting to receive a lot of criticism due to my conclusion on this matter, and what ever you say in this forums, please be advice to say the truth.

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Waleed

Monday, November 06, 2000 - 03:45 pm
One more thing, my condolences for those who were born in Somalia.

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Somali-Yankee

Monday, November 06, 2000 - 06:16 pm
waleed.....stop with the generalisation nigga....if yu had bad experience with some somalis...it doesn't mean we r all the same...all all my cousins were born in the US n i had trouble with them....we talk with accent doesn't mean we think accent....since we did yu ask all females who they prefer?
for your information my gal-friend who is my fiance now was born outside somalia....n she did chose me over a guy who was a somali born in saudi arabia.

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Somali_Yankee

Monday, November 06, 2000 - 06:19 pm
one more thing....i meant "i had no trouble with them"...i left the no there ....yu piss off...i hate people who generalise...damn

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Waleed

Monday, November 06, 2000 - 07:37 pm
Somali Yankee, Since when do we have something called girl friend among us? Your response has proved that not only you and your girl friend don’t have characters, but also a lack of our Islam teaching.

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Time Magazine

Monday, November 06, 2000 - 07:42 pm
waleed oh thanks holly man. now can you direct me to the gates of hell? Given that you must have passed it on your way to reform.

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wanaagsane

Tuesday, November 07, 2000 - 12:15 am
The somalis, I guess, look down upon fellow somalis, who were born in the diaspora out of fear and envy.

the somalis from Kenya /NFD (northern frontier Distric) have Language capabilities and maintain the rich somali culture which infortunately somalis from somalia lack. They are also free from the cancer that is killing many somalis silently (tribalism).

It is a pity that they look down upon "real somalis" out of fear.

HAVE U GOT ANY REMEDIES?....

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Somali_Yanke

Tuesday, November 07, 2000 - 07:32 am
waleed....if people are indifferent to what say doesn't mean yu should go onto character assination....if i remember it well...somalis in somalia do date...that's way of getting to know your soulmate and apprcaite one's love....even people in countryside(reer miyi) do the same thing.does this voilate Islam...i bet yu it does but than again we had our own culture before Islam
came to somalia....n it is da culture prevails now
not necessarly the religion....well if yu are up for arranged marriage...that's your catch...n plz don't brag me about Islam...The HOLY QURAN is translated into many lan...i can get one and read myself....iam not a religious person but iam certainly God-fearing....n about my character ..well that's not for yu to judge.
peace

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Miss-Understood

Tuesday, November 07, 2000 - 01:12 pm
TIME MAGAZINE
Enterance to hell----------------> this way sir....LOL

UR sarcasm killed me man..U remind me of Hebel....

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Zaawi

Thursday, November 09, 2000 - 06:09 pm
To all of our brothers and sisters Viva Somalia

I am Zaawi, I was born and grew up in the central regions of Somalia . I spent my high school years in Biadowa. This is very important experience. Please don't think I am tribalist, I am describing a social reality, and I think many of you who grew up outside somalia will find it insightful. In terms power structure, central regioners or reer Mudug have dominated somali politics and economics since the modern state was created. As result they have accumulated social power which to some extent reached the point where they see themselves as superior. So when when my father who was in the military was transfered to Baydhabo,we had to face this social reality,and instead of examining the problem critically we simply chose to ignore it and see reer baydhabo as inferior. Eventhough we lived there for the next ten years we never learned their language, I have never made friend from the natives eventhough I had more twenty friends of my own group, people who speak Maxaatiri. Check this, there was this guy, Umar, who is no different than us, he was good looking, but the ugly chicks from Maxaatiri would not date him. Worst of all, and I am not making this up, one day he had date and he asked something to wear and I refused. Do you now why? becuase he was from the Maay. A year ago I was writing this term paper and one of the things I come across was how the power some of us obtain through operresion can be turned to inherent quality. Some groups take what belongs to others just becuase they can and that becomes inherent quality. This is why we discriminated Raxanwayn our fellow somalis. When I think about it now it greatly upsets me, not becuase just it happened but beacuse I was enforcing it with knowing. Simply, We came and took every position of income and power and guess what we though we were better than them. I was under social illusion. Normally, I am an individual but that revelation was difinitive in shaping who I am. I don't trust any group. I have looked for my friend Cumar and I awe him big apology. Now any time I remember that experience it brings tears to my eyes. I am leaving for London on december, and with luck I will find Cumar and I will personally ask him to be my dear,live-long freind. I hate injustice and most of all when the majority people who are participating have no Idea what they are doing.

My brother and sisters who were born outside of Somalia, you are somalis for good and for worse. These people are under social illusion. So don't ever think you are less of them when it comes to who is somali.
Somalia is country where people have little respect for one another only the strong will survive. So when someone says you are not somali fight back tell him what makes him somali and not you. If you walk away they will not respect to you but if you stand up they will say waa nin libaax ah and that is pretty much it. I promiss every where I am I will support to you, and to tell you the truth I don't know what makes me somali and not you.

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Fatuma

Friday, November 10, 2000 - 08:48 am
somali yanke you are a very sad, sad man.
If u had the culture b4 the relegion doesn't mean that u can ignore the relegion and keep fallowing your ignorant culture.
Everyone was fallowing their culture which was not right and was leding evey1 to hell that in why ALLAH sended his messanger to the ppl to the right pad.
Ok my Brother, so don't be dumb.

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TRUESOMALISIS

Friday, November 10, 2000 - 10:33 am
GUYS I WAS BORN IN SOMALIA....BUT LEFT WHEN I WAS 9 YEARS OLD AND LIVED IN KENYA..FOR 6 YEARS THEN COME TO THE STATES.............THAT DOESN'T MAKE ME FULL SOMALI................CAZ I LIVED OUT SIDE OF SOMALIA MORE THEN I LIVED IN SOMALIA...SO AS A SOMALI WHO WAS BORN IN SOMALI I DON'T THINK I KNOW MORE THEN U GUYS...AND I ALSO MEET SOMALIANS WHO WERE BORN OUT SIDE OF SOMALIA EVEYDAY I FEEL LIKE I UNDRESTAND THEM MORE THEN THE OTHERS 4 REALS ..............ONE DAY A COUPLE OF DAYS I GO I MET THIS SOMALI GUYS WHO WAS BORN OUT SIDE OF SOMALI I DON'T KNOW IF I SHOULD SAY THE COUNTRY OR NOT ..........ANY WAYS WE MET CAN U BELIEVE IT HE DOESN'T SPEAK SOMALI AT ALL NOT EVEN ONE WORD WE TALK AND BE COME FRIEND...NEXT DAY WE MET AGAIN AND GUESS WHAT THIS OLD SOMALI DUDE SAW ME TALKING TO THE GUY....IT WAS JOB INTERVEW....AND THERE WAS ALLOT OTHER SOMALIANS OLD ONCE U KNOW SO I JUST COME UP TO THE GUY AND SAY HI ..RIGHT WE TALK 4 LIKE 20 MINUTES AND I LEFT AFTER WORDS..AND THEN ONE OF THE OLD SOMALI MAN COME AFTER ME AND GUESS WHAT HE SAID TO ME ...HE WAS LIKE HOW COME I DIDNT' SAY HI TO SOMALIANS INSTEAD OF THE (JAREER) GUY...I WAS DISSAPOINTED ...I TOLD HIM HE IS NOT JAREER AND I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO TALK TO ANYONE I WISH TO TALK TO .........I TOLD HIM THE GUYS WAS SOMALI AND HE DOESN'T SPEAK SOMALI CAZ HE WAS BORN OUT SIDE OF SOMALIA ..(IT IS NOT KENYA GUYS) HE WAS LIKE THAT IS NOT EXCUSE.....CAN U BELIEVE IT I EVEN TOLD HIM THAT THE GUY THE GUYS TRIB FROM BOTH OF HIS PARENTS AND LIVED IN THE STATES SINCE 1984...AND HE STILL DIDN'T THINK I WAS TELLING THE TRUTH

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us marine

Sunday, November 12, 2000 - 06:29 am
zaawi.
thanx . it is good that u realized that u did something wrong. a mistake is is not mistake til u do twice, and that is what a real man is about.
i am sure u friend omar will happy to accept ur apoligy.
for those somalis born out of the country. get up stand fight for ur right. if ur old enough u remember that song.
so never give up and fight for ur right. pray and say let all the somalis unite.
united states of somalia.

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