Somalia, without a government and still without hope
The tragedy of Somalia continues unabated. The country has not had a government since CIA-backed stooge and regional thug Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted way back in 1990. Last year a group of Muslim fundamentalists, the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), broke out of its Mogadishu enclave and succeeded in seizing a lot of the south of the country. They weren’t very nice dudes – they were fond of chopping off people’s hands and banning entertainment – but, like the Taliban, they did bring stability to the capital and surrounding areas. People felt secure enough to walk the streets again and to travel even short distances without the inevitable intrusion of road-blocks manned by gun-toting militia members seeking donations.
The Americans though were not happy, claiming the Islamists were in cahoots with Al Qaeda.
Last December the Ethiopian army, with the backing of the US, drove the Islamists from Mogadishu. The Ethiopians have remained to back up a weak Somali transitional government. They are the Somalis’ traditional enemies and are not popular. They seem anxious to leave, but they have various jobs to do beforehand. They are supposed to be replaced by an 8,000 strong African Union force but to date only 1,200 have shown up.
The city has returned to its former lawlessness, and in the last few weeks it is estimated that over 1,500 civilians have been killed in cross-fire between the Ethiopians, government forces, local clan militias and Islamic sympathisers. This has set in train one of the largest movements of refugees in today’s world, a veritable human flood which seems to have been ignored by the world’s media. These people are attempting to flee the mayhem, yet they often leave the city without proper food or provisions for areas of the country that are without infrastructure. They are often attacked and robbed by bandits on their way, and when they do find refuge they often have to deal with local traders who have increased prices for basics exponentially. There have even been reports of landholders charging refugees for taking shelter under trees on their land. They are prey to a cocktail of diseases including cholera. There have also been reports that the transitional government has deliberately prevented aid deliveries to camps occupied by people from areas viewed as sympathetic to the opposition.
And yet in all this, the refugees are the lucky ones. The old, the aged, and the very poor cannot leave the city. They remain trapped in the midst of the fighting. It is estimated that 600 people have died in the past few weeks from cholera alone. Many of the city’s medical facilities have been destroyed or looted and their personnel have fled, yet to reach them would involve a perilous journey from one neighbourhood to the next, each one guarded by its respective militias.
One of the causes of Africa’s poverty is the dearth of technology. A yawning technological gulf exists between Africa and the rest of the world, though recent studies on internet and mobile phone use suggests this is narrowing. One branch of technology the west has never been reluctant to give to Africa is armaments. The continent is awash with weaponry, some of it old Soviet material, but quite an amount is spanking new state-of-the-art kit. A small electricity generator for use with a pump costs about the same, maybe even less, than a sub-machine gun. Which does the most good?
The Horn of Africa was for years a play-thing of the superpowers. The world’s one remaining superpower is getting involved again not for any humanitarian reasons. Its president possibly doesn’t even know where Somalia is. The world’s next superpower, China, eyes Africa as a great prize as it offers the oil and minerals which it needs for its booming economy. However this is as selfish as America’s interest. And while the UN and African Union passes resolution after wordy resolution, the people of Somalia continue to die in droves – needlessly.
