Snapshot of the Bleak Political and Humanitarian Conditions of Somalia

Somalia, which is located in horn of Africa, took back its liberty and independence from brutal colonial powers led by the United Kingdom and Italy on July 1, 1960. Aden Abdulle Osman (picture on the right), may Allah bless his soul, was the first democratically elected president of Somalia who after loosing his bid for a second term in office handed over the presidency peacefully to another democratically elected president, Abdirashiid Ali Sharmake (picture of the left), may Allah also bless his soul.

Unfortunately, the democratic process and growth of this small nation were halted by none other than the United States and Soviet Union in their endless pursuit to divide the world for their insatiable greed and to develop a new era of colonization. After the murder and the coup d'état of president Sharmake, Siad Barre (picture - bottom left), an army general with a questionable background due to his unfettered support for colonial powers, became the first unelected president of Somalia. Siad Barre presided over one of the worst atrocities in the world by using his elite forces, most of whom were clan members, to conduct 21 years of indiscriminate torture and killing of civilians, mass arrests of opposition groups, deliberate door-to-door searches, nepotism, and a wide-spread and extreme corruption. Siad Barre created a culture of impunity of major violations and the destruction of Somalia, both literally and figuratively, that continues to the present time.

In his last few months in the country as he was being pursued and weakened by opposition groups, such Somali National Movement and United Somali Congress, Siad Barre gave one of his long speeches in which he said that if I leave my power, Somalia will follow me. To most of us, this meant that if you take away my power, I will destroy and take away what is left of Somalia. Indeed, he did just that to the satisfaction of his followers.

The current situation cannot be separated from the 21 years of utter destruction and human rights violations under the regime of Siad Barre. A true analysis of the current situation cannot and should not disregard the relevance and importance of Siad Barre era in the current affairs of Somalia. The octogenerian truly left a path of distruction.

And in many cases, the current situation and the tactics employed by factional leaders, including President Abdullahi Yusuf of Transitional National Government, can be traced back to the management style of Siad Barre. President Abdullahi Yusuf, like Siad Barre, has an administration that uses the aforementioned tactics, such as indiscriminate torture and killing of civilians and denying access to food and medicine to the 400, 000 people, as reported by the United Nations, who fled Mogadishu and surrounding districts. One of President Yusuf’s administration recently said in press conference that if they cannot find the insurgents they will go after their family members and relatives (Eheladooda, in Somali).

The next article will highlight health and development issues of Somalia. Stay tuned. And as always, if you would like to submit an article for publication, please send us an email at eyesonsomalinow@gmail.com.