That in a civil war there is continuous fighting, based on grievences that are forever changing.

I have tried my best to keep my country alive by writing about it.

To the Somali, the Amerikaan is weird, to the American GI, the Somali is an ingrate and a skinny.

Good writing is like a bomb: it explodes in the face of the reader.

Death in Somalia seldom bothers to announce its arrival. In fact, death calls with the arrogance of a guest confident on receiving a warm welcome at any time, no question asked.

Every reader exists to ensure for a certain book a modest immortality. Reading is, in this sense, a ritual of rebirth.

What can I say Rango? What can I do to prove to you that I belong to you?

If your eyes dwell in your heart

I've been 40 years discovering that the Queen of all colours is black.

When happy, be kind. When angry, be kind. When hopeful, be kind. When discouraged, be kind. When ever, be kind.

From the cradle to the grave is a school, so if what we call problems are lessons, we see life differently.

I think the best way to protect the ocean is to encourage people onto it and into it.

People recognize me all the time now, and there's lots of autograph hunting and smiling. But then I get to play gigs, which are amazing. It's a good job.

Your negative actions will always speak over top of your kind words and only fools listen where the wise watch.

The point is that if there is no God, then objective right and wrong do not exist. As Dostoyevsky said, “All things are permitted.