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Somaliland Vs. Somalia: A Reassessment of the Fundamentals

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What is to come of the next Somaliland elections? If our good friend, the Somali version of Mr. Ten Percent Man, is to rig the next election and claim presidency through corrupted tactics (similar to Hamid Karzai’s illegitimate victory dance) – what will occur to Somaliland’s stability? As the North struggles to receive acknowledgment via hopeless attempts to render Western recognition, one can conclude countless failed attempts are repetitive expectations amidst Somaliland’s society. Understandably, the current government ascertains to thoughts of attracting Western diplomacy but bowing to Ethiopia’s enmity evokes a sense of national degradation. Ethiopian military officials purchase Ogaden Somali’s residing in Hargeisa through back-door channels; the Northern government is too mentally challenged to sell their souls to the rich devils (West) and instead, we’ve been bought and enslaved by Ethiopia. Thus, what is to occur to our ‘slow’ government if the people’s voice is unheard again?

Fast-forward to the deteriorating situation in Southern Somalia, although a strong sense of hope emerges from hopeless debris -Hope emerges without assistance from the Northern government. While Northern Somalia has become a pit stop for travelling Somali’s and society welcomes Southern brethren; after a few security breaches in the North- Mr. Dahir Riyale threatened to evict all Southern Somali’s from Somaliland. For him and his puppet government, these threats were merely another attempt at being loved by Mr. West. Oh Mr. Western Powers why don’t you love us? Is it because we don’t love ourselves? Could it be because we are currently a puppet of Ms. Ethiopia? Oh Mr. West!

Comical, but seriously true! Seemingly, nonsensical is Somaliland’s current Public Policy Strategy. Hence, let’s return to the electoral situation. In May 2004, we all remember the tragedy that took place in Somaliland. However, Mr. Silaanyo responded with an urgency to avoid all violence due to the example set by our Southern counterparts. So, Mr. Dahir continued with his mission of being without a mission! Therefore, if Mr. Dahir repeats the same strategy of ‘Karzai Politics’, shall we submit to another dictator? Isn’t that what the SNM fought against? Unfortunately, an African in power would rather lose sanity than peacefully lose power. Welcome to African Politics 101.

Mr. Silanyo was recently asked at a Washington D.C gathering the same question that lingers on everyone’s mind: whether or not a probable leader change will be peaceful or not. And he responded with a calm and subtle, ‘we will avoid violence and promote peace’. If the promotion of peace comes at the price of a warring ideology and an illegitimate ruling party, does that not validate the notion that the tenants of peace shall forfeit its priority of being upheld? I’m not promoting war, but merely provoking thought and indulging in an attempt to save our nation. And thus, I’d like to co-relate an aspect of public perspective in regards to the Southern Somalia and Northern Somalia relationship.

Northerners forget that Southern Somalia is still SOMALIA! Different dialects, food preferences and clan jokes but we are all SOMALIAS. However, the deteriorating situation in the South has somehow placed a subconscious mindset amongst Northerners that we are not like THOSE PEOPLE IN THE SOUTH. Similarly, African Americans were told that they couldn’t be like those SAVAGE Africans. In the story of Moses and Pharoah, Pharaoh made it his objective to separate and conquer the Israelites. Somalia is merely a country whose countrymen are too blind to view the ‘separate and conquer’ mechanism fueling separatist’s movements, governments and social ideology.

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Consequently, the disassociation between Northern and Southern Somalis has played-to-the-tune of neighboring state actors who wish nothing less than Somalia’s demise. As Ethiopian troops were entering Somalia via known Northern routes, Somaliland resumed economical ties and business relations with Ethiopia. The concept that we, in the North, can witness the struggle, conflict and ultimate torture of our Southern brethren and still have a devilish sense of non-obligatory duties satisfies ‘Iblis’ and his followers. Mr. Dahirs regime has given innocent Ogedenians, peaceful residents of Hargeisa, over to Ethiopian military troops in addition to threatening to expel Southern Somali’s for Northern security breaches. If this isn’t selling one’s soul to the devil, I don’t know what is.

Regrettably, Mr. Riyales devil has not given his country anything but conflict in returns. One mustn’t expect Somaliland to preserver whilst such a regime is in power. One mustn’t expect society to gradually change for the positive whilst we ignore our fundamental obligation to our brothers in the South. One mustn’t expect social progression through economical successes whilst we trade our own people for dividends. One mustn’t expect a change, unless we first understand in essence- what must be changed. These coming elections will not bring Somaliland anything better unless ideologies are changed, movement objectives are rethought and we realize, recognize, understand and acknowledge that we are in fact- ONE PEOPLE.

Written By: Isahak Ahmed
isahak@live.com

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Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial.

SOMALIA: Somali Troops Advance Into Rebel Positions, 37 Killed

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MOGADISHU (Somalilandpress)-Somali government troops have made its initial advance into the rebel-held areas in the north of Mogadishu in a heavy fighting that left 37 more dead and injured 113, officials, witnesses said.

Witnesses said government troops with the help of the African union have crossed into the insurgency-racked district Karan. Soldiers appear to have encountered lighter than expected resistance from the Alshabaab who were reported to have entrenched in the nearby areas and mined the roadways.

‘’ I have seen 18 dead Alshabaab fighters lying on one street and 5 government soldiers’’ Resident Fadumo Osman told Somalilandpress by phone from Karan.

Soldiers seized Karan, Behani and the notorious Sana where Alshabaab have conducted public executions including beheading and have dumped the bodies of those who opposed their rule.

The state Minster for the defense Yusuf Mohamed Siad said his troops have powerfully kicked the politically fractured militants.

‘’ Our troops have made tangible developments in the latest fighting’’ Indha Adde, the TFG’s defense minister said.

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The military also launched an operation in Jardinka intersection and reportedly killed five militant fighters.

As the military moves into the north after almost hours of heavy fighting, the militants may have decided to conduct a tactical withdrawal of its forces estimated at between 5,000 to 7,000 fighters.

Hospital and ambulance sources said at least 37 people were killed and 113 more were injured, although the death toll may rise for the heavy shellings going on.

Alshabaab’s control over many key regions across the country has left Somali government isolated from much of the country, causing visible panic.

Residents have been queuing at streets and in markets as troops and military hardware stream towards the north.

Belligerent factions in Mogadishu have been locked in a tense stand-off for weeks, amid expectations of an imminent offensive by the government and its African Union backers to wrest Somalia back from the insurgency.

Somalilandpress
Mogadishu-Somalia

UN Food Agency Welcomes Any Probe Into Somalia Aid

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ROME, 11 March 2010 (Somalilandpress) – A U.N. food agency said Thursday it will cooperate with any independent probe into its food operations in Somalia, after a report found that up to half the food aid intended for the nation’s hungry people does not reach its destination.

The report said food aid in Somalia is being diverted to corrupt contractors, radical Islamic militants and local U.N. workers. It calls on U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to authorize an independent investigation of the operations of the World Food Program in the country.

“The integrity of our organization is paramount and we will be reviewing and investigating each and every issue raised by this report,” WFP executive director Josette Sheeran said in a statement.

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“WFP stands ready to offer full cooperation with any independent inquiry into its work in Somalia,” it said.

The Rome-based agency also promised not to engage with transport contractors that the report alleges were involved in arms trading.

The report was made by the panel of experts monitoring U.N. sanctions against the African nation. It is to be presented to the U.N. Security Council next week, WFP says. The findings were first reported by The New York Times this week.

Sheeran said her organization “would do everything it could to reach the hungry in Somalia” — a country where around 3.7 million people, or nearly half of the population, need aid.

Sheeran said that “vulnerabilities are always present in conflict areas.” Some of the issues raised in the report have already been addressed, she said, while in other cases the agency wanted to correct some factual information. She did not single out any issues.

The WFP suspended operations across southern Somalia in January. The agency said it was acting in response to intimidation of its staff and because armed groups have made “unreasonable demands … that contravened WFP’s rules.”


Source: AP

Setting the record Straight – Interview with the Former NEC Chairman

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ADDIS ABABA (Somalilandpress) — Following disputes over the conducting of elections in Somaliland which were initially slated for September 2009, Sub-Saharan Informer’s Samson haileyesus caught up with Mr. Jama Mohamoud Omar, previous chairman of Somaliland’s National Electoral Commission (NEC) and discussed with him on the crisis leading up to the political stalemate, the challenges, roles played by donors and the way forward. Excerpts:

SSI: Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

Jama Mohamoud Omar: My name is Jama Mohamoud Omar the last position I served as the chairman of the national electoral Commission (NEC). I am a born Somalilander and have worked previously as a career diplomat serving first as a first secretary and later on as councilor in Sweden during the reign of Said Barre and had to leave my position because the problems I had with then government and became Chairman of the Somaliland National Movement (SNM) from 1988 to 1994. Later on I joined the civil society and was working with international organizations working on peace building and was in charge of Life and Peace an organization in Ubbasala funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). Following the debacle of the UNISOM mission on March 31st, 1993 I was part of a program that assessed the tradition peace building mechanism of the Burao conference we have also seen the top down conferences in Addis Ababa with the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) and we have compared the two and we have seen the real grassroots peace building in Burao worked then since then I have worked in various capacities working towards strengthening traditional peace elders’ empowerment in peace building and also for the revival the civil society organizations in good governance .

SSI: How would you asses the two mediation processes in Somaliland and that of the TFG?

Jama Mohamoud Omar: In line with my assessment, one when the UN and the international community made Mogadishu and Somalia the tip of the iceberg of the Somali problem and all UN and international resource was going to Somalia to reach stability and good governance and Somalia being the first failed state in the history of the world. The international community’s efforts left no mark on development there. Somaliland, however without a single support from the international community and was even often being discouraged with the belief that if Somaliland’s independence was encouraged the Somali peace process will be hampered so we have being going on our own and from the colonial days Somaliland’s has adopted the traditional elders [mediation] art of conflict management and as a result we have built a stable government. We have also made a transitional Charter; we have conducted a referendum and endorsed a constitution in 2001.

In addition we have conducted three elections that is something, which the international community needs to remember. It has to be recorded, it has to be praised; it has to be given recognition – that has not been happening instead many people were against.

I have to be very thankful to the Ethiopian people and government for many reasons one would be in Somaliland when we were fighting during the Somaliland National Movement (SNM) days we were in eastern Ethiopia our people were given good treatment, the psychological barrier between the Somalis and Ethiopians have went out and we have now very good relations and I think Ethiopia is the only country in the region who sees Somaliland as a sovereign state of course there are interests. Somaliland is covering the long border of Somaliland and Ethiopia, which is being fully, protected Somaliland because of the security that is in our hands the rest of Somalia is not secure. The Ethiopian people and government should understand that we are also supporting Ethiopian peace because of the border, because of the ongoing Islamists and in the area Somaliland is very important and Berbera port and now we are upgrading ourselves.

I have to assure that apart from the donors Ethiopian government we have met the Ethiopian state minister for foreign affairs [Dr. Tekeda Alemu] he stayed in Hargeysa and he facilitated the mediation between the parties which is really commendable was the only minister that was seeing Somaliland as a sovereign state and we have to be very thankful Somaliland is giving the support in the security of the region, we are also giving lessons on our democracy which is home grown and a democratization process which is not imported.

SSI: Could you tell us why your commission had to leave office?

Jama Mohamoud Omar: what went wrong is when it comes to the formation of the national election board (NEC) – within the second NEC, there was an eight month delay in the process of the Somaliland stakeholders to nominate their candidates to the Commission which resulted in the building of NEC to come across a delay and as outgoing chairman of NEC we have encountered something not deserved. Number one parliament said the previous commission whom their mandated had expired to stay and on then it told the political parties to choose their nominees. So we joined NEC when eight months of the timeline of the elections has already been spent the, timeline of the elections was hampered by the stakeholders themselves.

When we were given oath we have been invited by the donors in Nairobi under the host of the British embassy in Addis Ababa a course they call it an orientation course somebody from Nairobi representing the steering committee of the donors immediately said ‘the voter registration is something that we are going to pay but we are not giving you the money directly, we are going to invest the money to Inter Peace’. I challenged them on the decision, they said no it is our money, and we know how to handle our money and the program will be dealt by Inter Peace.

The international observers that had observed previous elections in Somaliland, presidential, local governments and parliament have said that these were well organized elections but lacked voter registrations. Previously NEC and inter peace have tailored the voter registration as they have also tailored the voter registration proposal, they have also built all the purchase lines we came and inherited a program, which we don’t know, and of course we have immediately seen conflicts in interest. Donors were very kind I have to stress that the donors that were supporting Somaliland’s democratization were Sweden, Denmark, Norway, UK, USA and the EU.

Theirs was a very generous support without them it would have been a dream to conduct a voter registration but they invested the money in the wrong hands Inter Peace were not the right organization due to capacity and executive implementation and they have not monitored the work there was no evaluation there was monitoring. We appealed a number of times saying that the work is not going as expected then they said we know things are going on the right track then they put preconditions.

Somaliland has been going on its own through these past 18 years and has built a thriving democracy, when our politicians, the three political leaders have handed Somaliland’s destiny of elections into foreign hands, which means up to now we have through the conditions they have bridged we the Commission have left office – not for legal reasons we but we have said since the people are now agreeing we should say no we have gone and still three months and a half on the donors and others are saying that the voter registration and elections matters were being refined I don’t see what has happened so everything rests with the international experts.

SSI: What were the problems experienced with the voter registration?

Jama Mohamoud Omar: As NEC and as human beings we were having our own weaknesses we for the first year could not manage to build a team. I have to admit that there was no good team work some of the Commission members were speaking on their own to the press that has weakened our position but the whole responsibility of the voter registration was under the hands of inter peace they were the contracted authority there were issues, all these were done on their own and we did not believe that the companies were genuine. Competent companies were not contracted.

It is a program that would have been very viable and very good for the country but how the organization hired by the donors handled the matter was not really genuine. Numbers on the Somaliland people have with enthusiasm joined the work they were giving all logistic support to those work and they were also providing security. Even more when the terrorist attacks occurred people thought that there are elements that were working towards derailing Somaliland from the path of democratization and people with emotions registered for the elections. What went wrong was that the system brought and the equipment that was brought was not of the standard that has been promised. The companies contracted were not really genuine we have complained and that means the donors are collecting money from tax payers that money has went into improper companies.

The system itself was default, a biometric system should have a finger print capture feature there was the element of option given that you can ignore the capture so if you already set it on ignore it means that you are inviting people to multiply without putting in their finger prints. Then later we introduced facial recognition we have said that facial recognition system software must be added. Whenever we challenged the donors, when we say this is wrong, that is wrong, they say they have put pre-conditions and that the Commission’s leadership has to be changed, consensus has to be bridged. As allies the international community need to know that mistakes need to be looked into Somaliland’s destiny falls on more than a couple of diplomats to cover your diplomats’ wrong doing it would be counterproductive in Hargeisa.

We as a commission stressed that there is no list first of all we have driven Inter peace out of Somaliland for the reason they spoiled and said that elections have to continue on as planned on 27th September without voter list. The list should be enhanced for future elections. the political parties, the donors shouted hard the president also agreed and the donors could not easily come to Somaliland maybe through Ethiopia the state minister they said you have to come in and it was very good that our brothers have come around because as a neighbor and a good friend of Somaliland we have listened well and the Ethiopian government was really sympathetic and dealt with us as a sovereign state.

The terms we were dealing with were of mutual interest; Ethiopia without stable Somaliland will not be easy. And also now we are ambitious to have our landlocked neighbor to advance our services on the Berbera port to make the region stable where eastern Ethiopia can be serviced from Berbera also we are keen on that recognition and economic cooperation in this small world is very important.

As you are also aware Somaliland people were in eastern Ethiopia that is also another privilege when we were in the Somaliland National Movement (SNM) fighting we were based in eastern Ethiopia, we were well received by the people there. Towards ending the political stalemate the International community and the Ethiopian government has tailored a six point agreement for the first time that the Somaliland traditional system went out of hand but a six point agreement was made, the commission was party.

SSI: Three months on how do you assess the work being done by the new Commission?

Jama Mohamoud Omar: From my perspective the new commission is doing well. one I have to praise is that there are very silent they are very much looking like a team, challenges will come later but the initial start they are a cohesive body and they are not talking much that is something that has to be encouraged I have to commend and I am also encouraging Somaliland people wherever they are to support the commission. In regards to the affairs among the six points, the international experts have to look towards the voter list, they have to refine it, and they have to come up with recommendations on how to refine the timing. The timing will depend on the list production that will be determined by the election timetable and that will depend on how the experts would recommend, when the recommendations will be implemented and later on the timeline of the elections is made so nothing is in the hands of Somalilanders it is in the hands of international donors who are paying for the money who are contracting the experts so I am saying that the international interventions that is taking longer than expected already and there is in the Guurti the council of elders one important thing that needs to be underlined is that through the history of Somaliland the rational Guurti house that has been started in the SNM days who were fighting. When the SNM entered Hargeysa, all the people from Hargeysa went out and asked the military wing of SNM whether the SNM conquered them or has it liberated the population and the SNM said ‘we have not really conquered but really liberated’.

Then the people said if we are liberated we should be part of the governance, they have built that and in eastern Ethiopia a town called Madaweyn and that house contributed to the logistic and financial support to the traditional system of the elders, the same house in Borama meeting accommodated with tribes that were outside the SNM has formed Somaliland elder of council as a constitutional body and then that went on the only good thing was that he Guurti was nominated among clans through norms and criteria that seems to be going out of hand .

For the first time a politician chair has joined, somebody the parliament leader in the Guurti called Sheikh Ibrahim who was also in charge of the SNM died and somebody outside form the Guurti asked someone form his clan step down so he can join. From the traditional perspective a politicians who joined a traditional system could be something difficult that is what we are hearing these days. Various groups have tried various opportunities to take power.

The other mistake is that when the mandate of the government was expiring the Guurti chairman and the parliament chairman thought of having a dream of using a vacuum and enter power – it also created a mess. The only good thing is that the Somaliland people were tolerant they have not succumbed to the shouting’s of the oppositions nor the government but have behaved maturely and there was no demonstrations and I have to commend the people of Somaliland on their maturity in containing their hard won peace and stability. So foresee now basically that the government should take the responsibility into looking at the election budget in the future.

Nothing in foreign hands can help Somaliland, now things are in the hands of foreign hands, Ethiopian government as a neighbor whom could be easily affected if Somaliland peace goes down should also work hard to push the international community and international experts to speed the process on how elections could be conducted in the country- without elections it is going to be very difficult.

Third the three political leaders including the president and the opposition partiers should take to heart the wishes of the people. They should be mature enough to discuss together, to discuss situations, to see if the donors are not working hard donors could have their own agendas the idea of greater Somalia, the dream of the international community is still there we do believe in Somaliland that the Union of Somaliland with Somalia was a wild dreamt is over.

Our Ethiopian-Somalis have to live in Ethiopia, our Kenyan-Somalis have to be live in Kenya, our brothers in Djibouti have already went on their own the idea of five start flag of greater Somalia is over, any international community who is advocating Somalia to be one, I am saying if you only want Somaliland to join Somalia if you wake the wild dream do Somalia the Ethiopia, stability, Kenyan stability will also affected, why don’t you leave every Somali brother to live where they are now they are 100 % Ethiopia, they are 100% Kenyan and they are 100% Djiboutian . Somaliland will not become a sandwich to bring Somalia and I say the international community should look into Somalia the price that can easily be given top Somaliland is stability and recognition.

SSI: How do you see the way forward?

Jama Mohamoud Omar: Elections need to be conducted and we have to be given the opportunity to utilizing international cooperation, bilateral development, we are not looking for recognition based on visits by ambassadors and diplomats and people coming in we need development, we want the Bretton Woods organizations involved. Somaliland is rich in oil, sea resource, livestock and stability continues. We have to be very wary of the new Islam because traditionally we are all Muslim, we know what to do, a new prophet has not appeared and we know Islam started in Ethiopia prophet Mohammed has sent a message the first Hijra to Negash. Islam has spread in this part of the world through Negash rather then through Mecca because the people who took the message to negash have spread it here so we have 1,400 years of Islamic history we don’t know the other elements that are coming up so what I am saying is that the international community when it comes to Somaliland should be very serious. Any loophole of peace and stability in Somaliland will attract other destructive forces and the region is very volatile you know of Eritrea and its actions in this region, Yemen has a growing Islamists problem and Mogadishu is the same.

Djibouti is a close friend of Somaliland we both enjoy cordial relations, of course there is a competition between the two ports but Ethiopia’s huge needs for ports can satisfy both ports. To be very frank, we are encouraging our Ethiopian brothers. For the international community we are saying that hey are doing good in terms of supporting democracy and putting money. Where your money has gone into, what went wrong which proper companies were contracted what went wrong has to be looked into our great emphasis has to be addressed. Because you say the commission left, we left because of not of legality but because of compromise so we are saying’ what went wrong? ’ Already there are signs that we have left already the donors have admitted that the voters lists needed to be revised if there is a new list o be revised why were they pushing us to go? . They are putting experts to look into the matter.

If there is something why don’t they say experts to join all these questions have to be asked to be very frank and I have to also say that Somaliland people to be cooperative a politicians should be very keen. For me I am very neutral, I am very independent I don’t belong to any political party, I have been running as a chairman of the electoral committee I have been running it as a neutral body many people maybe were not pleased but history will tell what went wrong, whether I was right but still I am encouraging that all stakeholders should work hard on Somaliland elections. Elections are the only way for Somaliland. [ad#Google Adsense (336×280)]

SSI: What role do you see Ethiopia could play?

Jama Mohamoud Omar: Donors and Ethiopia have intervened to solve the problem. Ethiopia is not a donor but it is a neighbor whose interventions have been a catalyst for progress. Ethiopia’s approach was based on fostering relations and security matters and donors did recognize that there was room where Ethiopia could play a role I am saying that they have been there, a mediation whereby six points were outlined. But that mediation will not last long unless other measures are not speeded and additional implementations are agreed upon.

Ethiopia and donors should push for the speedy implementations of the agreements, the voter registration list should be refined and refining means we should ask where are we are three months since the electoral commission was replaced. Have the international community highlighted the shortcomings; if the shortcomings have been reveled the public has to know that if something went wrong that it is going to be fixed. And in order to save the country one has to say donors and inter peace has to admit saying this and that has gone wrong. So people would know that it was not in our hands, it is in the hands if international organizations so blame has to go somewhere and then people have to say that this has gone wrong.

Still I believe that voter registration is an important part for the security of the country to have a national voter registration system biometrics is very good for our security, it is making Somaliland a modern country. But where should the blame lie, the commission has left, the new commission arrived still the problem is there why don’t the international community who have been congratulating in the earlier days not admit the mistakes and something went wrong, it is not the blame of Somaliland it is the blame of others so, Ethiopia could say speed the elections promised, speed the experts report that has be worked, it should not be hidden. Ethiopia is the only country in the region that could suffer if there is unstable Somaliland already Somalia has gone out of hand. This has to be the only hope for the region and the Red sea and also from our side we are very encouraging.

One thing you have to understand that Somaliland’s’ determination of sovereignty and regaining independence comes from the grassroots we fought in a way that started from the people in the grassroots it was not personalities, there was no country supporting and now stability is under the hands of the community so people are policing their affairs. So we are saying form the traditional indigenous homegrown good governance of Somaliland can only be preserved by Somalilanders. The international community in its part should support Somaliland’s stability, good governance through recognition and allowing Somaliland to join the global community.

Source: Sub-Saharan Informer, 11 March 2010

SOMALIA: Too many patients, one mental health facility

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The number of people seeking mental health treatment has increased in Bosasso, the commercial capital of Somalia’s autonomous region of Puntland, despite the existence of only one small health unit, officials said.

“We have only two rooms; one for males and one for females, with five beds each,” Abdulkadir Khalif Ali, the nurse who manages the Bosasso general hospital’s mental health wing. “The demand is rising; there are days when I have 20 or 30 patients, some requiring hospitalization, but I have to release them because there is no space.”

Ali, the only qualified medical employee in the unit, told IRIN there was no psychiatrist. “I do almost everything a doctor would do,” he added. “But we could do with one, no question.”

The hospital recorded some 844 patients in 2009, despite the lack of mental health facilities and staff.

Francesca Rivelli of the protection sector, psycho-social support and mental health, of the NGO Gruppo per le Relazioni Transculturali (GRT), told IRIN the hospital was far too inadequate for the number of people it served.

“It is too small if we consider the inhabitants of Bosasso and moreover if we consider that the MHD [mental health department] at Bosasso hospital also serves people from all over Puntland and south-central Somalia,” she said.

GRT set up the mental illness unit in 2004 and supported it up to 2008 when it stopped the support due to lack of donor funding. “There is support for malaria, TB and HIV/Aids but not so much for mental health,” Rivelli.

Abdukadir Khalif Ali, a qualified psychiatric nurse at Bossaso general hospital’s mental health unit

Cases of post-stress traumatic syndrome have increased in Somalia mainly because there has been an increase in insecurity since the fall of the Siad Barre government in 1991, coupled with sporadic clashes, displacement and the daily uncertainty and violence in an impoverished environment, she said.

“In Somalia we’re also talking about a long-standing and unique combination of harsh conditions…” said Rivelli.

Lack of interest

Ali said most of his patients displayed an array of mental illnesses such as psychosis, mood disorders, substance abuse, depression, neurosis and epilepsy.

Unfortunately, not many aid organizations in Puntland, he added, were interested in mental health issues. “I think they are more comfortable in other areas, such as FGM/C [female genital mutilation/cutting] and other easier-to-understand diseases.”

Rivelli, however, said it should not be too difficult or costly to work in the mental health sector “through fine-tuned support initiatives at secondary health system level, namely strengthening the services provided by the local MHD.

“At the outset of the intervention, it is necessary to rely on motivated and qualified medical staff providing incentives both money-wise and in terms of motivation in coordination with the hospital system, to stop the turnover and brain-drain of the already few human resources,” she added.

Secondly, having psychotropic drugs provided by international agencies and donors would boost the quality of treatment offered to the patients.

There was also a need to carry out the clinical and social work side by side with professional workers such as health workers and counsellors.

Running out of drugs

Ismahan Nur had brought her 30-year-old brother-in-law from the town of Galkayo, 750km south of Bosasso, to the hospital. He had been sick for more than two years and the family tried traditional means to cure him. “We tried everything but he only got worse. He stopped eating, was not sleeping and was suspicious of everybody.”

They brought him to the hospital in January and he was put on medication for schizophrenia, according to Ali. “He is much better now. He is lucid, eating and sleeping well.”

Ali, however, warned that the hospital was running out of drugs. “We have started telling people to buy the drugs from the town,” adding that most of the patients could not afford medicines.

According to Rivelli, in the past three years only the European Union and World Health Organization had allocated funds to some interventions in mental health in Somalia; “thus the overall budget allocated is negligible compared to the needs”.

Most of that supported running costs of existing but neglected facilities, drugs, training and education campaigns, such as the initiative to free patients from being chained.

A great deal had to be done to improve mental health in Somalia. “Referral mechanisms to bridge the gap between rural and urban areas; community-based mental health programmes and research on the use of khat, gender and mental health, ex-combatants and mental health,” she said.

Source: IRIN, 11 March 2010

Abaarso Tech Information Session in Boston

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Located 18 kilometers outside of Hargeisa, Abaarso Tech is a four year boarding school for grades 9-12. Abaarso Tech wants to train the next generation of Somaliland thinkers! It has constructed a culturally specific curriculum that includes Arabic and Islamic
studies, math, science, and logical thinking. Abaarso also has a variety of healthy after school activities such as sports, games, films, and community service.

Come to the Information Session at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center to hear Jonathan Starr, the Founder, and Yusuf Osman, Chairman of Abaarso Tech, talk to you about the education Abaarso can offer your children!!

Abaarso Tech Information Session

Information:

When: March 20, 2010
Time: 4 pm – 7 pm
Where: Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center
100 Malcolm X Boulevard
(Tremont Street)
Roxbury, MA 02120
Contact Information:
Abdirahman Yusuf
(617) 938-7573

Event is co-sponsored by the Somali Development Center, Refugee and Immigrant Assistance
Center, African Community Economic Development of New England, United Somali Alliance, and North American Somali Students Union

SOMALILAND: Largest Windmill Arrives at Abaarso Tech

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Abaarso, 10 March 2010 (Somalilandpress) – The largest wind turbine in the country arrived on the campus of Abaarso Tech on Tuesday after being shipped from China. When installed the wind turbine is expected to provide up to 30 KW of continuous power, enough for Abaarso Tech’s campus.

Daniel Chehata, the head of the physics department, said the whole assembly process could take less than a week. Staff is hopeful that shortly thereafter the windmill will start producing the majority of energy the secondary boarding school uses.

“This is a significant development for Abaarso Tech and for Somaliland. It is also another testament that our new school is committed to innovative approaches to development,” said Dr. Ahmed Esa, co-founder and board vice-chair.

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Esa expects Abaarso Tech’s reliance on wind and other renewable energy sources to be an excellent indicator for the viability of these alternatives in resource lacking areas.
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Experts consider a wind speed of 6.4 m/s to be economically viable. Some areas surrounding Hargeisa are estimated to have a yearly average wind speed much higher than this.

This could be good news for Somali consumers who currently pay between 80 US cents and 1 US dollar for 1 KW of energy. Wind turbine energy would be a significantly cheaper option to the diesel generators that provide nearly 100 percent of the energy that Somaliland uses.

By Teresa Krug
Abaarso, Somaliland

SOMALIA: In the International Limelight For All The Wrong Reasons

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Bristol, 10 March 2010 (Somalilandpress) – Somalia is a country that has been at war since the fall of the last government under General Siad Barre in 1991. It a country that has been crippled by civil war, bloodshed and general mindless violence for nearly 20 years. The analysts at the Economist magazines Intelligence Unit, a sister company of the international award winning magazine, The Economist, identified Somalia as the worst country in the world. According to the Intelligence Unit, Somalia was at the bottom or near the bottom of the international league table in every category.

The categories by which the international Countries were judged were many but among the most important were security and safety, poverty and human development. clearly, coming at the bottom or near the bottom of any of the listed categories should not only cause serious reason for concern but also an immediate change of direction by the responsible authorities within each nation.

However, rather than taking heed and calling an end to all the violence and destruction that has severely hampered the Somali civilians living in the war zone’s ability to lead their daily lives, those involved in the Somali political process appear to have taken this as an opportunity to go around the globe asking for financial support to tackle the very problems which they have created and are the centre of.

The Somali President Sheikh Sharif landed in the UK for his first official State visit on Monday 8th March and as part of his three day visit he has already met the Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband and he is expected to meet the Somali Community members in both UK cities of London and Birmingham where a large number of Somali British citizens reside.

During his meeting with the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London, Sheikh Ahmed Sharif and the Prime Minster discussed issues related to the current Somali crisis and how Britain could further offer support to assist President Sharif’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to tackle the key issues that are proving to be an obstacle to the achievement of long term peace in Somalia such as Al-Shabaab and the fear of Al-Qaeda making Somalia its new international Headquarters. Mr. Brown also personally requested that Sheikh Sharif and his government work hard on the release of the British couple that are still held hostage by Somali Pirates somewhere in Somalia.

According to the UK TV Channel 4’s Foreign affairs news correspondent, Jonathan Rugman, the UK is about to announce its first aid package for Somalia’s transitional government amid mounting concern that without more international support the war-torn country could become a safe haven for Al-Qaida and this aid package is due to be unveiled during Sheikh Sharif’s visit to the UK this week. According to Mr. Rugman the UK government is widely understood to be offering around £5.5 million towards improving Somalia’s security. However, the exact amount and the other purposes of the financial support have not been made public. It is certain that, as a result of the UK having the largest Somali diaspora population numbers in Europe, the UK government will ask Sheikh Sharif to directly communicate with them, especially the impressionable youths, and to ask for their support in tackling terrorism both in Somali and here in the UK. This coincides with the British Home Secretary, Mr. Alan Johnson, making any membership of Al-Shabaab a criminal offence under UK law.

In his Monday night address to the Foreign Policy think tank Chatham House, Sheikh Sharif complained that there was not enough international support for him to tackle Al-shabaab. He went on to suggest that all that can be done by him and the TFG is been done but this is not enough. He warned the international community by stating that the danger of terrorism is not confined to Somalia and that it can reach anybody. He went on to conclude by saying that, “The only way to get past this difficulty is to strengthen the government.”

Whilst Sheikh Sharif is right in his above statement, what is quite clear is that neither he nor his crowned TFG are the government that Somalia needs and wants. Nor could they or would they strengthen anything other than their own tribal positions and financial bank balances. The simple fact is that Mr. Sharif, and his foreign crowned TFG which is made up of all the warlords that have collectively destroyed Somalia do not have the knowledge, expertise, skill and the support of the people needed to make any changes. Mr. Sharif and his undemocratic government, who have enjoyed the support of both the UK and the USA in the form of financial aid and weapons, have made no grounds in capturing the capital city from which they supposedly govern Somalia. In fact, it would be reasonable to suggest that the TFG’s control of Mogadishu ends at the so called gates of the Presidential palace which Mr. Sharif occupies as the so called leader of the Republic of Somalia.

The idea that Mr. Sharif can help the UK government convince members of the Diaspora to not support Al-Shabaab and not engage in terrorist activities is a joke of epic proportions as the majority of these would prefer Al-Shabaab to his unelected, warlord infested regime any day. As for the Pirates releasing the British couple? Well the Sheikh would need to leave Mogadishu to be able to do this wouldn’t he? So, arguably the chances of this happening at worst are farcical and at best, nil.

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Sheikh Sharif in his speech at Chatham House tries to come across as a desperate reformer who is truly misunderstood by the world but the fact is that he is not misunderstood as the world sees him for what he really is: A weak unelected leader without any real political authority or control.

Since coming to power, Mr. Sharif has increased the popularity of Islamist groups such as Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam as well as isolated some of his key advisers and academic supporters through his dithering and inconsistencies. His policies are nonexistent and his future strategy for governing the Somali nation is limited to going around the globe with a begging bowl for every little problem he confronts. The sad fact is (and the Western world must understand this) that it is as a result of the incompetence of the TFG and its leadership that Islamist groups are enjoying the high level of support from the Somali public and to further support them with aid would be about as good as pouring aid money down a deep well with an intention of never seeing it again.

The key obstacles to Somalia’s peace and stability are far too complex for any individual Somali leader to address, let alone an unelected leader who most of his citizens despise. Sheikh Sharif’s poor leadership should not be encouraged by any welcome or invitation by any government anywhere in the world. He and his TFG are far too insignificant to make any real changes in Somalia.

The foundations of the instability and violence Somalia faces today are as a result of ignorance, poor leadership and blind loyalty to individual tribes. The will to create change and rebuild the Somali nation is not visible anywhere in Somalia as the politicians and businessmen divide the large aid cake between themselves whilst pretending to their financial backers that all that could possibly be done to better the situation on the ground, is been done. Sadly, it is reasonable to suggest that neither Sheikh Sharif nor his warlord cronies in government care about the plight of those caught in the middle as if they did the situation might have been a bit better now. The AU troops and the neighbouring countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya are also in no rush to bring about peace as their nation profits from the misery of the Somali people through aid money been distributed through their countries to the Somali people.

The Somali people are sick of fighting and all they yearn for is a chance at peace and a normal existence free from violence. To achieve this they need strong leadership with a long term strategy to rebuild the nation. However, instead they get a crowned government made up of all those who contributed to their misery and plight. If Prime Minister Brown was to carry out a referendum on Sheikh Sharif’s leadership in Somalia, most would properly vote to lynch him for his incompetence and the part he has played in escalating the violence in Mogadishu. The only real long term solution to peace in Somalia is to send in well armed and equipped western troops to tackle the Islamist insurgents and then help the people of Somalia to democratically elect a leader that they agree on to lead them to a better future.

In addition, this elected leadership should be assisted by members of the educated Somali diaspora who truly are interested in playing a role in the reconstruction of their country. In the short term though, it is important for the Western governments to attach stringent conditions to any aid money given to Mr. Sharif and Co. in the hope that they will deliver what they promise to deliver when they come to their countries with a begging bowl.

By: Liban Obsiye,
Bristol
libanbakaa@hotmail.com

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Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial

SOMALILAND: NEC to issue new voter identification cards

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HARGEISA (Somalilandpress) — The National Electoral Commission (NEC) said they are deploying new voter ID cards as part of their preparation of the up-coming presidential elections this year on Tuesday.

In a press conference held at their headquarters, NEC spokesman, Mr Ahmed Hirsi Geele said after consultations with the three political parties and donors, it has been agreed that there was need for new ID cards to make the election a lot smother.

“I want to tell the public, the reason we have changed the previous cards is due to problems and abuses that resulted from the previous registrations. After analysing it we have decided to completely abandon the old ones in order to achieve an election that’s free and fair,” he said.

NEC said the new cards will be more secure and strict than the current ones and admitted that there were sham registrations including the use of children, duplications, foreigners and other frauds. “We now have the funds to issue the new cards. Once we clean up the database, eliminate all fraud registrations and confirm the lists to legitimate voters, we will hand out the new cards,” Mr. Ahmed said.

In order to proceed with this process the spokesman said, they have contracted a South African company that specialises in biometrics and smart card technologies after a long bidding process. Mr Ahmed added, although all the companies including the local ones were competent, Face Technologies, fulfilled all of their requirements.

He confirmed there will not be new voter registrations however they will sort out the database and provide accurate information and legitimate voters and the use of biometric will eliminate duplications.
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He also cited they have completed forming the regional electoral committees in a process that took about three weeks. Mr Ahmed added that the formation was successful and they are now ready to resume their work as soon as possible.
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“Some people were complaining but we are doing our best” said the chairman. “There are always complaints and you always do mistakes when you are doing something but I believe we made the minimum” he concluded.

Mr Ahmed blamed the problem of the double registration on the Somaliland citizens emphasising that the system supported nations with much larger population than Somaliland. He urged the people to voluntarily return their cold cards as well as any extra cards to the Commission’s office before they issue the new smart cards.

Speaking about the date of the coming elections, the spokesman  said he is not going to mention any date for now until they make sure the process is complete and strong foundation is established for free election.

“I’m not saying any date now but I assure you the elections will be held within this year, 2010. That is all i can say,” Ahmed said.

He urged the public not to abuse the system and to work with the NEC.

NEC is an independent body that was established in 2001 and consists of seven members who are nominated by different institutions; three members are nominated by the president, two by the House of Elders and two more by the opposition parties.

About a million people are believed to have registered in the October 2009 voter registration that included the use of bio-metric technology.

Somaliland, with a population of 3.5 million has developed a well-functioning democracy, with free and fair elections being held regularly, according to international observers. However, the last presidential election has been postponed a number of times due to disputes and abuse of the voting system and now no date has been set yet.

The election is funded by the governments of Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the United States.

LISTEN TO AHMED (Somali):
[audio:nec03.mp3]

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If you are in Somaliland, tell us what were some of the problems you have encountered with during the registration process and you think the NEC needs to improve on. Do you think the new smart cards will work?

Somalilandpress, 10 March 2010

Is East Africa the Next Frontier for Oil?

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NAIROBI (Somalilandpress) — According to local lore, Portuguese travelers as far back as the late 19th century suspected oil might lie beneath parts of East Africa after noticing a thick, greasy sediment wash up on the shores of Mozambique. More interested in finding cheap labor, though, the explorers had little use for oil.

A century on, it turns out the Portuguese were right. Seismic tests over the past 50 years have shown countries up the coast of East Africa have natural gas in abundance. Early data compiled by industry consultants also suggest the presence of massive offshore oil deposits. Those finds have spurred oil explorers to start dropping more wells in East Africa, a region they say is an oil and gas bonanza just waiting to be tapped, one of the last great frontiers in the hunt for hydrocarbons. “I and a lot of other people in oil companies working in East Africa have long been convinced that it’s the last real high-potential area in the world that hasn’t been fully explored,” says Richard Schmitt, chief executive of Black Marlin Energy, a Dubai-based East Africa oil prospector. “It seems for a variety of geopolitical reasons more than anything else it’s been neglected over the last several decades. Most of those barriers are currently being lowered or [have] disappeared altogether.” (See pictures of oil in Africa.)

Few have wanted to pay the cost of searching for oil or gas in the region, or risk drilling wells in volatile countries such as Uganda, Mozambique or Somalia. But better technology, lower risk in some of the countries and higher oil prices in recent years have changed the equation. Wildcatters and majors such as Italy’s Eni, Petronas of Malaysia and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) have all moved on East Africa in the past few years.
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They’re hoping to mimic London-based Tullow Oil, which discovered some 2 billion barrels of oil in landlocked Uganda over the past four years. Last month, Texas-based oil company Anadarko Petroleum Corp. announced it had just tapped a giant reservoir of natural gas off the coast of Mozambique. “Anadarko’s find went off like a bomb here in Houston,” said Robert Bertagne, a Texas-based oil wildcatter. “It was, ‘Wow, we are finding large quantities of gas and that means we have hydrocarbons in the area.’ Once you have a discovery, more people are going to go in there.” (See pictures of oil fires.)

Much of East Africa’s hopes are focused on a fault line running from Somalia to Madagascar known as the Davie Fracture Zone. It’s there that Bertagne’s analysis — using Cold War–era sea-floor mapping originally intended for use by Soviet submarines — has prompted speculation about oil deposits rivaling those of the North Sea or the Middle East. There’s still a lot that’s just unknown: North Africa has seen 20,000 wells sunk over the past few decades, while drillers have sunk 14,000 wells in and off West Africa. In East Africa the total is about 500 wells.

That’s changing. Kenya issued six exploration licenses between 2000 and 2002 and two more to CNOOC in the next four years. In 2008 and 2009, it issued 18 new licenses. “Despite a long history of unsuccessful exploration, the oil companies are investing in Kenya,” says Mwendia Nyaga, managing director of the National Oil Corporation of Kenya. “The question is not if any hydrocarbon deposits exist, but where they are.” (Read “Borders of Sudan’s Oil-Rich Region Shrink.”)

It doesn’t help that the region is so geologically complex — with lots of fractures, and offshore oil deposits likely deep underground. Or that many of the countries likely to have deposits have seen wars and unrest. Somalia remains a no-go zone and Ethiopia’s eastern Ogaden region is beset by a violent rebel insurgency, While Mozambique’s own civil war may have ended in 1992, the country has taken years to fully recover. (See pictures of Somalia’s pirates.)

Explorers salivate in particular at the prospect of peace in Somalia. Oil reserves in the blocks licensed to two small oil companies, Africa Oil and Range Resources, could contain as much as 10 billion barrels. Nobody is talking about producing oil in Somalia any time soon, but analysts say oil companies are also less likely to be intimidated by political risk than they were in the past. They point to oil production in south Sudan, where a 20-year civil war that ended in 2005 threatens to reignite. “Definitely, there is a sense that there are discoveries to be had,” says Aly-Khan Satchu, a financial adviser who runs Rich Management in Nairobi. “The reality and the perception of risk are narrowing.”

Read “The Suffering Of Somalia.”

See the top 10 everything of 2009.

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