The cool breeze of Hargaisa nourishing my soul.

My first ever blog, starting right here in Somaliland in the year of Ones in 2011. So far I am loving it here, in particular the beloved city of Hargeisa, the birth place of my parents and my ancestral homeland.

I feel the circle of my family's journey is complete, in that my Grandfather was the first person in our family to have left Somaliland, first to seek a better education here in England, and then later to have embraced the union with Somalia, with the aspiration to build a better life for his family, a decision which most of Somalilanders have lived to regret. My father a high ranking general, left Somalia in the 1980's after it has become unsafe/dangerous for all Isaaq intellectuals to carry on working for its nation. Then my mother a successful business woman also, shipped out of Somalia in 1985 after it has become too unsafe for Isaaq to stick around, a decision that has probably saved our family, in that those who have opted at the time to say behind in Mogadishu, in towns were the Isaaq were the minority lived through unimaginable horrors. A horrific experience, we never lived to see and for that I thank my mother who foresaw the deterioration of the dictatorial system of Siyaad Barre and who left the Country, prior to its inevitable collapse.

As a child raised in the Diaspora, life has been interesting and a lot different then the childhood our parents had, in that to some extend, when it came to the language; we were our parents voice, bridging the gap to two different worlds. This point I will touch on at later date, but for now, I am back to the Journey my Grand parents have made, educated in the West, born in Mogadishu and now back into the lap of my true home Somaliland. I consider myself as a Somalilander, and in that context I will be recording my journey whilst  I stay here in Hargaisa. For those who have similar experiences to me and who hail from Somaliland but, never have been here, it is an opportunity to learn our Country together. Like you, I do not know much in terms of our heritage, nor have I seen much of outside Hargeisa. This is my own Journey to discover Somaliland and complete the circle of our family to resettle back into our beloved Country Somaliland... the land of Milk and Honey, the land of Cigaal and Maxamed Mooge, Hadraawi, Gaariye, the land of  thousands of great poets, the land of heroes and intellectuals, the land of Nasa hablood, of  Sheikh and Borama, of Sool and Sanaag of Haud, Saaxil of Baligubadle and countless historic cities the land of the two qibla mosque. The burial site of Sheikh Isaxaaq bin Hashim and his brother. My journey begins  wish me luck.......