Starvation

The horn of Africa is experiencing its first famine in three decades, affecting nearly 12 million people in the region. In Somalia alone, nearly 3.5 million people are at risk of starvation or hunger-related death, which is nearly half of the country’s population. The hardest hit populations are those in al-Shabaab controlled territory because the organization, in one of its so-called moral edicts, banned aid agencies over a year ago, and has actively tried preventing IDPs from moving in search of aid. But al-Shabaab is no monolith, and this crisis has shown that more clearly than ever.

In early July al-Shabaab put out a statement allowing all Muslim and non-Muslim aid organizations into its territory. By all accounts, there was dispute at the top over this decision and a few days later, the organization retracted, stating that only aid organizations that were not previously banned are allowed in. This means some of the biggest organizations that have experience in somalia, including WFP, Care, Oxfam and Mercy Corp, are not allowed in al-Shabaab areas.

I just wonder if al-Shabaab is blind to the crisis in its region, since it continues to get funding from outside extremist donors, or whether it thinks the unprecedented suffering and death toll is not an issue. Whatever the reason, its a tragedy compounded by terrible leadership, and I just hope the more moderate al-Shabaab officials will win out in this internal dispute and allow in more life saving assistance. Ironically, some analysts say by letting in more aid, al-Shabaab will be better placed to maintain control in its territories. I don't know if I buy this theory, but regardless, shabaab isn't known for its long term strategizing.

Kenyan Govt

Apart from al-Shabaab, one of the most shameful actors in this entire tragedy is the Kenyan government, which is refusing to open Ifo two, an extension to a refugee camp in Dadaab. The government claims it is a security threat to open the camp and allow more Somalis to settle in Kenya. But the reality is the government is playing politics, and forcing tens of thousands of starving, weak people out in insecure tents, vulnerable to rapists, bandits and the elements, when a solid camp made for 40,000 refugees sits empty. Kenya is also erecting bureaucratic barriers to getting relief aid into somalia which in recent days has resulted in the turning back of needed assistance at the border.

There is no excuse for this. Its pure politics and is a clear reminder that governments can and do exacerbate suffering during famine.

Media

So once again, starving, emaciated Somalis are all over the media.  This was late in coming since the Rupert Murdoch phone tapping and Norway attack have dominated the media. But today's front cover of the New York Times is a four-column wide image of an emaciated young Somali boy. His entire skeletal outline can be seen through his fragile, thin skin. This image will surely increase interest and hopefully assistance for famine victims. Although I sympathize with the view that showing such tragic, real images of suffering exploits the victims in a way, I also believe such images are unfortunately necessary to get attention to an issue. I just pray the boy in the NYT picture has survived somehow. And I pray that the Somalis, Ethiopians, Kenyans and Eritreans affected by this drought come out of it even stronger than before.

Returning

I was flying over Hargeisa, Somalia on a UN flight along with colleagues from work. It was for them a routine trip into Somalia, but for me it was my first time returning to the country since I left as a toddler. After flying over what seemed to be endless desert and savanna in Kenya and Somalia - not really sure when I crossed the border - I knew I was near Hargeisa when we began to descend and i saw small clusters of houses or aqals, and some property markers. Hargeisa in my mind was a big city, second only to Mogadishu, but it turns out it is much smaller than I imagined. Its also a lot cleaner and more spread out than I thought.


As soon as i stepped out of the airplane, the wind started. It nearly blew my scarf right off a few times. Hargeisa is a city that emerges from a desert, although there is some greenery, so the weather is usually very hot and dry. I happened to come during the right season because the temperature couldn't have been more pleasant. Leaving the airport, we began driving through the streets and I tried to both soak in the city, while also taking pictures every few seconds. I took pictures of the buildings, the advertisements, the goats, the colorful gates - just about everything that caught my eye. My main hope was to get pictures of people going about everyday life but the people were apparently missing from the streets. Only a few people were out and about, and I later found out this is normal because life in Hargeisa begins in the late afternoon.


As we drove, the Somali driver pointed out two small mountains that were just outside of the city, and asked me if I knew what they are called. I did not so he said with a smirk on his face, "these mountains are called naaso hablood, do you know what that means?" I laughed off his question and said "yes, i know what that means." Naaso hablood is Somali for women's breasts - I found the joke a bit crude. It reminded me of a journalist who wrote that Somalia is a country full of comedians and warriors. I found the generalization offensive but of course there is some truth to it.

The highlight of my day was a lunch with some government officials and NGO workers. They were exceptionally nice to me, telling me Hargeisa is my home, and I'm like their daughter. In my mind, I thought Mogadishu is more of a home than Hargeisa, considering that my parents once lived there. But essentially when I hear the word home, all I can think of is Virginia, where I've lived most of my life and where my family resides. Perhaps Hargeisa and Somalia more generally represents an ancestral home.

My Somali hosts asked me if I'd ever eaten camel meat, and when I said no, they called over the waiter and insisted he bring camel meat.  Before I could advise on the amount, he piled the meat on my plate. I was nervous but after taking the first bite, all the men watching in anticipation of my reaction, I smiled and told them its delicious. Camel meat tastes like cow meat but even better. Perhaps the way it was prepared made it more appealing than it could otherwise have been : the meat was cut in thin slices and simmered in a tasty sauce. After lunch, I felt I had a piece of Hargeisa in me and was ready to face the day.


Next we visited an NGO that work in Hargeisa, and I ran into someone who knew me from Boston, and now works at the NGO. I didn't recognize him but he was nice enough to not hold that against me. I was impressed by him and the great work his organization does - an organization that proudly told us they had Somalis from America, Canada, England and Italy working for them, and not only local staff. The return of diaspora to transfer skills and try to make a difference in the country is essential because without their return, the brain drain will be permanent.


The trip was short, not the 'homecoming' I had imagined. It was very much a visit to a foreign country, but one that I knew that I had ties to. What I saw in Hargeisa is a side of Somalia people don't hear about; a beautiful, peaceful and progressing country. Not the war and corrupt politics that people associate with Mogadishu.

Regional Governments Work

Regional governments are working in Somalia. See Somaliland, Puntland, Galmudug. They aren't perfect, but they function more effectively than the central government has in decades. The reason regional governments are working, and will continue to proliferate, is because central governance necessarily brings two men to the most powerful positions, president and prime minister. In a country divide by many clan-families, and with violent clan politics in its near past, there is a high level of distrust in central government. And so regions that are populated primarily by one or two clans make it easy to share responsibility and benefit of office, and lead populations to sense some comfort, however imagined. 

Thus, decentralization of governance is the way forward in Somalia. Not succession or the creation of autonomous states, but rather a federal union. Therefore, the governments in Somaliland, Puntland and Galmudug should share their best practices and work to help those governments at earlier stages in development, so that a stable federated Somalia can emerge. From there, a more representative - but scaled down - central government can develop.  

Somaliland

Somaliland is a politically autonomous region in northern Somalia. It's separateness is based on its colonial history of ocuption by the British, while Southern Somalia was occupied by Italy, and Djibouti by France. In 1992 the region declared independence from Somalia, and since then it has made impressive progress in building a government and beginning to provide services to the population.

The people of the region largely supported independence because of the violent legacy of President Siad Barre, who bombed the main city in Somaliland, Hargeisa, in his attempt to quell opposition movements. With such a tragic experience with central government, its no surprise the people of the region want out of Somalia. Nevertheless, there is some division among Somalilanders about the way forward. One Somalilander told me that he still believes in a united Somalia because he has experienced its benefits, having gone to university in Mogadishu and enjoyed life in the city for decades. But he doubts that the youth, who make up the majority of Somaliland today and have never experienced Somalia as one nation, will ever sense the nationalism he feels.

Its important to note Somaliland isn't the only region to establish its own government; Puntland and Galmudug are two regions that also have governmental structures in place, and also enjoy relative peace. These regions, however, do not seek to succeed from Somalia. The reason for this are complex, but generally the political class does not see benefit in complete separation from Somalia. Somaliland has become so anti-union with Somalia that today, it is political suicide for a politician to be perceived even to make relations with Somalia. If Somaliland is ever to become a functioning region of a stable Somalia, it will have to change the political discourse dramatically.

In the mean time, the vast majority of Somalis do not support the succession of Somaliland. They see a united Somalia as more powerful than a divided nation. The Somali people all share a language, religion and ethnicity, apart from minority groups, and so they see little sense in brothers breaking apart into separate nations. Most ominously, Somalis are suspicious of Ethiopia's intention, as the neighbor appears to support whole heartedly the succession of Somaliland.  Ultimately, Somalis want to see the nation recover from the divisive politics of today, and return to the strength it once had. Somalia was, however surprising, the first post-independence African nation to have a peaceful democratic election and transfer of power. It should be capable, with the right leadership, of establishing a government that represents and supports the entire nation, including Somaliland. 

Impasse

I'm tired of people using the word "impasse" to describe Somalia's current political situation. Its true that things look bad in some parts of the country, but there is a lot more nuance than is often reported about. The TFG, for example, has effective ministeries, such as the ministry of finance, as well as the ineffective and corrupt ministries. There are also regional governments such as Somaliland, Puntland and Galmudug that are making progress on providing services to their populations.

Impasse suggests an impossibility of getting beyond the problem. This is not the mindset to approach any problem with, but unfortunately, many people who work on Somalia- especially non-Somalis- tend to view the problem through such a pessimistic lens. That has to change or it could lead to reinforcement of the problem, not to mention the "Nairobi Mafia" and those who benefit from the perpetuation of Somalia's problems.

HOPE

I'm sitting at work and feeling a bit bored so I just wrote this poem in the last 5 minutes. Its basically about hope- what is being hoped for is for the reader to fill in, whether peace in times of war, love in times of loneliness etc etc. I don't share much poetry so hope you like it (no pun intended).

HOPE

Hope is being in a desert,

Not lost but not sure

exactly where you are.

Clothes are tattered,

eyes are sandy,

mouth is dry,

all is yellow.

You feel hazy,

with limbs weak and fragile.

You push forward with all your energy

to take one step forward,

but its futile.

Its as if you move backwards

making no progress.

All energy has long faded away.

You become frustrated

and grab at your hair,

curse the ground

and hope to die.

Soon.

Your eyes are closed,

it feels easy to leave them shut

and you think there is no use

to expend such energy

when nothing lies ahead.

Losing hope with every failed step.

Suddenly a breeze pushes by you,

slightly cool, inspiring, alive.

And you remember why you're pushing forward.

An oasis lies just ahead,

lush with greens and deep blue water.
Water.

You can already taste it cooling your dry mouth

just from hope,
based in belief.

Your head rises up

and you force your eyes open.

Squinting, you outstretch your right leg

taking one step closer.
Still unsure where it leads
but knowing there is something better.

Closer to fulfillment and the future.

Closer to life.

Thinking Critically

A friend of mine is doing a PhD with a concentration in critical theory. This morning we spoke on the phone and she began telling me all about what she's studying. I'd never been exposed to critical theory until she defined it for me. She said critical theory is essentially the critical study and deconstruction of accepted ideas and beliefs in a society. Looking at where basic beliefs like religion, secularism, tolerance etc stem from, one can better understand how firm these ideas truly are. As it turns out, many concepts that we hold dearly can be challenged by a critical assessment. Tolerance, for example, seems like a valuable concept in pluralistic societies; we all want to get along no matter our differences. A critical theorist, however, could look at tolerance more critically as a mechanism to maintain an unequal power balance through superficial acceptance of a status quo. Why shouldn't a minority group be given equal rights and opportunities as the majority group, rather than just be tolerated?

I find tremendous value in critical theory. The problem is that there is no beginning or end to the project. In any assessment by a critical theorist, their assessment itself can be deconstructed with numerous arguments against their basic premises. Nevertheless there is value and learning gained from the process.

Some might think, when looking at the case of Somalia, it is a luxury to be analyzing critically the foundations on which much of our premises lie. I for one find it essential. For example- why are we trying so hard to establish a central government? Is it really the case that this is the best political route for the country? And even if this is the case, are the Somali people willing to accept that? Somalia hasn't moved forward in years as a rushed game of politicking has been taking place. Perhaps what is best now is for the players, domestic and international, to critically assess why it is they believe in the current process.