March 28, 2005
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Edmond Burke, (1729-1797)
For the past fourteen years, while the world watched, thousands of Somalis died of starvation, mal-nutrition, diseases, and thousand others were forced to seek asylum in foreign countries or languished in Refugee Camps in neighbouring countries. Hundreds more lost their lives in the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea as a result of aborted human trafficking operations.
Imbedded in these tragedies are the stories of mothers who lost their children, pregnant mothers who died due to lack of health care, women raped during their arduous journey out of the country or while staying in Refugee Camps, and farmers who either lost their farms or were forced to work under master-slave relationship, not dissimilar to the 18th century Southern United States plantations.
Also under reported is the catastrophic environmental devastation brought about by the Warlords-sponsored dumping of toxic waste from industrialised countries on the unguarded coast of the country, the continued cutting of trees for the purpose of exporting charcoal to the Gulf Emirates and beyond, thus turning the country, specially in the fertile southern regions, into a desert waste.
An indicator of how miserable life is for the average Somali, the UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) released last year found Somalia to rank below Haiti, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan in terms of mortality rate for children under 5 years (225 per thousand), average life expectancy (48 years), adult literacy (36 % for men; 14% for women), and Gross National Income per Capita (US$130). http://hdr.undp.org/
This human tragedy, which perhaps is unprecedented in modern states’ history in terms of its ferocity, its longevity, and its tragic short-term and long-term consequences is nourished and sustained in a sub-human environment, aptly described by a prominent Somali Professor as a “cesspool of injustice and deprivation”.
Then the earnest question that begs an answer is why this rotten Status Quo continues to exist for more than 14 years? Why the absence of will to help the Somali people to move from this decadent and depressing situation? Why the absence of forceful intervention by the international community? Why the Somali elites who are mostly in the diaspora did not form a unified front and help liberate the brothers and sisters they left behind, from a fourteen years of miserable lives in this ‘cesspool of injustice and deprivation’?
The answer to the above perplexing questions lies in the fact that there are beneficiaries of the rotten Status Quo, who are always on guard against any attempt to change it. These are unholy alliances of Warlords, War Profiteers, Warlords masquerading as Islamist Movements, international toxin dumping Mafia-affiliated Syndicates, thieves who occupy private and public property and Pastoral Nomads, who invaded and occupied the southern regions on the banks of the Shabbelle and the Juba rivers (the agricultural heartland of Somalia). As a result of this invasion and illegal occupation thousands of peaceful farmers were driven from their farms to a life of destitution and a forced exile in refugee camps in neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia..
Last but not least, this unholy alliance also includes Ethiopia which, for malicious strategic reasons, is taking advantage of this Somali-made mess.
Who are These Guardians and Gate Keepers of the Status Quo?:
‘Secular’ Warlords: This group constitutes the front line defense of the status quo. Their background, before assuming the role of hostage takers of a nation, ranges from a low ranking policy officer, a Crane Operator to a Street Vendor. The most effective weapon in their arsenal is the clan card, which they wave whenever they perceive a threat to the status quo. This lethal hot button weapon is so effective that unfortunately at times they are joined, not only by the extreme segments of the clan, but by elites who are sipping cappuccinos in the comfort of Europe and North America.
More than any other group, the Mogadishu Warlords were responsible for the destruction of the capital and the total obliteration of the State’s intellectual and physical assets. They illegally occupy private and public properties, including the capital’s international airport and seaport, which have out of commission for the past 12 years. They subsidize their income by running Moryaans for Hire businesses. Among their clienteles are visiting UN officials, NGOs, and visiting Somalis from the diaspora.
‘Religious’ Warlords: These are Warlords camouflaged in holy Shiekh attire. They claim to be promoters of peace and order. However, in reality they are competitors and sometimes collaborators with the ‘Secular’ Warlords. If not, why they continue to co-exist for fourteen years with the “cesspool of injustice” next door? A classical example of this group is a self-styled pastoral ‘Sheikh’, with the menacing neck name “White Eyes”, who occupies and rules by iron fist the Lower Shabelle region, which includes the ancient coastal cities of Merca and Barava, inhabited by urban population whose ancestral roots goes back 1200 years. According to a recent interview with the Elders of this town, The ‘Sheikh’s’ militia forces the population to pay property taxes without providing any municipal services. He also works closely with local and international NGOs in bogus projects. One such project is flagged as “Guns for Pens” project, funded by an international NGO operating from Nairobi and supposedly aimed at collecting arms from the roaming militia. The local indigenous population protested that they have no Guns to trade for Pens, but would be grateful if Pens are given to them in the form of funding their community-run schools. They were told by “White Eyes” to engage in their traditional fishing and leave the intricate businesses of NGOs and holy men to us.
War Profiteers: Members of this group are the protagonists of sad rag-to-richness stories. Following the civil war, they took advantage of the resultant chaos and lawlessness and embarked on a frenzy of environmentally devastating activities, such as the exporting of endangered animals, plants, gems, and the indiscriminate cutting of trees in the only remaining tropical forest in the country. They burned these fallen trees for charcoal and exported them to the Gulf States.
Among these War Profiteers are the pioneers of printing fake currencies abroad to be smuggled back to the country, thus causing runaway inflation, which in turn caused havoc to the economical well being of the average Somali. The leading members of this group also set up make shift Seaports where any goods are loaded or uploaded without inspection or control. Using these tax-free seaports and other established docks, such Merca and Kismaayo, they import consumer goods from the Gulf States and smuggle them to neighbouring Horn African countries, to South Africa and beyond. Some of the proceeds from these smuggled goods are invested in businesses in Nairobi, Cape Town, and Djibouti, and the profits are deposited in overseas banks in Dubai, Rome, and Switzerland.
International and Local NGOs: These are members of the Lords of Poverty fame who are attracted to anarchy and misery as flies are attracted to organic decay and decomposition. They work from the comfort of villas and hotels in nearby Kenya. They periodically jump on chartered airplanes and fly to Mogadishu, where they land on a Warlord-run airstrip, hire militia loyal to a Warlord for protection, and stay in hotels run by one of the afore-mentioned War Profiteers. They stay few days and leave some token unaccounted aid and relief projects to Local NGOs. Most of these Local NGOs are a ‘brief case’ NGO, belonging to an individual who is tied by clan lineage to one Warlord or another. Insecurity and lawlessness instigated by the Warlords are blessings in disguise to this group because it keeps away the UN Agencies who are supposed to oversee these projects.
International aid organizations, including those from the UN, engage in this cozy unethical collaboration with the Warlords, thus strengthening and prolonging the status quo. Some insiders of the now defunct Transitional National Government recall periodical visits from the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Mr Maxwell Gaylard, who will intentionally ignore them, and instead meet with the local Warlords.
Academicians and Milking the Sick Somali Cow: In a recent article a well-know Western-based Somali academician confessed that the Somali Problem is an Allah’ sent Milking Cow, from which we derive a hefty number of research papers, expert reports, and situational reports to which we peddle to academic institutions and sometimes to Western intelligence organizations. To be fair some of these academicians do actively participate in reconciliation and peace initiative, thus trying to affect change from the rotten status quo. However, they are in the minority. A substantial number from this group do indulge in the profitable milking of the sick Somali cow or remain silent on this pressing issue facing the Somali Nation.
The Ethiopian Vultures: Although Ethiopia, at the early post civil war period, played a constructive role in trying to reconcile the warring factions, as of late it took a predatory posture feasting on the anarchy and mess inflicted by the Somalis on themselves. Contrary to popular belief they have no permanent friends among the Warlords. They will use a Warlord as long as he is able and willing to foil the plan of another Warlord or a group who is a threat to the continuation of the decadent Status Quo.
In Conclusion, this unholy alliance who maintain the rotten Status Quo pause a formidable challenge to Somali citizens who are sincerely working and striving to liberate our people from 14 years of killing, displacement, man-made famine, and lawlessness, which are the bread and butter of this predatory paradigm. The Guardians and Beneficiaries of this project will fight tooth and nail to protect and prolong the Status Quo, and by extension our misery. Depending on the burning issue at hand they will promote themselves as protectors of clan interests or religious values. This is in spite of the fact that the overwhelming majority of their clan’s members are actually their victims and all tenets of the Islamic religion, which propagate justice and compassion, are trampled upon daily in the decay of the ”cesspool of injustice” next door.
This is the reality on the ground and these are the Gate Keepers of the Status Quo. The linchpins of these Guardians of the “cesspool of misery and deprivation” are the Mogadishu Warlords and the War Profiteers. The containment of these two segments of the alliance is the key to positive change from the prevailing Status Quo. The rest of the beneficiaries will, by default or otherwise, easily go out of business.
Therefore, it is incumbent on all Somalis with conscience and who sincerely care about their people and their country to combat without delay these evil elements in our society by any means necessary; lest our beloved country will sooner than later disappear from the map of the nations.
We have to think out of the Clan Box and think in terms of a country and people at the brink of oblivion.
Said Saryan, Dubai, UAE