Somali for special purposes SSP

From a 1993 word-list meant for American soldiers in Somali:

 

ENGLISH	SOMALI	PRONUNCIATION
Yes/No	HAA/MAY	("HA/MY")
We Are American Military	WAXAAN NAHAY	("WAHAN NAHY EEDAMADA CIDAMADA MARAYKANKA")
We Are Here To Help You	INAAN INDIN CAAWINO AYAAN	("IN AN EEDIN AWENO AYAN HALKAN OO CHOGNA")
What Do You Need?	MAXAAD DOONAYSAA?	("MAHAT DOANAYSA?")
Give me	I SII	("ISEE")
Wait Here	WAA KU SUG	("HALKEM KOOSOOK")
Stop!	JOOGSO!	("CHOK SO!")
Hands Up	GACMACHA KOR U TAAGA	("GAMAKA KOROOTAG")
Lie Down	JIIFSO	("CHEEF SO")
Face Down	WAJIGAAGA DHULKA SAAR	("WICHEE GAGA LULKASAR")
Get Up	STAAG	("KA")
Be Quiet	AAMUS	("AMMOOS")
Put Your Weapon Down!	HUBKAAGA OHIG!	("HOOPKAGA DIG!")
Leader	HOGAAMIYE	("HOGAMEEYA")
Family	REER	("RAYN")
Refugee	QAXOOTI	("KAHOATEE")
Do You Speak English?	MA KU HADLI KARTAA INGIRIISI?	("MAKO HADLEE KARTA INGREEZEE?")
What Is Your Name?	MAGACAA?	("MAGA-A?")
Who Is In Charge?	YAA KA TALIYA HALKAN?	("HALKAN YAHOOKOOMA?")
Come	KAALAY	("KALAY")
Danger!	KHATAR!	("KHATAR!")
Do Not Drink The Water!	BIYAHA HA CABIN!	("BIYAHA HA-ABIN!")
Mine Field	GEGI MIINAYSAN	("GEGI MEENAYSAN")
Keep Out!	KA DHEEROW!	("KA DERO!")
Warning!	DIGIIN!	("DIGNEEN!")
How Is The Road?	WADDADU WAA SIDEE?	("WADDADOO WA SIDAY?")
Get In	SO GAL	("SOAGEL")
Don't Be Frightened	HA CABSANIN	("HA APSANIN")
Are You Carrying A Weapon?	HUB MA SIDATAA?	("HOOB MA SIDATA?")
Don't Fire	HA RIDIN	("HARIDIN")
Don't Shoot Us	HA NA TOOGAN
You Are a Prisoner	MAXBUUS BAAD TAHAY	("MAHBOOS AYAT TAHAY")
Stay Where You Are	HALKAAGA JOOG	("HALKAGA CHOAG")
Line Up	SAFTA	("SAFF TA")
Show Me	ITUS	("ITOOS")
Are There Any Dead?	CID DHIMATAY MIYAA JARTA?	("IDD DIMATAY MIYA CHIRTA?")
Boil Your Water	BIYIHIINA ISKA KARIYA	("BIYIHEENA EESKA KAREEYA")
Wash Your Hands	QACMAHIINA DHAQA	("KAMIHEENA DAKA")
Thank You	MAHADSANID	("MAHATSENIT")
Don't Be Afraid
	HA CABSAN	("HA ABSAN")

 

FW: ethical question

 

In the recent kidnapping incident in Dadaab, where I am based just now, a driver was killed and another driver and staff member were shot, one seriously.   

 

The four expatriate hostages, our colleagues from here, Nairobi and Oslo, were eventually rescued by a combination of the Kenya army and Somali warlords after a walk of three nights into Somalia. One was injured; another developed a badly infected foot.

 

In a recent incident involving a CARE team visiting a camp, five policemen in the escort car were blown up. Two lost their legs. Again they were there to protect agency staff.

 

Kenyan colleagues say (almost openly) that we put them in danger if we are on missions with them.  

 

The police become victims for us also.

 

In this context, since I am not allowed to visit the camps just now for security reasons, and have to stay permanently within the secure compound, I am not expecting to be here beyond the end, in September, of the current short contract.  

 

It remains to be seen if I will be deployed elsewhere.

 

Barry Sesnan

Uganda +256 757 219 288

Kenya +254 734 338 434

Skype: barryechobravo

 

Dadaab news from Barry

 

 

It is one of the nearer misses in an eventful career on the front line.  I have just (after an awful dry spell unemployed) been appointed as interim manager (3 months) of the Norwegian Refugee Council's Education programme here.  The programme as I found it when I arrived ten days ago consists of a youth vocational training centre in each of the four major camps and one in town (there are half a million refugees here mostly from Somalia).   We, the non-refugee staff live in a huge secured "humanitarian compound" in the small town of Dadaab.   The camps are within 15km in two directions.  We go there in police-escorted convoys usually.   Right now we can't leave the compound even to buy telephone air time.

 

We have about 600 refugee and Kenyan youth (in the town's Centre) doing a one year course. Half a day on a skill (electrical, computers, masonry, plumbing, hair/beauty etc) and half a day on academics depending on their level - anything from basic literacy and numeracy to secondary equivalent.  At the end we form them into small teams for six months and give them some tools to start up a small business.  It has mixed results (Somalis are much more naturally traders and dealers than brick-layers).

 

So yesterday just by coincidence and because there had been low level security concerns already near one of  'my' centres with an amateur IED (improvised explosive device) thrown at a police car a couple of evening before, it was decided that the visiting team (from Oslo - top boss, regional boss, Nairobi boss, would skip the camp youth centre and come to the town youth  centre. So I didn't go with them. Their three cars were attacked in a planned ambush in a narrow piece of road leading out of our camp premises. They shot at the drivers. One car got away by crashing through a fence. One driver was killed and the other wounded, hopefully not too badly, in the hip. Another staff engineer was injured in the stomach. They have been flown to Nairobi.  One Kenyan staff  member was wounded too. Those in the car that got away (my direct boss, an Italian, and the head of the organisation, from Oslo, presumed target??, the regional manager of Somali origin himself sped to a police station and got back to our quarters before long.  It seems the others were driven off, one car was apparently immobilised by satellite, so they were all pushed into the other one, which came to a halt about 30 km away.  Footprints go off into the bush, 6 kidnappers, two women (Pakistani, Norwegian) and two men (Canadian, Philippino).

 

Killing in these circumstances is VERY rare but prolonged holding as hostages for ransom can last months.   No one has yet claimed to have the hostages and generally it is thought to be the work of bandits rather than a political group like Shabaab.   The chances the Kenya police and army will find them in the first day or two is high (we are told they are being tracked, now it is daylight again). It's thorn bush country - our colleagues are unlikely to be strong enough to continue a long forced march.   However there are puzzling elements to this attack, and of course later, there will be a lot of questions about why the visit was so widely announced beforehand and why so many high ransom people were in three cars moving very closely together.   Agencies usually don't pay ransom but in Somalia the local people are often embarrassed by what has happened and contribute something to get them released. Then a compensatory mechanism if often worked out.

 

Also, out of at least 30 agencies doing different things in the camps every day - why the Norwegians of all people? Generally no one has a grudge against Norwegians!  

 

 

FW: NRC Dadaab

 

Hi all

 

I am here in Dadaab, Kenya doing an interim manager position for NRC; I came just eight days ago.

 

This morning there was a high level NRC delegation from Nairobi and Oslo. They were in three cars visiting projects in the camps, and they were ambushed at the gate of the NRC new compound in Ifo 2 camp.

 

One dead, two injured and four kidnapped. The kidnapped are all expatriate colleagues (Norwegian, US-Pakistani, Canadian, Philippino;  we all had breakfast together this morning).  They are assumed to have been taken into Somalia (just 100km from here). The Kenya army is in pursuit with helicopters.

 

I am safe as I had not joined the delegation going to the camps, since they were to visit my project in Dadaab town on their return.  

 

More later

 

 

Barry Sesnan

Uganda +256 757 219 288

Kenya +254 734 338 434

Skype: barryechobravo

http://barrysbook.blogspot.com/

 

for job seekers

 

Mandate for protection

"UNISFA, the Ethiopian peacekeepers [in Abyei], have a mandate for civilian protection but they do not have a mandate for cattle protection".

 

Reminds me of the Banyoro in Kasenyi who wanted UN to convey all their cattle for them back to Uganda. When I suggested that they could sell one to hire a barge of a lorry, I was regarded as crazy.  

 

 

FW: From Nigeria

You travel by road, a petrol tanker catches fire. By air, plane crashes.

"You sit in your house, the plane comes to meet you. You go to church, Boko Haram attacks you. You go by sea, militants attack you. You finally run to your village, you are kidnapped. Is there any safe place in Nigeria?"

 

 

Says it all really - teachers earn just $100 a month in Uganda

Daily Monitor

Live updates, state of the nation address

President Museveni.  

By Emmanuel Gyezaho & Online Team  

Posted  Thursday, June 7  2012 at  17:00

President Museveni says that he demands the clamour for more pay by public servants must stop so the government can concentrate on the development of the roads and electricity sector. The only public servants who deserve to demand a pay rise are the scientists, who cannot be easily replaced. If a teacher leaves, he can easily be replaced but it is not so easy to replace a doctor.
[Replies to heckler that that he is confused if he confuses jets with salary increases. Says that the jets are the umbrellas of Uganda. They are for protection. ]
President Museveni identifies the core issues of the economy that need development as defence and security, law and order, electricity, roads , health, tourism and scientific innovation. Only when these are addressed will the government consider salary increases.

Don't you just love jargon:  "... essential for bringing issues on the ground to the table  ... "

Very wet Entebbe; myriad of beautiful birds in garden;

power cut; facing hotel's generator drowns out birdsong.  Pentecostal church will soon chip in. No hope for birdson now