How do you fix a problem like Somalia?

[NGONGE]

17 February 2012

 

Since the collapse of the Mohamed Siad Barre regime in 1991, Somalia has been without a state. This is despite numerous attempts on the part of the international community to reconstruct one. In his Sussex Development Lecture IDS fellow Professor David Leonard looked in more detail at the causes and consequences of this statelessness and the possible routes back to acceptable levels of security and stability for Somalia. Professor Leonard has written extensively on issues around governance in Somalia and has recently published a journal article on Somali piracy.

 

Rebuilding from the bottom-up

 

Somalia covers a huge area, is sparsely populated and encompasses a number of autonomous regions. Two of these regions, Puntland and Somaliland form 50% of the territory in Somalia. The governance structures that currently exist in Somalia reflect the pastoral livelihood systems of a population which is constantly on the move. Professor Leonard highlighted how governance is organised around dia-paying groups which are small groups made up of approximately 100 adult males. These groups provide security, protection and a degree of order. It is a relatively egalitarian system where nothing happens quickly because consensus is essential.

 

Professor Leonard highlighted how understanding and building upon this social fabric was fundamental to reconstructing the Somali state. He argued that this was something that the international community had failed to grasp in previous attempts at reconstruction, which have been characterised by a top-down approach. Any successful initiatives at state building in Somalia have been achieved through a bottom-up approach and Professor Leonard used the example of Somaliland to demonstrate this point. The creation of Somaliland took place over a number of years and involved a protracted set of negotiations between representatives of different clans.

 

Professor Leonard also proposed that a better understanding of the role that Islam plays in Somali societies is essential to developing a more successful approach to state building in Somalia. Islam provides a strong unifying force in Somalia, and previous attempts to unite Somalis around other forces such as nationalism, culture and language have failed. Commercial contracts in Somalia also tend to be enforced through Sharia courts. Islam and Islamic law are central to the way in which Somali societies are organised and have provided a degree of stability and security over the last twenty years. Recognition of this factor will be crucial to ensuring the success of future approaches to state reconstruction in the country.

 

Professor Leonard also argued that using mechanisms such as UN Trust Funds to provide assistance to those authorities that have established order in their local areas, no matter how small those territories and incomplete their coverage might be, could prove very effective in rebuilding order and security in the former territory of Somalia. It would mean that local efforts to create good governance could be rewarded and become contagious.

 

The piracy problem

 

Professor Leonard was clear that there were no shortcuts to rebuilding the state in Somalia and that tackling the separate problems of piracy and terrorism presented particular challenges for Somalia and the international community. Piracy off the coast of Puntland provides a significant income stream which has replaced revenues lost from the fishing industry. That industry has been damaged as a result of EU nations using waters off the coast to dump toxic waste. Piracy also outperforms taxes as a revenue generator. Given the sums of money involved and the fact that leaders of piracy groups are often based in Nairobi or further afield, it is unlikely that a solution to the problem will come from within Puntland.

 

Professor Leonard suggested that one possible answer to the piracy problem would be better coordination between NATO navies and commercial interests. The waters off Puntland are very heavily used by a large number of ships. Navies are only able to provide effective protection to ships if they are restricted to certain corridors. However there is currently no incentive for ships to stay within these particular corridors as insurance premiums cost less than the time and fuel expended to keep within specific ‘safe’ routes.

 

Tackling terrorism

 

Professor Leonard also concluded that there was no clear solution to the problem of terrorism. Kenya and Ethiopia both have an interest in the issue being resolved, however Professor Leonard argued that military action by either country was unlikely to be successful. He also suggested that the efficacy of American use of drones to attack terrorist camps was uncertain. While this method metes out short term punishment, it does not offer a more positive long term solution. He suggested that acknowledgment by the international community of Islamist systems of governance in Somalia may enhance their ability to negotiate with Al Shabaab. However Professor Leonard acknowledged that this was by no means a cast-iron solution to addressing what is a complex and ongoing challenge.

 

 

http://www.ids.ac.uk/news/how-do-you-fix-a-problem-like-somalia

 

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It makes one wonder why all these professors don't suggest locating AMISOM forces along the PL coast and having the international navies based in the 'ports' from which the pirates usually launch their operations. Al Shabab might be a different story but piracy (surely) can be curtailed by this method!

[walaalkis]

Here comes the PL keyboard worriers.....

 

Somali situation is infested with ignorant awkward people that will never let thier mind open for other opinions resolutions .

[NGONGE]

^^ It were just a suggestion, saaxib. My actual solution for Somalia (or any Somali speaking people) has always been simple and falls along lines that the west would actually lap up with total glee. I am just not sure if I should share it in here for fear that I spoil my future chances should I choose (at any time in the future) to take the opportunity to form my own (yeah yeah ) political party. Ma kuu sheega? (lakin cidna ha o sheegin hada).

[Carafaat]

here we go again, with this clan is everything theory iyo nonsense

[NGONGE]

^^ Clan is indeed everything but this one is not about clan (well not explicitly). Is your mind clear enough to hear it, o master troll?

[Carafaat]

yes, actually I do. tell us ya 10 xidigle.

[walaalkis]

NGONGE;790481 wrote:

^^ It were just a suggestion, saaxib. My actual solution for Somalia (or any Somali speaking people) has always been simple and falls along lines that the west would actually lap up with total glee. I am just not sure if I should share it in here for fear that I spoil my future chances should I choose (at any time in the future) to take the opportunity to form my own (yeah yeah

) political party. Ma kuu sheega? (lakin cidna ha o sheegin hada).

 

I do agree with you that there should be some kind of control where the piracy mostly located rather than chasing them in the open see.

Why would you want to start political party ? Somalis are not type of people you would want to engage with politics.

[NGONGE]

Put on any Somali TV channel and what are the most repetitive things you see?

 

Adverts? Of course but they’re neither here nor there.

Music? Certainly but that’s just entertainment.

Religious men? Now you’re talking. Those Mullahs have taken over the airwaves and, despite the problem of Al Shabab, are a thriving sector and an overflowing well that never ever dries.

 

Still, if you pay attention and notice who these Mullahs talk to, you will find and realise the greatest asset and demographic that keeps Somalia going. Have you paid attention and do you know who I am talking about?

 

I hear there is a problem in the state of Minnesota with Somali remittances being sent back home and that some of the money exchange companies have been having difficulty shifting their cash. I hear that the authorities are worried that some of that money might find its way to Al Shabab! I hear that 100 million dollars are sent to Somalia every year (from America alone).

 

Never mind all of that. Let us talk about the London Conference and that meeting that took place in Chatham House recently. Did you know that someone was asking a question about FGM? Apparently it’s an issue important enough to be mentioned in a meeting that discusses the political problems of Somalia!

 

I hear there are two demonstrations planned for the 22nd and 23rd of February to do with the London Conference on Somalia!

 

There are lots of new states being erected in Somalia lately (Khaatumo, Awdal, Ras something or other, etc).

 

What do all the things I mentioned above have in common? The obvious Carafaat reply is probably “Somalis”, but what kind of Somalis?

 

Who phones the Mullahs on those TV channels? Who contributes the lion share of remittances sent back to Somalia? Who will be the biggest group taking part in the upcoming demos? Who attends all the western based parties announcing yet another phantom Somali state? In fact, even in Somalia/Somaliland, who comes out in the street demonstrating about the sacking of a minster, election of a president or the million and one grievances that Somalis always consider important enough for a demonstration?

 

Somalia’s two competing forces are to be found on TV. Watch Universal, Carafat. People always say that Somalis are mad and I tend to agree with that argument. In fact, Al Shabab proved it with their madness. Hadaba, saaxib, waxaan ku waydiiyay: maxa ka waalan wadaad iyo qof dumar?

 

p.s.

Walaalkis, when I say an opportunity I usually try to make use of it. Though, like you say, I don't know if it's worth the effort.

[Carafaat]

 

waa runtaa dumarka iyo wadaadyaasha ayaa dadka maskaxda ka heysta. laakinse what is the solution? Are you thinking therapy or pills? prozac, viagra, morfine, what is your cure sxb?

[Showqi]

Waar iska ilaali imikey Amiirkii Al-Shabaab kuu soo diri. Calashaan waa dawadaada>>>>>>

[NGONGE]

^^Carafaat, it comes through TV and ends through TV, saaxib. I am 'brain storming' here of course. But, bear with me and follow this thought...

 

In the Arab world, the biggest TV shows used to be made in Egypt and the moral compass of the Arab world was set by those TV shows.

 

You watch a drama about a hardworking family with a couple of teenage kids that finished school but can’t get into university and can’t land a job. The son sits in his bedroom lamenting his bad luck and taking his frustrations on his downtrodden mother, the daughter chops onions in the kitchen and dreams of marrying a rich man that will sweep her away from all this misery. The next thing you know, the families that are watching this drama are identifying with these stories and repeating the phrases they heard in the show when talking about their own problems.

 

“It’s the wretched government, ya Gamaal”

 

“You’ll get your knight in shining armour, ya Salwa”

 

“When my husband died in the war, I had nobody to help me with the babies”

“With hard work and patience, everything can be fixed”

 

The point here is that we don’t all come to life armed with the experience to deal with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (as the bard would say). We pick them up as we go along. But, mostly, we learn from the experiences of others.

 

“Cabdo, bada ha isku tuurin. Ina hebel ayaa bari sidaa sameeyay oo waakan maanta kaluunka quraac o noqday”

 

“Caashay, ha tahriibin. Ina hebel ayaa bari tahriibtay oo watan uur yeelatay marko hindigee kufsaday”

 

"Barigaan qaxnay...."

 

 

I watched those shows and you probably watched some in other languages. The power of the media to educate, manipulate and brainwash is immense. Even more importantly, and as you can see today in any Somali household you may happen to enter, it’s the wretched women that watch these shows. I hear now that Turkish shows are the in thing.

 

So why not utilise such a medium for total propaganda purposes and brainwash the mad women into supporting your cause?

 

Start with the basics and play it safe at first. Play the good against evil game. Highlight the things that most agree on (robbery being bad, charity being good). Target the problems that affect ordinary Somali women (absent husbands, unruly kids, foreign cultures, etc). Then, when they’re hooked and every woman (young and old) are talking about Carafaat’s brilliant show or the handsomeness of the lead actor, start subtly dropping in YOUR idea of the morally correct way to live. Mock, ridicule, sermonise and preach. Win them over and when it becomes the norm and your words (and ideas) become gospel, stand for the presidency.

I jest of course but the message is very serious.

[NGONGE]

^^ Yes, but the money does not come from the women 'back home', saaxib. If you and I get together and organise a party at the London Hilton to celebrate the creation of the Republic Of Burco, it's not adeero Xassan that will donate his qaat money to help us on our way, it'll be eedo Xaawo who'll give us her dahab.

[NGONGE]

^^ Clan is everything. But money helps to oil the wheels of diplomacy. You know and I know that Somali politicians (in all of the Horn) can be bought, as long as the 'cause' is a workable one. So I believe I can, with money, win the presidancy of SL but can't return SL to Somalia (for that, I'd need a small miracle).

[NASSIR]

So why not utilise such a medium for total propaganda purposes and brainwash the mad women into supporting your cause

You assume most watch Somali TV shows. But then Wadaadada that I see on Universal TV from time to time have at least something to sell to our womenfolk and others: helping the needy among us for the sake of Allah!. They're articulate in that theme and if moderated or limited to the social realm can apeal to Somalis of every background and clan.

 

Btw, good article. I support the buttom up approach to our social & political crisis.

[The Hermet]

Two states as was the case in independence in 1960 or we bring an end to this miserable Somali race.