Somali scholarships: Fraud, bribery and opportunities lost

[somalee]

By Abdi Kadir Omar

 

The thought of joining a university in a peaceful and stable country to pursue ones dreams is beyond the scope of the average Somali’s imagination, whose own country, ravaged by civil war and widespread corruption, cannot entertain the possibility. The efforts of international aid organizations and foreign governments in trying to educate Somali men and women, allowing them to realize their dreams, is therefore a welcome relief for the young, enthusiastic population of Somalia.

 

However, this obviously very exciting prospect is not long-lived. Somali embassies, those to whom NGO’s the much-needed grants, see to it that the program fails before it begins. Corrupt officials, hungry for money, do not allocate them to the people they were meant for. Instead, these scholarships end up being sold, often undeservedly, to people who cannot even write their own names.

Some Somalis, whose aim is to get a visa to Europe or North America rather than partake in Somali education and happen to have the money to do it, bribe officials working in the countries embassies. In a further insult to the system, there are even cases where visas were sold directly to non-Somalis.

 

Underprivileged Somalis, regardless of their eagerness and keen interest in higher education are sidelined by circumstances; they cannot afford to pay the huge sums of money asked by the embassy officials. Unlike the handful of young Somalis who are worthy of scholarships, buyers see little more than a plane ticket to a western country flooded with opportunity. As a result, after the transaction is completed and a visa issued, the institutions often never get the students they were waiting for.

Most of the Somalis who bought the visas do not turn up at these institutions. Instead, they cross borders into other European nations, pleading asylum, and disappear in the crucible of EU immigration.

 

In a country with virtually no transparency and accountability, where everyone seems to have adjusted to the climate of chaos and lawlessness, the most powerful reign supreme. Amongst them, members and sympathizers of the so-called Transitional Federal Government (TFG) are the ones who benefit most. Leaders in the government engage in all sorts of corrupt and unscrupulous deals, from selling food aid meant for the starving masses to organized crime against the helpless. They will enrich themselves at the cost of their deprived people. The sale of scholarship visas meant for young Somalis, the potential future of Somalia, will therefore not come as a surprise to many.

 

Interestingly, the value of these scholarships is not all the same. European and North American scholarship are the most expensive, followed by Asian and middles eastern ones and lastly those offered by other African countries. In most cases grants offered by western countries reach between 10,000 and 15,000 USD.

 

But aid organizations and foreign governments offering scholarship opportunities are oblivious of how they are managed. Consequently, little is being done to stop increasingly systemic corruption. The door of opportunity for young Somalis, who have no means of generating such huge amounts of money, is therefore shut and all but locked. Even in those rare cases where a young Somali has squeezed though the system without resorting to bribery, it is most commonly on the basis of clan, not merit.

 

The ambassadors in the Somali embassies are the ones leading and coordinating this shameful scheme. Corruption is ubiquitous in Somalia, and this is yet more evidence that it has marred every aspect of the Somali society. There is, quite obviously, an urgent need for change in how these grants are offered, starting with enhanced co-ordination between the governments offering them and their representatives on the ground. For instance, if Turkey was offering scholarships to Somalis in Ethiopia or Kenya, it follows that the Turkish embassies in these countries should be in-charge of everything from application to departure.

 

In short, aid organizations and governments wishing to help educate Somalis should not trust the Somali embassies. Being the representatives of a failed state, crippled by corruption and nepotism, they have consistently proved they are no better than the corrupt and incompetent administration that appointed them. The education of any Somali abroad must therefore be organized any other way. Thankfully, it is not a difficult wrong to right; directly contact students, avoid Somali officials and ensure the ones approved deserve the opportunity they are given.

Source: The Ethiopian Reporter

[Carafaat]

nothing new.

 

Somali 'Embasies', TFG and TNG officials have been selling scholarships, diplomatic passports and even Visa's given to the delegation to the highest bidders. this practice has been going on for more then 20 years.