Somalia Culture
Somalia is a country situated in the ÒhornÓ of East Africa. It is bordered by the Gulf of Aden in the north, the Indian Ocean on the east and southeast, Kenya in the southwest, Ethiopia in the west, and Djibouti in the northwest. Somalia is about four times the size of the State of Minnesota, or slightly smaller than Texas. The capital is Mogadishu.
Somalia's population is mostly rural. Nearly 80% of the people are pastoralists, agriculturalists, or agropastoralists. Except for a small number of Somalis who rely on fishing, the rest of the population are urban dwellers. Somalia's chief cities and towns are Mogadishu (the capital), Hargeisa, Burao, Berbera, Bossaso, Marka, Brava, Baidoa, and Kismaayo. In the past few years, civil war and famine have changed urban demographics as hundreds of thousands of displaced Somalis have poured into the cities seeking sanctuary and relief.
Ethnically and culturally, Somalia is one of the most homogeneous countries in Africa. Somalia has its minorities: there are people of Bantu descent living in farming villages in the south, and Arab enclaves in the coastal cities. A small number of Europeans, mostly Italians, live on farms in the south. But the great majority of the people are ethnic Somalis who speak dialects of the same language, Somali, and who practice the same religion, Islam. In a land of sparse rainfall, more than half the population consists of pastoralists or agropastoralists who raise camels, cattle, sheep, and goats. There are farmers, mostly in the south and northwest, and in recent years a new urban group of government workers, shopkeepers, and traders has emerged, but it is the nomadic way of life, with its love of freedom and open spaces, that is c...
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...e or the hand up to the wrist. Its application often signifies happy occasions, such as a marriage or the birth of a baby.
Somalia's economic fortunes are being driven by its deep political divisions. The northern area has declared its independence..
During 1992-1993, Somalia experienced a great famine. This famine was the result of a drought coupled with the disastrous effect that infighting among rival clan militias had on the land and the livestock in Somalia. Somalis have always relied on their land and livestock to support themselves, and so this famine was devastating to them. Consequently, over 900,000 Somalis fled to neighboring countries. Approximately 400,000 of these refugees fled to Kenya. Since that time, some of the refugees have returned to Somalia, yet the situation there is still so tenuous that many have chosen to remain in the refugee camps.
There are many cultures throughout the world, which may be far apart and yet still have similarities. Two of those such cultures, the Basseri, that live in Iran, and the Nuer, whom live in Sudan, have their differences, but also have some similarities. Many of the differences and similarities come from their subsistence strategies and the social and political organization of their societies. With the regions of the world, both the Basseri and the Nuer live in, they’ve had to adapt to the environment they live in along with the limitations imposed by that environment.
The purpose of this document is to discuss the horrible acts one may recognize as the genocide in Somalia. One may deliberate regularly on the reasons or circumstances that lead to the mistreatment and killings of a whole country; how could this happen? Why are no other countries willing to step in and give aid to the Somali people whom are suffering on a daily basis? In reality, many concerns have been addressed, whether by discussions or actions. There may be different philosophies or viewpoints as to why the genocide was conducted and not stopped. Genocide is a cruel and inhumane event and is a world problem.
Somalia is one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries (Campbell). Because of the Civil War, which broke out in 1991, much of Somalia’s economy has been devastated. The war left many homeless and drove them to raise livestock as a means of survival. The economy used to be based on exports of cattle, goats, and bananas but as of early 1992 much of the economic trade had come to a halt. Now the economy is primarily based on the raising of livestock, which accounts for 40% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Alhaus). Due to overgrazing, soil erosion, and the clearing away of many trees, Somalia has very few natural resources, which have not been exploited.
Orwell, George. “Shooting an Elephant.” Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays. Ed. Sonia Orwell. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1950. 3-12.
Located in the Great Lakes area of East Africa, Kenya is home to an estimated 47 million. The country, covering over 223,000 square miles is bordered by Ethiopia and Sudan to the north, Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south, and Somalia to the east. The areas around the coast of the Indian Ocean present a tropical climate, while the highlands are more temperate. There is no specific cultural normality with the nation because of such diverse ethnic backgrounds. As much of Kenya is riddled with poverty, her economy is based on labor-intensive industries, such as mining, manufacturing, mining, forestry, and agriculture. The
Orwell, George. "Shooting an Elephant." 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Samuel S. Cohen. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007. 284-91. Print.
For centuries, Somalia culture was different from other countries in Africa for the fact that it was not made up of a collection of tribes, but of homogeneous people. To survive, in an ever changing culture Somalis have come to rely on the supporting bond of clanship (CBC Archives, n.d). Separate federations of clans struggling for power and control are the main ingredient for instability and conflict within Somalia. The Somali clans continued fighting has dragged their country already struggling from famine and disease, to undue bloodshed. Clans that were created to offer a sense of social security and belonging for its millions of members are killing their own country. Since 1991, over 400,000 people have died from the civil war in Somalia. Another 600,000 people have died from diseases and starvation. Not everyone feel that Somalia clans are all negative, as such is viewed from the international world. According to Raquia Omar, a prominent Somali, and former head of the Human Rights Group, Africa Watch, “We are wrong to see clans as only negative.” Clans provide a strong band of people that have the same interest and history. They speak the same language and practice th...
...t it is not what the essay is chiefly about. The essay is actually concerned mainly with the writer's own personality and his views on various matters such as the evils of tyranny and oppression associated with imperialism. It succeeds in presenting the contradictions in the writer's thought and feeling and clarifying his complex attitude towards the British Raj. According to Keith Alldritt, "Shooting an Elephant marks an important stage in Orwell's career because it shows his first discovery of a form appropriate to his needs .........Shooting an Elephant is a transitional essay. It contains vestiges of the early symbolist manner and it also points forward to the mature essays of the forties." The essay is, as Tom Hopkinson points out, "an example of his prose style at its most lucid and precise." It is also emblematic of Orwell's moral nature and human concern.
In the essay ?Shooting an Elephant? by George Orwell, the author uses metaphors to represent his feelings on imperialism, the internal conflict between his personal morals, and his duty to his country. Orwell demonstrates his perspectives and feelings about imperialism.and its effects on his duty to the white man?s reputation. He seemingly blends his opinions and subjects into one, making the style of this essay generally very simple but also keeps it strong enough to merit numerous interpretations. Orwell expresses his conflicting views regarding imperialism throughout the essay by using three examples of oppression and by deliberatly using his introspection on imperialism.
In “Shooting an Elephant” writer George Orwell illustrates the terrible episode that explains more than just the action of “shooting an elephant.” Orwell describes the scene of the killing of an elephant in Burma and reveals a number of emotions he experienced during the short, but traumatic event. Effectively, the writer uses many literary techniques to plant emotions and create tension in this scene, leading to an ironic presentation of imperialism. With each of the realistic descriptions of the observing multitude and the concrete appeal of the narrator’s pathos, Orwell thrives in persuading the audience that imperialism not only has a destructive impact on those being governed under the imperialists’ oppressive power, but also corrupts
Somalia is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, and the Indian Ocean to the east. With the longest coastline on the continent, its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains, and highlands. It is made up of the former British Protectorate of Somaliland and Italy’s former Trust Territory of Somalia. Somalia’s modern history began in the late 1800’s, when European powers began to trade and settle in the Somalia area. These events and the events that occurred during the 20th century helped shape the modern Somalia government and culture today.
In George Orwell's analytically essay, Shooting an Elephant, Orwell reflects on the five years he spent working as a police officer for the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, India. While writing about a serious issue in his essay, George takes a less formal approach to this particular piece of writing; reflecting on past events in a form of a personal memoir. It is within his memoir, Orwell explores the cruelty of the human race and the actions people, including himself, take to prevent further ridicule and abuse. George Orwell utilizes an extreme humanist perspective against imperialism, using his own traumatizing experiences in India to support his claim regarding the 'natural' cruelty humans seem to inherit when feeling oppressed.
The glorious days of the imperial giants have passed, marking the death of the infamous and grandiose era of imperialism. George Orwell's essay, Shooting an Elephant, deals with the evils of imperialism. The unjust shooting of an elephant in Orwell's story is the central focus from which Orwell builds his argument through the two dominant characters, the elephant and its executioner. The British officer, the executioner, acts as a symbol of the imperial country, while the elephant symbolizes the victim of imperialism. Together, the solider and the elephant turns this tragic anecdote into an attack on the institution of imperialism.
In 1936 George Orwell wrote a short story titled "Shooting an Elephant.” In it he discusses a fictional story of a man who kills an elephant and the implications that arise afterward. He relates it to British Imperialism and uses the individual's experiences as a reference to larger experiences that we all face. Many issues of the societal pressures and morality of killing arise over the death of the elephant as well as how the narrator’s identity was altered by his environment. While it appears to be a story of a rampant elephant being euthanized, George Orwell uses the story as an analogy to describe man's inner struggle between acceptance, morality, and the pursuit of power.