Download or read book The Last Nomad written by Shugri Said Salh and published by Algonquin Books. This book was released on 2021-08-03 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A remarkable and inspiring true story that "stuns with raw beauty" about one woman's resilience, her courageous journey to America, and her family's lost way of life. Winner of the 2022 Gold Nautilus Award, Multicultural & Indigenous Category Born in Somalia, a spare daughter in a large family, Shugri Said Salh was sent at age six to live with her nomadic grandmother in the desert. The last of her family to learn this once-common way of life, Salh found herself chasing warthogs, climbing termite hills, herding goats, and moving constantly in search of water and grazing lands with her nomadic family. For Salh, though the desert was a harsh place threatened by drought, predators, and enemy clans, it also held beauty, innovation, centuries of tradition, and a way for a young Sufi girl to learn courage and independence from a fearless group of relatives. Salh grew to love the freedom of roaming with her animals and the powerful feeling of community found in nomadic rituals and the oral storytelling of her ancestors. As she came of age, though, both she and her beloved Somalia were forced to confront change, violence, and instability. Salh writes with engaging frankness and a fierce feminism of trying to break free of the patriarchal beliefs of her culture, of her forced female genital mutilation, of the loss of her mother, and of her growing need for independence. Taken from the desert by her strict father and then displaced along with millions of others by the Somali Civil War, Salh fled first to a refugee camp on the Kenyan border and ultimately to North America to learn yet another way of life. Readers will fall in love with Salh on the page as she tells her inspiring story about leaving Africa, learning English, finding love, and embracing a new horizon for herself and her family. Honest and tender, The Last Nomad is a riveting coming-of-age story of resilience, survival, and the shifting definitions of home.
Download or read book Transnational Nomads written by Cindy Horst and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2007-12 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a tendency to consider all refugees as 'vulnerable victims': an attitude reinforced by the stream of images depicting refugees living in abject conditions. This groundbreaking study of Somalis in a Kenyan refugee camp reveals the inadequacy of such assumptions by describing the rich personal and social histories that refugees bring with them to the camps. The author focuses on the ways in which Somalis are able to adapt their 'nomadic' heritage in order to cope with camp life; a heritage that includes a high degree of mobility and strong social networks that reach beyond the confines of the camp as far as the U.S. and Europe.
Download or read book Somali Nomads written by Anita Suleiman and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Warriors written by Gerald Hanley and published by Eland Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Somalia is one of the world's most desolate, sun-scorched lands, inhabited by fierce and independent-minded tribesmen. It was here that Gerald Hanley spent the Second World War, charged with preventing bloodshed between feuding tribes at a remote out-station. Rations were scarce, pay infrequent and his detachment of native soldiers near-mutinous." "In these extreme conditions seven British officers committed suicide, but Hanley describes the period as the 'most valuable time' of his life. With intense curiosity and open-mindedness, he explores the effects of loneliness. He comes to understand the Somalis' love of fighting and to admire their contempt for death. 'Of all the races of Africa,' he says, 'there cannot be one better to live among than the most difficult, the proudest, the bravest, the vainest, the most merciless, the friendliest: the Somalis.'"--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book Somalia in Pictures written by Janice Hamilton and published by Twenty-First Century Books. This book was released on 2007-01-01 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes the geography, climate, wildlife, natural resources, history, politics, culture, economy, and government of Somalia.
Download or read book Call Me American Adapted for Young Adults written by Abdi Nor Iftin and published by Ember. This book was released on 2021-08-10 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adapted from the adult memoir, this gripping and acclaimed story follows one boy's journey into young adulthood, against the backdrop of civil war and his ultimate immigration to America in search of a better life. Abdi Nor Iftin grew up amidst a blend of cultures, far from the United States. At home in Somalia, his mother entertained him with vivid folktales and bold stories detailing her rural, nomadic upbrinding. As he grew older, he spent his days following his father, a basketball player, through the bustling streets of the capital city of Mogadishu. But when the threat of civil war reached Abdi's doorstep, his family was forced to flee to safety. Through the turbulent years of war, young Abdi found solace in popular American music and films. Nicknamed Abdi the American, he developed a proficiency for English that connected him--and his story--with news outlets and radio shows, and eventually gave him a shot at winning the annual U.S. visa lottery. Abdi shares every part of his journey, and his courageous account reminds readers that everyone deserves the chance to build a brighter future for themselves. FOUR STARRED REVIEWS!
Download or read book We Do Not Have Borders written by Keren Weitzberg and published by Ohio University Press. This book was released on 2017-07-25 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though often associated with foreigners and refugees, many Somalis have lived in Kenya for generations, in many cases since long before the founding of the country. Despite their long residency, foreign and state officials and Kenyan citizens often perceive the Somali population to be a dangerous and alien presence in the country, and charges of civil and human rights abuses have mounted against them in recent years. In We Do Not Have Borders, Keren Weitzberg examines the historical factors that led to this state of affairs. In the process, she challenges many of the most fundamental analytical categories, such as “tribe,” “race,” and “nation,” that have traditionally shaped African historiography. Her interest in the ways in which Somali representations of the past and the present inform one another places her research at the intersection of the disciplines of history, political science, and anthropology. Given tragic events in Kenya and the controversy surrounding al-Shabaab, We Do Not Have Borders has enormous historical and contemporary significance, and provides unique inroads into debates over globalization, African sovereignty, the resurgence of religion, and the multiple meanings of being African.
Download or read book The Politics of Dress in Somali Culture written by Heather M. Akou and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2011-06-20 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The universal act of dressing—shared by both men and women, young and old, rich and poor, minority and majority—has shaped human interactions, communicated hopes and fears about the future, and embodied what it means to be Somali. Heather Marie Akou mines politics and history in this rich and compelling study of Somali material culture. Akou explores the evolution of Somali folk dress, the role of the Somali government in imposing styles of dress, competing forms of Islamic dress, and changes in Somali fashion in the U.S. With the collapse of the Somali state, Somalis continue a connection with their homeland and community through what they wear every day.
Download or read book Understanding Somalia written by I. M. Lewis and published by Routledge. This book was released on 1993 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lewis brings his considerable knowledge of the area to set out in accessible form and in highly readable style the complexities of Somali societal and clan structure, traditions, and historically significant events. This information handbook is recommended briefing material for aid workers or journalists visiting the area. Essential reading for those planning to visit or work in Somalia, and for the general reader with an interest in the Horn, it lifts the veil on a fascinating and functioning heritage.
Download or read book Nabad Iyo Caano Peace and Milk written by Fatima Jibrell and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2011 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two global peace nomads, Fatima Jibrell, a Somali environmentalist and peace activist, and James Lindsay, a retired Australian diplomat, wandered all over the geographic Horn of Africa promoting solar stoves. Fatima and James visited places where no one had ever been with a camera. The title of their book of photographs is Peace and Milk (Nabad iyo Caano in Somali), Scenes from Northern Somalia. The title comes from the traditional Somali response to the greeting: Ma nabad baa? (Is there peace?), which is Nabad iyo caano (Peace and milk). Peace and Milk reveals the beauty and variety of the Somali landscape, where a centuries-old pastoral way of life is under threat due to climate change, deforestation and the production of charcoal. Photographs of landscapes, people, camels, pastoral life, charcoal and solar alternatives tell a compelling visual story of a disappearing nomadic life style. Informative captions tell the stories behind the photographs and provide an insight into Somali life.
Download or read book The Shaping of Somali Society written by Lee V. Cassanelli and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2016-11-11 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While recurrent drought, war with neighboring Ethiopia, and a staggering refugee crisis have recently propelled the African nation of Somalia into world headlines, remarkably little is known about the history of this East African country. For the first time, Lee Cassanelli makes available a book-length study of Somalia's precolonial heritage. A nation of nomads, the Somalis have through long experience adapted to a harsh, semidesert environment. While persistently divided by clan, sectarian, and regional loyalties in the past, they have nevertheless come to acquire a compelling sense of their cultural unity and national identity. The Shaping of Somali Society examines the historical experiences of these people while focusing on recurrent themes: a deeply rooted kinship system based on lineages that feud as frequently as they cooperate; the gradual Islamization of the entire society through the work of itinerant Sufi saints; the rise and fall of regional sultanates and long-distance trade networks; and a history of resistance to foreign invaders. To reconstruct the past of this important African society, the author draws on ethnographic and linguistic evidence, travelers' accounts, a substantial body of Somali oral traditions, and recollections gathered during several visits to the country. Using this material and the techniques of traditional historiography, Cassanelli examines the precolonial interplay of environmental, social, economic, and religious forces that produced a society that, though politically fragmented, has been integrated at a number of levels of structure, belief, and behavior. Perhaps more importantly, the author discusses the problems of interpreting the often fragmentary historical data and presents a new framework for studying regional patterns of change in a pastoral setting.
Download or read book A Pastoral Democracy written by I. M. Lewis and published by James Currey Publishers. This book was released on 1999 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a new Introduction by Said S. Samatar and an Afterword by the author
Download or read book The History of Somalia written by Raphael Chijioke Njoku and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2013-02-20 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book vividly depicts Somalia from its pre-colonial period to the present day, documenting the tumultuous history of a nation that has faced many challenges. Somalia is a nation with a history that stretches back more than ten millennia to the beginnings of human civilization. This book provides sweeping coverage of Somalia's history ranging from the earliest times to its modern-day status as a country of ten million inhabitants, providing a unique social-scientific treatment of the nation's key issues across ethnic and regional boundaries. The book addresses not only Somali sociocultural and political history but also covers Somalia's administration and economy, secessionist movements, civil and regional wars, and examines the dynamics of state collapse, democratization, terrorism, and piracy in contemporary times. The author details the extremely rich history of the Somali people and their customs while documenting past history, enabling readers to make meaning out of the country's ongoing crisis.
Download or read book Peoples of the Horn of Africa written by I. M. Lewis and published by Red Sea Press(NJ). This book was released on 1998 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book has, from its first publication, been an essential reference tool for research of any aspect of society, history and culture in this part of Africa. Originally published in 1955 as part of the International African Institute's landmark Ethnographic Survey of Africa series, it was reprinted in 1969 with a new bibliography. This new edition contains further supplemental and previously unpublished material based on Professor Lewis' later field research on land-holding systems in the Somali reverine regions.
Download or read book Safirka written by Peter Bridges and published by Kent State University Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peter S. Bridges's service as an American ambassador to Somalia capped his three decades as a career officer in the American Foreign Service. Safirka, a frank description of his experiences in Somalia and elsewhere, offers pointed assessments of American foreign policy and policymakers. Bridges recounts his service in Panama during a time of turmoil over the Canal; in Moscow during the Cuban missile crisis; in Prague for bleak years after the Soviet invasion; in Rome when Italian terrorists first began to target Americans; and in key positions in three Washington agencies. In Somalia Bridges managed the largest American aid program in sub-Sahara Africa. He dealt with a postcolonial regime, hobbled both by traditional clan rivalries and by a leader who cared far less about Somalia's people and progress than about maintaining his control over that poverty-stricken, strategic - which soon erupted in civil war.
Download or read book My Clan Against the World U S and Coalition Forces in Somalia 1992 1994 written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examines the American military's experience with urban operations in Somalia, particularly in the capital city of Mogadishu. That original focus can be found in the following pages, but the authors address other, broader issues as well, to include planning for a multinational intervention; workable and unworkable command and control arrangements; the advantages and problems inherent in coalition operations; the need for cultural awareness in a clan-based society whose status as a nation-state is problematic; the continuous adjustments required by a dynamic, often unpredictable situation; the political dimension of military activities at the operational and tactical levels; and the ability to match military power and capabilities to the mission at hand.
Download or read book The Shaping of Somali Society written by Lee V. Cassanelli and published by University of Pennsylvania Press Anniversary Collection. This book was released on 1982 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By combining oral tradition with traditional historiography, Cassanelli reveals the interplay of the precolonial environmental, social, economic, and religious forces.
