Aziz Farah @azizfaarah Twitter profile | Pikagi

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Aziz Farah

@azizfaarah

14,546

Followers

393

Following

1,473

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7,096

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IT Project Mgr | @KoorArchives

Toronto, CA | Hargeisa, SL

https://t.co/suJrYyA6yu

Joined January 2012

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

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@azizfaarah

Aziz Farah

3 years

There’s a Somali saying that the ear is older than the eye (dhegta ayaa ka da’ weyn isha). Through oral tradition we learn about people and places we’ll never see. And in the womb, we hear the outside world before we ever lay eyes on it. So much wisdom in a simple phrase.

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@azizfaarah

Aziz Farah

1 year

Putting my daughter to bed and she said ‘almost forgot my sign!’

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Aziz Farah

6 months

My daughter listed her Ramadan goals.

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Aziz Farah

10 months

Pronouncing ح as خ is islamophobic

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Aziz Farah

2 years

Ghana fans chanting URUGUAY HOME and KOREA KOREA they celebrating this like a win. Not the revenge they wanted but it’s the one they got 😂😂

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@azizfaarah

Aziz Farah

8 months

New colleague just introduced himself as Mookie on the team call, his name is Mukhtar. Might call in sick for the rest of the day.

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@azizfaarah

Aziz Farah

3 years

No context Somali translations

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Aziz Farah

4 years

This Somali letter was written 87 years ago in far wadaad, a since forgotten arabic based script. Let’s read it together.

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@azizfaarah

Aziz Farah

2 years

Somali is a language shaped by nomadic life and can describe travel, time & weather in ways English can’t. With words like sahay (food you take to go on a trip), guurayn (travelling at night), darraad (day before yesterday), saxansaxo (a cool sweet breeze that comes before rain).

@MerriamWebster

Merriam-Webster

@MerriamWebster

2 years

Non-native English Speakers, what’s a word from your language that you think is perfect that doesn’t have an English equivalent? Take us to church.

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@azizfaarah

Aziz Farah

3 years

Explaining to my daughter that she can call me aabo since I am her aabo but that I (aabo) can also say aabo back, without implying that she’s my aabo.

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@azizfaarah

Aziz Farah

3 years

Animals in Somali series, starting with mammals 🐒🐱🦒

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Aziz Farah

2 years

There are 100+ ways to say camel in Somali, we find words for what we love and value.

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Aziz Farah

3 years

Nobody: Diaspora: can’t wait to go home and and give back...but also get rich, have maids, live in a gated community and of course travel.

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@azizfaarah

Aziz Farah

2 years

Ninkan iska ilaaliya

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Aziz Farah

2 years

Please spare a dua for my dear sister Kawsar 💔 May Allah forgive her sins, widen her grave, reunite her with Aabo in Jannah and ease the pain of her children & husband. My kind-hearted sister is gone and tears are flowing on four continents. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un.

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@azizfaarah

Aziz Farah

2 years

There are so many ways to say 🌧 in Somali. Here’s a list of 60 words which describe types of rain, based on their specific season and timing, duration, intensity, cloud formation and impact.

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Aziz Farah

2 years

If someone says ‘we’ in Somali, it doesn’t necessarily include ‘you’.

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Aziz Farah

2 years

My growing collection of books written by (or featuring) Somali women.

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Aziz Farah

2 years

A common reply to thanks in Somali is ‘weynu isku leenahay’ meaning we owe it to each other. Because mutual aid isn’t just seen as charity, it’s a shared responsibility, a form of solidarity that’s deeply embedded in Somali culture through concepts like wadaagid and abaal.

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@azizfaarah

Aziz Farah

4 years

Getting married often involves a move: either to a new place or stage of life. This is especially true in the nomadic tradition, so it makes perfect sense that guur means both marriage and to move in Somali. So much cultural context and meaning in everyday words.

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Aziz Farah

11 months

“In Somali, when we see injustice we say ‘dhiiga kuma dhaqaaqo?’ which translates into ‘does your blood not move?'” - Warsan Shire.

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Aziz Farah

3 years

Miyaad aamusnayd mise waa lagu aamusiyay??

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Aziz Farah

2 years

The Somali word for maternal aunt is habar-yar, meaning small or second mother. So when we say habo we also imply hooyo (1/2).

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Aziz Farah

3 years

I came across this dua in Somali today and keep coming back to it. It’s a lesson in the language and how to say a prayer. A reminder that Allah understands every tongue we speak.

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Aziz Farah

2 years

Al layl ana arab 🇸🇦🇸🇦🇸🇦

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Aziz Farah

2 years

When you think about it, lil wayne is an oxymoron in Somali

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Aziz Farah

3 months

Copies of the holy Quran, handwritten by Somali scribes.

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Aziz Farah

1 year

When they ask me bariis or baasto at the Somali restaurant

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Aziz Farah

1 year

Speaking Somali in my head vs how I actually sound

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Aziz Farah

3 years

Meet Hibo Mohamed. She’s a hero who teaches essential math & reading skills to the women selling fruits & vegetables in Hargeisa’s largest market. Thanks to Hibo, these women are learning to conduct business using ZAAD, a mobile money transfer app which is popular in Somaliland.

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Aziz Farah

7 months

3 years of collecting Somali artifacts, hobby turned into an addiction 😂

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Aziz Farah

7 months

Started cataloguing the Koor Archives collection with @TheNabaddoon this weekend.

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Aziz Farah

3 years

Support a (real) Somali business this Eid!

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Aziz Farah

9 months

This week, I'm heading to New York to pick up some fidhins (firin), which are traditional Somali hairpicks. Ahmed Mera arrived in New York by boat more than a century ago, wearing one in his hair.

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Aziz Farah

3 years

Somali generosity on display. Deeqsinimo is in the DNA.

@MutahNapoleon

Mutah Beale مطاع بيل

3 years

We all need someone like Muhammad in our life’s, May Allah reward him.

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Aziz Farah

2 years

Family members in Somali, still one of my fav graphics.

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Aziz Farah

3 years

the Somali urge to

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Aziz Farah

3 years

Somali city names explained 🧵 Starting with Berbera...

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Aziz Farah

5 months

Afkaaga a poem by Furqan Mohamed, spotted on the subway today.

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Aziz Farah

3 years

The Get Out movie posters in af-soomaali you didn’t know you needed 😂

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Aziz Farah

3 years

In Somali we have the same root word for marriage and moving: guur. Bless the ancestor who decided living with in-laws ain’t me, y’all be safe tho.

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Aziz Farah

4 years

Learning Somali at any age doesn't have to be so serious and shouldn't involve shame, let's find light-hearted ways of engaging with our language and culture. Hope you enjoy Episode 2!

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Aziz Farah

9 months

There's a whole family called Reer Shidhle because their grandfather came back from abroad using the word ‘shit' a lot.

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Aziz Farah

3 years

Allah is Al-Ghani, so this ‘scarcity mindset’ is incompatible with my faith.

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Aziz Farah

2 years

Sad that some ppl think this way, when diversity is one of Allah’s greatest signs. “And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colours. Indeed, in that are signs for those of knowledge.” (Surah ar-Rum, 30:22).

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Aziz Farah

2 years

If drake spoke Somali he'd pick huuno over walaal or warya everytime

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Aziz Farah

1 month

Inna Iillayhi wa inna ilayhi raji’uun. May Allah have mercy on the victims of this horrible attack and heal the wounded. A day at the beach was their only crime. Please don’t share graphic images, the dead and injured deserve dua and dignity.

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Aziz Farah

2 years

No context Somali translations

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Aziz Farah

4 years

The Somali word tol has two meanings: kinship and bind/sew. What a beautiful way to express family ties.

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Aziz Farah

3 years

For no apparent reason, I started counting Somali cities and towns with the word well (ceel or laas) in their name. 200+ names later and it’s clear to me that building a well means establishing an entire community.

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Aziz Farah

4 years

The Somali words for home (hooy) and mother (hooyo) are separated by a single letter. And we attribute our language and homeland to her: afka iyo dhulka hooyo.

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Aziz Farah

2 years

Condolences to the large Somali-Korean community, keep your foreheads up.

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Aziz Farah

3 years

A local friend in Hargeysa once told me ‘I hate the diaspora’. When I asked him why, he said: you price us out of buying land, building homes, even eating at good restaurants. Diaspora men fly here to marry the most eligible bachelorettes & take the best jobs/political seats.

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Aziz Farah

3 years

Say cat in Somali challenge

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Aziz Farah

2 years

I’ve fallen in love with the Somali language. It’s such a rich inheritance. Grateful for the opportunity to share its poetic beauty with you all. Here’s a thread of my work from 2022:

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Aziz Farah

3 years

Love my mother-in-law, Hooyo labaad for real. Acuudu min isha AbdiExit 🤲🏾

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Aziz Farah

3 years

google translate is too accurate sometimes

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Aziz Farah

1 year

When you put ‘fluent in Somali’ on the resume.

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Aziz Farah

4 years

Earlier this year, I created a family tree in af-Soomaali for my daughter and thought...maybe it’s worth sharing. The positive feedback was unexpected and heartwarming, it’s the reason why I’ve created and shared more since. Thank you to everyone that’s engaged with my tweets.

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Aziz Farah

3 years

Like any language, Somali has a lot of loan words. But often there’s also an original Somali word with the same meaning. A few examples of Arabic loan words and their Somali equivalent:

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Aziz Farah

2 years

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Aziz Farah

2 years

Bless the Somali ancestor who decided marriage (guur) should also mean to move (guur).

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Aziz Farah

4 years

We welcome people in Somali by saying ‘soo dhawoow’, which means come close. And the usual response is ‘waan dhawahay’: I am close. I’ve always found comfort in this simple exchange. This year, it’s also a reminder of just how much we’ve lost: both closeness and close ones.

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Aziz Farah

2 years

Thinking again about how you can count a full week (7 days) relative to today in Somali, while all we have in English is yesterday and tomorrow.

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Aziz Farah

7 months

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Aziz Farah

2 years

10 years ago today, I made the best decision of my life by marrying Yasmin ♥️♥️♥️ Forever my beautiful bride, partners in this life and the next Insha’Allah.

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Aziz Farah

2 months

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Aziz Farah

2 years

When I come across Somali words we don’t have in English, I’m reminded that a language’s beauty and richness is best appreciated in context. Words like sahay (food you take on a trip) and guurayn (travelling at night) are easily said in Somali, a language shaped by nomadic life.

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Aziz Farah

2 years

The architecture of the Somali language is full of symmetry and beauty. Just look at the connection between the words for East and the dawn of a new day on the one hand. And the West, evening and departure on the other.

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Aziz Farah

2 years

Long before lawsuits, Somali culture had the concept of ‘xaal’ which is a payment you’d have to make for words or actions that harm someone and damage their reputation. Bring back xaal.

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Aziz Farah

2 years

My Somali dagger collection so far

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Aziz Farah

2 years

POV: you’re in sw*den visiting a ‘friend’, waiting in a room while they have dinner.

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Aziz Farah

1 year

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@ElonMuskAOC

Elon Musk (Parody)

1 year

We are in the final hours of Twitter before we move to X… Any last words?

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Aziz Farah

2 years

This town in Somalia is literally being buried alive by climate change. Even though Africa contributes the least to global warming it’s still the most affected continent.

@Astaan_tv

Astaan TV

2 years

Kaamirada Astaan ayaa gudaha u gashay magaalo Soomaaliya ku taallo oo qarka u saaran in ay gabi ahaanba xabaalanto. Ka daawo shaashadaha Astaan Sheekada Dhinawda, habeenka Talaadada 7:00PM fiidnimo.

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Aziz Farah

8 months

In Somali, we welcome people by saying "soo dhawoow," which means come close. "Waan dhawahay" - I am close, is the usual response. I’ve always found beauty in this simple exchange, it reminds us of what matters most, closeness and close ones.

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Aziz Farah

3 years

There’s a deep tradition of mutual aid in Somali culture. Just look at the word toolin. It describes milk that’s been collected from neighbours, to be given to a family whose livestock isn’t producing.

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Aziz Farah

4 years

Somali for all seasons.

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Aziz Farah

1 year

That first tea/coffee after Ramadan

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Aziz Farah

3 years

In Somali we say ‘gacal isma cidhiidhiyo’ meaning loved ones don’t make us feel crowded. If there isn’t room for all of us, let’s make it. We aren’t in competition with each other. Putting friends and family on has given me more joy than any of my own achievements.

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Aziz Farah

8 months

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un. A year that began with the loss of my sister ends with the death of my nephew. May Allah have mercy on Mohamed, widen his grave and reunite him with loved ones in Jannah.

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Aziz Farah

11 months

Somali math = what’s yours is mine. Savings are a sign of stinginess and there is no line between generosity and financial recklessness.

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Aziz Farah

3 years

Making Ramadan feel special for kids is a challenge in the west, here’s our attempt (credit to my lovely wife)

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Aziz Farah

2 months

There’s a Somali saying that in order to be talked (gossiped) about, you must first be remembered. In lagu xanto in lagu xasuustaa ka horeysa. Keep living in their heads kiro la’aan (rent free) type energy.

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Aziz Farah

4 years

We often view Somali through the lens of another language and end up focusing on what it lacks (Somali doesn’t have a word for X?!?). By centering Somali, we can better appreciate how rich it is. The way we describe time is just one example: how do you say Sakuun in English??

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Aziz Farah

3 years

The word used to describe a lot (𝐛𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐧) in Somali comes from the sea (𝐛𝐚𝐝) and I think that’s beautiful.

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Aziz Farah

3 years

80+ names for a camel in Somali, we find words for the things we love.

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Aziz Farah

1 year

When I started tweeting about Somali language and culture in 2020, I never imagined that my daughter would see those words on display in an art exhibit. I do this work for us and truly appreciate your support. It was great to meet some of you in person ❤️❤️❤️

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Aziz Farah

2 years

Dude I work with is going to Qatar for a month. He got some pushback from management on the time off and his response was “I’ve been to the last 8 world cups and whether you approve it or not, I’m going to this one”.

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Aziz Farah

2 years

Books by Somali Women 🤩

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Aziz Farah

7 months

One my favourite Somali sayings is 𝘢𝘮𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘮𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘶𝘳 𝘬𝘶 𝘵𝘪𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘸, be a mountain or lean on one. Because strength can take many forms, it can come from within, or through support from our family, friends, and community.

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Aziz Farah

2 years

If this is goodbye, I just wanna wish everyone jilib wanaagsan 💔

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Aziz Farah

3 years

Asked my daughter how it feels to be 7 year olds today and she said ‘good, it feels like I can demand things’

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Aziz Farah

3 years

No context Somali translations

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Aziz Farah

3 months

Congrats on joining that that new step up / hiking group. Here are some Somali words for walking.

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Aziz Farah

2 years

This app is dying and Somali twitter will soon be homeless. That’s why I’m building the first Somali social media platform. It’ll have a qabiil verification feature, custom memes & emojis (secure the meher 💰, jiinis, forehead etc.) and so much more!

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Aziz Farah

11 months

You’ll be in my thoughts and habaar 🙏🏾

@Israel

Israel ישראל

11 months

Please keep us in your prayers 🇮🇱

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Aziz Farah

4 years

The Somali language has a rich and ancient oral tradition, but what about it’s more recent written history? I put together a brief timeline of Somali scripts (credit to all the Wikipedia warriors).

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Aziz Farah

3 years

How many ways can you say the name Abu Bakr in Somali?

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Aziz Farah

4 years

Applied for a job in 2019 and this recruiter laughed at my resume (accidentally copied me on the email). I went thru a different agency and got the job. The hiring manager said my resume stood out. Trust your instincts and you might just get the last laugh (LOL).

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Aziz Farah

2 years

I saw Aabo’s old doctor a few months ago and I’ve been holding on to his words: ‘I miss having your dad as a patient, he taught me insha’Allah and the meaning of patience’. Gone fourteen years but never forgotten, may Allah have mercy on you Aabo.

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Aziz Farah

2 years

The first Somali owned hotel in Edmonton 👏🏾👏🏾 I love their authentic name choice, hope it’s the first of many 🚀

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