What Happened in Somalia

Somalia was a region of many ethnic groups with Islam as their primary religion. Numerous kingdoms were spread across Somalia and they traded with Greeks and Romans.

Traditionally Somali population lived a nomadic pastoralist life. They travelled in groups through the desert with their camels and livestock. While travelling, they had to endure the hot sun, walk for months across vast distances and protect their animals from wild beasts. Somali men often possess great courage and boldness. Being a warrior has traditionally been one of their greatest ideals. It is in this setting that the Somali oral culture developed. Somali men are known for being poets and storytellers and they love to debate. These cultural aspects continue to be highly valued even in the growing urban centers.

Somalia was colonized by the British in the north and Italians in the south in the late 19th century. It gained independence in 1960 from the British and Italians.
Somalia could never develop into an economically strong, self sustainable nation due to lot of political disturbances. It faced inter-clan rivalry which destabilized the economy.

After its independence, the government was weak in planning and execution of the development works across the country. Trade was poor, the only major export that happened from Somalia was its bananas and livestock, and to a small extent it’s sugar. The only trading partner was Italy. Somalia never explored into other sector which can be one major cause for its backwardness in economy.

Though there as abundant livestock in its capacity, it held to most of it's livestock as a hedge against natural disasters. This led to excess holding of livestock. It had to face many droughts and the livestock started getting infected with disease which started working against its plan. Too much concentration on the plantation and livestock did not let Somalia produce any other commodities suitable for export. It had to import a lot of food stuffs to meet its necessities. Somalia could not enter any other major market than Italy to trade.

Somalia kept relying on foreign assistance, mainly on the huge funding from the World Bank. Adding to the country’s tribulations, the funds were not utilized properly due to poor planning, none of it reached the poor man.

One of the first setback to the country's snail pace development happened when its president was assassinated by one of his security men. There was a military take over of the state power. The military believed it alone had the qualities and disciplines to run the state.

Later the Somalian-Ethiopian war in 1977 marked the start of unrest in the region.
Christianity's influence was significantly reduced when church-run schools were closed and missionaries sent home. The cathedral in Mogadishu was severely damaged in the civil war. The Somali constitution discourages the promotion and propagation of any religion other than Islam. This sets Somalis apart from their immediate African neighbors, many of whom are either Christians or adherents of indigenous faiths.
In the 80s Somalia witnessed dictatorship. There was chaos all around.
The country was in deep trouble as there were politically motivated murders and the national treasury was plundered. Several Clans started building their own army to resist attacks from other groups. In the late 80s the whole country suffered from murder and looting. There was again a division between the northern and southern parts of the country.
In the early 90s, American troops arrived to handle the situation. Their aim was to provide relief to Somalia through food and security. It was very hard for the relief workers to pass on supplies to the war torn country without interruption by the rebels. American troops planned to put an end to some terrorist camps in the south of the capital Mogadishu. Surprisingly American troops suffered a major setback when they were hit back strongly. Many American soldiers were killed and several wounded. The rebels celebrated the victory, Somalia was in deep problems.

The economy was one of the worst in the world. Inflation had driven the prices very high. Several bundles of currency notes were needed to buy a meal. Coins went useless and were scattered all around Mogadishu. There were fuel shortages, electricity and water problem.
Ethiopia, Somalia’s immediate neighbor was worried about the tension in the region. It supplied arms to few clans from northern and southern Somalia to take over the military government. It was a success but northern Somalia declared its own independence though it was not recognized by international communities. The elders elected leaders to hold various positions and called it Government of Somalia.
Southern Somalia has always been unstable. A civil war broke out in the southern part. The competition was for power, fought among many clans. Their fight further extended to cattle, food and water.
Though the northern part was comparatively stable, it did have frequent clashes internally between its clans.
US troops trying to maintain peace was withdrawn after several casualties of both soldiers and civilians occurred in 1993. It was replaced by United Nations Operation in Somalia. There were several other troops introduced due to frequent casualties till 1995 after which Ethiopia combined with Somalian Government troops started fighting the rebels mostly Islamic terrorists.

Today Somalia is known to be a haven for terrorist activities. Some financial houses in Mogadishu are known to be acting as agents in financing terrorist activities around the world.

Many Somalians live in fear. Many have taken up arms to defend themselves and their families. Most of them live below poverty line. They do petty jobs to fill their stomachs. Some of their earnings is lost to the armed rebels who extort money frequently mercilessly even from beggars.

On December 29, 2008, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed announced before a united parliament his resignation as President of Somalia. He expressed regret at failing to end the country's seventeen year conflict as his government had mandated to do. He also blamed the international community for its failure to support the government.

Many Somalians hope someday they will live in peace. Some say their country will never change for good. International communities have described Somalia as the deadliest place on earth. Only time will tell us what will happen to Somalia.

Linus Orakles
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