August 23, 2007 – 3:47 pm
I can’t count the number of times I was asked the question, usually from locals whom I had met only moments earlier: “So, is it what you expected? Is Africa what you thought it would be like?”
Despite the (ironic) expectations that also come with such a question, I almost always disappointed my questioners with the boring truth—when I set off for Africa this past June, I really didn’t have any expectations. Nope, none at all.
I know what you’re thinking, but it’s true! As I shoved in my last few pairs of underwear and zipped up my bags for Accra, Ghana—my first trip to Africa—I was more concerned whether or not I would have internet access to update my blog than whether or not I would have cold or hot water, whether or not I would catch malaria like some of my friends had, or whether the poverty would be too much for me to handle. Read More »
Between euphoria and frustration, clarity and confusion, moderates must develop a sustainable alternative solution to the lawlessness that paralyzed Somalia for over 15 years, and find a platform to showcase that. Of course the quest to accomplish that would not only require willpower and resilience to paddle against the ferocious waves of suspicion, fear, and hate, but also a real support (of moral and material value).
In light of the events of the past few weeks in Mogadishu, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) has emerged as being the group with the most feasible plan to restore law and order in mostly chaotic Somalia. The seemingly untamable south is now safe and ICU is determined to maintain it. And on this particular objective to maintain peace, the newly formed International Contact Group (ICG) should unequivocally support the union. Needless to say, in doing so, the ICG will, among other things, have a unique opportunity to prove its critics wrong. Read More »
