How The NY Knicks Inspired Somali Villagers

It's no secret that the living conditions in many of Africa's countries can be harsh. One of the worst places to live, though, is arguably Somalia; The poorest country in all of Africa. The way of life in Somalia wouldn’t even be considered survivable here in America. In order to get a firsthand view of Somalia, FaHooNews.com decided to fly out Mr Bigleys to find out more about the country and its people.

Upon landing, Bigleys was able to speak to the people and hear their nightmarish tales of how bad the conditions really were. It was eye-opening to see what American’s take for granted while the Somali people fight each and every day just to survive. They’ve experienced things that Americans couldn’t even imagine, well besides that time that dunce of a barista forgot the caramel drizzle on my tall, non-fat latte. Bitch.

Anyhow, more than 73% of Somalia lives on less than $2 a day while 24% live on less than $1. If that’s not hard enough, their way of life has once again been devastated by one of the worst droughts in Somalia’s history. The Somali people's lives are at risk considering 80% are nomads and 60% of their GDP comes from agriculture. It is estimated that 2 million Somali's could die of starvation by the end of the summer.

But despite all of this unimaginable misfortune, there was one thing that I kept noticing: Everyone was smiling. “How,” I thought, “could anyone who doesn’t know if they’ll survive into next week possibly have a smile on their face?” I turned to my translator, Najma, and told him to ask the group of villagers why their spirits were so high despite everything that was going against them. The villagers responded, “Although our way of life is excruciating and nearly unsurvivable at times, at least we aren’t the New York Knicks.” I asked if they were talking about the NBA basketball team. The head villager replied, “Yes. See, although we may have very little, we still have hope. Hope that maybe we can improve on what we currently have. Even if it may be too late for me, there's still hope that my children may, one day, create a better life than they currently have. But to be a Knicks fan…To have to wake up every day knowing that there is no future, nothing to live for…That is something we Somali’s could never bare.”

I left Somalia with a story I never imagined I would depart with. I flew across the world to see the misery that I could have seen only a short flight from my home. Despite that, the trip was incredibly enlightening. Yes, being threatened by starvation, illness, and war are terrible. But imagine Julius Randle as your marquee player...

As I packed to leave, the villager came into my room with multiple large boxes. I opened them. Inside were hundreds of Kyrie Irving, Zion Williamson, and Kevin Durant New York Knicks jerseys that had been sent over as donations. The villager said, “We appreciate being reminded that there is always a worse situation. But, in a place with so much devastation and depression, we ask that America no longer send us the jerseys of the hopeless.” I nodded, took my bags and boxes, and headed back to America.

**Send some money to Somalia at https://www.savethechildren.org/us/what-we-do/where-we-work/africa/somalia. Unfortunately I spent my donation on an incredible gourmet lunch. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t**