Monday, November 29, 2010
Somalia came through..
As in the artist Somalia aka Yasmin Mohamed, who came to the VOA studios on Friday. We sat down with her and the result is the above program. Many thanks to Somalia for keeping us company during broadcast and more importantly for the wonderful work she is doing.
Friday, November 19, 2010
once in a while...
you come across ordinary people doing extraordinary things. People who revive the hope you once had for the world and make you assess the level of valuable contribution you are making to the well-being of society.
One such person is a lady by the name of Hibaaq Osman who runs an organisation named Karaama, which started as a women's shelter in Cairo but operates now across all the Arabian countries. What's unique about her organisation (and I found this out during an interview we did with her)is that the organisation functions in a very hands-on type of approach where coordinators and researchers are involved in the communities they operate in so they are aware of social problems most women in each country face.
One of the most common problems in the Arabian lands is domestic violence, which has become an accepted culture that most women don't see as an issue to complain about. In this instance, Karama workers create public awareness and educate these women that violence should never be an accepted behaviour under any circumstance.
In the case of women in Somalia, their plight is far bigger and deeply rooted. Girls as young as 11, sometimes even younger find themselves on the streets exposed to rape, molestation, torture with no one to turn to. Some of them become mothers whilst they're still children and the list is endless.
I am happy though that there is sympathy felt by those who can make a difference and some of them are taking decisive action to promote the well-being of women.
One such person is a lady by the name of Hibaaq Osman who runs an organisation named Karaama, which started as a women's shelter in Cairo but operates now across all the Arabian countries. What's unique about her organisation (and I found this out during an interview we did with her)is that the organisation functions in a very hands-on type of approach where coordinators and researchers are involved in the communities they operate in so they are aware of social problems most women in each country face.
One of the most common problems in the Arabian lands is domestic violence, which has become an accepted culture that most women don't see as an issue to complain about. In this instance, Karama workers create public awareness and educate these women that violence should never be an accepted behaviour under any circumstance.
In the case of women in Somalia, their plight is far bigger and deeply rooted. Girls as young as 11, sometimes even younger find themselves on the streets exposed to rape, molestation, torture with no one to turn to. Some of them become mothers whilst they're still children and the list is endless.
I am happy though that there is sympathy felt by those who can make a difference and some of them are taking decisive action to promote the well-being of women.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
stuck between a rock and a hard place..
We often go about our daily lives complaining about trivial things like the long days at work, smelly people on the metro, too much traffic on the road, not realising how lucky we are to have those things we complain about (yes including metros with smelly people!!) lol.
I spoke to this young Somali gentleman a few days ago who lives in Thailand as a refugee. Half of his body is disabled which means he can only use one arm and one leg to get by. He has no relatives nor does he have a family to look after him. The trouble is Thailand does not recognise refugees or asylum seekers which means he doesn't have the relevant paperwork to get any kind of finacial or medical support. Furthermore he cannot work due to his disability.
long story short; He cannot survive in Thailand but he has no means of going anywhere better...
He's on the Diaspora program linked above for those of you who understand Somali. Anyone else who wishes to help him in any way his email address is diini70@hotmail.com.
I spoke to this young Somali gentleman a few days ago who lives in Thailand as a refugee. Half of his body is disabled which means he can only use one arm and one leg to get by. He has no relatives nor does he have a family to look after him. The trouble is Thailand does not recognise refugees or asylum seekers which means he doesn't have the relevant paperwork to get any kind of finacial or medical support. Furthermore he cannot work due to his disability.
long story short; He cannot survive in Thailand but he has no means of going anywhere better...
He's on the Diaspora program linked above for those of you who understand Somali. Anyone else who wishes to help him in any way his email address is diini70@hotmail.com.
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