hargeisa to Bosaso And a 24+hour Roadtrip

Today morning I woke up with a clear goal in mind. I said to myself "fatima it's about time you tried writing again , so here I am staring at this blank sheet trying to come up with something worth reading.

It's been a long while since I've written anything other than medical notes and stuff like amoxicillin 1g PO Qd ..so getting back to using whatever vocabulary or grammar I have left will take quite some work (Bear with me if my yours are written as you're etc )

And what better way to start than with an update ...I'M HAVING A BABYYY 💗👏👏👏 ....lool  jokes nah I haven't gotten that far accomplished in life yet . but I GRADUATED 🎉🎉🎉🎊🎊 YAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY . (you do realize I didn't mention that for nothing right? ...graduation gifts? Anyone? ) .

I've also been going back and forth between hargeisa and bosaso over the past year and it has definitely added to my overall Somalia experience . 

So the first time to bosaso , here I am thinking how far can it be yaeh? I mean a couple of hours by car ..I can handle that and I'd like to see all the little cities in between and sheikh mountain and take loads of pretty pics for Instagram and show off my #viewfromthe252 hash tags . sooo with no further delay , I made the overly enthusiastic announcement "Let's do this RoadTrip Hooyo!!!" 

you would expect my all knowing of all things Somalia related dear mommy to know that the roadtrip from hargeisa to bosaso is a long 24+hr ride ..But nahiii hoyoo dearest has herself never had the privilege of seeing most parts of Somalia too . 

A few phonecalls and packed bags later , we were at the "stopka" , also known as "stanka", a more Somali version of a bus stop .

 To those of you who haven't been on road trips inside Somalia from these stops , let me explain :

The stops are run by men called "kariyaha" or "dilaalka" , they're the person you call a night or two before your trip and they arrange for your car , they manage which car leaves first , and since they are so well connected they manage to find customers for the cars leaving .

Now the downfall of this system ..things are not in pen and paper and always subject to change or delay or even advancement . so when you say "i'm leaving tomorrow , its urgent .and I would like the front seat " ..please don't be disappointed if you end up sitting in the back with 3 other people and not by the window , and instead of leaving at 6am like the kariyaha told you , you spend 3 hours arguing how you got the wrong seat and being dragged from one car to another . (sharing my personal experience) . 

Being our very first time in one of these stops , it was definitely nerve wrecking.. Having to stand your ground in a testesterone filled environment is by far an understatement , so ladies if in the future you plan on going to these stops, its preferable if with a male relative or friend (seriously having a man around helps speed things up a lot in Somalia) . 

Another major problem is the overcrowding in the cars , (minivans) , so the passenger seat that's normally meant for ummm 1person is for 2 people . so unless you clearly mention you're paying for both seats [which is actually 1 seat but no one cares what your dhaqan Celis self has to say about road safety and whining ] you will end up either glued to the door or with one of your buttcheeks uncomfortably on the gearstick . 

and the same goes for the middle and back seats ; 4 people instead of 3 regardless of how obese or impossible it may seem to you , you all will fit in there and the kariyee will personally make sure of it 

His Blood is not Good Enough

A problem I never wrote about in Somalia is the phenomena of Murder based on Stature . The More successful you are , the more your chances of being killed . Cliche? Behind every Successful man is a pack of haters ? . But see the difference is you are not dying because they are hating on YOU per say . It's not personal you see. It's simply tribal business.
Let me Explain
I remember when my Father [allah yir7amu] first brought me to Somalia, though he wanted to visit his hometown , he would say it was too risky and he would probably be killed as pay back for a crime someone from the same tribe committed years ago .At that time it seemed like another exaggerated fairy tale  and there was no way people could be so unreasonable .
But a few days ago I heard of 2 similar stories . A man who was killed for a crime his brother committed . The problem is the brother who committed the crime wasn't hiding or on the run , he was living just like everyone else , Like he was a man with no blood on his hands - No one wanted him , because his blood wasn't valuable enough.

"He's a Looser , his blood is not equal to my tribesman, No one will mourn his death" .

So instead in the middle of the night , the innocent brother who was minding his  bussiness was dragged out of his house and shot dead .
A Bussiness Man for a Bussiness man , A Doctor for a Doctor , A Sheikh for A Sheikh .
that's the rule .

And what else would make people act so barbarically and irrationally but the mind numbing , ego stroking ideology of Tribalism .
And no matter how many successful people of our nation are born , the laws of tribalism will keep our nation tied down and forever in the shadows of poverty, barbarism, and illiteracy .
You would think Religion ,common sense, and humanity would protect one from shedding blood so  easily , so intentionally , so righteously but it is heartbreaking and frustrating to see how our nation has crumbled to it's knees because of a name - Reer Hebel.

Make A Difference

I remember a few months ago , My friends and I were introduced to a man who would push us to make a difference . A man who forced us to look at things from a new perspective regardless of what the norm was .
I would love to mention his name but I would have to make sure it is okay with him . So for the time being let's call him Prof. A .

Prof A had a philosophy . In arabic: "إن لم تزد شيئا على الدنيا فأنت زائد عليها "  [If  you do not add anything to this world , then you are simply an addition/burden on it] and then he would ask you 

Are you simply an addition or do you have something to add? 

it's a simple statement yet so profound in meaning and very much true . After a 2 hour long conversation over dinner with prof.A . We were all very much inspired to make a difference , to leave something behind in a city that we had no tribal/family ties to.
After much thought we decided the best addition one could ever make was that of knowledge . like the famous quote " Give a man a fish and you have fed him for a day , teach a man to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime" . At the time we were 5 girls , so we decided to each financially support a child who could not afford education. Surprisingly we did not have to go far to find such children . a few doors away from our own house we found 3 familes with 8 children, all of which were staying at home yet of school age, and some loosing a parent.
Our initial plan was simply sponsoring 5 children , soon we had 2 other girls in and now we could sponsor 7 kids . At the time it was almost the end of the school year , so we decided to enroll them into a Quranic school . After explaining to the dugsii teacher what we wanted to do , he offered to take in the 8th kid as well free of charge .

I know it might seem like a very straighforward , easy to execute kinda plan right ? WRONG!!
In a Country that has been over exposed to NGO's and free handouts , the parents of the children were very skeptical of our intentions and in no time news was spreading of "These Arab girls who were working with an NGO and were offering to pay for tuition".  and as people estimated how much of the funding we were slipping into our pockets and how many thousands of dollars we were selfishly holding back , the clan ideology came into play : on more than one occasion we were told to help our Clan's needy instead of those we were not related to. - "Your people need it first" .

A few months later ,On eid we were able to give out a humble sum of money to the families of the children [3 families in total ] and an exceptional woman who herself raises 4 children by picking up trash from families for less than 25cents per pick up.
 Now we are planning on adding another 5 children to the Quranic School and this time an aunty from Saudi Arabia has taken up their sponsoring and paid an advance for 5 months.

In my opinion this is a very humble addition to a community that has given us personally the chance at a higher education. It is only fair to give back and hopefully InshAllah those of you reading this will be inspired to make a difference as well regardless of how big or small it may be . And in time I hope these very kids grow up and in turn give back to their communities and so forth .
- Contribute within your means , any way you can to your communities . Do it not for the love of fame , or for a name , or even with the expectations of an applause . Do it simply for the sake of leaving good behind and making a difference
 

Breast Cancer Awareness

the Adenoma after it was removed surgically [ larger than a fist]

Earlier this year , my cousin had a "Breast Cancer Scare" . She had had this lump on her right breast for over 6 months but had kept it a secret from the family . Eventually it got worse to the point where walking or even bending forward was painful .
Alhamdulilah it wasn't breast cancer but a benign adenoma .

If there is one thing I want to pass out through this post , it has to be the importance of a Self Breast exam . Some of us might be lucky enough to learn about it in schools and other public health education programs but most of us have simply heard of it or we've never been bothered enough to do it .

Please do check these video out [CLICK HERE] for how to do a proper self breast exam. it's only a minute long and I promise you it will be helpful. 

You might think well I'm not really at risk for breast cancer so why bother right? . WRONG !!!
the simple fact that you are a woman puts you at risk for breast cancer aside from all the other risk factors.


What Can you do to Lower your chances of getting it? 

Unlike your gender, there are certain things you can modify to lower your risk of getting cancer.
One that would be relevant for many of the younger generation is Smoking !!! . And No, smoking does not only mean cigarettes. It includes Shiisha, cannabis and whatever seems to be out there that involves lighting up and inhaling .

To the Women with Children - BREASTFEED if you can !!!!. it's been proven that breastfeeding for over a year can lower your risk of getting breast cancer . Subhan-Allah is it not amazing how the Holy Quran mentions breastfeeding for 2 years  .

there is a famous saying that goes like " You are what you eat" and that couldn't be anymore true.
A healthy lifestyle not only lowers your risk of breast cancer but also Hypertension, Diabetes, Strokes, etc etc etc .
A sedentary lifestyle is not a lifestyle!!! it's a highway to illness and painful death.
So, Eat more Bananas with lunch , go for a walk or Dance it off GANGNAM STYLE. Switch your sodas for a home made fruit cocktail and
PLEASE DO NOT RE-USE THE FRYING OIL even if that means getting into an argument with hooyo  [it's been shown to increase your risk of cancer]  

If you do notice any of the changes mentioned in the picture , Do make an appointment with your doctor ASAP !! and get it looked at [ that does not mean next month or 6 months later - the earlier the better ] 

And Finally Breast Cancer is not an exclusively women's only disease . Men can get breast cancer as well . so to all the brothers If you TOO notice any changes , go see a doctor immediately.  

For those of you interested in reading more on it : Do check out BreastCancer.org