The Social Cartographer

Here we are again. And coincidently this time it’s exactly one month later. Lets start.

Back in July there were fears of a new Tora Bora in northern Somalia. A man by the name Mohamed Said Atom had been singled out by the UN for violating the arms embargo on Somalia. What most surprised me is that the UN can actually pin point parts of the Somali problem. More on this here: Militant Alliance Adds to Somalia’s Turmoil. But then a few weeks later Puntland launched a major operation and claims raid success against Al-Qaeda linked militia. Only time will tell. But good for Puntland for being proactive. If only some national government would be as energetic.

After the World Cup Bombing in Kampala,Uganda, everybody in Africa wants the head of Al Shabaab’s head. Except Eritrea, but no one will listen, why, well they don’t exactly have a good reputation (then again neither should Ethiopia in this matter). Eritrea says talks not force right approach to Somalia. The harsh reality is the Eritrea is probably right. But the Sufi group (Ahlu Sunna) supports more African Union troops in Somalia. What is their game? Surely none of them can see more AU troops as a good idea.

Al Shabaab bans three international aid groups in Somalia saying that they are proselytizing Christianity. I always find its a good idea to banish those who are helping you. Frodo did it to Sam in the spider cave and look how much better it turned out.

Puntland deports hhundreds from the autonomous region for what it claims are security concerns. Anybody say “kicking them while their down?”. Anybody?. Okay never mind. See nobody wants the Somalis, even the Somalis don’t want the Somalis.

Some people are proposing that the US and it allies in Somalia talk to Al Shabaab and practice an idea called “constructive disengagement”. Constructive disengagement basically means pull out all foreign troops from Somalia and pull all support for the TFG. I believe partly with this idea. But I think the best idea is to support what works. The allies should support Somaliland (recognizing it would be a good message to the rest of Somalia), Gulmudug, and Puntland. The allies should in effect encourage the “balkanization” of Somalia because it is the best way to peace. They should support state governments and not national ones, because national issues must be solely discussed by Somalis.

Now I haven’t been following this story but I am going to put it here. U.S. Indicts 14 Accused of Supporting Terrorist Group in Somalia. The reason I am not following this is that it makes no difference where it really matters. The US is still procrastinating on its Somalia policy and in fact has no Somalia policy. Nobody does.

Somalia Set for Increased Fighting During Ramadan. Didn’t you know? It’s what religion is really about. No, but apparently I been reading the wrong book.

UN to boost presence in Somalia to further peace. Well its to furthering something, not sure I would call it peace. But why now and what will this mean? I don’t know, and I am pretty sure it doesn’t matter.

Of course we can’t leave out that lawmakers, military officers accuse TFG leaders of incompetence. Yea apparently they have been too much into the hashish and didn’t notice that they’ve been working with idiots.

This is pretty cool. Annandale High School students aim to rebuild Somalia’s educational system, follow WakeUpSomalia. Also really cool Australian bicyclist travels by road through Puntland. Apparently it was a UN sponsor trip through 22 countries in Africa.

Okay thats all. Ramadan Mubarak! As aways stay healthy, be happy in your work, and keep in touch.

with respect,

the dreamer, philosopher, and poet in solidarity for prosperity,

The Social Cartographer

I think is about time for another review of events in Somalia. And now that the euphoria of the world cup is over we can get back to more mundane things ( of which are lives are made of). It should be dully noted that these “monthly” reviews are not exactly “monthly, I am not that good with keeping time, but rather any elapse of a period of time during which many things happened that should be noted. So let us begin.

Pirates seize a Singapore ship. This is the only piracy story I am going to mention because, I just don’t care anymore about this issue. Several other navies join the fight. That too I don’t care about.

TFG Parliamentarians have another meeting in a newly reconstructed building “to continue the work of the MPs”. What work? These guys haven’t changed anything.

Kenya says foreign fighters in the mix with Al Shabaab. Thanks Kenya but we already knew that. Best of all, the Kenyan Foreign Minster said “he does not believe the United States is doing enough to help the Somali situation”. At last someone says it.

Islamic groups, including Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, arrest people watching the world cup. Not that surprising, they already restricted other social activities.

A very good Al Jazeera article on corruption in Somalia. I especially liked the line where he says “If the government cannot compete with extremist groups in the area of governance, accountability, transparency and provision of services then it is not worthy of the name”. Right on! Although it says that the biggest media supplier in Somalia is BBC and VOA (Voice of America), I am not sure this is true. Considering that most Somalis and other Africans I have talked don’t much like the VOA, I am not sure they would listen to much of anything they say.

Here is a great interview with Professor Abdurahman M. Abdullahi (Baadiyow) done by Muhyadin Ahmed Roble of AfricaNews titled  ”Peace is under Somalia`s trees”. I posted this article on this site earlier but I going to mention it again here. Its a great read.

Somalia TURNS 50!!!!!. But there isn’t really much to celebrate.

Ahlu Sunna asks the “International Community” to intervene in talks between it and the government (TFG).

Then there is that ‘the Somali government uses child soldiers’ fiasco. Which honestly is like “what? You didn’t expect that”. More than half the gunmen out in Somalia are kids. Did you really think there was enough young men (but not too young) to supply a much-needed army for the TFG. Especially when the TFG can’t even pay them. You need someone gullible or desperate to work for the TFG, and child soldiers and corruption makes good bedfellows.

Somaliland holds peaceful elections and elects a new president. Hooray for Somaliland, I am proud of you.  In the mean time TFG Prime Minister shuffles his cabinet. Again? Yes again! Don’t worry he won’t find anything in there.

East African leaders in the IGAD (Inter-Government Authority on Development) called for 2,000 more troops for Somalia. And Al Shabaab has promised to blow them all up. And Eritrea says you all nuts for trying this again because its not like it went so well before.

Remember that TFG money-making scheme that looked like it had to do with the cloners of Kamino from star wars? Well this probably has nothing to do with that. Looters stole 17.5 Billion Somali Shillings from the Puntland Galkayo airport. One day this story will become a classic in Somali film history.

Most traumatizing of all, in an event that shows the growth of Al Shabaab or at least the power of radicals in Somalia, 64 people killed in a bomb blast in Kampala, Uganda.

Well that is all. I can’t take much more of this debauchery today. So stay healthy, be happy in your work, and keep in touch.

with respect,

the dreamer, philosopher, and poet in solidarity for prosperity,

The Social Cartographer

I’ve struggled for month to make a post about this conference. It so hard because it was some much like the rest: utterly pointless and painful to hear about. The now former Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, told the security council“If we do not make the right commitments and take the right action in Somalia now, the situation will, sooner or later, force us to act and at a much higher price”. Great advice but what is the “right commitments”, so far all I see are bad and poorly though out plans. In other words this post is going to be short.

Istanbul Conference homepage says “However, in the past two years, some progress has been attained. The Djibouti Agreement, signed in August 2008, marked a milestone that strengthened the political basis of the Transitional Federal Institutions. The Transitional Federal Government (TFG), under the leadership of President Sharif, has survived, in the face of repeated assaults by armed insurgent groups. The TFG’s outreach and reconciliation efforts culminated in an agreement signed on 15 March with Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa (ASWJ), an important spiritual, political and military group. This agreement is expected to increase the TFG’s military capability and jurisdiction over increased territory. Additionally, some members of armed opposition groups have now joined the TFG.  In the past year, the TFG has succeeded in passing its annual budget and rehabilitating Mogadishu’s port and airport. However, there is need for more positive engagement and assistance to the TFG to strengthen the peace process.” The problem with all this bullshit is that it hasn’t changed anything. And a coalition of opportunist can not save Somalia. There has been no progress in the scope of peace and security or development. This highlights the IC (International Community) lack of intelligence on Somalia.

As the American Chronicle put it “The Istanbul Conference on Somalia (21 to 23 May) proved to be another ludicrous, yet expensive theatrical act that the insensitive international community of misrepresented and non-represented nations (UN) staged as an expression of revenge and rancor in front of the eyes of the shocked Somalis.” We shame ourselves by actually expecting anything from these people.

The Istanbul Conference and the IC are stuck on the Djibouti Agreement. “The Conference was held within the framework of the Djibouti Agreement, which provides Somalia and its leaders with a clear and viable path for achieving a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the situation in Somalia” stated int the Istanbul Conference declaration. The Djibouti Agreement is an extremely flawed document and anyone that tries to build on it will find themselves neck deep in the big muddy ( reference to Waist Deep in the Big Muddy by Pete Seeger).

Anyway…lets forget this ever happens. We will all feel better. At least I will. So stay healthy, be happy in your work, and keep in touch.

with respect,

the dreamer, philosopher, and poet in solidarity for prosperity,

The Social Cartographer

This was a discussion I had on Facebook with someone on some ideas for Somalia. The group was called Save and Support Somalia Party. Go and Join it and discuss, it’s what we really need to do: talk together of about the prospects for our country.

Q. Moxamed: The central government is not the only game in town and the Somalia be people need to get involved in Somalia politics one way or the other because in my mind politics is Business in modern-day after doing research in Politics for years.This was the rejoinder provided by US Congressman Adam Smith, chair of the House Armed Services Committee, to charges that America’s decision to provide Somalia’s embattled administration with 40-tonnes of arms and munitions between May and June did more harm than good. The charges are not without merit.
As seasoned Somalia analysts well know, the main problem confronting Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) is not finding weapons with which to fight the multiple insurgencies that daily threaten to overwhelm it, rather finding Somalis willing and able to wield them in its defence. A recruitment drive initiated by the TFG in May, in response to a major new offensive launched by al-Shabaab, the country’s dominant Islamist insurgency, was said to have succeeded in enlisting some 20,000 new recruits. By the end of June, however, the government was believed to have just 1,500 men still under arms.
It appears that the soldiers promptly deserted, taking with them their new uniforms and gleaming US-made weapons, before selling them to the highest bidder. Al-Shabaab’s spokesman, Sheikh Hassan Yaqub, told the Somali press that the US arms shipment had been “a gift” and “a blessing that came from infidels”.
The current administration, like the 14 administrations that have preceded it since the collapse of the regime of the last president, Siad Barre, in 1991, suffers from a serious credibility deficit. Like the country over which it purportedly governs, the TFG exists as a recognised and legitimate entity only in name and in the grand surroundings of international assemblies such as the United Nations. The reality on the ground is that it controls little more than the airport, the presidential palace and a few other blocks in the capital, Mogadishu. Were it not for the 5,200 underequipped and underfunded African Union (AU) peacekeepers, AMISOM, that guard these areas, it is doubtful whether they would control even that.
Whilst the central government fights daily for its very existence with Support from other African countries troops, peace and security unknown in Mogadishu, create infrastructure that affords citizens a good measure of ordinary existence. These Goals can only be achieved if the Somali people give Support to build their country and save the future Somali children from what todays Somali children are experiencing, all over the world Somali children are suffering this is due to the mistakes that were made in the past so we need to correct that people. Spread this group to your family and friends.
Peace Head of Save and Support Somali face book group.
Peace

M. Ibrahim: well first of all politically we have to forget everything that has been done before, all the attempts by the IC to from government in Mogadishu, and forget the TFG. The TFG is a symbol of everything there is wrong with Somalia. On the other side you have Al-Shabaab, which is omen of the greater darkness to come. We have to start from the bottom up. I think the one truth is that Somali is not going to look like it did back in the past, the time of central government is over. The time of the Somali States has come. Revolutionaries need to have a rounded profile. You must (1) fill the need of the people, give them water, food, shelter (2) offer them adequate protection (3) give them a voices. Most Somali rebels have had done number 2, and assume really on speak for themselves on number 3, but few have done number 1 (which is the most important) even for their own clan. I think even a humanitarian/ activist group would find it hard to change/ save Somalia without following this formula because in Somalia any one that is fighting for peace is a revolutionary.

What we need to do is not focus on the TFG becoming a success. There will be a central (hopefully federal) government in Mogadishu sooner or later. But Somalia is too fragmented and divided to come up with a government and if we keep waiting for one to work we could be waiting until judgement day. We need to do several things.
1) support groups and parties (political/ non political) that denounce perpetual revenge violence and are committed to peace.
2) ignore the main confrontation of the TFG, Al-Shabaab, and the international community, they are too busy trying to watch their own ass to care about real Somalia.
3) work with local people in the spheres of health, education, and capacity building

capacity building in this case isn’t a standing army/ police force but rather physical buildings of school, hospitals, market places, roads. We need to build an economy where people don’t have to join a militia to survive.

I think the absolute truth is that (1) we can’t wait for someone else to do something good and end this war (2) we can’t trust the TFG. Al-Shabaab, or the International Community to have the best interest of Somalia in mind.

So what is the function of this party. How much can a political party do in a country where politics is not a “noble art” but rather the barricades in front of the gates of heaven. I think that this is an important question to ask ourselves. What does Somalia need in the short-term looking into the future NOT what does Somalia need for the future. We have to start at the present. I don’t feel that Somalia is responsive to political parties. But a group with humanitarian and community development agenda with a hint of political propaganda might do the trick.

We can talk forever about how we need to do something but if we never do anything then that is not progress. And I would argue that doing nothing is worse than doing the wrong thing. Somalis are very proud people but lately we have survived on false pride; pride that we know we are better than we are portrayed. But pride doesn’t save a fallen nation. it doesn’t feed the hungry. it doesn’t stop wars. it does teach children how to live in a community, a nation, and the world. It doesn’t build bridges or roads. it doesn’t create a Somali Prosperity Movement. In order to have a strong prosperous nation the people need to access to three things: health, education, and food (three factors of prosperity). In order to meet these goals we have to ease up on our personal pride and secede some of it to the needs of the nation. But before we actually do anything, before we lay the first brick for a new parliament and the t-bar for the new bridge we need to answer a question. Who are we? Some will argue that the invention of Somalia is a foreign idea. But this is misleading. Every national identity is created by recognizing the outsider. There is no way that England and France would ever have been as strong if they did not recognize each other as rivals and not of the same people, culture, and traditions. We as Somalis must first discuss what it mean to be Somali. I believe that trying to establish our national identity will brings us together better than trying to get some guy into Villa Somalia. So I as you again who are we? Or better yet who are you? What do you want Somalia to look like in the next 10, 20, 30 years? And how are we gonna get there?

Q. Moxamed: what you mention above is always important to remember and every Somali must ask themself “Who am I and how i want to see Somali in the next 10-20 years. we must start Campaign sit down with our older generation express how we feel and what we want for our Country as the young are the Future Somali Generation, learn from their mistakes taking “weapons and Money” from foreigners wont be solving or achieving anything for Somali but dig bigger hole for Somali than is in already. we dont need no one on Earth whether they be Muslim country or none muslim country however every other nation does need US which is why we are especial. We have proved we can adjust to any conditions as we have proved it as Somalis do live (work/Learn) in countries all over the Globe so let’s get this chance of over turning Somalis luck for the past 20-30 years and make something of our self for the pride of our country and better future for our Kids as they all say there is nothing better than Home back in Somali that is!!!!
Peace

M. Ibrahim: Well first you need to start a General Fund for Peace (GFP). And you would look for grants from anywhere for specific issues like education, democracy, and health. You put these into the fund. You use the GFP as the National Prosperity Program of the party. More specifically you finance schools, help people learn about democracy, help communities come together and get them to solve their own problems. We have to let people (encourage people) to solve their own problems with out violence. Our success as a nation depends on peoples trust in the political system. the best way to prove trust is for them to wield the power of politics in their own hands.

Some for summary: the name Somali Stars Party is ambiguous (it might help if you a have a more pragmatic name and less idealistic) but non the less you would have the name of the party at the top

SOMALI STARS PARTY (political wing)

in the party you have The ORGANIZATION (the social wing).

The social wing is what proves to people that they can rely on you to do what you say. This is an effect a grassroots campaign. So you use individual and community support to pay for running of the party and use funds from non-profits and grant organizations to pay for the social programs.
The focus is not on the political wing but the social wing. The political wing is only empowered with the empowerment of the social wing. Thus the political wing is dependent on the needs of the social wing. This will make so the party is truly democratic and of the people.

This was a quick brainstorm but the general idea  believe holds still.

The major events of Somali sociopolitical development since my last post can be described with 4 words: Oh God, Not Again!

Russian navy abandon suspected pirates in boats in the ocean with no navigational equipment, basically dooming them to a slow death. The Somali government (TFG) is still waiting for an apology from the Russians.  I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Apparently the Somali parliament met for the first time since asking neighboring countries to invade it over a year ago. Nobody seems to know what happened or what didn’t happen but it went like this. Parliament has a vote of no confidence on the government. President says he will replace Prime Minster Omar Sharmarke. Sharmarke defies sackage and some parliaments claim that the vote never took place. If the vote never took place then the Prime Minister was technically right because the TFG Charter states that only parliament can dismiss the Prime Minister. Then by some twist of fate or something more bizarre, the President reverses his decision to fire the Prime Minister. And then the Speaker of Parliament resigned.

Somalia is angry about a US court case involving the sole survivor, Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse., of the failed Maersk Alabama hijacking. He will get 27 years. Bit much isn’t it.

Apparently Ras Kamboni split from Hizbul Islam. Why? No body knows, no body really cares.

A shipment of 22 million Somali Shilling of new currency that arrived in Mogadishu was apparently made for the Somali government in Malaysia without anyones knowledge. Kind of reminds me of the Clones in Star Wars ordered on behalf of the Republic without anyone knowing. Then of course different rebel groups and regional governments in Somalia refuse to use the new currency. Economic stability aside, how much do you have hate someone and recognize their incompetence to refuse their money? In Somalia, a lot.

Some think the UN Special Envoy to Somalia should resign because of his lack of neutrality. I know the guy has an impressive diplomatic history but I always saw his effect for peace in Somalia as mediocre if not negative. He says what the West wants to hear not what should be said. Anyway, it’s not like the UN is gonna do anything anyway.

A German mercenary company signed a security agreement with a Somali opposition politician who says he is the true president of Somalia. First clue that he is not the true president is that he actually wants to be president.

There has been a conference in Turkey about Somali issues. I will comment on this later.

And this time I am going to end on a lighter note. Well somewhat lighter. Take note, the validity of this article can not be assured. In mid may 10 Somali Cabinet Minister have been censured for corruption. This may not sound like a good thing, but the fact that things are somewhat working the way the should is encouraging at least.

thats all, So stay healthy, be happy in your work, and keep in touch.

with respect,

the dreamer, philosopher, and poet in solidarity for prosperity,

The Social Cartographer

I wanted to talk about the “progress” in Somali politics within the last 2 weeks. But the truth is nothing has really changed.However I would like to mention for people to check out J. Peter Pham article on America’s Confused Somalia Strategy. It’s a pretty scathing analysis of the Somali TFG. We all know the TFG is the most corrupt inefficient government a person could ask for, yet we are still ashamed at how pathetic and personally (as a Somali) insulting they are. Remember even though they aren’t really in control they have the same name as the “government” of Somalia. Their failures and misdeeds is a representative in the global political and social culture as the failures and misdeeds of the Somali people.

SO..the news events:

On the militant front there obviously more fighting in Mogadishu and in central Somalia between Ahlu Sunnah and Al Shabaab. Al Shabaab apparently attacked Kenyan soldiers again. Hizbul Islam invites Osama bin Laden to Somalia. I bet a vacation in Somalia is looking real good now compared to Pakistan. And of course one of the big WTF moments of the week for Somalia; Al Shabaab bans ringing of school bells because its sounds like Christian church bells. Oh wow! Every time I hear the school bell it makes me want to be Christian. Another one is Hizbul Islam bans music on the radio. On this issue its interesting to read about the radio operators civil disobedience, quite humors and brave.

The political front was a bit fried as usual. A lot of talk and not a lot of action. Puntland forces mark 50th anniversary of Somali Armed Forces and apparently the TFG did too even though they have much less to celebrate. TFG and Puntland officials finally sit down and finalize the Galkayo Agreement from last August. TFG holds talks with Ahlu Sunnah, Why? Nobody knows. But lets hope something comes out of it.

The most interesting things comes from the United States. Not because it actually does something but mostly because it’s a lot of work that probably won’t do that much. President Obama signs an executive order to give the Treasury broader powers to freeze the assets of suspected pirates and Islāmic militants. But the line here clearly points out “The move by Treasury would freeze any of the Somali militants’ assets in U.S. jurisdictions”. What kind of idiots Islamist would put their money in United States especially if they are “enemies of Islam”. The Somali government responded by saying they were pleased with the sanctions put on the militants. But then the Treasury Minister Abdirahman Omar Osman said “I don’t think the sanctioned officials have any asset on foreign countries, but we would like them to be blocked from receiving any weapons or financial backings from outside”. What the hell? According to America the Somalia situation “constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States”. I am sure that stopping militants by taking away their ability to have money in foreign accounts that they do not currently have is a sure-fire way to make America safer. Well that’s all the embarrassment I can take for one article.

So stay healthy, be happy in your work, and keep in touch.

with respect,

the dreamer, philosopher, and poet in solidarity for prosperity,

The Social Cartographer

In my previous article “For Those Who Haven’t Heard the Truth about Somali Pirates” I made the bold statement that they has been no “tangible” link found between piracy off the coast of Somalia and terrorist groups like Al Shabaab and Al Qaeda. That statement might have been premature. In my defense most statements about this relationship in the past has been very speculative and lacked references. It seems that there has been an underground relationship between Al Shabaab and the Somali pirates for some time now. This relationship is increasingly get some fresh air and attention.

For more information read the following articles.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63023820100401

http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/Somalia_The_Staging_Ground_for_Piracy.shtml

(This is a response to some of the statements Zach Despart made in this article on the UVM Student paper; the Vermont Cynic)

First of all, as Despart mentions the national government or the TFG (Transitional Federal Government) as it is known has control of some of capital city, Mogadishu but the TFG is recognized by the UN. Why you may ask? It takes a little history to understand that. There have been 14 attempts to make a national government for Somalia. Most of these have been inspired by the so called International Community. The latest of which is the TFG. TFG prior to 2009 was made up of “former” warlords. In 2006 a group called the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) began to assert control over much of southern Somalia. This lead to the CIA organizing a group of warlords into what was called the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism. The UIC defeated the warlords pretty quickly and by June of 2006 the UIC controlled the capital. This lasted for about 6 month and was possibly the most peaceful time in the last 20 years. The UIC rule ended when Ethiopia invaded with the encouragement of the US. The more political, less militant leadership of UIC then fled to Eritrea and Djibouti. The remnant of UIC remained in Somalia and organized an Iraqi style insurgency that ended in the withdrawal of the Ethiopians. The former UIC leadership organized what was called the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS). They had largely lost control of their former militias in Somalia which had morphed into the group called Harakat al-Shabaab Mujahideen, or more commonly Al shabaab and a series of other militant groups. Ethiopia, the African Union (AU), UN, the US, the TFG, and other regional government bodies forced the TFG and ARS to reconcile. Which resulted in a split within ARS and half of ARS joining the TFG. The former head of UIC became the new President of Somalia after the former president resigned by claiming that the war against the Islamic radicals was lost. To make a long story short the TFG is a bastard child of UN, US, Ethiopia, and the AU so they can’t deny its existence.

As we all know, the media presents for us our government’s foreign policy point of view. This was proved back in 1992 with Operation Restore Hope when the US engaged in a humanitarian effort (that was latter transferred to a UN peacekeeping body) due mostly to the media fixation with pictures of starving Somali children in American media. And apparently President George H Bush was watching because he initiated the deployment even though he was leaving office in a few months. This left the problem to President Bill Clinton who didn’t much care for the peacekeeping mission and took the opportunity to leave the country when 18 US marines got abused in the streets of Mogadishu. What isn’t mentioned often is that in that single fight that 18 us marines died, several thousand Somalis died.

The main thing I want to get to is when it comes to the issues that Somalia faces, piracy is a non issue. First of all, piracy of ships exist off the coast of west Africa and historically in the Strait of Malacca. Another point of information is that piracy has been an issue since the start of civil war in Somalia in 1991. Not to mention the atrocities that have occurred on land which have been largely ignored. But when commerce is threated all nationalities show their eagerness to protect monetary value and ignore the human cost. Despart claims that “…the problem with piracy off the cost of Africa [is that] rather than risk life and property by attempting a rescue, shipping companies will simply pay ransom to pirates”. This is not the problem. Piracy in its entirety is a symptom of the problem. With the amount of money being spent collectively by more or less 25 countries on anti piracy navy operations could probably save Somalia on its own.

Despart later mentions one of the largest discrepancies I see in his article by the statement that “The more pressing danger is that these funds [referring to ransoms payed] are being used to buy arms by warlords- the de-facto governors of Somalia – and by terrorist organizations. This includes Al’ Shabaab…”. Let me state that there has been no link found between Al Qaeda and pirates nor has there been a strong link found between Al Shabaab and the pirates. In fact when the UIC was in power in 2006 they made it a point to crack down on this activity. Also Despart described piracy as “Somalia’s wealthiest industry…Somali pirates received $150 million in ransom that year”. In actuality Somalia’s largest money source as reported by the United Nations Development Program is remittance which reached $1 billion in 2009 which is equivalent to about 18 percent of the nations GDP.

Finally I want to make it clear that to “stop the pirates, stop the flow of cash to terrorist” there will have to be a stable state in the Horn of Africa. Otherwise its not even worth considering the issue. If the west doesn’t want to play the role of Sisyphus and watch the boulder keep rolling back down the hill then they will have to come to terms with the fact that shooting skinny Somali men in small boats will not stop piracy. But most importantly they will have to address the root origin of the piracy issue. This is probably the most puzzling to but probably not that surprising. In order to save the piracy issue the West will have address the grievance of the Somali people on their claim of over fishing of their ocean territorial rights and toxic waste dumping. Both issues have not been addressed or denied. Finally they will have to admit that a war on terrorism is an un-winable war and approach Somalia just like they learned to approach Iraq and Afghanistan. Not only is Somalia a security threat but its primarily a development issue. Somalia’s biggest problem has never been piracy but leadership. And as long as Somalia’s neighboring states and their western allies stifle growth of Somali leadership there will always be de jure powers fighting de facto powers resulting in an increase in reconciliation fatigue among the Somali people.

My last post for today revolves around the notion that a country that is bankrupt, with poverty and corruption rampant, social services and government non existent, and resistant violence has no foundation to grow. My case file is Somalia if you don’t know from my earlier posts.

The idea here is that a country like Somalia  can not be resuscitated without major help because it doesn’t have much to stand on. And within these countries like Somalia the challenges are so enormous that they seem too daunting. The condition at the bottom is that everyone is above and they are having a jolly old-time while you are falling on your face in the mud. The problem is not only that these situations give no possible foundation to build from but also the energy, political will, and national experience and potential (or human capital) is crippled. These countries fall into stagflation of the social order. The situation keeps getting worse and less is done about it but you are already at the bottom so nobody notices your regression.

Finally I would like to point out there is serious irregularities with global aid attention. It seems like disasters are a top priority but nation building in times of peace is not. Why is there such a loud cry when earthquakes and tsunamis happen but not when the situation is long-term and artificial. Darfur is an exception but even there the level of aid and attention does not match the Haiti effort. And again in a country like Somalia where the humanitarian crisis is worse than Darfur the attention was elsewhere. At the same time why do we pay attention to countries that have problems only when they boil over and not when the effort can actually work. Why not pay attention to Myanmar (Burma), North Korea (for its human rights violation not because it has WMD), Haiti (before the quake happened), etc because there are countless examples.

I feel like I am preaching to the choir but I needed to say it.

Any ideas people?