RedSea Posted October 23, 2008 Somalia: Ugandan Troops, Peacekeepers or Baby-makers? Ethiopia and Uganda, while fulfilling their U.S. imposed duty to wage war on “terror”, and operating under false pretences of keeping peace, poured thousands of their troops—uninvited guests—into Somalia, in 2006-2007. And just like the Iraqis and Afghans, Somalis resented the invading foreign forces. Overwhelmingly, the Somali people viewed the African forces as occupiers who will bring down hell on Somalia. However, the U.S. imperialist and its subservient African client regimes labeled the Somalis as insurgents, terrorists, and extremists. But beneath the surfaces of masquerading occupiers as peacekeepers—and dressing up the expansion of U.S. imperialism as “war on terror”—an untold story of brutality against Somali women and girls emerges. As expected, the Ethiopian troops pulverized Somalia to dust. But luckily, Ugandans refrained from joining the onslaught against the Somali people. Also, while the barbaric Ethiopians raped hundreds of Somali girls and women, Ugandans preferred to make love to vulnerable Somali girls rather rape them. So, as the plight of Nino Ibrahim—a young beautiful Somali mother whose baby-boy was fathered by a Ugandan soldier in Mogadishu—dominates Somali websites, many people wonder: whether the Ugandans are keeping “peace” or busy sleeping with destitute Somali girls. Read the story of Nino: http://tinyurl.com/5glmug Call it love or lust, one-night stand or one-time tragedy, but one thing is clear beyond shadow of a doubt: the Ugandan soldier whom impregnated the young and hopeless Somali girl, not only violated his army code of ethics, but he also disregarded the Somali culture and Islam. Neither the Somali culture, nor Islam permits premarital intercourse. Undoubtedly, he also took advantage of her misery and helped himself. And rather than stick around and take care of his child, just like the rest of foreign cowards who—time and time again—swoop down on Somalia, his disappeared into the Mogadishu’s heaps of rubble. Additionally, he tarnished the reputation of Nino. So much for peacekeeping! (See also how Ugandan and Ethiopian troops are fueling the Somali conflict: http://www.awdalnews.com/wmview.php?ArtID=10273 ) Usually, in the Somali culture both raped woman and one who bears a child out of wedlock are ostracized by their family members as well as society. That is, Nino may never come back home. Perhaps, Nino is not the only one fell prey to invading troops. There may also be hundreds of Somali women and girls who are suffering in silence because of our cultural taboo which victimizes the victims. Surely, some people neither applaud, nor decry Nino’s decision to bear an illegitimate child. In fact, others admire her bravery to make her ordeal public. Perhaps, because of the never-ending carnage in her country, she thought having a Ugandan baby was her ticket to reaching a safe place in Uganda. Maybe, she was raped, and the touching story of Nino searching her lover was just a cover up for her perpetrator. Who knows the real story? We may not know how the events unfolded, but we are certain about one thing: as long as foreign troops, who could barely keep peace in their own country, remain occupying Somalia under the pretext of aiding the foreign-imposed Somali regime, the plight of Somali women and girls will continue unabated. Also, as history attests, foreign troops that step into Somali soil rarely miss the opportunity to brutalize Somali women and girls. Take for example the case of the Italian “peacekeepers” in Somalia, in 1993. Under the supervision of their commander, the Italians gang raped a young Somali girl. Similarly, the barbarism of some Canadians, Americans, and Belgian troops against Somali people also shocked the world. Undoubtedly, some of these foreign troops were predators disguised as peacekeepers. And the war on terror is now giving some of the invading forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and elsewhere yet another golden opportunity to continue their predatory behaviors. Read more about the savagery of foreign troops against the Somali people: http://www.nathantabor.com/excerpt/page2.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1997/06/24/wbel24.html Of course, some Ugandan, Canadians, American, and Belgian troops went to Somalia to help. And indeed some of the multinational forces in Somalia in the 90s were infuriated by the abhorrent crimes committed against the Somali people. No doubt, there are professional and good-hearted soldiers out there. To sum up, we, the Somali men—not the Ugandan troops—failed our women and girls. After we raped them, tortured them, and sent them to exile in droves, some of the invading foreign forces are finishing off what is left. Some are here to keep the dubious peace; others are here to join the feast—raping, impregnating, and displacing our women. For two decades, Somali women yearned for our love and protection. But we repeatedly failed our princesses. Therefore, fellow Somali men, don’t blame the Ugandan troops—blame ourselves. Dalmar Kaahin dalmar_k@yahoo.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
