The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) force commander said Friday he sees no way of managing Somalia’s political transition other than by extending the mandate of the transitional government (TFG).
“I don’t see any other alternative than that,” Ugandan Gen. Nathan Mugisha said, referring to a one year extension of the TFG’s mandate. “There is no other option, unfortunately.”
“We cannot interrupt the efforts toward pacification. Stabilization has started … we need partners on the other side, AMISOM can not do this job alone without the TFG,” he said in an interview at the force’s base.
The mandates of the transitional government and Parliament were both supposed to end in August after an earlier two-year extension. The mandate of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmad was also supposed to end in August.
“The TFG is doing a good job, but they’re facing a lot of challenges, political, security, financial. They have done their best,” Mugisha said.
“The extremists are now disorganized,” he said, referring to the Al-Qaeda-affiliated rebels, Al-Shabaab, who still control nearly all of south and central Somalia and a large part of the capital.
“They are disadvantaged,” the force commander said, referring to gains made by the government forces and AMISOM over the past month. “Once you disrupt the TFG, then you disempower AMISOM and you’re playing the game of Al-Shabaab.”
Meanwhile, Kenya has expressed concern over the instability in Somalia as cross-border raids by insurgents increase and a steady influx of refugees cross the porous frontier.
“Kenya is concerned about the fluid and unpredictable situation in Somalia,” President Mwai Kibaki said during a meeting with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon late Thursday. “I look forward to the U.N. Security Council playing its rightful role in ending the protracted internal strife in Somalia for the sake of millions of innocent people.”
Source: AFP, Reuters
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Somali woman faces assault charge in meat hook attack
Suspect claims she was struck with a hard hat while praying
A JBS worker is facing a felony assault charge after allegations that she slashed another woman with a meat hook earlier this month.
Ayan Mohamed, 26, was arrested March 24 on suspicion of second-degree assault. The Weld District Attorney’s Office has until 3:30 p.m. Monday to file formal charges.
According to a Greeley police affidavit, Mohamed called fellow worker, Fartun Abdullahi, 20, to the second-story locker room at the JBS meatpacking plant on March 17. Abdullahi told police Mohamed pulled out a sharpened meat hook from behind her back and struck her in the forehead and eyelid, grabbed her hair and began striking her in the back with the blunt end of the meat hook holder. She was taken to North Colorado Medical Center.
Mohamed, who is pregnant, also was taken to the hospital, complaining of stomach pains. The Somali woman told police she was praying when Abdullahi attacked her with a hard hat, striking her stomach and yelling that she wanted her baby to die.
No witnesses came forward to discuss the incident, but one came forward two days later, stating that Mohamed said she threw herself on the ground to get Abdullahi in trouble. The witness said Mohamed admitted to attacking Abdullahi, who didn’t put a hand on her, the affidavit stated.
Another woman came forward, stating in a written statement that she watched the incident in which Mohamed attacked Abdullahi and then threatened to blackmail anyone who would try to help Abdullahi.
Mohamed posted a $10,000 bond to get out of jail.
Source: greeleytribune.com
A JBS worker is facing a felony assault charge after allegations that she slashed another woman with a meat hook earlier this month.
Ayan Mohamed, 26, was arrested March 24 on suspicion of second-degree assault. The Weld District Attorney’s Office has until 3:30 p.m. Monday to file formal charges.
According to a Greeley police affidavit, Mohamed called fellow worker, Fartun Abdullahi, 20, to the second-story locker room at the JBS meatpacking plant on March 17. Abdullahi told police Mohamed pulled out a sharpened meat hook from behind her back and struck her in the forehead and eyelid, grabbed her hair and began striking her in the back with the blunt end of the meat hook holder. She was taken to North Colorado Medical Center.
Mohamed, who is pregnant, also was taken to the hospital, complaining of stomach pains. The Somali woman told police she was praying when Abdullahi attacked her with a hard hat, striking her stomach and yelling that she wanted her baby to die.
No witnesses came forward to discuss the incident, but one came forward two days later, stating that Mohamed said she threw herself on the ground to get Abdullahi in trouble. The witness said Mohamed admitted to attacking Abdullahi, who didn’t put a hand on her, the affidavit stated.
Another woman came forward, stating in a written statement that she watched the incident in which Mohamed attacked Abdullahi and then threatened to blackmail anyone who would try to help Abdullahi.
Mohamed posted a $10,000 bond to get out of jail.
Source: greeleytribune.com
Egypt: Govt Refuses to Negotiate With Somali Pirates Holding Egyptians
Egypt's ministry of foreign affairs on Thursday refused to hold any negotiations with Somali pirates who are holding Egyptian citizens and demanded for ransom, according to the relatives.
The relatives of the Egyptian held by Somali pirates as hostages renewed their efforts to secure the release of their members of families. Abdurrahman Rushdi, a brother of the one of the captives, said the minister of foreign affairs spurned to open dialogue with pirates.
He said the ministry insisted that it will negotiate with diplomatic body to facilitate the free of Egyptian captives. After contacting the hostages, Mr. Rushdi said he has come to know this his brother in Somali pirates' hands are suffering from serious injuries injuries and diseases such as Tuberculosis (TB), adding they are on the verge of dying. In the past, Somali pirates demanded 16 thousand dollars as ransom to release the Egyptians.
Source: AllAfrica.com
The relatives of the Egyptian held by Somali pirates as hostages renewed their efforts to secure the release of their members of families. Abdurrahman Rushdi, a brother of the one of the captives, said the minister of foreign affairs spurned to open dialogue with pirates.
He said the ministry insisted that it will negotiate with diplomatic body to facilitate the free of Egyptian captives. After contacting the hostages, Mr. Rushdi said he has come to know this his brother in Somali pirates' hands are suffering from serious injuries injuries and diseases such as Tuberculosis (TB), adding they are on the verge of dying. In the past, Somali pirates demanded 16 thousand dollars as ransom to release the Egyptians.
Source: AllAfrica.com
Youth need guidance, Somalis say
Members of Toronto’s Somali community expressed shock at Tuesday’s arrest of one of their own as a terror suspect, and said not enough is being done to keep their young men from drifting toward radicalism.
Abdar Osople, 34, put blame at the feet of the mosques and community leaders of Toronto’s Somali community on Wednesday, saying more should be done to keep young men engaged with building lives here in Canada.
“They don’t do anything for the kids,” said Osople, a married father of three who traded Mogadishu for Toronto almost 20 years ago.
“If the community gave them something ... encouraged them to succeed, to work, then they wouldn’t do this. We need to work together as a community to save them, because the community here does nothing,”
Mohamed Hersi, 25, of Scarborough, was arrested at Pearson International Airport following a six-month investigation by the RCMP and Toronto Police.
It’s alleged Hersi — a Canadian citizen — was flying to Somalia to join al-Shabaab, an Islamic terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda.
Osman Ali, executive director of the Somali-Canadian Association of Etobicoke, said the mosques and community groups are hamstrung, not having enough money for programs to properly integrate Somali youth so their Islamic beliefs could co-exist with a more “Canadian” mindset of western culture and values.
“They are asking the mosques to help these people, but the extent that they want programs for these youth, they don’t have the means,” said Ali from his small second-floor office in the Thistledown Multi-Services Centre in Rexdale. What’s needed are employment workshops, leadership training and “elder” speakers who could talk both about the peaceful aspects of Islam and the dangers of radicalism on the Internet, Ali said.
“The mosques try their best with prayers and schools,” he said.
“The people at the mosques preach peace ... but they don’t have the means and the funds to really integrate them.”
According to the 2006 census, there are 18,445 Somalis in the Metropolitan Toronto census area.
terry.davidson@sunmedia.ca
Source: torontosun.com
Abdar Osople, 34, put blame at the feet of the mosques and community leaders of Toronto’s Somali community on Wednesday, saying more should be done to keep young men engaged with building lives here in Canada.
“They don’t do anything for the kids,” said Osople, a married father of three who traded Mogadishu for Toronto almost 20 years ago.
“If the community gave them something ... encouraged them to succeed, to work, then they wouldn’t do this. We need to work together as a community to save them, because the community here does nothing,”
Mohamed Hersi, 25, of Scarborough, was arrested at Pearson International Airport following a six-month investigation by the RCMP and Toronto Police.
It’s alleged Hersi — a Canadian citizen — was flying to Somalia to join al-Shabaab, an Islamic terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda.
Osman Ali, executive director of the Somali-Canadian Association of Etobicoke, said the mosques and community groups are hamstrung, not having enough money for programs to properly integrate Somali youth so their Islamic beliefs could co-exist with a more “Canadian” mindset of western culture and values.
“They are asking the mosques to help these people, but the extent that they want programs for these youth, they don’t have the means,” said Ali from his small second-floor office in the Thistledown Multi-Services Centre in Rexdale. What’s needed are employment workshops, leadership training and “elder” speakers who could talk both about the peaceful aspects of Islam and the dangers of radicalism on the Internet, Ali said.
“The mosques try their best with prayers and schools,” he said.
“The people at the mosques preach peace ... but they don’t have the means and the funds to really integrate them.”
According to the 2006 census, there are 18,445 Somalis in the Metropolitan Toronto census area.
terry.davidson@sunmedia.ca
Source: torontosun.com
Somali Government Future Clouded As Mandate Nears Expiration
With the end of the mandate for the Transitional Federal Government looming, the Somali political structure is in disarray over questions of legitimacy and leadership in the war-torn country. Established in 2004 and backed by the United Nations, the TFG was originally tasked to deliver national elections and a new constitution by August of this year.
But Somalia is no closer to achieving either of those goals than it was in 2004, and the government is now facing an unclear future.
Somali member of parliament Hassan Haji Ibrahim says the inertia in the Somali government has been mainly due to constant infighting among the country’s leaders, particularly among the president, speaker of parliament and prime minister.
A new crisis
The newest crisis in the government is no different, with politics in Mogadishu increasingly engulfed by a personal battle between President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden.
The dispute between the two revolves around the expiring mandate of the government. The Somali parliament sidestepped the looming deadline by simply voting in February to extend their mandate for an additional three years. The move was blasted by international backers such as the United Nations, United States and United Kingdom, but has been backed by African organizations such as the African Union and Intergovernmental Authority on Development.
In some ways, it appears as though Aden and the Somali parliament are moving to carry out the TFG’s mandate. Earlier this month, the speaker announced that presidential elections would be held in August. On Saturday, Aden announced the formation of a committee that would guide the poll. But many observers see the recent moves by Aden as part of a bid to oust President Ahmed.
Former Somali parliament member Ali Basha says the feud between the president and Speaker Aden is personal and has moved beyond the needs of the struggling country.
“They do not have the capacity of the position they are now holding. They were not politicians, they were not educated people," said Basha. "They are just people who came to power with the wish of the so-called international community. They do not trust each other, each one of them wants to stay in power. I don’t think that they can stay together.”
Clash of personalities
President Ahmed and Speaker Aden were major players in the 2008 Djibouti Peace Agreement, which ended hostilities between the Somali government and rebel Islamic Courts Union. The Islamic Courts Union, then led by Mr. Ahmed, took control of Mogadishu before being ousted by invading Ethiopian forces in 2006 on behalf of the TFG. Aden, then serving in his first term as speaker, was removed from his post after initiating talks with the ICU for a cease-fire and an end to the Ethiopian occupation.
The Djibouti talks saw elements of the ICU integrated into the TFG, with Mr. Ahmed assuming the presidency and Aden eventually regaining the speakership in early 2010.
But since that time the two have frequently clashed, most notably over the appointment of American Somali Mohammed Abullahi Mohammed as prime minister.
This is not the first time personal issues have clouded the administration of President Ahmed. Beginning in August of last year, government work was suffocated by an open power struggle between the president and then-Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke. The struggle ended when Sharmarke resigned in late September.
But according to Rashid Abdi, an analyst for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, the current dispute could potentially bring down the Somali government.
“This problem between the two Sharifs is a problem that has been going on for the last two years," said Abdi. "Clearly these two people have lost credibility because of this constant infighting and I think the risk of this government collapsing even before August - when the mandate constitutionally expires - is actually very real.”
Consequences for Somalia
It is reported that Speaker Aden now has the backing of Ethiopia, a major player in both the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. Both the AU and IGAD issued decisions supporting the unilateral extension of the parliament in February.
President Ahmed has not received the same support for his government. On Sunday the Cabinet of the Transitional Federal Institutions - which includes the Presidency - voted to extend their own mandate for an additional year. But the proposal has not been backed by IGAD and was declared unconstitutional by the speaker. The United Nations - which also rejected the parliamentary extension - has similarly rejected the extension of the TFIs.
The dispute is unfolding amidst a backdrop of intense fighting between government forces and al-Qaida-linked rebels al-Shabab. At least 30 have been killed and more than 50 injured in fighting across the country in just the past few days. With just months left on its original mandate it is becoming less and less clear who will lead Somalia as it approaches uncharted territory.
Source: VOA
But Somalia is no closer to achieving either of those goals than it was in 2004, and the government is now facing an unclear future.
Somali member of parliament Hassan Haji Ibrahim says the inertia in the Somali government has been mainly due to constant infighting among the country’s leaders, particularly among the president, speaker of parliament and prime minister.
A new crisis
The newest crisis in the government is no different, with politics in Mogadishu increasingly engulfed by a personal battle between President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden.
The dispute between the two revolves around the expiring mandate of the government. The Somali parliament sidestepped the looming deadline by simply voting in February to extend their mandate for an additional three years. The move was blasted by international backers such as the United Nations, United States and United Kingdom, but has been backed by African organizations such as the African Union and Intergovernmental Authority on Development.
In some ways, it appears as though Aden and the Somali parliament are moving to carry out the TFG’s mandate. Earlier this month, the speaker announced that presidential elections would be held in August. On Saturday, Aden announced the formation of a committee that would guide the poll. But many observers see the recent moves by Aden as part of a bid to oust President Ahmed.
Former Somali parliament member Ali Basha says the feud between the president and Speaker Aden is personal and has moved beyond the needs of the struggling country.
“They do not have the capacity of the position they are now holding. They were not politicians, they were not educated people," said Basha. "They are just people who came to power with the wish of the so-called international community. They do not trust each other, each one of them wants to stay in power. I don’t think that they can stay together.”
Clash of personalities
President Ahmed and Speaker Aden were major players in the 2008 Djibouti Peace Agreement, which ended hostilities between the Somali government and rebel Islamic Courts Union. The Islamic Courts Union, then led by Mr. Ahmed, took control of Mogadishu before being ousted by invading Ethiopian forces in 2006 on behalf of the TFG. Aden, then serving in his first term as speaker, was removed from his post after initiating talks with the ICU for a cease-fire and an end to the Ethiopian occupation.
The Djibouti talks saw elements of the ICU integrated into the TFG, with Mr. Ahmed assuming the presidency and Aden eventually regaining the speakership in early 2010.
But since that time the two have frequently clashed, most notably over the appointment of American Somali Mohammed Abullahi Mohammed as prime minister.
This is not the first time personal issues have clouded the administration of President Ahmed. Beginning in August of last year, government work was suffocated by an open power struggle between the president and then-Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke. The struggle ended when Sharmarke resigned in late September.
But according to Rashid Abdi, an analyst for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, the current dispute could potentially bring down the Somali government.
“This problem between the two Sharifs is a problem that has been going on for the last two years," said Abdi. "Clearly these two people have lost credibility because of this constant infighting and I think the risk of this government collapsing even before August - when the mandate constitutionally expires - is actually very real.”
Consequences for Somalia
It is reported that Speaker Aden now has the backing of Ethiopia, a major player in both the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. Both the AU and IGAD issued decisions supporting the unilateral extension of the parliament in February.
President Ahmed has not received the same support for his government. On Sunday the Cabinet of the Transitional Federal Institutions - which includes the Presidency - voted to extend their own mandate for an additional year. But the proposal has not been backed by IGAD and was declared unconstitutional by the speaker. The United Nations - which also rejected the parliamentary extension - has similarly rejected the extension of the TFIs.
The dispute is unfolding amidst a backdrop of intense fighting between government forces and al-Qaida-linked rebels al-Shabab. At least 30 have been killed and more than 50 injured in fighting across the country in just the past few days. With just months left on its original mandate it is becoming less and less clear who will lead Somalia as it approaches uncharted territory.
Source: VOA
In Mpls., a push to curb Somali-Indian tensions
In a patch of south Minneapolis, longtime American Indian residents and some of their newest neighbors from Somalia are struggling to get along.
The two communities are clustered in and around the Phillips neighborhood, one of the poorest areas in the city. A handful of alleged attacks against women and elders by young men from both communities have only escalated the hostilities.
But some residents, both American Indian and Somali, are trying their best to tamp down the violence and learn to live with one another.
Franklin Avenue has long been the cultural spine of Indian Country, here in the heart of Minneapolis.
But in the early 1990s, Somali refugees became the latest wave of immigrants drawn to the Phillips neighborhood in search of cheap rent. Now you see Somali Americans filling up apartments, waiting at the bus stops, and opening corner stores and halal meat shops.
Wade Keezer, an Ojibwe band member with a long black ponytail, grew up in the neighborhood. Keezer remembers the first time he saw these new African arrivals, in their long headscarves and dresses, he assumed they were Catholic nuns.
"My sister says, 'No, you dummy, those are Somalis,'" Keezer remembered. "I heard they'd been here, but I didn't know who they were or what they looked like."
Keezer's Somali friends chuckle about it now. But a year ago, the misunderstandings were no laughing matter, and many feared the tensions were coming to a head.
Some community members say in a few cases, young Somali gang members assaulted American Indian women. And Somalis say young American Indian men have attacked Somali women. Police say they know of at least some of the incidents, but caution that many of the alleged crimes were never reported to authorities.
Just last winter, an American Indian woman was killed by a Somali driver while she was walking across Franklin Avenue.
Another Ojibwe man, Mike Forcia, said that fatal accident infuriated some of his American Indian friends.
"It was such a shock, and still is," Forcia said. "We had such an outcry from the Native community: 'Now look what happened, now they actually killed one of ours.'"
About a year ago, community advocates including Amina Saleh of The Family Partnership and Wade Keezer, a longtime area resident, started the Native American Somali Friendship Committee, after an email circulated reporting that an American Indian woman claimed three Somali boys attacked her with a bottle. Saleh and Keezer each organized a group of elders and then brought the two communities together.
At monthly meetings, community members air their problems, and even their prejudices.
And though Forcia was an early member, even he had to confront his bigotry about Somalis.
"I was on the side that, there's nothing we can do," Forcia said. "They're arrogant, they don't know how to drive, you just can't talk to these people."
But he also knew the Somalis were here to stay, and he agreed to the concept more out of practical reasons than a desire for racial harmony.
And at meetings, Somalis confessed to harboring their own stereotypes — including their belief that all American Indians were alcoholics.
One Somali-American woman who helped Forcia see the softer side of her culture is 29-year-old Khadra Abdi. She moved to Minnesota as a teen and said she loves her new country. But at a recent gathering, she told the other committee members she wished they could walk a day in her shoes.
Abdi said a man recently cut in front of her while she was waiting in line at a clinic.
"I said, 'Hey, I was ahead of you. Buddy, get in line.' He says, 'Well, I'm paying money.' I wish sometimes that I had a country to go back to, because every day you constantly hear, 'You're Somali, you don't know how to speak English, you don't know how to drive, you take welfare.' I mean, it's really, really hard," Abdi said.
The friendship committee has gotten the attention of an initiative of the Bush Foundation called InCommons. Last year, the group was one of three finalists out of more than 200 applicants competing for a grant rewarding groups solving local problems. InCommons created a video explaining the friendship committee during the grant-awarding process.
Although the friendship committee didn't win the grant, InCommons is trying to find ways to support the group and connect it with other resources.
Some of the rift between the American Indian and Somali populations is rooted in the simple fact that the neighborhood is changing. Census data suggest that over the past decade, the American Indian population is declining, while the African community is growing. Just next to Phillips is the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, home to thousands of Somali immigrants.
Keezer said some of the American Indians in the neighborhood are quick to lay blame on their Somali neighbors for violence, without confronting it in their own community.
"They're pointing their finger, and it's just like, 'Wait a minute. You just beat up your old lady, and your kids are in foster care, and you're pointing at these people, like they've done something bad to you. But they haven't done anything to you. So what's the problem here? Are you just saying what everybody else is saying just to be hateful?'" Keezer said.
Keezer says he won't stand for that.
There's also an interest in bridging the divide among the younger generation. Keezer has heard that some of the Native American and Somali students have been fighting each other on school buses.
And with the weather warming up, youth leaders predict more fighting over basketball courts in the area. The committee is planning some pick-up games so that kids can learn how to play together, just as this small group of adults has gradually learned to do.
Source: MPR
The two communities are clustered in and around the Phillips neighborhood, one of the poorest areas in the city. A handful of alleged attacks against women and elders by young men from both communities have only escalated the hostilities.
But some residents, both American Indian and Somali, are trying their best to tamp down the violence and learn to live with one another.
Franklin Avenue has long been the cultural spine of Indian Country, here in the heart of Minneapolis.
But in the early 1990s, Somali refugees became the latest wave of immigrants drawn to the Phillips neighborhood in search of cheap rent. Now you see Somali Americans filling up apartments, waiting at the bus stops, and opening corner stores and halal meat shops.
Wade Keezer, an Ojibwe band member with a long black ponytail, grew up in the neighborhood. Keezer remembers the first time he saw these new African arrivals, in their long headscarves and dresses, he assumed they were Catholic nuns.
"My sister says, 'No, you dummy, those are Somalis,'" Keezer remembered. "I heard they'd been here, but I didn't know who they were or what they looked like."
Keezer's Somali friends chuckle about it now. But a year ago, the misunderstandings were no laughing matter, and many feared the tensions were coming to a head.
Some community members say in a few cases, young Somali gang members assaulted American Indian women. And Somalis say young American Indian men have attacked Somali women. Police say they know of at least some of the incidents, but caution that many of the alleged crimes were never reported to authorities.
Just last winter, an American Indian woman was killed by a Somali driver while she was walking across Franklin Avenue.
Another Ojibwe man, Mike Forcia, said that fatal accident infuriated some of his American Indian friends.
"It was such a shock, and still is," Forcia said. "We had such an outcry from the Native community: 'Now look what happened, now they actually killed one of ours.'"
About a year ago, community advocates including Amina Saleh of The Family Partnership and Wade Keezer, a longtime area resident, started the Native American Somali Friendship Committee, after an email circulated reporting that an American Indian woman claimed three Somali boys attacked her with a bottle. Saleh and Keezer each organized a group of elders and then brought the two communities together.
At monthly meetings, community members air their problems, and even their prejudices.
And though Forcia was an early member, even he had to confront his bigotry about Somalis.
"I was on the side that, there's nothing we can do," Forcia said. "They're arrogant, they don't know how to drive, you just can't talk to these people."
But he also knew the Somalis were here to stay, and he agreed to the concept more out of practical reasons than a desire for racial harmony.
And at meetings, Somalis confessed to harboring their own stereotypes — including their belief that all American Indians were alcoholics.
One Somali-American woman who helped Forcia see the softer side of her culture is 29-year-old Khadra Abdi. She moved to Minnesota as a teen and said she loves her new country. But at a recent gathering, she told the other committee members she wished they could walk a day in her shoes.
Abdi said a man recently cut in front of her while she was waiting in line at a clinic.
"I said, 'Hey, I was ahead of you. Buddy, get in line.' He says, 'Well, I'm paying money.' I wish sometimes that I had a country to go back to, because every day you constantly hear, 'You're Somali, you don't know how to speak English, you don't know how to drive, you take welfare.' I mean, it's really, really hard," Abdi said.
The friendship committee has gotten the attention of an initiative of the Bush Foundation called InCommons. Last year, the group was one of three finalists out of more than 200 applicants competing for a grant rewarding groups solving local problems. InCommons created a video explaining the friendship committee during the grant-awarding process.
Although the friendship committee didn't win the grant, InCommons is trying to find ways to support the group and connect it with other resources.
Some of the rift between the American Indian and Somali populations is rooted in the simple fact that the neighborhood is changing. Census data suggest that over the past decade, the American Indian population is declining, while the African community is growing. Just next to Phillips is the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, home to thousands of Somali immigrants.
Keezer said some of the American Indians in the neighborhood are quick to lay blame on their Somali neighbors for violence, without confronting it in their own community.
"They're pointing their finger, and it's just like, 'Wait a minute. You just beat up your old lady, and your kids are in foster care, and you're pointing at these people, like they've done something bad to you. But they haven't done anything to you. So what's the problem here? Are you just saying what everybody else is saying just to be hateful?'" Keezer said.
Keezer says he won't stand for that.
There's also an interest in bridging the divide among the younger generation. Keezer has heard that some of the Native American and Somali students have been fighting each other on school buses.
And with the weather warming up, youth leaders predict more fighting over basketball courts in the area. The committee is planning some pick-up games so that kids can learn how to play together, just as this small group of adults has gradually learned to do.
Source: MPR
LA Pair Spearhead Somali Pirates Documentary
There’s so much great work being empowered through Kickstarter.com, the revolutionary crowd-source fundraising tool. Especially in the non-fiction realm. Currently, Stolen Seas, a feature documentary about the ongoing problem of Somali piracy, is halfway towards its goal of $15,000 needed for editing, dramatic re-creations and other post activities.
The heart of the documentary is on-the-ground footage shot in Somalia between 2006 and 2008 by Thymaya Payne (pictured), at great risk. Payne has partnered with a pair of Canadians based in LA – actor-producer Andrew Walker and Heather Phenix – with the idea of having the movie ready in time for this fall’s Toronto International Film Festival. Per an interview in the duo’s Montreal hometown newspaper The Suburban:
Source: mediabistro.com
The heart of the documentary is on-the-ground footage shot in Somalia between 2006 and 2008 by Thymaya Payne (pictured), at great risk. Payne has partnered with a pair of Canadians based in LA – actor-producer Andrew Walker and Heather Phenix – with the idea of having the movie ready in time for this fall’s Toronto International Film Festival. Per an interview in the duo’s Montreal hometown newspaper The Suburban:
“Thimaya has incredible vision,” said Walker. “He’s been working in the trenches of Somalia. He’s seen the desperation of the Somalian people.”Stolen Seas is the first of what Walker and Phenix hope will be many documentaries with a social justice theme, produced under the newly expanded banner of Bridge of Hands Entertainment. The documentary is anchored around the 2008 hijacking and dramatic rescue of Danish-owned ship SEC Future.
Source: mediabistro.com
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