What About Africa?

Follow-Up: Piracy in Somalia

The Somalia Civil War seems endless. A war that has been fought for decades has snowballed into one, if not the most devastating turn for an African country. Somalia, a country with no government desperetly pleading with the African Union and the international community to come to their aid. There have been many meetings, delegations, and words printed in newspapers about their dire situation. But that’s all that it is – words.

The UN has managed to peace together an offensive against the piracy with no help from the African Union. They have given permission to countries whose shipments are in jeopardy, to enter Somali waters and engage the pirates. This offensive has led to about 100 arrests of pirates according to the UN and the United States.

“The international maritime presence is increasingly successful,” U.N. special envoy to Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah told reporters.

“It is successful because pirates have to go further away,” Ould-Abdallah said. As a result, pirates have to spend more of the ransom money they receive to hijack ships and avoid arrest.

However, this is just a small dent into the problems that plague Somalia. Many countries are calling for some sort of ground intervention and ways to solve Somalia’s bigger issues as the only real way to curve piracy.

It’s really hard to just talk about one aspect of Somalia’s plight, such as piracy. There are many different angles that feed into each other. And to get a firm grasp on piracy, we must look into the bigger picture of what the people of Somalia are going through and what their governments as well as the international community is doing about it.

Somalia’s Civil War
As with most African countries, Somalia’s troubles began after colonial rule. Britain and Italy gave Somalia their independence in the summer of 1960 respectively, with Britain owning northern Somaliland and Italy ruling the remainder country. Somalia wished to re-draw the country’s boundaries, which included Ethiopia and Kenya, back to its originality prior to colonialism. Ethiopia as well as Kenya, being their own nation now, wanted no part and the Ogaden War ensued in the late 1970s.

Somalia acted unilaterally without consulting the international community, which was generally opposed to redrawing colonial boundaries, while the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries refused to help Somalia, and instead, backed Communist Ethiopia. Still the USSR, finding itself supplying both sides of a war, attempted to mediate a ceasefire. In general, due to America’s opposition to the communist government of Ethiopia, it sold a lot of modern weapons to the Somalia government.

For most of the war, Somalia appeared to be winning in most of Ogaden, but when Somali forces failed to capture Harer, Soviet and Cuban forces and weapons came to the aid of Ethiopia. The Somali Army was decimated and Somalia sought the help of the United States. Although the Carter Administration had expressed interest in helping Somalia, it later declined, as did American allies in the Middle East and Asia.

With the end of the Cold War, Somalia was left abandoned. After the dust cleared, citizens were left facing a totalitarian government that became increasingly resistant to political and cultural movements. All across the country cultural groups banded together against the government and by 1991 the Somalia Civil War had begun.

Somalia’s Transitional Government
Due to the ongoing war and constant unrest, no government could function and please all of the differing rebel groups. Because the voices of the people were not being heard, many more cultural groups formed their own military groups for protection to where now, there are many different factions fighting for different reasons. It is impossible for the government to please everyone.

In the spring of 2000, a Transitional National Government was instituted in the country in the hopes that peace and reconciliation would follow. A president was instituted specifically over the differing factions of the country. Four years later, the Transitional Federal Government was put in place to ease the country into a more representative government and make headway to stabilizing the country and building infrastructure.

Somalia Now
Unfortunately, to this date, peace and reconciliation has not occurred. And the conditions of the country has ultimately bred fear amongst its’ people, warlords to run the country and piracy among the seas. It’s hard to fathom and entire country not having a government, but when this happens there is no infrastructure. There is no united military or navy. There are no exports and because of the lack of government power, most countries have slapped sanctions against the country, so the people are getting no aid or food.

Another issue that many are unaware of is the fact that European and Asian fishermen or trawlers have been illegally fishing off the coast of Somalia. Since there is no coast guard, Somalia finds it impossible to patrol it’s lengthy coastline. As I reported before, illegal dumping of toxic and hazardous waste has also led to resentment and piracy views of some.

Somalia’s issues are not going to just go away. They need help. The transitional government has literally pleaded with the African Union, the West, and their neighbors to pull together and help them fight. No one has been willing. Europe and Asia have been using the country as a toxic dumping ground while America has turned a deaf ear only responding when one of our own is in need.

Source: WordPress.com