Comments on: BBC feature on Welsh ‘Degmo’

By: Saggal

Saggal — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:10:37 +0000

Salaams Yusuf,

Thanks for this. I will download it and make sure to send my kids there…ah, it’s not a podcast so can’t download it. Will just listen then. Thanks again.

By: Thersites

Thersites — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:20:40 +0000

“In Somalia, families often send children to spend time with relatives in the countryside,” Not only in Somalia- I used to be shipped off to the west of Ireland in the summer holidays. One of the early intentions of the E.U. agricultural policy was to support part-time family farms in France and Germany, which functioned in a similar way. There’s a fascinating book- Warriors and Strangers- by Gerald Hanley telling of his time in Somalia during WWII as a peace-keeping district officer.

By: s.ali

s.ali — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 05:15:48 +0000

finally something nice to blog. Thanks YUSUF

By: LeedsLad

LeedsLad — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:11:58 +0000

Hamish Wilson was a man who stood by Somalis when the rest of the western world were helping to kill them.

The Wilsons must be the last Britishness standing. I hope they will be given a hand and even expand such programmes.

From http://www.democracynow.org/2009/8/12/sharlet

JEFF SHARLET: Indeed. And Grassley has been involved with the organization for quite some time, since the ’80s, when he traveled to Somalia to join Barre, Siad Barre, in prayer to Jesus. And he brought with him a defense contractor named Bill Brehm.

And Barre was a kind of a cynical character, as you might expect for a dictator. He was very clear. He says, “I’m willing to pray to Jesus, and here’s what I want in return.” He says, “I want my defense budget doubled.” He says, “I want meetings for my officials with the Reagan White House. And I want a sort of a hands-off policy while I crack down on some rebels.” Doug Coe, the leader of the group, wrote back, in essence, “Done, done and done.”

And when we look at history, so it was. And Barre used those weapons, supplied to him in part by the US, to wage a war of almost biblical proportion on his own people, from which Somalia has not recovered to this day. The Family doesn’t consider that a failure; they consider that God’s will for Somalia.