Do you ever question your continued stay in the West?

[thehappyone]

No. If it bothered me a lot, i would have done something about it.

Home is where u feel safe and secure. Geography has little to do with it.

The point is how can you feel safe and secure in a country that isn't yours. You've got a potential statehead talking about banning muslims, what if he gets elected and starts talking about deporting muslims. You will only feel truely safe and secure in your "home" country which is your indegenous place regardless if there's bombs flying overhead. When I went to xamar for the first time two years ago, eventhough I didn't fully understand the language or customs, didn't have any friends there or places I know, I truely felt at home, like, deportation never crosses your mind. There's no person to tell you to piss of back where you came from. Home is that feeling, when you sit in some cafe in xamar, order tea, and listen to old folk badmouth the turkish slow progress and the useless government. Home isn't you warm fully equipped house in minnesota with neighbours who want you out. And don't tell me your from Canada, same shit, different smell.

[Gaashaanle1000]

I never use to question it, but as I get older I find myself asking the same question every day, when will I return to build my life in Somalia?

Currently my plan is to return within a few years and build a business to get by on. The plan is to be self sufficient and completely free, as in having solar panels and windmills for my own electricity and a small sustainable plot of land where I can grown crops and hopefully build a well to irrigate and provide water. Maybe a horse or two and perhaps some camels, but you would not see my walking around with them, probably get some young family members to look after them, and maybe I will ride the camels and horses, unlike the silly Somali way of walking with camels.

[SahanGalbeed]

maybe I will ride the camels and horses, unlike the silly Somali way of walking with camels.

The camel is sacred animal and the somalis are their top holders . The only people who ride camels in Africa do it because neither horse or man could reach where they wanted to go . I am talking about the Touareg who just like us lived , traded , married and sometimes raided other touaregs in the periphery of the Sahara . From Agadez Niger if you wanna go visit your brothers in Djanet Algeria , you have to cross the mighty Tenere . They didn't get on the back of camels because it looks cool but because it could not be done otherwise .

Tuareg ^ walking with their camels
https://clyp.it/okboq2bx
^ Guitar from Ayr { present day Niger } to bolster my statement

[Tuushi]

No. If it bothered me a lot, i would have done something about it.

Home is where u feel safe and secure. Geography has little to do with it.

The point is how can you feel safe and secure in a country that isn't yours. You've got a potential statehead talking about banning muslims, what if he gets elected and starts talking about deporting muslims. You will only feel truely safe and secure in your "home" country which is your indegenous place regardless if there's bombs flying overhead. When I went to xamar for the first time two years ago, eventhough I didn't fully understand the language or customs, didn't have any friends there or places I know, I truely felt at home, like, deportation never crosses your mind. There's no person to tell you to piss of back where you came from. Home is that feeling, when you sit in some cafe in xamar, order tea, and listen to old folk badmouth the turkish slow progress and the useless government. Home isn't you warm fully equipped house in minnesota with neighbours who want you out. And don't tell me your from Canada, same shit, different smell.

Maybe i am too naive or mellow.I never let something out of my control worry me.That being said,i honestly never that die hard connection with Somalia as a country.I know that is not the popular or favoured opinion here but that is me.

Never feared deportation.I know Allah`s plans are bigger and better than anyone else.I will worry when it comes.No sense freaking out about a tomorrow that is not guaranteed for me.

They can want me out as much as it pleases them.I never let anyone instil fear in me.If i do get deported,it definitely wouldnt make me feel more or less happy.

Somalida and their nationalism,sometimes i do envy that.Never had that root there.

Home is where my heart is and unfortunately, it is not Somalia.

[Hyperactive]

i feel same as Tuushi. never had connection to somalia or somali(lands). i never called any where mine. life is great as it is.

[Djiboutian]

Take it from me, make up your mind before it is too late. Once you have children it will be very difficult to relocate.

In hindsight, just very few of you will move back home.

Do yourself a favor, if you decided to live in your host country act like its your own home and contribute to its progress. Be a good citizen.

[BVSNet]

if you decided to live in your host country act like its your own home

That's very good advice. Either be all in or if it bothers you, move out. This half in half out business won't get us anywhere

No. If it bothered me a lot, i would have done something about it.

Home is where u feel safe and secure. Geography has little to do with it.

Is home Canada for you then?

I see where you're coming from (the safe and the secure comment needs it's own discussion) in terms of geography being irrelevant, I have once or twice even used the phrase "a citizen of the world" to describe myself (never really believed it). There's a certain appeal to being able to detach yourself from the man-made borders that separate human beings and claiming the entire round ball as your own to place a stamp where you will. (This ideal becomes flawed if we're only seeking the "nice" spots to place that stamp - then it's just economic migration with a hippie spin).



For a lot of the reasons mentioned in this thread (raising kids in their ancestral land, freedom from Western measures of happiness, security of being 'where you came from') living in Somalia/Africa seems like the natural thing to do. Add to that the fact that by living in the West you are actually taking your skill and capital away from Somalia/Africa. Collectively, we are a generation contributing to foreign countries at the cost of our own. We usually ignore/don't think about the full equation; the contribution we're giving to the West is contribution that we're taking away from our ancestral lands. Pluses here means minuses there.

Economics and sociology aside, on a personal level. Can someone ever be truly happy/at peace if they detach themselves from the land of their mother-tongue?

It seems for the most part I'm preaching to the choir but just thinking out loud. Glad ... sad actually to see I'm not the only one who feels conflicted about being here - I guess after a while it just becomes a habit. It's easy to forget to ask this question or turn plans into reality but really, I don't see how being in the West is a viable long-term option for anyone who shares these types of thoughts both on an intellectual and personal level.

[original dervish]

The western nations are on the way down......nothing lasts forever.
I want to start slowly investing in Somalia, north & south, until such a time I can live comfortably insha'llah.

[original dervish]

Furthermore, I too am not fond of the grasping hordes, so it's better to live on a ranch style home away from the towns.

[Tanker]

the biggest question who is going to pay our bills in Somalia?

[dvision01]

I don't think I can live in a place like somalia where everybody goes to sleep when you get dark I need to live in the 24 hours city, and the west is perfect for that.

[Machiavelli2]

I feel at home here, went to Somalia a couple of times and we decided the best options for the future of our family and children are here. Family holidays maybe, but we decided home is here. Intiina socoto, Nabbad, bash bash iyo barwaaqo.

[TheCadaanGuy]

No, staying in the west and helping out back home homeland is far better than staying in homeland.

Remittances are the only thing that keeps Somalia and other regions alive. Most people would starve without them.

The only time one should go back homeland is when s/he can contribute to economy with their own hands far more than staying in the west and giving money away.

[AirBitaale]

No, staying in the west and helping out back home homeland is far better than staying in homeland.

Remittances are the only thing that keeps Somalia and other regions alive. Most people would starve without them.

The only time one should go back homeland is when s/he can contribute to economy with their own hands far more than staying in the west and giving money away.

You have a point there, mate.

[Djiboutian]

Yes it bothers me a lot, unfortunately I am not good at saving, I spend all my money that's why I why I am still roaming around Europe. how ever this year, in an gumeed baan ahay, doofaar ah nacdal baana igu taal hadaanan dhoofin.

Saving iyo lexajeclada waa luu dhasha.

Hadaad dib dalka ugu noqonaysiid adigu wax kurdhistay ku noqo. Misa Cilmi kurdhiso misa farsamo aad dalka la tagtiid baro inta sanaadkan ka hadhsan.

Hypercative is just honest , I am a little like him , let's say I love being by myself while being surrounded by others in an environment where I determine the boundaries
My dream is not to go back to Africa to be with other somalis . I am deeply grateful to the American people and I figured since there is no way I could repay them individually I should go out and make them new friends by becoming an english teacher in a French speaking African country . I love the role of the teacher in society and people always remember a teacher they liked . When I was a kid all we did in our english classes was to read a book or write something . That's not how you learn . You learn a language by speaking it . So I could see myself with kids debatingthe issue of the day in english . You know , you get them engaged in the world at the same time { the best somali cultural attribute} . Pray for me , insha Allah that should be my new adventure, West Africa here I come for a better purpose than militant islam

Dhalinta Jabuuti aya u baahan aqoontada.