Western Wealth Vs Somali Wealth

[DR OSMAN]

Western Wealth in a family life-time

A family consisting of 2 parents and roughly 2-3 kids in a life-time own a 'property'. For average sakes let's say 250k USD property, plus 2 cars around 20k each, smart phones at 1k each. That's roughly 300 camels to cover the property and 2 cars. The smart-phones, television, furniture would amount to a few hundred goats and sheeps. Their not that rich as they make it appear in 'real terms' at all over life-time. This is a MIDDLE INCOME family we are talking about also which represents the bulk majority of the western world.

Nomadic Family in Somalia

A family consisting of 2 parents and 8 kids. 100 camels, roughly around 500 goats, most likely a property in the city and some diversify based on seasons into 'frankincense and fishery'. That's not to bad if you ask me. They would be lower middle class in the western world.

So we need to lift up our families in the cities to super-cede the wealth of nomadic families cause right now you can see a huge balance difference. The city family most likely 'rents' and doesn't even own his property and if they do it's around 50-100k. Plus he lives on less then 100 dollars a month which is 1 or 2 goats. It's a real shame wallahi.

Besides some say 'real wealth' doesn't include the property you sleep in but only anything you owe after you covered your essential housing/food/bills/debt needs. After-all you need a place to sleep so it can't be defined as wealth at all or else you will sleep outside. If you took away the property factor in cities and just measured apples with apples in terms of what u have outside of properties. You will find Somali families in the cities have a wealth of 1-2 goats a month which is roughly 100 dollars and this is usually sent from abroad.

That's disgraceful if you ask me. I would prefer living in my nomadic settings. In-fact most of my family still have their livestock, while also having properties in the town of garowe. We will definitely not being fully settling untill these economic differences change

 

[DR OSMAN]

Oi @Reiko get in here and please leave some comments about the economic disparity between nomadic and urban in Somalia. Yes we know a lack of government, rule of law, and all that has effected the cities but that's their fault. Nomads continue living under their own oral law and continue to grow their livestock which is their main goal, to increase wealth. Isn't their some shared goal between town settlers on common good such as let's increase our wealth in the city and create some sort of common law for all residents? Come on I know Bah Dir and still have huge rural presence but what about clans who don't like muse suldaan(bayla settled) or bah gareen(bosaso settled) who is living off coastal fishing or city trading?

I mean a kilo of fish won't even be anywhere similar to a kilo of goat meat. Let alone camel. Fishing ain't bad if you got no livestock, it sure beats going into farming. But being livestock guy is the number 1 trade in Somalia, if your talking about wealth.

 

[DR OSMAN]

Frankincense is 20-30 dollars a kilo.

https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/somali-frankincense.html

How many kilo's can the average Osman Mahmoud work in a day during the frankincense seasons? Our clan name 'boohaaro' is about one man who used to trade in frankincense in nugaal which was not common in that area since he brought over that 'reer bari trade'.

But that was only 1 man and his family, most other Bah Dubays were in the livestock game. I am not even sure if we still have families inside our clan who do frankincense anymore. But I know some of my relatives do go out fishing in the 'fishing season'. They have boats but we are talking a very small 'fraction' maybe 2-3 males who do this on their off season from livestock herding. I support diversifying our rural wealth in Bah dubays and not sticking with one 'trade' but I also support we ensure we measure our time/effort based on what we are doing and if it makes financial sense.

There is no point us sitting there for 6 months digging the ground and laying down seeds for a small return of vegetables and bananas lol that is very cheap in the market place. We just wasted 6 months and if you break that down into what u earn a day, your talking a few cents.

 

[DR OSMAN]

Our cities need to reflect our nomadic economics not OUR overall African REGION economics which is full of farmers. The farmers in those societies up-scale far better going from small land ownerships of plots the size of an acre to a city and working for a property. They make huge growth difference based on what they had which is less then $300 dollars of worth land and a hut with an income that is 6 month cycles of bannanas and vegetables.

We must not base PL economic using africa as an example. It just won't work at all. I am warning you all but no-one ever listens to me. Our cities need to reflect a 5 times difference in wealth to a nomads. So if the average family of nomads has 100 camels, 500 goats. You need to ensure their up-scaling if they move to the city.

So each property needs to be worth 500 camels, not 100 camels or they have made no 'growth' whatsoever. So each family in our cities need to sit on 500k property, have an assortment of vehicles and technology for them to even consider the city equal to them. They can then review their nomadic economics and see a 'good difference' to settle down in the city. Till then PL nomads stay where u r and continue in your trade is my only advice.

If we proper exact measurements. We need to look at African farmers who switched to the city and measure the 'growth' difference from where they were as farmers to what they have now and apply a percentage difference. Use that percentage difference for our Nomads to go into cities. So if the farmer gained 200% gain by moving into the city. A nomad would require 200% gain based on what he has to be reflected in the cities.

 

[DR OSMAN]

If Somalia heads down a track of factories, don't waste your time on drinks, food products, etc. They will not like it since it's a cheap product, it's better of going back to farming for them. They won't spend 8 hours a day producing a bottle of drink that costs 1 dollar each. It's like spending your whole time in farming to produce a bannana. They like go big or go home type of jobs. Like camels, goats, etc. Something where they can use their time and effort on a valuable product. They won't do that against bottle of drink or cheap shirt textile factory.

Somalis need to measure the products that have big value in the market place and put somalis in those industries. For each day in japanese factory they produce thousands of camels of worth of automobiles. We need to use the 'camel' standard on all our industry, as that is the most expensive commodity in our land and work out the value of any industry. We need to measure industry product against what it's worth against a camel. If it is worth 1 adhi, 1 camel, etc the product we envision to produce, we need to work out if this is wise decision and may conflict with nomadic wealth system.

 

[DR OSMAN]

I just know my rural family doesn't look positively at us in the diaspora in terms of what we have in comparison in what they have. Only the people in the towns look up to us which is small fraction of my family members and I was always trying to figure out why. It makes far more sense now, it's all about what you have not where you are. If they have more wealth then you living in the desert, there is no incentive for them.

 

[DR OSMAN]

I prefer they stop grouping regions based on language, race, religion and all these superficial matters. We need to look at hard economics because 'hanti' waa wax hadlayso. Class them as fisherman, farmers, livestock herders, hunter gatherers, etc. Because that's the only groups that exist in Africa as a whole.

These groups of people will eventually move into cities and their will be huge difference in wealth between them once they convert their assets. That's why communist project was loved by Africans because their all farmers, it can pick them all up in one go.But that won't work in a nation where the wealth is huge difference gap based on their ancient occupation. Rwanda is a key example of this and why they most likely had a civil war.

Tribe will be used as smoke-screen because they don't see the root cause is 'wealth' difference. Just like Race is used a smokescreen in America but the real matter is wealth difference between blacks and whites.