From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:SOMALIA: DEATH OF A NATION
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 17:50:19 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: SOMALIA: DEATH OF A NATION


an inter press service feature

by horace awori and obinna anyadike

nairobi, dec 11 (ips) -- the problems of somalia will not go
away with the dramatic landing of the u.s. marines. for a year
the world has watched a country fall-apart, putting it together
again will not be amenable to any quick fix solution.

behind the troubles of this ruined horn of africa nation is
the shadow of its former dictator siad barre. his boast was that
his 1969 coup ended corruption and clan divisions and his regime
would drag the country into the twentieth century.

two decades later, when somalis drove him out, he left
a country torn by clan conflicts which he had exploited to
maintain a rutheless grip on power.

barre was overthrown in january 1991. a politician who not
only played on ancient clan rivalries -- threatening his
neighbours who have substancial somali minorities -- he also
attempted to manipulate the superpowers turning to moscow and
then washington.

the distrous war with ethiopia in 1977-78 which somalia lost,
the 1974 and 1984 droughts, all contributed to the country's
decline. but it was the civil war, waged by clan-based movements
to overthrow barre which brought somalia to its knees. by 1989,
barre had resorted to scorched earth tactics.

the dictator gone, the warlords confounded the world by
engaging in a fierce inter-sub-clan battle amid the ruins that
saw more than 30,000 people killed or maimed from november 1991
to june 1992.

according to a satirical somali creation tale: ''god first
created the family of the prophet muhammad and was very pleased
with the nobility of his handiwork. then he created the rest of
mankind and was modestly pleased. then he created the somalis
and he laughed''.

somalia, unlike other african countries, is ethnically
homogenious. but among the first questions somali men ask upon
meeting each other is, ''who is your father?''

although tracing their geneology to a common ancestor, there
are six major clan-families. community is vitally important.
this begins with the 'diya', the 100 or so strong male social
unit who are collectively responsible -- paying blood money when
needed or fighting when called upon. this then extends up to the
sub-clans, politically more important than the clan themselves.
(more/ips)


somalia: death (2)

''geneology therefore constitutes the heart of the somali
social system and is the basis of their collective predeliction
to internal fissions and internecine sectionary conflicts as
well as unity of thought and action -- a unity that borders on
xenephobia'', wrote the historian i.m. lewis.

over his 21 year-rule, barre see-sawed the clans, elevating
and then chopping them from power while his own marahan
dominated. the idea of nationhood, tenuous to begin with, was
lost. the north-west, which had borne the brunt of his wrath,
seceded in may 1991. for the rebelling clans, the goal was the
removal of barre and the benefits of state power and patronage.

the hawiye clan-led united somali congress (usc), drove
barre out of mogadishu -- a hawiye city -- and took terrible
revenge on any marahan who had not escaped. the largest clan, it
then became embroiled in a sub-clan struggle for power.

ali mahdi, an abgal, with the backing of an urban-based
business and intellectual elite, made himself interim president.
gen. farah aidid, whose habar gadir had done most of the
fighting, was out in the cold.

aidid accused ali mahdi of hijacking the presidency and
filling posts with former barre loyalists. ali mahdi said aidid
was frustrating his administration, not giving it a chance.

the prolonged 1991/92 drought that hit most of eastern
and southern africa was yet another disaster. this together with
the civil strife led to the death of about 350,000 people. one
million people are immediately threatened with starvation, while
another 4.5 million are at risk from a population of seven
million.

all this drove more than 860,000 somalis into squalid camps
in neighbouring countries. over the year it became almost
fashionable for international leaders -- and a film star audrey
hepburn -- to visit somalia and call for the world's help.

the u.n. system, long criticised for not acting fast enough,
finally appointed the energetic algerian, mahmed sahnoun as
special envoy to somalia in april 1992. unlike his predecessors,
sahnoun set up office in mogadishu and shuttled between the two
warlords to get them to accept a token u.n. presence to help
secure relief food and its distribution.

in mid-october, the u.n. held a two day conference in geneva
at which the more than 90 million dollars was pledged in a '100
days' plan to flood somalia with food. (more/ips)


somalia: death (3)

but sahnoun accused the marauding somali gangs of looting up
to 40 per cent of the relief food. ''we cannot begin large-scale
rehabilitation projects and move to land delivery of food
assitance to somalia unless security is assured,'' sahnoun
warned the warlords in an indication of things to come.

he also hit out at the international community and the u.n.
in particular for dragging their feet over somalia. he said
valuable time had been wasted, leading to needless deaths. the
reprimand from his boss, u.n. secretary-general boutros boutros
ghali, led to sahnoun's resignation.

the departure of the suave algerian who had won the
confidence of the warlords created an atmosphere of intense
gloom. the contingent of 500 u.n. pakistani troops that were to
guard the harbour and airport, could only be deployed at the
less strategic airport, and after remonstrations from aidid.

mogadishu harbour has been intermitently operational. as
starvation stalked, the political differences between ali mahdi
and aidid became a battle over the control of food. the
insecurity was compounded by freelance bandit gangs.

in november, ali mahdi complained his northern section of
mogadishu was not getting any relief from the harbour and
shelled ships that tried to ferry in food. the 12,000 tonnes
already at the harbour could not be distributed.

in the south-west, the remnants of barre's marehen soldiers
under general mohamed morgan, the ousted dictator's son-in-law,
struck at berdhera, capturing the town and driving out aidid and
many of the relief workers.

throughout the country insecurity increased as relief workers
were either robbed or held hostage or relief planes fired at.

the red cross and aid agencies repeatedly warned that an
improvement in security conditions was essential and the
survival of the somali population was at stake. they called for
international action to protect the distribution of food.

president george bush's offer of 35,000 u.s. troops as part
of a belated u.n. effort was a surprise move. their immediate
goal is to protect the food distribution channels. but, while
food is currently the issue, somalia will need a massive
infusion of aid for reconstruction, from seeds and tools to
infrastructural support.

the political reconstruction -- which could begin with the
first face-to-face meeting of aidid and ali mahdi friday in
kenya -- will, if it is not too late, be down to the somalis.
(end/ips/ha/oa/92)

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