The demise of the next best thing

He was my home boy. A young man whom was hard not to take notice of, he was what many call “light of the room”. No one could be in his presence and not feel the warmth which accompanied his words, not forgetting the smile that complemented his personality. I am talking of a rare breed. The man who never intentionally displayed his dissatisfaction of anything for anyone to see, unless such action was directed to others, he was everyone’s public relations officer.

I remember just few days ago. He was the talk of the town. They branded him “the next best thing to ever grace the industry”. Little did both of us, him and I, know that this breakthrough would be his demise. I am sure that he would have let it go instantly, should he have known that it will be the end of him. Such a rare breed. The world is robbed of its treasure. Not long ago, we discussed how we would bring up our families. His was supposed to be in a farm not far from the village. Every time the harvest comes, he will take some of his produce to the needy of the village. This was a man who never thought of letting the “blood ebb out of the village”, his imagined life had to engulf the village in its centre.

The industry did not appear to have realized or noticed his absence. I guess it is true when they say, “life goes on” no matter what. This is the same industry that cheered for him; to certain extend even contributed in him taking up the challenge. He was happy with his village life. He was hunted high and low by the representatives of the industry. I remember, he once told me that he was only taking up the challenge just because the representatives were convinced that he can be their martyr. His whole life was about to make other people better. He would take up whatever challenge put forth, as long as such challenge would bring smile on someone’s face. But the industry cannot even honour his absence.

I lost my brother, my friend, and probably an uncle to my kid and those who will be born later on. His family, I cannot even begin to comprehend the sadness which has engulfed them. To them, he was a bread winner, the heart and soul of their family. The only remnants of him that lingers in the industry are, “we wish we had known that he was soft. We had invested so much in him and now we lost our fortune”.

But to me, he will always be my imaginary friend. The fiction with which I aim to make a living, THE DEMISE OF THE NEXT BIG THING. TO BE CONTINUED!

Relationship

The concept of relationship is broad. It encompasses emotions and sometimes spiritual matters. For example: spiritual oriented people tend to believe that they have inseparable relations with their super natural spirit or Father as many come to believe. While those using emotions believe that they are in relationship with their partner(s). Emotional relationship includes but not limited to sexual fulfilment of sexual desires or satisfying emotions such as kissing and touching or hugging etc.

Relationships are attributed with sorts of outcomes. Others are believed to be productive, which I will show how, while others are said to be parasitic in nature. A productive relationship occurs where both partners are said to have benefited something from their relations. It is productive because each party gets a wife, boyfriend or girlfriend or even a business partner. Even though not all relationships last for a longer period or forever, to certain extent they are worth partaking in.

Not everything about relationship is glossy, at the same time not all relationships are bad.So, now I will turn to parasitic nature of relationships. This type of relationship is like that of a flea and an animal. A flea is a form of an insect which has no wings and live by sucking blood off other animals. You know that a flea sucks the blood out of the animal and the animal gets nothing in return except pain. Yes, the flea inflicts pain through its sucking or piercing. Therefore, the relationship is parasitic in that only the flea gets to fill its stomach with blood.

Relationships also have different expectations and outcomes. Be it emotional or parasitic relationship. Outcomes are inevitable. For example, others expect that their partner commits to them until to the eternity, or as it is known, until death does us apart. Which I believe to certain extent is nonsensical because I’ve seen people break off relationships and commitment while they are alive.

In peroration, I believe that human beings are always in a relationship. The only distinction is what kind of relationship one is partaking in? Others are in a symbiotic relationship such as male and female or mother and a child. While others are in a parasitic relationship i.e. a flea and a bird or an opportunist and a servant etc

The beauty of Christmas Market(without religious motives)

The beauty of Christmas Market in Berlin

One does not need a microscope or telescope to see how important or cherished Christmas is to the German community (the word community in this case encompasses those who are natives of German and those of us who are visitors.) I am privileged enough to have lived in both East and West cities of Germany; first having been Leipzig and now Berlin. In short, I have witnessed Christmas market, events leading up to Christmas, from both cities. One thing stands out, and that is Christmas market vibes. Before I proceed, it is better that I explain how the market is set. What the government does is to find a certain street, like the one I saw in Karl Marx Street here in Berlin, and bring wooded stalls and rent them to entrepreneurs whom then decorate it any how they wish, majority of them with Christmas lights and trees, and then pack their goodies. Therefore, civilians are able to walk around the street(s) and choose the goodies they love. In Leipzig, the Christmas market that I managed to attend was in the city centre, and the stalls were put in front of the shops, unlike here in Berlin, maybe it could be that Berlin does not have a one specific city centre. Anyway, this will be a subject for another day.


For entrepreneurs Christmas market is a quick way of making Euros (money). While on the other hand, for civilians (customers) the market gives them a chance to buy their favourite goodies which they usually do not buy often during the course of the year. One lady came to our marker, Sage-Net market, and bought lickrages (historically famous for Netherlands) type of sweets with sour taste to those of us who are not used to them, and she remarks that, “my daughter would love to have them for her Christmas gift.” Our Sage-Net stall is just a tiny fraction of the types of markets that do business in the Christmas market street. The market ranges from clothing (woollen made hats, scarf’s and jerseys), to bakery (fat cakes with lots of sugar, bread, baked cauliflowers), quick bite meat or meal (curry worst, hot dog), to wine (warm cooked or boiled wine) and to art for wall decoration (decorated pictures about the city and strategic places of the country.)


To many people, the price does not seem to bother them at all. For example, sweets or goodies which one would normally pay 2 Euros or so in a shop somewhere else could go up to 3-4 Euros in a Christmas market. I think to them is also about the environment and that makes everything worth it. Or even better, it could be due to the fact that the Christmas market happens once in a year. For entrepreneurs, if one is lucky enough, one ends up creating network of suppliers for his or her day to day business. Unlike, us at Sage-Net market who come here for a fundraising purpose for our South African civil organizations, other entrepreneurs do this for living. So, Christmas market really means the world to them.


The winter weather of Germany does not stop people from visiting the Christmas market. I make it a point that every time when I knock off from work(Sage—Net) I pass by the Christmas market at Alexanderplatz‎ which is on the way to my residence and grab few goodies or just walk around and marvel to all the varieties of goodies that are at the market. The market also comes handy to beggars who would sometimes sleep hungry because here they have an opportunity to ask from lot of people. Even though, I heard that the social system here in Germany is very good. Maybe it could be the beggars that I see are either not officially registered to be in the country or that they need more money for something else. However, the Christmas market caters for all people of the community.

Kids, at some point, seem to be the main targeted market for entrepreneurs. Some markets have toys or goodies which are more pleasing to kids. Parents also have their preferences, but few of them actually manage to say no their kids demands, but majority go with the follow (LöL, I know you do not believe this.)


In peroration, I grew up in South Africa with the knowledge that Christmas is a celebration related to Jesus Christ. To my amazement, or rather what really caught my attention is the fact that, Christmas is highly sought after here in Germany. Yet, more than 60% of Berlin residents have no registered religious affiliation. The largest denominations in 2010 were the Protestant regional church body of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (EKBO.)


Could this mean that Christmas does not have to be associated with religion?


Religion in Berlin - 2010

Non religious 60.0%

Protestants 18.7%

Roman Catholics 9.1%

Muslims 8.1%

Other Christian 2.7%

Other religion 1.0%

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin?oldid=636582982

The first two pictures are were taken from the Sage-Net stall during set up.

Jeffrey Shisinga's World : Fartuun Adan receives a Human Rights award

Jeffrey Shisinga's World : Fartuun Adan receives a Human Rights award: On the 04th of December 2014, I attended a Human Rights award ceremony where Fartuun Adan from Mogadishu in Somalia, was awarded a Human Ri...

Fartuun Adan receives a Human Rights award

On the 04th of December 2014, I attended a Human Rights award ceremony where Fartuun Adan from Mogadishu in Somalia, was awarded a Human Rights Award today on behalf of Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre where she is an executive director. The award was conferred to her by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung foundation. According to Kurt Beck, the chair of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung foundation, this was the 20th time since 1994 that the foundation offers such a prestige award to people who advances the course of humanity.
In his speech or rather remarks he assured her of how highly the work she does with women and children in Somalia is appreciated. He remarked that, “it is not easy in a country like Somalia where there are riots and wars to find people, especially women who advance the course of human rights and dignity. Especially that the law is not equally applied to cases that involve women and children.” He continued and pointed out that when “fighting for human rights we should not be oriented by the national or international borders.”
As humans , we should not turn a blind eye on how big the problems in other countries or our neighbours especially when the basic rights of human dignity and of access to law is trampled upon. Though her achievements and efforts were acknowledged, Beck also pointed out to the fact that Germany knows that “others things are also lagging behind in Somalia, where he gave an example of how married women are dispossessed of their husbands belonging (or inheritance) upon their passing, but the family of the deceased husband claims everything” He believes that Adan and her organization are on a right track to restore human right in Somalia and Africa as a whole. Before he conferred the award to her he said, “This award is a sign of acknowledgement of respect to what you do in making Somalia and the world a better place, and that Human Rights challenges are the fundamental focus of German politics or government.”

Amongst the dignitaries who attended this event was Christoph Strässer, a human rights commissioner of the federal government of Germany. He gave a brief historical collection of how al-Shabaab is known to be terrorising the Somalia people, and how at a certain point the government of Somalia together with the African Union’ interventions have managed to control or push al-Shabaab away from the Indian Ocean. He remarked however that, “even in places where al-Shabaab had been disposed rule of law is not yet applicable or effected. And that Adan and her organizations are on a right path towards creating a positive and human rights observing Somalia that they wish to have.” He further believes that “the weakest members of the society in Somalia are women and children. Many victims have little hope that Justice will be served to them in reporting stories that befall them, be it rape or abuse.”

As she ascended the podium to collect her award, she shared with the house how her husband, Elman Ali Ahmed, was killed for advancing human rights in Somalia. She acknowledged the award and stated that, “I feel extremely privileged to have received this award.” Before she gave her remarks on what her organization does, she shared a historical experience that she had where a president of Somalia once said that, “Somalia men were not raping and abusing women because they are Muslim as such cannot be said to be engaging in such activities.” She also gave a brief overview of what Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre does. Amongst others the centre cares for women, children and child soldiers who are raped abused or want to re-integrate back to the society. “We teach them literacy, basic reading and writing skills, and offer workshops for entrepreneurial activities. We even give them capital to start their own business.” She further explained that their focus was merely in making the women rich but rather to help them change their situations even in a smaller portion. “Silence is killing Somali women, at the end, I want them to have confidence and to have justice to be able to go to court and report the injustices that are instituted to them.” She also explained how difficult it is at first for the child soldiers to open up because they fear that they will be isolated or even be killed when the word reaches out that they have ran away. Our greatest aim is to make women to realize that they are not and do not have to be slaves for their husband of fathers, she said. Confidence is what we aim to instil in the community.


The conference was also opened for discussion from the panellists and the floor. Few questions were asked: one question was aimed at Adan and asked how does she get to work? Especially with the issue of security which is really unstable in Mogadishu and her response was that, “every time I leave my house to go to work, I accept that anything can happen. We do not have security, and one can never be certain with al-Shabaab.”

The next question was related to al-Shabaab, and it asked it was possible to negotiate with al-Shabaab, she responded by saying, “The child soldiers can be negotiated with since they lack education and other alternatives majors to quit working for the al-Shabaab.”

Another question wanted to know as to who is funding al-Shabaab, and she answered that “there were speculations in Somalia that al-Shabaab could be funded by Arabian countries with their hope to taking over Somalia and to run it their own way.”


The last question to be asked was related to how can women bring about contribution to peace and security in Somalia, and the question was well answered by another member of the panel Christa Radzio- Plath, She is chairperson of the Marie Schlei Association, and in her response she said, “Networking of women is an answer to bringing economic. Peace and security. War is no longer a subject of male soldiers, but of women too. There should be more women in parliament and Rwanda has proved to be a leader in this regard.” She closed her remarks by saying that, “governments should invite civil societies or organizations in their discussions for peace and security.”

Here is the link to her profiling her work

The life of a loner and how he became a loner

Life is full of surprises, some good and others bad. For him , it has always been the latter. At one time, news surfaced among the village that he was a rapist and many people wished him dead. At times, when people see him walking they will look the other way if not completely changing their directions. The brave would look at him and spit on the ground. Those who had been in a situation like his before, knew and understood what he must be feeling. One of them once explained to her neighbour that “ you will wish the earth can open up and swallow you immediately”. But, for him, people can only imagine because he hardly open up himself to people. Rumours had it that he felt like an outcast since his arrival to the village.

Apparently, he never knew his real parents, and he was brought up by his grandparents. News about his parents’s whereabouts have always been sketchy , and his grandmother never really entertained the topic. Those with tabloid characters had it circulating around the village that his mother passed on during labour. His father since took off and never surfaced until to date. The only person who seems to understand him is his grandmother. Before she grows fence around her yard, people used to stand on the street and look at them talking to each other. News circulated that he does not speak at all. Kids would also poke him on the streets and he would continue his journey like nothing happened. That was the kind of man he was. A man in village where everyone talks bad about him. Other news came to be known that he once watched his younger drown and he marvel on the whole incidence.

His life was like a school timetable, he would know what to do when and at what time. Whether comes rain or sunshine, they would see him watering plants in the yard, ans sometimes he would sweep the yard in the presence of his grandma walking around him without saying a word. Or atleast not in a voice that can be heard by the spectators. The two seemed to live in the world of their own. One day, a fellow old woman from the same village once asked his grandma about him, and she just told them he is a good and adorable grand son she can ever asked for. One wondered what would have happened to her if she was still in her youth,because it is believed that people in that village will associate with you based on your family behaviour and its members. Surely, with her grandson behaviour very few would want to associate with a person from such a family. However, that did not matter to her because she was a loner, more like her grandson.

Those who knew this family from its old residence, suggest that he was a good boy at school and had a bright future at his disposal during his youth. Others believe that he was bewitched by the family of the lady whom they believed that he had molested. The issue is believed to have never been reported to the police. Apparently, his grandma moved to this village because the rumours were so rife in their old village, and she had to fled for his safety. He was a very attractive and active young man. But, one would not believe it if they can see him now, a man who looks and behaves like a loner. However lonesome he seems to appear to people, one would not really think that he sees himself as a loner. To him, everything or this type of life seemed normal.

One would expect loners to desire to make friendship or at least to desire to be in company of others, but to him, such efforts never seem to have crossed his mind. He carried himself in one way as long as people in this village can remember. Mr loner. So many things were said about him and his grandmother. Others believed to have evidence that he was a zombie or that he looks after his grandma’s zombies and as such, he was forbidden from talking to anyone except his herd of zombies. Others, believed that he was a drunkard who drinks kids blood and as such he had lost his speech. To those of us who have studied a little knew that it is impossible for man to lose is speech once born with it. But, to many this did not seem to matter. Maybe, it was indeed a village of the ignorant.

The village was congested with young and old people. Women were at their majority. Those who know would testify how women seem to have direct influence over how their kids behave. One scarcely sees a child talking or playing with other kids or people whom were considered to be bad by the kid’s mother. Some kids would use him or his name with their siblings or parents during supper and around fire. Other parents even went to an extent of scorning their kids by calling them a Loner. All bad things were associated to him and his name.

One day something shockingly occurred in the village...
To be continued...

Life is but a process

Life is a process and as such it is bound to have ups and downs. Hence, today you might be sad, angry down etc,but if you look back to few weeks, months, years you might find that you were jovial and excited etc.


Therefore, you ought to take heart and be strong and keep going and hope for the best in the coming days. Who knows, maybe your days of sadness, mourning, angry and lacking might not even last longer that you think might.

Having said that, I urge all of you to never stop hoping for the best in life, One way or another , we all had and have our days of mourning, crying, sobbing and to be sad. It is not your 'thing' but for all human beings.

After all, you might just find out that somebody else has a bigger hurdle than what you have. The least you can do is to channel your thoughts and mind to the good that life can bring. After all we only live once. Why would you want to spend your days sobbing when you can decide to be happy instead?

‪#‎Do‬ away with Exceptions# Life and all its processes are\is for us all.