Somalis mark 20 years of war since government fell

[Cara.]

Somalis mark 20 years of war since government fell

 

By Mohamed Sheikh Nor and Katharine Houreld, The Associated Press

 

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Aweys Abdullahi Ali has never known a day of peace in Somalia. Gunmen have killed his mother, set his home on fire, driven away his friends. Ali, who is 20, sees no end to the violence.

 

Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of Siad Barre, Somalia’s socialist dictator whose overthrow ushered in years of brutal clan-based conflict. This arid Horn of Africa nation is now home to a generation of people who have known nothing but war. Some have seen neighbors beheaded by al-Qaida-linked insurgents or killed in U.S. missile strikes.

 

“I’ve woken up to the crack of gunfire ever since I was young,” said Ali, a dark-eyed young man. “I never believed Somalia was ever peaceful and I used to wonder what my parents were talking about when told me about the old days.”

 

Ali, like most of Somalia’s 8 million citizens, was born after Barre’s fall. Even though Barre had his opponents imprisoned and tortured, Ali imagines the dictatorship as a long-vanished golden age compared to the anarchy that is now affecting all of Somalia except for the northern regions of Somaliland and Puntland.

 

Government forces and al-Qaida-linked insurgents have carved up the battle-scarred capital of Mogadishu. Temporary roadblocks, some just rusting barbed wire stretched across the cratered roads, mark constantly shifting front lines.

 

Gunmen scan the waiting citizens: Are their beards too long? Not long enough? Is that one a spy? What clan are they from? Do they have any money? The lucky passers-by are just told to pay a bribe.

 

“Once I refused, and they showed me the body of a dead young man and said if I don’t pay something they will kill me,” Ali recalled.

 

Not even home is safe. Last year, the gunmen came to rob Ali’s neighbors. The woman screamed. Ali’s mother ran outside to help. They shot her.

 

“We rushed her to Medina hospital but she died,” Ali recalled. Medina, considered one of the better-equipped hospitals in Mogadishu, is frequently so full of war casualties that the overflow of patients are treated in tents outside.

 

These days, Ali and his father live in a ruined house near an African Union peacekeeping base. There’s no water or electricity. The afternoons are sweltering and dull. There are no jobs. They have no money for school. Those with money fled long ago.

 

“Imagine being 20 and never having been to school,” said Denise Shepherd-Johnson, a spokeswoman for UNICEF. More than two-thirds of Somali children have not completed even primary school, she said.

 

“Imagine in the future you’re asked to run a country and you have no idea what a government even does. Imagine trying to dream when the world of possibilities is so limited you are just trying to survive,” she said.

 

Ali can’t picture a better future or remember a better past.

 

The mandate of Somalia’s government, which has failed to provide security or services, is due to run out in August.

 

The U.N. envoy to Somalia said that it is unclear what will happen once the current government’s term ends because the process of writing a new constitution for Somalia will not be complete by then.

 

“I do not know what a government is or what it does for people,” Ali said. The only future he sees is more fighting.

 

“This war will not end before my son is grown,” he said. “And I will be a very old man.”

[nuune]

Ali, like most of Somalia’s 8 million citizens

Maan fahmin halkaa Cara, iigu celi, ma 8 million citizens born after siyaad, or Somalia's population is 8 million, maanta indhaha waxba uguma jeedo mid Jin ah oo indhoole ah ayaa saaka igu soo kalahey oo hada ka hor qiso na dhax martey calaama Alla ha saare

[Cara.]

^It's a terribly written article!

 

I've been seeing the 8 million figure for quite some time, can't possibly be up to date. According to the CIA World Factbook, the Somali population is at 10 million, and about half are under 20, so at most 5 million would have been born since 1991. But many of those would be under 5 years old, and not expected read even by Chinese mother standards.

[STOIC]

I was listening to a program on BBC about African youth forum.Their explanation of why Somalia is failing baffled my itty bitty brain...their attempted explanation proved their ignorance of Somalia..although outside force may have something to do with Somalia problems at the moment, but I think the blame should be squarely be placed on Somalis and their clans allegiance.When you have people with "my clan is powerful than yours" there sure no hope for Somalia...I expect Somalia to be lawless the next twenty years...READ my Words....I'm sorry..We all should embrace our new-found homes in the West and assimilate as much as we can and live our lives as a citizens of our current homes..The ones that I left behind in Somalia I wish them the best.....

[Ducaysane]

Stoic,

If you really want to see why Somalia is failing don't look further look at yourself. You can barely speak Somali yet, I have seen you time and again cheer leading Somaliland to be recognized as a country separate from the rest of the country. I believe the reason is based on clan lineage.

[STOIC]

Ducaysane,

Heh@ you can barely Speak Somali. You must have decided to unleash the cloak of moralistic righteousness on me.Before you suspect My support for Somaliland I want you to realize that Somalia has never been part of my life neither do I care about the daily activities in Somalia (of course I sympathize when something horrible happens there) My support of Somaliland is based on their achievements (and maybe lineage bias). A lineage with Somaliland people shouldn’t make anyone NOT support the sovereign rights of choice of political, Cultural and social development of people. You are NOT the first one to question my support of Somaliland on this forums( Why does a ***** Sijui have an interest in Somaliland, right?) . The reason, perhaps, could it be I see real development instead of chaos? It is Not wise to live in illusion and sing kumbaya with each other when there is no development.My support of Somaliland has no bearing on your explanation of why Somalia is a failed state.

[Somalina]

Kindly share the "developments" you are so impressed with?

[STOIC]

Somalina, do you want me to bore you with the obvious like that?

[Somalina]

STOIC;690868 wrote:

Somalina, do you want me to bore you with the obvious like that?

Please do, enlighten me.

[STOIC]

Somalina,

I'm sorry that I can't help intentional ignorance ......google can help you with that....

[bilan]

Stoic Just be honest, say it loud and clear why support SL and follow it is ‘development’ not so much of what is going on PL, Galmudug etc.

[Ducaysane]

If we follow your login, then any region in Somalia which establishes relative peace has to succeed the rest of the country. I freind of mine who just come back from Hargaysa did not told me much development. Somaliland government did not build any schools or roads for the last 20 yrs.

[Somalina]

STOIC;690873 wrote:

Somalina,

I'm sorry that I can't help intentional ignorance ......google can help you with that....

Funny how you go from "do you want me to bore you with obvious like that" to "Google it".

Miskiin, learn to back up your claims with evidence.

Again, what developments where you referring to? it is a straight up question, I don't really see what is so hard about answering a simple question like that.

[STOIC]

Admittedly Somaliland is NOT the only peaceful region in Somalia.There is a case example of Puntland which is relatively peaceful too, though scarcely known unlike Somaliland.It is not easy , under the current conditions of Somalia, to maintain peace and development.Somalialnd is the one region so far that has won my heart.Their specific examples of political development has inflamed my support.If we want to peddle the lies that Somaliland hasn’t achieved anything the last twenty years then you Must be living in illusion.Their sophisticated and thorough achievements is reported daily in major newspapers.Go figure

 

PS Somalina, clearly you didn't understood what I wrote..it was a rhetorical question..hope you didn't expect me to come back with figures and facts....

[Somalina]

Clap for your clan. Nothing wrong with that. JB and GD do it proudly everyday. Ku dayo, ku dayo.

Have a good one.