Understanding Somalia
<
http://www.opendemocracy.net/author/amal-ahmed> Amal Ahmed 2 April 2013
The scenario has changed with Turkish involvement in Somalia, in a way that
prompts me to ask what it is that the Turks have done differently, to win
over the hearts of the people of Somalia.
The <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mogadishu_%281993%29> battle of
Mogadishu in 1993 between the United States forces and the Somali
<
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia> militiamen loyal to the
self-proclaimed president
<
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Farrah_Aidid> Mohamed Farrah Aidid,
led to the killing of eighteen Americans and the downing of a US helicopter,
the Black Hawk, with RPG's (rocket-propelled grenades) by Aidid men. This
was the bloodiest battle involving US troops since the
<
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War> Vietnam War and remained so until
the <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Fallujah> Second Battle
of Fallujah in 2004.
Somalis did not believe that the Americans came to Somalia
<
http://allafrica.com/stories/200101080503.html> to secure a safe
environment or for humanitarian operations: but they believed that they were
using the humanitarian crisis as a cover for exploiting the natural
resources of the country and to serve their political purposes in the region
by having power where the former Soviet Union had once been influential.
The failure of the
<
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Operation_in_Somalia_II> UNOSOM
II mission certainly had a
<
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/25/world/details-of-us-raid-in-somalia-succe
ss-so-near-a-loss-so-deep.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm> significant impact in
US foreign policy; we saw <
http://revcom.us/a/020/war-of-shame-somalia.htm>
what a lesson it was, as well as the profoundly negative impact of this
failure on the worsening conditions in Somalia. Any triumph attached to
defeating one of the most powerful countries in the world, conversely only
gave the war lords a stronger reason to continue fighting, believing that
they were impregnable. This in turn led the country into
<
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Somalia_%282006%E2%80%932009%29> a
series of civil wars, the invasion of Ethiopia,
<
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1892376,00.html> piracy,
terrorist activities and ultimately its notoriety as a fallen state.
In my view Somalia has been isolated for twenty years as a sort of
punishment for humiliating the Americans, while they used it as a test case
of a failing state, recently invoked for example in the fears expressed by
some world commentators that
<
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/29/syria-somalia-un-envoy> Syria
may became 'the new Somalia'.
Somalia was used as an experiment for every sort of corruption you could
imagine:
<
http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/25/illegal-fishing-somali-pirates/>
illegal fishing,
<
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2008/10/2008109174223218644.htmlhttp:/
> dumping chemical toxic waste, fuelling and supporting terrorist groups
like al Shabab and other war lords, using the country as
<
http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=35148>
an arms trafficking hub to serve the political and economic purposes of
other countries, mainly their neighbours. Somalia was on stand-by for any
dirty jobs needing to be done.
Due to the invasion of Somalia and the neglect the country has suffered for
twenty years, Somalis have lost faith, hope and trust in the international
community. It was never safe for foreigners to travel around in Somalia
unless if they had armed bodyguards around them for protection. The only
people who used to be pleased to see foreigners were the kidnappers, so they
could use them for their own advantage. Especially in Mogadishu, you didn't
expect to see foreigners walking with confidence.
However, the scenario has changed with Turkish involvement in Somalia, in a
way that prompts me to ask what it is that the Turks have done differently,
to win over the hearts of the people of Somalia.
Two years ago when famine hit East Africa, the Prime Minister of Turkey
Tayyip Erdošan was <
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14588960> the
first leader to visit Mogadishu with his family in twenty years. Mr Erdogan
told the BBC that they wanted to refute the notion that the city was a no-go
area. Single-handed, he thus succeeded in again bringing the attention of
the international community and the media to a country torn by war and
desperately in need of help.
His visit to the country had a huge effect on the Somali community. They
felt that finally they would not be allowed to suffer in silence and that
this time, help wouldn't be confined to food aid that would just prevent the
Somali people from to starving to death but that perhaps it would offer more
help than that for the future. His physical and emotional support has
touched the hearts of many people and been seen as very genuine.
In Somalia it is important to show that you are sincere in your dealings
with others. In my country, what you see is what you get, and I believe that
this is what the Turks managed to understand from the beginning.
<
http://www.turkishpolicy.com/article/559/turkeys-rising-role-in-africa/>
Turkey's rising role in Africa has brought good fortune to Somalia, by
bringing some peace, stability and above all hope to a nation brought to its
knees by civil war.
In Mogadishu now you will see a Turkish flag fly next to the Somali flag
whereever you go. Somali people genuinely love the Turkish people and want
them in their country. They have become a sort of comfort. One of my
friends in Mogadishu said to me, 'Now Turkish people are part of our daily
lives, everywhere you go you will see Turkish people moving around the town
without any security, building hospitals, treating casualties, and if there
are any accidents you will see ambulances driven by Turkish people rushing
to the rescue'. She adds, 'they are the only foreigners who you see driving
cars, swimming at the beach, playing football and building the country side
by side with Somali's. They believe in us more than we believe in ourselves.
And they are determined to be part of a modern Somalia.'
The commitment the Turkish government
<
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-263907-turkey-to-grant-scholarships-to-soma
li-students.html> has given to Somalia has helped to bind the two countries
together.
<
http://cesran.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1418%3Aturke
ys-role-in-somalia-a-new-ally&catid=216%3Aanalyses-on-turkey-and-neighbourho
od&Itemid=336&lang=en> Turkey is the only country in the world that has
engaged their locals to help Somalis rebuild their country. If things
continue in this way, Somalia will become a success story: a dead country
brought back to life, by the Turks.
------------[ Sent via the dehai-wn mailing list by dehai.org]--------------
Received on Wed Apr 03 2013 - 11:25:12 EDT
