Who here was actually alive on October 21st, 1969?

[Mizzy_Flame]

^ dude your like a fossil, old as dirt

[Warsan_Star_Muslimah]

I was 26 and had already returned to the States. It came as a complete and total shock. My former landlord had just visited me in August. I received no mail from Somalia after the 21st.

What? You used to recieve mail from Somalia? Why didn't you after then?

[rabanam]

Experiences of reasonable people other than just asking my parents.

my dad was only 7 at that time so all he really told me was the general atmosphere back then

1969 was a period marked by coup d'etats and revolutions. It was almost the trend or latest fashion. Libya had a coup d'etat the same year, bringing Gaddafi to power. The year before, Saddam Hussein come to power through coup d'etat. Following year, Syria and Oman had coup d'etats. Uganda and Sudan had coups in 1971, bringing known leaders (Idi Amin and Numeiri) to power, while coups fail in Egypt and Morroco. There were many other coups throughout the 70's and before 1969. That's just Africa and the Middle East, but there were many coups across the world. So, Somalia's coup wasn't unique; it was to happen one way or another, carried out by MSB or any high ranking officer. The former colonial masters had no qualm about it; in fact, they encouraged it. It's strange that Somalia and Libya, two countries colonized by Italy, had coups the same year. It was also a period of aligning one's country to one of the two superpowers; the Soviet & US. It was an inconsistent alignment; shifting from one superpower to another, as was the case with both Somalia and Ehiopia.

Was Somalia better in the 70s/80s than in the 60s? Somalis in the 60s were more conservative and traditional. Secularism was at its highest point during the 70s/80s, when dating, frequenting night clubs, drinking alcohol, etc become a lifestyle. Corruption, nepotism and mismanagement become a norm during the 70s/80s. The guulwade militia were known for harassing civilians, threatening with arrest and demanding kickbacks. Injustice was prevalent in the 70s/80s. If you're from the wrong clan and had no clout, life could be awful. Children of the elites run amok, doing what they fancy and fearing no retribution. Example; one of those children (forgot his name) shot to death an innocent life and got away with it.

Economic-wise, Somalia in the 60s was self-sufficient, exporting agricultural products (not only banana). It's worth to note, there was less agricultural machines in the 60s, yet Somalia was self-sufficient and even exported many products. Talking about paved roads, most roads paved in the 70s/80s used not to last one rain season, as most were subject to erosion, causing potholes. That's the result of corruption and mismanagement, channeling resources and funds to the pockets of a few elites.

[Grant]

I was 26 and had already returned to the States. It came as a complete and total shock. My former landlord had just visited me in August. I received no mail from Somalia after the 21st.

What? You used to recieve mail from Somalia? Why didn't you after then?

Somalia became a Russian military "client", and contact with Americans was cut off. Those were Cold War days.

[AbdiWahab252]

Grant,

Enjoy this pic & I am still dumbfounded that why MSB clung to defunct Eastern Bloc Ideologies:

[The Nomad]

AW,

It's just another case of poor politicians making terrible decisions. No socialist nation has ever had anything resembling a sustainable functioning economy, the fact that he was a month away from a bankrupt government before the civil war is testament to this.

[AbdiWahab252]

Nomad,

One SNET Marexan kid's father sold several caches of weapons to the USC for a couple thousand

[TrophY-WifeY-]

my ma wasnt even alive then

and what happend anways?

Xataa Anaaa yaah

[Hyperactive]

my father grew the area after 1969.

let us be honest, wasnt all good and dandy for some people.

people were jailled, tortured, killer but life was going on and people still had place to call home.
unlike now.

after all depends on how your situation was..

[XKeyse_]

hyper,

They were good days for the Ogaadeen, they were settled in Somalia, they were given more post despite the fact non of them were from Somalia proper, they were resetlled on non-darood land to displace the real owners, every citizen of the north was forced to hire and train an Ogaadeen or he would loose his business by 1988 Hargaysa was given to your kind and the people of Hargaysa were dispossessed of their land, you were the Isrealis from 1969-1989.

[The_Emperior5]

walahi xkeysow 1984 magaalada hargeisaa beertayadii daloodho ayaa qaxootii farra baddan oo ogaden ah la soo dhoobay , markasey slaan yarro adeerkay qabay nala so hadashay war beertii walana qaaday , beertii abaskuul ogaden ba la soo dadjiyee , walahi wax la ilaawii kara maha, qaxoootii ila 3000. ila 5000 oo qoissas ah aya beertayadii soo dadjiyeen, waxay yidhaheen wa badbaado qarran bay uu bixiiyeen soo dadjintaas

[XKeyse_]

Maxaa Majeerteenia loo dajin waayay? why Hiiraan, Waqooyi Galbeed , Jubooyinka , Awdal, the non-Daarood area? was it an issue of planting Daarood on non Daarood area or was it a humanterian mission?

[Hyperactive]

hyper,

They were good days for the Ogaadeen, they were settled in Somalia, they were given more post despite the fact non of them were from Somalia proper, they were resetlled on non-darood land to displace the real owners, every citizen of the north was forced to hire and train an Ogaadeen or he would loose his business by 1988 Hargaysa was given to your kind and the people of Hargaysa were dispossessed of their land, you were the Isrealis from 1969-1989.

i heard Kurdish now im hearing isrealis.lol