Category: Africa

Comment worth noting: Somalis are a very dysfunctional community….

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

…..so they could never get it together to establish Shariah law.

This is a comment from a reader named Some1notsomali to an old post (Why so many Somalis in Minneapolis?) and he is responding to Allahsoldier (a commenter, an African American convert, who hasn’t been around for awhile).

One of the things that Some1notsomali points out so well is that one cannot compare how immigrants to America fared a hundred years ago BEFORE WE HAD THE MODERN WELFARE STATE that Somalis and others have learned to use to its fullest.

Some1notsomali (but apparently a Muslim):

Salaam Allah Soldier,

I read your posts and would like to offer you my thoughts on Somalis.

But first I would like to let you know that I understand where you coming from. For any black American their is no doubt that this country did wrong to their ancestors and that today it continues to fail black America.

For all those who want to blame the AA (African American) community for it’s ills you need to realize that it is Majority America that is policing her neighborhoods, dictating her laws, educating her children etc… Since Majority America reserves its exclusive right to do these things it should take responsibility for the shortcomings of such a historic and very American community.

Now about Somalis. It should be noted that the elders generally rely on social assistance, although a number of them are at least partially employed. Among the youth they almost without question have some kind of employment and although I would say care giver is a common occupation and one that is less popular among native born Americans, you do see Somalis working in more respectable fields and also in customer service (the existence of their community creates a need for native speakers in the social services and businesses).

The youth are also able to benefit from educational assistance because of their parents low incomes and because their jobs are usually either low paying or part time, under 15k annually.

This country has done so much to help Somalis and other refugee communities, it has given their parents monthly income, paid for the youths education all the way to a bachelors degree, and every Somali I have met has nothing but contempt for this country. Even worse is that because so much affluence (disposable income) exists in some households because the youth all have jobs, live at home and have of the basic needs of the family being met by the elders unearned income (section 8 housing, welfare, food stamps, passing excess children around for earned income tax credit) [I suspected the earned income tax credit was being used this way, so its nice to see confirmation—ed] crime is attractive to the youth who can’t find jobs. With the economy not improving this will become worse, and the criminal elements within this community are becoming more sophisticated, a prostitution ring was recently busted in MN.

RR is wrong to be concerned with Shariah …

Somalis are a very dysfunctional community. The women often have relationships with men (even sex, and even the ones who wear jilbab), it is extremely common. To them religion is a revolving door, the hijab is something worn as a convenience, either to feel pious or as a fashionable article. Unlike Pakistani Pathan and Arab Yemeni communities Somali’s do not seem viable candidates for living in a state within a state societies. Most families have absentie fathers and the few with a male head of the household often have a step father and not the original father. Combine this with big city environment most live in and you will see that your fears of a shariah community are not realistic. No one in the family is strong enough to dictate how others should live within the family, unlike Yemeni and certain Pakistani communities. With that said many do have attachments to their mothers, so although the traditional concept of family does not pervade their society, certain tradition which you will never have to deal with (primarily marriage ceremonies) will be dictated by the mother.

So I guess what this means is that they can’t organize themselves to push for Shariah law (but by comparison the Pakistanis and Yemenis could?)   However, those Somali youths who went off to Jihad training seemed to be pretty good at organizing, here.

Mohamed changes his plea, says he helped Minneapolis “youths” go to Jihad training….

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

…..some to kill, others to be killed.

On the eve of his Minneapolis trial for supporting terrorism Omer Abdi Mohamed admitted his guilt—he was only motivated by Ethnic Nationalism* to defend Somalia from the evil Ethiopians (never mind that Al Shabaab is a terror group with international reach).

From the Pioneer Press:

On the flickering concourse monitors at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, it was listed as Northwest Flight 56, the 9:25 p.m. departure to Amsterdam.

But over 40 days in late 2007, it could’ve been called the al-Shabaab Shuttle. The flight was the preferred first leg of the trip made by young Somali men from the Twin Cities, bound for their homeland to fight for the Islamic militant group al-Shabaab.

On Monday, on the eve of his trial in federal court, Omer Abdi Mohamed stood before a judge and admitted that in late 2007, he helped seven men make the exodus to Somalia. Once abroad, some of them took up arms for al-Shabaab; some blew themselves up in suicide attacks; and some returned, disenchanted, after they sampled the foul taste of war.

Mohamed, 26, of St. Anthony was to be the first person to be tried on charges stemming from what federal prosecutors have characterized as one of this nation’s longest and broadest anti-terrorism investigations.

He had maintained his innocence, his lawyer proclaiming that Mohamed had been interested only in helping defend his homeland against Ethiopian troops that many of his countrymen viewed as invaders.

But over the weekend, he stared at a government plea offer, along with the specter of 50 years in prison if convicted on the six federal counts he faced. He blinked.

“It was a hard choice for Omer, but he’s got a 2-year-old boy and he’s going to have a (newborn)…boy in six weeks,” lawyer Peter Wold said.

For Mohamed the deal is pretty good—he will get a wrist slap and a much shorter sentence—but it’s a big win for others.  The FBI will not have to show the world how they have screwed up back in 2007 and are still screwing up as we learn MORE “youths” have left for Africa.  The local mosque will continue to skate under the radar. The public won’t hear more bad publicity about the “grateful” refugees, nor hear about how the Jihadi-trained Somalis might come “home” to America with a new skill on a return flight of the Al-Shabaab shuttle.

Maybe Rep. Peter King will generate more information flowing to the public with his hearing later this month on Jihad recruitment within the Somali community, here.

*Ethnic Nationalism is understandable, everyone is allowed a little defense of their homeland from invasion, right?—everyone but Americans that is!

Somali terrorist defense: the Ethiopians made us do it

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Ever since we started reporting in 2008 on the missing Somali former refugee youths who left the good life in Minnesota to go back to Africa for Jihad training, we have been hearing that it was all about ousting those bad Ethiopians from their homeland (never mind that most of these youths had never even seen their homeland).   It was a convenient excuse for joining Al Shabaab (an Al Qaeda affiliate) and the US Senate Homeland Security Committee was happy to buy into that excuse in March of 2009, here, too.

Now I see that one Somali, whose trial we are told opens today in Minneapolis, will say they were just fighting for their country (never mind that we thought they wanted to be Americans—isn’t that what the refugee program is for? Or, is it for raising healthy Islamic warriors to adulthood?).

From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

MINNEAPOLIS – A group of Minneapolis-area Somalis, including some who traveled to their homeland to allegedly take up arms against the Ethiopian army, held secret meetings in 2007 to plan the trips, created fake itineraries to fool family members and challenged one another about their commitment, prosecutors contend in a court filing.

The document was filed this week in advance of a trial for one man accused of being part of the conspiracy.

It sheds new light on how the recruiting operation worked in Minneapolis and how some of the men arrived at safehouses in Somalia, where they received AK-47s and weapons training.

Since the fall of 2007, at least 21 men have left Minnesota for Somalia, where authorities believe they joined the terror group al-Shabab. Eighteen people have been charged in Minnesota in connection with the case, including Omer Abdi Mohamed, who goes on trial next week on terror-related charges.

Mohamed never traveled to Somalia, but he is accused of helping others who did. His attorney calls the allegations ridiculous.

“Omer was never involved in terrorism,” said defense attorney Peter Wold. “It certainly stirs the public sentiment to suggest that, but it is not part of this case, not a part of Omer, and that will be abundantly clear.”

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a socialist dictator and then turned on each other, causing chaos in the African nation of about 7 million people.

In 2006, Ethiopian soldiers, which many Somalis viewed as abusive, occupied parts of Somalia and a militant group called al-Shabab fought against against them. The U.S. declared al-Shabab a terrorist organization in early 2008.

According to prosecutors [even the prosecutors have bought into the Ethiopians made us do it defense—ed], starting in September 2007, Mohamed and others conspired to raise money to send men to Somalia to violently oust the Ethiopians. Others were also recruited to the cause. The group held meetings at mosques and restaurants, and took measures to keep things secretive.

Remember readers these are “youths” who received from taxpayers a roof over their heads, food stamps, jobs, and an education—the American Dream!   They said, s**** America we are going to be Jihadists!

So, now that the Ethiopians are not a problem in Somalia, how do they explain the recent rash of new American recruits who have gone to join Al Shabaab?

And, what do you make of the announcement earlier this month that Al Shabaab is capable of attacking within the US, here?

North African refugees on NATO ship turned away by both Italy and Malta

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update July 18th:  “Refugees” European goal thwarted as they are sent to camps in Tunisia, hat tip Charles.

Malta dug in its heels and refused the warship entry, insisting the rescue had taken place closer to the other countries and that they should therefore have been transferred there.

Just so readers don’t forget that thousands of North Africans are (still) attempting to escape the joyous Arab Spring (Summer etc. etc) and get the heck to civilization in Europe, here is a short story about both Italy and Malta turning away a NATO ship which rescued just over 100 “refugees” from Obama’s Libyan war.

Over 100 African refugees from Libya rescued in the Mediterranean by a Spanish NATO ship four days ago have been refused shelter by Italy and Malta and are stranded at sea, officials said on Friday.

The ship was taking part in the naval blockade on Libya when it came across a battered boat crammed with “around 105 immigrants from North Africa,” said David Taylor, spokesman for NATO’s Allied Maritime Command in Naples.

Italian news agency ANSA identified the boat as Spain’s “Almirante Juan de Borbon” and said it had intercepted the fishing boat with 17 women — four of them pregnant — and eight children on board about 100 miles off Libya.

Italy has said its centres are already stretched by other refugees fleeing the conflict in Libya and does not have space for new arrivals, while Malta has said the Almirante is too far away and therefore not its responsibility, the report said.

Malta’s Interior Minister Carmelo Mifsud Monnici called on NATO Thursday to resolve the issue after the Almirante brought its human cargo towards Valletta only to be refused permission to enter Maltese waters.

[…..]

He said the refugee boat had been intercepted 141 miles off Malta.

“The problem is certainly NATO’s not ours, and it’s up to them to resolve it,” he said.

Hey, here is an idea, maybe they can just send them to South Africa, the Rainbow Nation, with its “welcoming” Constitution which will guarantee them all their rights whether legally or illegally in the country.

ANC official told to apologize over xenophobic remarks

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Here is a story from South Africa you didn’t hear in the Western media.  Why? because it continues to destroy the myth of South Africa as the RAINBOW NATION and the multiculturalists (aka communists) don’t want you to know their little African experiment is failing.

On many previous occasions we have reported on the so-called “xenophobic” riots in which immigrants to South Africa were beaten and some killed by black South Africans basically trying to protect their livelihoods and families from the huge influx of other Africans flowing into “welcoming” South Africa.  [Of course those same South African blacks are terrorizing and sometimes killing the whites too, but that isn’t my focus this morning.]   By the way, one man’s xenophobia is another man’s ethnic nationalism or tribalism (aren’t we all tribal?).

Back to my story….

An important member of the Leftwing ruling party, the African National Congress, Maggie Maunye, asked basically, WHAT THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH ALL THESE AFRICANS COMING IN HERE?  She was forced to apologize but in the process we get a glimpse into a nation that foolishly enshrined in its Constitution that anyone was welcome and all rights (except voting) would be extended to anyone who manages to get into its borders.

From Sowetan Live  (obviously this author is pretty ticked-off that Maggie Maunye would, through her politically incorrect words, demonstrate to the world that the old rainbow is imploding):

SOUTH Africa is known throughout the world as the rainbow nation.

This is so not only because of the colourful variety of people, cultures, religions and customs indigenous to South Africa alone, but also because of the openness with which we have welcomed many other foreign nationals, especially from other African countries such as Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and even as far away as Nigeria, the Congo and Somalia.

Since South Africa’s transition to full democracy in 1994, there has been a very large influx of especially African foreign nationals into the country, some of whom are seeking refuge from conflict, tyranny and-or persecution in their own countries.

Most, however, are simply trying to build a better life for themselves in Africa’s economic powerhouse. The presence of foreign refugees has, however, become a matter of national concern – particularly in the wake of recurrent xenophobic attacks.

The offending Maggie Maunye (see photo and credentials)

The critical comments on refuges that were recently made by ANC MP Maggie Maunye, chairperson of the Parliamentary portfolio committee of domestic affairs, require further analysis, even though she and the ANC have since apologised.

Maunye’s comments came just a day after two Somali men were brutally murdered in Delft on the Cape Flats, though the South African Police Service has stated officially that the motive for the crime is unknown.

Maunye, after visiting a refugee centre in Maitland, said she wondered “if there was anyone left in Somalia” and that she wondered “for how long is South Africa going to continue tolerating this influx of people”.

She continued: “In Spain one sees on television how they send refugees back and here we are told of human rights and laws … all types of excuses. Here we have people living in poverty, people who are unemployed. We have never enjoyed our freedom as South Africans”.  [And it just isn’t fair—Mandela and the Leftists promised us a better life than when the whites ran the country!—ed]

Such statements can have an incendiary effect in the current climate of high unemployment and service delivery failure that pervades many communities.

Constitution says immigrants (legal or illegal) have rights! So suck it up Maggie!

Our courts have been very consistent in the view that the benefit of the so-called “universal rights” may be claimed by anyone within our national territory, irrespective of whether they are here legally or illegally, temporarily or permanently. These include Sections 10, 11 and 12 of the Constitution which entrench the rights to human dignity, life and freedom and security of the person.

Maggie spoke the truth, now we can all watch as South Africa (the former economic powerhouse) dies and hope that enough people in the West watch its death-throws and learn the lesson!

Addendum:  It was only a few weeks ago that Michelle Obama traveled to the Rainbow Nation to pay homage to Nelson Mandela, here.