Thursday, November 17, 2011

What is global communication and how has it promoted the globalization witnessed in the past ten years?

Introduction
n  Definition of global communication
n  Thesis statement
n  Topic sentences on
How it helped in past 10 years, Business, Information and Education
  
Body paragraph 1
     Globalization helped business
Support--- share trades/ stock brooking

Body paragraph—2
  Globalization helped information sharing and exchange
       Support—use of digital media

   Body paragraph—3
Globalization helped education
  Online courses and support system

  Conclusion—summary of discussion and opinion

Country report 2



Somalia was created in 1960 when the two territories of a former British protectorate and an Italian colony were merged. Its official name is Somali Democratic Republic. Somalia is situated in East Africa with the longest coastline in Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. It shares land borders with Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya. Spread over an "area of 637,657sq km with a population of 9.36 million according to 2010 UN estimate" (Sub Saharan Africa), the country has witnessed slow development since it was formed.   The vast majority of Somalian population is ethnic Somali in nature.  Almost 100% of the population is Muslim, which makes Somalia relatively more homogenous when compared to other African states.
The official region is Sunni Muslim, and they speak more than one language, which are the official Somali, Arabic, Italian and English.  In 1991, the country was divided into fragments “led in whole or in part by three distinct entities: the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu, the self-declared Republic of Somaliland in the northwest, and the semiautonomous region of Puntland in the northeast” (2010 Human Rights Report).  On the contrary, “ in the reporting period, most local administrations in the south have either been fragmented or have been taken over by Islamist militias” (Transformation : Somalia).

Somalia’s economy operates without a proper public sector management or regulation and   any kind of formal economic or monetary policies. However, an energetic informal economy exists in Somalia that is largely based on transnational trade and livestock. There is a relative sophistication and functionality present in commercial infrastructure and institutions.  Major industries include argiculture, and principal exports are hides and skins, and bananas.  The Somali economy is based on international trade networks, which are controlled by a small group of wealthy businessmen, while the majority of the population continues to live at the subsistence level, engaged in small-scale businesses as petty traders, livestock or grain producers (Transformation : Somalia).  The country has a general demand for imports such as food, clothes, electronics, Khat (the narcotic leaf) and cigarettes, and it is this demand that connects Somalia to the world market.


As far as a general, universal judicial system is concerned, Somalia has none.  Instead, a combination of traditional law and Islamic law provide the basic judicial framework for most of Somalia’s rural and urban communities. Under traditional law, leaders of the respective clans mediate in case of conflicts, and negotiate peace agreements.  If required, compensation payments within and between the clans are also arranged. Somali people “live largely without the protection of the state, access to security or institutional rule of law” (Africa at 50). Human development indicators are uniformly low, which can be seen from the fact that “Somalia has the worst health indicators in Africa with less than 0.5 doctors and two nurses per 100,000 people” (National Archives - Country Profiles).

There is a distinct discrimination as far as access to education is concerned.  For instance, the females are often subject to parental restrictions to education, and there are similar trends of exclusion visible among social minorities.  In the absence of an organized education system, education has been reorganized according to private interests and means. “With an estimated adult literacy rate of 24%, “Somalia still ranks among countries with the lowest levels of adult literacy worldwide” (Sustainability-Somalia Country Report).



                                                          " Works Cited"


"2010 Human Rights Report | ReliefWeb." Home | ReliefWeb. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://reliefweb.int/node/441515>.

"Blog - Qaran News." NEWS – Africe at 50. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://www.qarannews.com/index.php?option=com_content>.

"Country Profile: Somalia." British Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Home. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/sub-saharan-africa/somalia>.

"Somalia." WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. http://www.wfp.org/countries/Somalia/Operations/Food-Aid-for-Emergency-Relief-and-Protection-of-Livelihoods

Preparation




Before I start my second interview, I was thinking to meet a new person from Somalia. So, I went to the Somalia restaurant than I found a lot of people from Somalia. I start the conversation by asking one of them about the war in Somalia. After that I asked him if he would like to answer some questions for my homework and he did not mind. I have a strong relationship because of my religion. And some of them had been in Saudi Arabia, especially Makah. And I have an I phone so, I used it for an audio record. However, I asked him if I can record the conversation and he said it’s okay. So, I started my second interview.

Personal thought..

The interview was very interesting and I was awed to understand the cultural wealth of Somalia.I had a chance to meet Farog and he made me feel very comfortable right from the beginning of the interview. Language was not a barrier as he spoke fluent English. He answered all my questions with ease and it clearly proved that he loved his culture and country. I was amazed to see his immense knowledge about Somalia and his deep understanding of his culture and society. He also expressed his sadness at the current economic crisis in his country and expressed his hope that it would all be settled soon. During the interview, I could clearly understand that he was very patriotic and intended to do something for his people.

Interview

 # 2


E: What is your name?
F: Farog
E: And as I know you are from Somali right?
F: Yes.  I hail from Mogadishu in Southern Somalia. It is also the nation’s capital
E: Please describe the education system of your country.
F: We have a strong educational structure. It begins with two years of Early Childhood Development (ECD), followed by four years of lower primary and four years of upper primary education . After this , we have to undergo four years of secondary education. University education is for an average of four years. And owing to severe political crisis, the modern education scenario is undergoing a lot of turbulence.

E: How has your culture influenced your people/family values?
F: I belong to a culture that has been greatly influences by our neighboring provinces including Ethiopia, Yemen. We are predominantly Muslims and my family takes pride in following the norms of our religion meticulously. Most of us in our society follow the same religion and hence, we are very closely knitted and have a sense of oneness.

E: What is the form of government in your country?

F: Our government is week and its poor not like your country. Sometimes I think there is no government in Somalia. The government cannot control the people because it does not have the power.
Eid: I heard that there are a lot of tribes are fighting each other.
Yes. We have some tribes they fight each other and nobody can stop them.

E: Tell me one thing that makes you proud of your country?
F: Nothing.
Eid; What you mean by nothing ?
F: I was trying to find one thing makes me proud of my country and I can not
I’m proud of my country because of the religion. And Thanks god
E: What places /sites would you recommend to tourists?
F: Not now. When the war is ended I will suggest you to go to my city.

E:  What festivals do you celebrate in your country?
F:   we celebrate as Muslims do. We have two holidays which is Eid Alfiter and Eid Aladha.
E:  What's the weather like in your hometown?
F: It’s so hot there. And I like the hot weather. I prefer it more than Minnesota weather.
E: . What is a type of sport in your country?
F: we prefer soccer and basketball, swimming and hunting.

E: What's a traditional food in your country?
F: Rich with Goat, Beef, Lamb. And lamb soup or chicken soup

E:  What do most women do after they get married in your country? (House wife, working?)
F: As we believe in my country the women jobs is staying at home and take care of the house and children. So, the women do not have to work. But she can also but some men do not like their wife having a job because they want them to take care of their child.

E: What is your ideal job or what you want to do for the future career?
F: I’m graduated from University of Minnesota.  And I have job right now. And I wish the war will end than I can go to my country.
E:  Which country you'd like to go if you want to travel? Why?
F: Of course Saudi Arabia because the Makah. I would like to make Omrrah and I wish I can live there for hole my life. Makah is the center of Islam.
E: What do your parents believe? Do you follow the same religion as your parents?
F: We all believe in Islam.
E: How long have you been in Untied State?
F: I have been here more than 13 years. I used to live in Chicago than I went to Minnesota
E: Can you tell me some of your hobbies?
F: I like to watch a TV, and hang out with my friends
 E:  What will you do after you go back to your home country?
F: I do not know.
E: Before we finish this interview do you have any word or advice for international students?
F: Eid, Do you come here to study?
Eid: yes
F: So, you should study and you can make a lot of money in your country. The International students should respect the American culture and work hard to get what they want.
E:  Do you think the other country should support the government to stop the war in your country?
F: Yes. They should support the government and the people. As you know, there are a lot of people in Somalia who did not eat for 1 week or 2 weeks. Especially the Muslims people should support them.


The top three places :


1- Puspak- 19
2- Tim- 18
3- A., Hassan A., Wenda, Jialun S. - 17

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Preparation
It really took me a long time to make my first interview. I went to the Saint Paul and I decided to interview my friend from Somalia. His name is Ahmed Botan. He likes to call him Aj Botan. He is student at Hamlin University. I know a little bit about Somalia. However, I did some research about Somalia. Moreover, there are a lot of questions came to my mind but it will take a long time and he might feel boring. And I have chosen a Hoka store to make the interview when we are smoking Hoka. And I have asked him if I could record the conversation and he did not mind. Then I started it.

Personal Review
When I was in Saudi Arabia I did not communicate with international people. I just got what I need to know by watching the news and trying to see what happened to the world. Moreover,  I have been traveling a lot on the world but I only communicate with people who are from my country or who speak my language because the language was hard step for me to communicate with other people from the world. However, when I came to United State I started  learning English and having a lot of friends from different countries. I like to talk with them about many things especially their culture and religion and Policy.  So, I was happy to make an interview with a person who is from Somalia because I always heard about Somalia and there are a lot of poor people there who need help. I got a lot of information about Somalia country.
At the beginning of the interview, I was a little shy to ask him some hard questions about his country and it was the first time to ask him these questions. But when the interview started it became easy to me to ask him. What I learned from the interview, there are a lot of different cultures in this world and a lot of people who need help from other countries or from other people. It was great to know about other country and he was nice and helpful.