In this photo taken Thursday Feb, 14, 2013. Ilwad Elman one of the organizers of TEDx Mogadishu, speaks at the world Aids event in Mogadishu, Somalia. Ilwad Elman, who helps run the Elman Peace and Human Rights Center in Mogadishu, spoke at last year’s TEDx event and is a co-organizer this year. Her goal is to cultivate and celebrate social entrepreneurship in Mogadishu by allowing the country’s leading thinkers to reach a wider audience. She said last year’s event inspired Somalis to return to Mogadishu to open businesses. The short talks by artists and intellectuals at events known as TEDx have been held 7,500 times in more than 150 countries, but there may not be an event more challenging or dangerous as the TEDx talk being held in Mogadishu this Saturday. Then again, there may be no city in the world that needs its smartest and strongest voices heard as much as Somaliaís capital, which is clawing its way forward to move beyond its bombs-and-bullets past. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
The short talks by artists and intellectuals at events known as TEDx have been held 7,500 times in more than 150 countries, but there may not be an event more challenging or dangerous as the TEDx talk being held in Mogadishu this Saturday.
Then again, there may be no city in the world that needs its smartest and strongest voices heard as much as Somalia’s capital, which is clawing its way forward to move beyond its bombs-and-bullets past.
Baghdad and post-conflict Tripoli, Libya have each hosted recent TEDx talks. But Mogadishu is probably the most challenging place for the talks, according to Nate Mook, the co-organizer of Saturday’s event.
Originally the second TEDx talk in Mogadishu was to be held in June. But that month al-Shabab rebels attacked a United Nations office center, killing eight U.N. employees and five Somali civilians, so the event was rescheduled.
TED’s theme is “Ideas Worth Spreading.” The main yearly TED event attracts high-power names like Bill Clinton and Bill Gates. TEDx events are smaller, community-based events held around the world to showcase local ideas and talent.
Saturday’s lineup will showcase Somalia’s budding stars. Iman Elman is a 21-year-old commander in Somalia’s military in charge of a battalion of nearly 100 men. Mohamed Mahamoud Sheik, a 25-year-old entrepreneur, noticed in 2012 that Somali men were hand-carrying their suits on flights from Mogadishu to Nairobi. Why? Somali’s capital had no dry-cleaning services, so he started one.
Security will be “the No. 1 priority of the day,” Mook said. Audience members at Saturday’s talk will pass through security checkpoints and be individually searched, and they may not even know yet where it will take place.
“We don’t announce where the event is taking place. We are very particular about the invitations that we give out,” said Mook, a 31-year-old from Washington, D.C.
Arranging Internet access to beam the English and Somali language talks to the world has been a big challenge. But Mook helped with Mogadishu’s first TEDx talks last year, and says he is much more excited about this year’s event.
“The amount of interest and support for Somalis all over the world to hear about these positive stories has been immense. In many ways TEDx provided, it opened a door to a place that was inaccessible for a really, really long time,” Mook said.
Somalia fell into anarchy in 1991 when warlords ousted the president. Al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremists from the group al-Shabab controlled the capital from 2006 until they were pushed out by African Union and Somali forces in 2011. That military success heralded a blossoming of the sports, business and arts scene in Mogadishu, although deadly al-Shabab attacks still take place.
Ahmed Jama, a British-Somali chef, spoke last year and will speak again this year. He said last year’s talk “connected me to the world.” The talk won him an invitation to a cooking event in Denmark.
“Despite challenges, it’s a sign of peace and inspiration. It’s helping Mogadishu to show its positive side of life and development. They bring in prominent and inspiring speakers who draw positive attention to Mogadishu,” Jama said.
Ilwad Elman, who helps run the Elman Peace and Human Rights Center in Mogadishu, spoke at last year’s TEDx event and is a co-organizer this year. Her goal is to cultivate and celebrate social entrepreneurship in Mogadishu by allowing the country’s leading thinkers to reach a wider audience. She said last year’s event inspired Somalis to return to Mogadishu to open businesses.
“Despite the known risks associated with organizing a globally live-streamed event of this caliber,” said Elman, “I believe it’s most worth it because of the real potential that our viewers will act on the ideas shared with them this year, just as they did last year, and ultimately contribute to eradicating current risks we face in organizing this event.”
Idil Timayare and her six children at home in the North End. She holds daughter, Samira, and is surrounded by sons (from left) Salman, Zakariya, Soyan, Harrun and Ahmed (kneeling).
By:Carol Sanders
Misfortune follows the North End single mom with six kids everywhere.
When she was nine, her family fled mayhem in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. They took shelter in a refugee camp in Kenya that locals torched, scattering many families, including hers. At 15, she was alone and fled to South Africa, already flooded with unwelcome refugees. By the time she was 28, she was a single parent of six and driven out again by locals who beat her husband until he fled and burned down their small shop.
When Idil Timayare was reunited with her parents in Winnipeg in 2011, her troubles didn’t end. She was run down by a cab this past winter, days before a crucial refugee hearing. As luck would have it, the Immigration and Refugee Board member hearing her case had a track record of rejection — saying no to 180 refugee claimants out of 210 cases heard in 2011. With a busted foot and fuzzy on prescription painkillers, 31-year-old Timayare testified on behalf of herself and her six young kids and lost.
Now, she and her children, who’ve been attending school here, have no status in Canada and their future is uncertain. They scrape by with help from food banks and social assistance in a dark, stifling hot-box they rent for $1,000 a month in the North End.
“I have hope,” said Timayare, who’s receiving physiotherapy, coping with pain and looking forward to returning to English classes in the fall. “My kids like it here. They enjoy school.”
Their rent is high and their house isn’t great, but they have good neighbours, she said.
Her five sons under 12 have been going to school here for the last two years. The oldest, Zakariya, who’s turning 12 in September, said he’s not sure what he wants to be when he grows up. His younger siblings practically bounce off the walls of their cramped home and he feels the pressure of his station in the family.
“It’s annoying,” said the Canadian-sounding adolescent.
Four-year-old Samira is nervous about starting nursery school but excited about her shiny, pink shoes.
“I can’t go back,” said her mom. She fears her daughter would have to undergo female circumcision.
‘I can’t go back… Somalia is not safe’
“I don’t want her circumcised. Somalia is not safe.”
If they’re sent back to South Africa, they have no means of support and, as outsiders, will once again face xenophobic attacks, she said.
Timayare’s parents, who were granted refugee status and assisted by the Canadian government to come here more than a decade ago, are now Canadian citizens. They live a short drive from their daughter and grandkids and planted a big vegetable garden in their backyard.
Samira spends a lot of time at her grandparents’ apartment, where her grandmother, Amina, dotes on her and gives her strawberry ice cream in a red plastic cup.
Grandfather Ahmed Timayare said they help out as much as they can.
On Feb. 4, he was waiting downtown in the car with his grandkids for his daughter, who’d gone to a program for newcomers. They waited three hours and she didn’t show up. He didn’t know a cab hit her and she’d been taken to hospital by ambulance. She was stabilized and a patient lent her a cellphone to call her dad.
Days later, she hobbled into court for her refugee hearing, on crutches with a cast on her leg and still in rough shape. She wanted to get it over with.
Her father stayed in the hall with her kids while Timayare went ahead with the proceedings. She said she can’t remember what happened, but she knows she lost.
Human rights lawyer David Matas said she shouldn’t have testified in such rough shape — especially before a board member with one of the highest refugee rejection rates. Matas asked the Federal Court to review the refugee board decision, but it refused.
Now her only hope is to apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada to stay on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, Matas said. The application fee for the family of seven is $1,400 — what they have to live on every month, said Timayare.
If her luck doesn’t change soon, the Canada Border Services Agency said she and her kids will be sent back to the place they fled.
United Nations representative in Somalia has endorsed the agreement signed between the government and the Interim Jubba Administration that has the task of defining the terms of governance in three southern regions.
Describing as a significant step at restoring peace in Somalia, regional and international security, Nicholas Kay said: “This agreement unlocks the door to a better future for Somalia.”
The agreement signed in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, by Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir, on behalf of the government and leader of the interim government and Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islaan Madobe for the Jubba Administration, established the modalities of administration and governance in the Lower Jubba, Middle Jubba and Gedo regions.
According to Kay, all parties gained from this agreement, which was why he urged them to implement it in good faith.
“Any action to undermine it will have a negative impact on the people of Somalia and on the international community’s efforts to support peace and stability. I shall follow closely the implementation of the agreement,” Kay who also heads the UN Mission to Somalia (UNISOM), noted.
He observed that the people of Jubba and of all Somalia will be looking to the new interim administration to deliver peace, security and public services.
“This is an interim agreement and gives the administration an opportunity to govern in the interests of all, including creating the conditions for the safe return of those displaced by the recent fighting in Kismaayo and ending the illegal export on charcoal.”
UNSOM is mandated to support peace-building and state-building as well as the Federal Government’s peace and reconciliation process. Kay said the Mission will also establish a presence in Kismaayo to support the new administration with its efforts.
Somalia has been torn asunder by factional fighting since 1991 but has recently made progress towards stability. In 2011, Islamist Al-Shabaab insurgents retreated from Mogadishu and last year new Government institutions emerged, as the country ended a transitional phase toward setting up a permanent, democratically-elected government.
As Somalia celebrates the first anniversary of the end of the transition, there is concern about the perceived slowdown in the fight against the Islamic militant group Al-Shabaab.
Andrews Atta-Asamoah has just returned from a visit to Somalia and says the security situation in Mogadishu is still precarious, even though a lot of progress has been made. He says the decision by the humanitarian organisation Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) to pull out of Somalia after 22 years in the country could be seen as a coded message to those who are considered to be too lenient towards Al-Shabaab.
In the last few months since the inauguration of the new government in August last year, there has been cautious optimism that peace is now a real possibility in Somalia. Was it safe to visit Mogadishu?
For many Somalis travelling on their own it is much safer than in the past. But for foreigners and those attached to the United Nations (UN) and the African Union Mission for Somalia (AMISOM) there are a number of critical no-go areas.
AMISOM is largely controlling four sectors in Somalia, including Mogadishu, where it has succeeded in creating a huge buffer around the airport, known as the Mogadishu International Airport (MIA). Within this secure area you find a number of UN agencies, diplomatic missions like the British embassy and other international actors. If you need to go out of this well-protected area, you often need to go with a convoy of the African Union (AU).
It sounds as if the foreign military force in Somalia could be perceived as an ‘occupying force’, huddled around the airport, a bit like the US forces in Iraq. Is this true?
One has to understand the context. Everywhere you find a UN presence; there are very strict security measures. The MIA is the most protected area because of the UN and AMISOM presence, although AMISOM is also deployed in strategic parts of town. It protects the university and sport stadium. But even its convoys get attacked from time to time.
Generally, though, I think the security situation has improved greatly from what we know Somalia used to be, but it is still very far from what one would expect in a stable country in Africa.
Does that mean the 18 000 soldiers of AMISOM are not as effective on the ground as one is led to believe?
In a place like Mogadishu, for instance, AMISOM was able to deliver 80% of Mogadishu to the government. However, we still see significant attacks from Al-Shabaab, largely due to the guerrilla tactics of the group. When you move out of the city you find less and less government presence, especially in the south-central parts of the country.
MSF has announced its withdrawal from the country after 22 years in Somalia. Although 16 MSF staff members have been killed in Somalia, this doesn’t come after any specific attack, so why withdraw now?
It’s very interesting because MSF has been in Somalia even at times where there was no government. From the official communication from the president of MSF, one gets a sense he is blaming the civilian leadership for condoning some of the attacks on MSF staff. I think it is a coded message that speaks to a perception in the larger Somali community that there has been a slowdown in the fight against Al-Shabaab. There is also a perception that some of the leadership in the current government do not seem to have the appetite for sustaining the tough military onslaught against Al-Shabaab.
Why would there be a slowdown?
Some people believe the slowdown is because there are individuals in the current government belonging to the Damul Jadid (‘new blood’) faction of Al-Islah, and who are generally lenient towards Al-Shabaab. Even if these individuals are not necessarily supporting them in any way, there is a sense that there is a lack of willingness to directly continue confronting them and to continue to use the military approach.
When the president was elected last year, he also decided to change many leaders in key positions, including those leading the onslaught against Al-Shabaab in the security sector. This ended up slowing down the whole fight against Al-Shabaab, which could be an unintended consequence of something the government was doing in good faith. Another important aspect is that AMISOM is overstretched.
What does this mean in terms of the humanitarian situation on the ground in Somalia?
It is going to be very difficult for any other humanitarian organisation to step in and take over MSF’s role. There are other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) present in Somalia, but they also have challenges. The NGOs from Turkey were perceived to be very neutral and they made a point of not being identified with the UN and being only in Somalia to help their Islamic brothers and sisters, but we recently saw a hit on a Turkish convoy and an attack on the Turkish embassy, so it is becoming more difficult for them as well.
The federal government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was established on 20 August 2012. One year on, things are not looking that good for the government.
The withdrawal of MSF and the announcement by the Puntland government that it is cutting ties with the government are signs that all is not well. It puts a lot of pressure on Mogadishu to do things differently or else it is going to be very difficult for it to sustain its credibility in the eyes of the people for four years.
There has also been strife between the central government and the local leaders in Kismayo.
The new constitution provides for a federal system, but there is disagreement over who should drive the formation of these federal states, the central government or the local administration.
Clearly, the government also finds itself in the context of being constantly in the middle of a push from the international community on the one hand, and a local pull on the other. In its bid to attract international attention and to reposition the country, it appears to be doing more internationally, instead of doing things to please its local constituency.
What about the promises of the new government to root out corruption?
One year on, corruption persists. If you look at the recent report by the UN-monitoring group, there are indications that disbursements from the Central Bank still pass through individual hands and not through any specific government institutions. One gets a sense that it is not necessarily corruption but a lack of strong institutions on the ground. Some of these things should have changed by now.
Piracy has drastically been reduced off the Somali coast. Are some of the punitive measures, like those against money laundering, finally working?
All these responses are paying off, including the fact that ships now have their own security and are avoiding hotspots. One also has to give credit to the response of the Puntland government in trying to dismantle some of those groups who were behind the piracy, through imprisonment and legal responses.
The underlying issue is that piracy is a fall-out of worsening insecurity in Somalia, so any time the security situation improves, you find that also reflected in the piracy situation.
What are the key issues that will determine whether the present government succeeds?
The first issue would be the strength of the government and its ability to project itself as doing something for the people and being a credible partner to the international community.
Secondly, is the ability of the government and the international community, particularly AMISOM, to deal with Al-Shabaab and stretch beyond the areas they are holding. AMISOM is overstretched and it cannot go beyond the territories it has liberated, so it is now on the defensive and if you do this you become more and more vulnerable.
Finally, the question will be whether the international forces in Somalia can position themselves to win the hearts and minds of the people. If you’re on the ground and you’re not really making a huge impact, over time you will start to be seen as an occupying force.
1969: The sunrise of Siyad Bare dictatorship, the sunset of the 9 year old Somalia post-colonial democracy and the beginning of terrible atrocities, brutalities, and marginalization of the north ultimately crafted the kicking out of the late oppressor Mohamed Siyad Bare who fled and died in Lagos Nigeria at the age of 74 in 1995, and the demise of the autocratic rule of Somalia in 1991. This is the time Somaliland walked out the union and found the password for positive peace, genuine democracy and sustainable development, corresponding to the era that Somalia lost its password of peace which still at large for the time being after more than two decades.
The Somaliland republic was made from scratch without external backing from the international community, but very fortunately employed their local inherited traditions, which have in due course erected extremely strong democratic state institutions. And despite of all those admirable and outstanding endeavors from local people, Somaliland still lacks diplomatic recognition for more than two straight decades, which is outrageously wrong and a mockery to both Africa and other international community. And Somaliland believes, that in the immediate future the cost of more than two decades of diplomatic isolation from the international community will be charged in future international courts.
Conversely, except for the autonomous region of Puntland that has a relative peace, the south and central Somalia have been swallowed up by all forms of conflicts and south and central Somalia are still in a deep coma. After that official collapse of the Somali Republic in 1991, the dead nation—Somalia—started walking on the horn of Africa despite many countries imagine that he is breathing and alive but in 22 plus years nothing has changed for the reason that he is the father of ten bad children—anarchy, violence, warlords, famine, rape, civil disorder, brutality, crimes, human right abusers and tribalism. The dead man along with his ten bad children has been walking and fighting in the Horn of Africa, and has killed thousands and turned millions into refugees outside Somalia and IDPs inside the country.
The dead man walking refused to take a proved template of success for peace and development from his peaceful brother Somaliland. This dead man believes that Somaliland is part of his family despite Somaliland leaving the family in 1991 and then Somaliland delivered ten fruitful children who are: unity, peace, free education, economic growth, healthy population, coherent military, genuine democracy, sustainable development, effective judiciary system and booming business. The dead man walking in the Horn of Africa has forgotten that the unification of British Somaliland with Italian Somalia formed the Somali Republic in 1960 and after the official demise of the Somali Republic 1991, Somaliland stopped being part of the union and In 22 straight years the Republic of Somaliland has tried and failed to convince the dead man walking. Furthermore, unfortunately, the international community has never tried to convince this dead man walking in the Horn by telling him that he is the father of another two destructive children called terrorism and piracy which composes his home a hotbed of all bad tensions in the region that brought his home more timid and terrified to survive in.
After the unification, from 1960 to 1969 the republic exercised fresh democracy. And afterward, in 1969 the nine year old Somali democracy came to an end after Siyad Bare’s overthrow of the elected civilian government in a bloodless coup; Barre was named the new president of the country, claiming that the civilian government neglected the Somali republic. In 1979 the Somali constitution was crafted and guaranteed that democratic elections would be held. The first election was in 1986 and Siyad ran in an uncontested election in which he claimed that he won 99.9% of the votes.
Siyad Bare established an oppressive military dictatorship that reigned brutally for 21 years from 1969 to 1991 and he was ousted in 1991 due to his torture, cruelty, crimes, corruption, nepotism, tribalism, rape and also his military and economic misadventure. Committed inconceivable crimes and atrocities against many tribes in the north— according to many different sources almost 70,000 people in the north mostly women and children were calculatedly killed and hundreds were missed through unexplained disappearances —that international human rights organizations fully accounted the worst human rights abuse in the world following Somaliland showed mountains of primary evidences to the international community particularly when A Peruvian Forensic anthropology team came to Somaliland in 2012; revealed details of widespread atrocities that continued from 1970 to 1991. Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF) is a non-profit organization that seeks to contribute to the consolidation of peace and democracy where grave human rights violations have taken place by working alongside the families of the disappeared to find their loved ones. They came to Somaliland and revealed details of atrocities including number of mass graves across Somaliland. For instance, they found 200 mass graves in Hargeisa , 12 mass graves in Berbera, 8 mass graves in Buroa, 1 mass grave in Sheikh , 2 mass graves in Eragavo and 1 mass grave in Arabsio, and beyond reasonable doubt, this is an outstanding milestone case for Somaliland`s inquiry of brutalities .
The Thriving peace in Somaliland encourages suitable environment for Development and Investment
Therefore, Somaliland believes that the Somali republic officially departed in 1991 after Somaliland officially declared it was leaving the union. Somaliland told both the dead man walking and the international community that Somaliland people underwent severe atrocities from the union for 40 years and the Somaliland people were ruled by a constitution they overwhelmingly rejected in the referendum of the constitution in 1961—that means the union had not been legalized at that time. Opportunely as the 1960s governments were democratic; the Somaliland people saw a light at the end of the tunnel but the situation got worse when Siyad Bare went on to take power and crafted domineering military government and later in 1970 formed what he called scientific socialism from the Soviet Union. Siyad Bare was the father of all forms conflicts and great grandfather of all the ten horrific children of Somalia that currently placed were Somalia is in today. The dead man walking along with his ten horrific children did not only commit crimes against the people in the north but in the south they indiscriminately eradicated all innocent residents that hailed from some of the tribes in the north—for instance, the Jazeera Massacre in the outskirt of Mogadishu on the night of July 1989 where 47 innocent civilian mostly students and business men who remained there were lined up and then shot dead within two minutes on account of their clan but very fortunately only Mr. Omar Isse Mire was survived after he pretended to be dead. In January 2012 Mr Mire held a press conference in Hargeisa, and he explained how the government troops took them from their homes to Jazeera beach.
Despite of all that above realities on the ground, the dead man walking on the horn of Africa refused to accept that Somaliland can withdraw from the union, and refused to accept that people in the north were intentionally tortured, raped, bombed their cities, fled, killed civilian fleeing and executed by the military of the late authoritarian Siyad Bare from the government. This dead man walking refused to accept the mass graves in Somaliland in which thousands of innocent people were buried—many of them were alive during the military was putting them under the ground. Despite the dead man walking rejected the atrocities, luckily, in 2012, one of the perpetrators of that case who was vice president and defense minister from 1980 to 1986, and prime minister from 1987 to 1990 of Somalia was found guilty on 28 august 2012 in USA. Having in mind all that details of atrocities, the dead man walking in the horn of Africa strongly believes that Somaliland left from the union in 1991 has nothing to do with the actual realities on the ground but a naïve behavior from their political elites, the same as their emotional nationalism of 1960.
In my personal judgment, despite Somaliland achieving remarkable developments in many accounts, its case and seeds of diplomatic recognition has been deposited in the hands of a dead man walking andstill keeps searching its diplomatic recognition from the dead man walking, EU, UN and AU that do not reflect the geopolitical realities of 2013 but can keep searching from the East that are emerging markets like China, Japan and the like that Somaliland could buy its strategic location that can be an economic gate way of Asia to the rest of Africa. Therefore, the paradigm of Somaliland`s search for diplomatic recognition ought to be 360 degree shifted from West to East.
In closing, the dead man walking in the Horn of Africa should stop the mere rhetoric that goes to nowhere and understand in this way, as far as Somaliland people—who voted in 2001 referendum with strong 97.1 percent in favor of the constitution—are concerned, leaving the union is not emotional politics from the political elites but based on principles from the hearts and minds of the grass root ordinary Somaliland citizens.
MOGADISHU—Hundreds of Al shabab militiamen have taken control of a strategic town in Somalia’s south-western region of Bakool located near Ethiopian border without any resistance after government soldiers withdrew earlier today.
Residents of Qurac-Jome said ,the rebels after capturing the town launched house-to-house searches, looking for people suspected to be government collaborators .
Meanwhile, Tension are said to be high in the area as Somali government forces along with Ethiopian troops are said to be making preparations to retake the town from Al shabaab.
Reports said Civilians are fleeing the area for fear of their lives due to the escalation of military activities in the area.
The captured town lies on a key a route which links other towns in the region, including Hudur town which is under the control of Al-Shabaab fighters.
Since 2011, the radical group has lost a number of key areas in southern and central Somalia to Gov’t forces and AU peacekeepers.
The al-Shabab group-linked with Al Qaeda has waging five-year guerrilla warfare to topple President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, who was elected in September 10, 2012 after being chosen by the country’s federal parliament.
The Federal Government of Somalia has appealed to the United Nations Security council to lift the sanctions imposed upon Somali telecommunications magnate Mr. Ahmed Noor Jimaale.
According to a press release circulated in websites by the SFG Premier’s press officer Mr. Garad Salad Hersi, the cabinet agreed concretely on the decision to have the entrepreneur get clearance.
It quotes the Minister of Information and Transport saying that according to an investigative task force instituted by the state to delve into the allegations against Mr. Jimaale, the committee absolves him of any wrong doing in abetting terrorism.
“The committee that has absolved Mr. Jimale consisted of intelligence officers and consultants, business and associated fraternities” said Minister Abdillahi Ilmoge Hersi.
He added that they have investigated all quarters that mattered including amongst the societies of communities, eminent business and clerical circles, traditional leaders hence Mr. Jimale is “deemed spotless and absolved of the said crimes”.
The minister accounts the plea to the UN Security Council and community of nations in lifting the sanctions in the spirit of guarding the individual and material rights and reconciliatory efforts of the state.
The cabinet reached the agreement in their regular cabinet meetings held on the 21/22nd August under the PM’s chairmanship.
It is noteworthy to mention that earlier month the president of Somalia was alleged to be an Al-shabaab by veteran politician Ali Khalif Galeid (an SFG parliamentarian).
Sooner rather than later ,the internationally renowned MSF institution had to bolt out of the country, ironically, where they had braved all heat and storms for the past 21 odd years!
The UN Security Council had slapped sanctions upon Mr. Jimale hence severally renewed it, most recently, as at the first quarter of this year.
The order according to the power conferred up the UNSC committee in resolution 751 of 1992 and resolution 1907 of 2009 concerning the Horn of African state read as follows:
On 17 February 2012, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 751 (1992) and 1907 (2009) concerning Somalia and Eritrea added one individual to the list of individuals and entities subject to the travel ban, assets freeze and targeted arms embargo imposed by paragraphs 1, 3 and 7 of resolution 1844 (2008).
(12) Jim’ale, Ali Ahmed Nur
AKA: JIM’ALE, Ahmed Ali
AKA: JIM’ALE, Ahmad Nur Ali
AKA: JIM’ALE, Sheikh Ahmed
AKA: JIM’ALE, Ahmad Ali
AKA: JIM’ALE, Shaykh Ahmed Nur
Ali Ahmed Nur Jim’ale (Jim’ale) has served in leadership roles with the former Somali Council of Islamic Courts, also known as the Somali Islamic Courts Union, which was a radical-Islamist element. The most radical elements of the Somali Islamic Courts Union eventually formed the group known as Al-Shabaab. Al‑Shabaab was listed for targeted sanctions in April 2010 by the United Nations Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolutions 751 (1992) and 1907 (2009) concerning Somalia and Eritrea (the “Somalia/Eritrea Sanctions Committee”). The Committee listed Al-Shabaab for being an entity engaged in acts that directly threatens the peace, security, or stability of Somalia, including but not limited to acts that pose a threat to Somali Transitional Federal Government.
According to the 18 July 2011 report of the Somalia/Eritrea Sanctions Committee’s Monitoring Group (S/2011/433), Jim’ale is identified as a prominent businessman and figure in the Al-Shabaab charcoal-sugar trading cycle and benefitting from privileged relationships with Al-Shabaab.
Jim’ale is identified as one of Al-Shabaab’s chief financiers and is ideologically aligned with Al-Shabaab. Jim’ale has provided key funding and political support for Hassan Dahir Aweys (“Aweys”), who was also listed by the Somalia/Eritrea Sanctions Committee. Former Al-Shabaab Deputy Emir Muktar Robow reportedly continued to engage in political posturing within the Al-Shabaab organization during the mid-2011. Robow engaged Aweys and Jim’ale in an effort to advance their shared objectives and consolidate their overall stance within the context of the Al-Shabaab leadership rift.
As of fall 2007, Jim’ale established a front company in Djibouti for extremist activities called the Investors Group. The short-term goal of the group was, through the funding of extremist activities and weapons purchases, to destabilize Somaliland. The group assisted in smuggling small arms from Eritrea through Djibouti into the 5th region of Ethiopia where extremists received the shipment. As of mid-2008, Jim’ale continued to operate the Investors Group.
As of late September 2010, Jim’ale established ZAAD, a mobile-to-mobile money-transfer business and struck a deal with Al-Shabaab to make money transfers more anonymous by eliminating the need to show identification.
As of late 2009, Jim’ale had a known hawala fund where he collected zakat, which was provided to Al-Shabaab.
Jim’ale also controls Hormuud Telecommunications (“Hormuud”). Hormuud Telecommunications is a company identified as being one of the single largest financiers of Al-Shabaab, which includes large lump-sum payments to Al-Shabaab in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and these payments to Al-Shabaab were facilitated by Jim’ale.
Hormuud is operated by several former large shareholders of Al-Barakaat with Jim’ale being the largest shareholder. Hormuud Telecommunications was created by the former leaders of Al-Barakaat in an attempt to re-establish themselves as a dominant telecom provider in Somalia. In addition, Hormuud managers have provided Al-Shabaab leaders such as Hassan al-Turki, an Al-Shabaab-aligned military leader who was also listed by the Somalia/Eritrea Sanctions Committee, with personal communication networks.
In addition to providing funding, Hormuud Telecommunications has provided key material and logistical support to Al-Shabaab to include weapons, private fighters and ammunition. Spokespersons for moderate Somali groups have warned the Somali people not to use Hormuud Telecommunications Company, because Hormuud personnel listen in on conversations for Al-Shabaab. Additionally, Hormuud has cut off telephone service during Al-Shabaab attacks against pro-Somali Government forces.
Since the end of 18th century, there has been a contest for resources and economic control in southern Somalia’s Jubba Regions. The race for resources in these Regions is between various groups with competing economic interests in the area and it is has been increasingly difficult for the original inhabitants to deter these groups from grabbing their land.
Competition for resources in these areas is frankly based on excessive greed and wild imaginations a lot worse than the one on the book “Animal farm” by George Orwell in 1994 in which it emerged that all humans are equal but some are more equal than others.
Foreigners that write about the conflict in the country believe Jubba regions are the central pillar in the conflict in southern Somalia Region and the only part in the country where hostilities will linger on long after the conflict is over in the rest of the country. These areas are particularly of interests due to its richness in mineral resources which every group is trying to get its hands on; “pure gold” as some would say.
Catherine Besteman and Lee V. Cassanelli who are both Anthropologists wrote a book about title ‘The struggle for Land in Southern Somalia. The War behind the War” in which they said a solution to the fighting in Somalia will never be found as long as the issue in Kismaayo [Lower Jubba, southern Somalia] and the wider Jubba Region is not addressed.
The History of Jubba regions
History books indicate that the earliest explorers found Bajuni and Jareer [Bantu clans including Wazigua, Wamakua, Wanyasa, Wangindo, Wayao, Wasambaa, Wapokomo, Mijikenda and other Bantu clans] clans residing along the [Jubba Region] coastal lines. It is also believed that the Gaaljecel clans, Sheekhal and Cowramaleh were also among those in the area.
There has been a long running dispute over the ownership of these regions since then. After Somalia attained independence, clans from other parts of the country who were getting support from the government of the day flocked into these areas (look at Bestman’s research in 1994].
The first migrants of Jubba regions are believed to be nomadic communities from western Somalia regions in search of pasture and settled there around 1880 (research by Turton 1970, Dalleo and Little 1992) and settled in Afmadow. There has also been large scale migration from others in North Eastern Somalia regions since 1940’s through to 1960’s.
According to Peter D. Little, an Anthropologist in University of Kentucky, families from North Eastern Somalia regions migrated to Kismaayo around mid 1940’s. The inhabitants then opposed the arrival of these new families but the immigrants got support from the British colonials that ruled these areas in the period between 1940 and 1950 and ended up working for them as domestic servants.
Peter Little believes the clans that migrated into these regions shared a determination to oust the inhabitants (According to research by Rural Herders and Urban Merchants. The Cattle Trade in Southern Somalia). Jubba regions were then named Alabama because there was a conflict similar to the one in United States of America’s Alabama between the white and black races.
Goshaland or Jubbaland
If two different groups of people get into a dispute over the ownership of particular land, Archaeologists are always called in to study the architecture in the land and they try to establish whether there is any known link between the current residents and its original inhabitants. They start their investigations with the ground itself, graves, old buildings and history books written about the earlier inhabitants.
Jubba regions used to be known as Gosha. Its residents were called Reer Gosha [people from Gosha] Shambara and Mushunguli [Wazigua] (look at Menkhaus). Immigrants into these regions have in later years renamed these areas in order to legitimise their presence. Names such as Reer Wamo emerged. The original inhabitants refer the new arrivals as “Koyto”[which means the strangers or the immigrants] and “Galti” [the uncivilized people].
Clans that inhabited Jubba regions before the large scale immigration had a Suldan [a chief] named Nasib Bundo as the leader of Jubba regions back in the days when it was still referred to as Gosha. During the last century, these clans from Gosha united all their might in order to stop the large scale migration into their region.
In the 1950’s when Somali was still fighting for independence from the colonialists, traditional elders who were leaders of Reer Gosha contacted the United Nations and asked to have Jubba Regions added to Kenya (look at Menkhaus).
They were concerned that the new Somali government that was to come to into existence at some point in the near future might legitimise the ownership of their land to the new immigrants and that was exactly what happened in later years.
The people of Gosha have been subjected to a lot of suffering by successive governments in Somalia whether civilian or military. They were overshadowed by groups in power whose strategy was positioning of themselves to access of international aid. (Professor Abdi Samatar).
Civilians in Buulo Nasib spoke to Professor Menkhaus about the way the government led by Muhammad Siyad Barre used to rob them. The way they took over their land.
“A man that works for the military government came to us with documents claiming ownership of our land and we disputed it. We took our case to the officials at regional level who told us claims had no official documentation to back it up and our farms were handed over to the man with the documents who claimed to own our land,” said residents of Buulo Nasib while talking to the professor in 1986.
Others who tried to challenge and appeal against the military government’s decision to grab their land were subjected to intimidation and arrests. Some of them were even killed. Their land was used as reward for supporters of the government whose popularity was at the time dwindling. An example of this is the appointment of General Abdi Muhammad Sahardiid from Sool Region [North Eastern Somalia] as head of the Jubba Sugar Project.
Because the original inhabitants of Jubba regions were handy men, herders and farmers, they found it difficult to challenge the “nationalisation” campaign in which the government was grabbing their land. They become squatters in their own land and worked in their farms which had new owners. This gross injustice was the curse that led to the collapse of Somalia.
Reer Gosha were fleeing from Jubba regions and to Mogadishu and other part of the country at a time when there was an influx of new arrivals in their land. There were major programmes being undertaken in Jubba regions at the time among them Faanoole Rice Project, Mobambo Irrigation Project and Jubba Sugar Project.
The farms where these projects were being run belonged to the indigenous people of Jubba regions, who were not compensated for their loss. In the run up to the war, children in Jubba regions were used as labourers and prisoners were not brought before any court.
The civil war in Somalia was pleasant news for Reer Gosha because they then got the opportunity to regain control of their land until a government of national unity was formed in the country (look at Menkhaus]. Because they were not armed, it proved difficult to repossess the land and warring groups who were drooling over the resources in Jubba regions fought and continue fighting over resources.
The conflict over control of Jubba regions has become synonymous with the history of Somalia and the conflict in the country.
People from Gosha were then displaced from their homes and have had to leave the land where they lived for generations. They were badly affected by a conflict they had no role in. The rebel groups led by General Aideed, Colonel Jees, General Morgan, Colonel Goobanle and Colonel Barre Hiraale fought over control of Jubba regions which then redoubled the uncertainty and suffering of the indigenous people.
There have been reports of starvation in these areas every couple of years. Wild animals in the regions have also fled from the constant gunfire. Rotating seasons of planting and harvest which the indigenous people used such as Laba Maalisley and Laba Maylinley have been done away with. The drastic effect of the conflict has turned the region to a near desert.
Land belongs to its own people
Having lived through many years of conflict and continued chaos, the people of Gosha whose land has been grabbed are now seeking to save themselves. Whether it out of gross injustice or not, the geographical conditions in Jubba regions have now changed and the amount of rainfall in these areas has been minimal (look at the map NOAA and CRES Australia).
The United Nations concerned about the conflict in these regions organized a reconciliation conference in 1994 in which it brought together clans that are in dispute over the ownership of Jubba whether the indigenous people or those that emigrated in later years. The conference was chaired by General Muhammad Ibrahim Ahmad alias Liiqliqaato.
Whatever the outcome of these talks might have been, it was blocked by the renewed fighting which erupted while the conference was still ongoing.
It is now a calamity that some of the groups that came to attack Jubba regions are now fighting over its ownership while the rest of Somalis just watch. The only solution to the long running conflict in these regions is to have it as a land that belongs to all Somali which no particular group is allowed to claim rights of ownership given that original inhabitants do not have any power or authority over it and are termed “the land of the living dead”.
The solution to this disputed land is also a just government that rules the country in a fair manner. The unfortunate circumstance in which the government in Mbagathi allowed two clans led by Colonel Fartaag [Marehan] and Colonel Afgudud [Majerteen from Puntland] to agree among themselves over the control of Kismaayo, each terming the other as terrorists, is something I will not discuss here.
This conflict adds petrol to the fire that is already raging in these areas. When will the issue of Jubba regions which is a fundamental basis for the conflict in Somalia be resolved?
Higher education institutions have proliferated in Somalia during two decades of civil war. More than 50,000 students are attending some 50 universities across the country.
This exponential growth has happened largely without government oversight and quality control. Research and publications capacity is almost nonexistent.
Teaching capacity is low. Universities lack adequate facilities such as science and computer labs. Most rely almost exclusively on student fees to fund their operations.
If the next generation of Somali graduates are to contribute towards the reconstruction of the country and compete with returning members of the diaspora in the job market, the quality of service provided by higher education institutions must improve.
Starting from scratch
Shortly before the collapse of the state in 1991, Somalia had just one university located in Mogadishu with approximately 4000 students enrolled.
In the absence of central government, local communities, Islamic non-government organisations, and the Somali diaspora have spearheaded efforts to develop the higher education sector, even as conflict raged through the country. Between 2004 and 2012 alone, 34 higher education institutions were established.
There are now at least a dozen universities in Mogadishu and half a dozen in Hargeisa, the capital of the autonomous region of Somaliland.
Crippled by pitiful budgets, severely limited capacity, and an unenviable list of priorities, government institutions have had little choice but to allow the private sector to dominate the provision of education.
While universities and colleges may register with regional governments when they first open, there is very little further interaction with authorities. Many institutions are governed by self-established local education associations. Others claim to be entirely independent of any oversight.
There are now growing concerns that without regulation the quality of education received at Somalia’s higher education institutions may fall far short of international standards.
Somalia’s graduates may, as a result, be ill-prepared to enter employment with qualifications that are unlikely to be recognized beyond the country’s borders. An alarming number of education institutions exist without a library, without computer or printing facilities, and without scientific laboratories.
Furthermore, there is a worrying concentration on specific disciplines with approximately one third of all students enrolled in information technology (IT) and business administration courses. As the country enters a new phase of post-conflict reconstruction, there is an increasing need for qualified doctors, lawyers, engineers, and teachers.
Regional disparities
The relative peace and stability that has characterized the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, in the north-west of Somalia, since 1991 has unsurprisingly meant that the level of reconstruction of the education sector in this region is noticeably higher than other regions.
In the north-eastern region of Somalia, the semi-autonomous Puntland State has also made significant progress in rebuilding the education sector since it was formed in 1998.
Universities in Somaliland and Puntland are more likely to have been established with the support of the diaspora and international aid organizations.
In south central Somalia, where most western aid organizations had very little access in the past two decades, universities are more likely to have been established with the support of Islamic aid agencies that were operating throughout periods of conflict.
Universities in Puntland and south central Somalia also have proportionately more lecturing staff with doctorate degrees than in Somaliland.
Reasons for this are unclear though it may be related to the number of non-Somali lecturing staff in Somaliland who are more likely to search for teaching opportunities in the region having completed a Masters degree.
Developing the higher education sector in Somalia
There is a growing need for regulation of the higher education sector in Somalia. The federal government and regional administrations must develop educational policies that address quality issues and align national priorities with educational policies if graduates are to enter gainful employment and contribute towards the reconstruction of the country.
Regulation for the sake of regulation will not improve the service provided by higher education institutions. Government institutions will likely require support as they engage further with universities and colleges if they are to address growing concerns about the quality of service provided.
The donor community should work closely with the federal and regional governments to improve the capacity of government ministries involved in education as well as education institutions themselves.
The growth of the higher education sector in Somalia in the past two decades, despite widespread conflict, is remarkable. Efforts should now be diverted from expanding the number of institutions operating in the country to improving the quality of service they provide.
The Heritage Institute for Policy Studies, Somalia’s first independent think-tank, has carried out the most comprehensive survey of higher education institutions in the country’s history.
A total of 44 higher education institutions in all regions of Somalia, including Somaliland, were surveyed for the project.
The full report can be downloaded here. For more information contact info@heritageinstitute.org.
A pirated fishing vessel that could be housing dozens of hostages is once again on the move and has been spotted close to the Somali coast, the European Union’s Naval Force Somali said Thursday.
In an update, EUNAVFOR said that a Spanish Maritime Patrol Aircraft overflew the pirate controlled FV Naham 3 and observed that the vessel had moved from its sea anchorage to a Somali beach in the Galmudug region.
The Naham 3 has been under the control of armed pirates since it was hijacked in the Indian Ocean on March 26, 2012 with 28 crewmembers. She had been tethered to MV Albedo, which was pirated in November 2010, for several months. The MV Albedo sank in shallow waters on July 7 and since then FV Naham 3 has been sighted sailing up and down the coast or at anchor.
The fate of the MV Albedo’s 15 crewmembers is yet to be confirmed following her sinking, at least not from EUNAVFOR. However, a report by Reuters said that four crewmembers were killed when the vessel sank and a later report from the Secretariat for Regional Maritime Security indicated that 11 crewmembers were still alive and being held on the Naham 3, along with her 28 crewmembers.
Since then, the Naham 3 has been under close watch by EUNAVFOR patrols. Recent aerial photographs have shown pirates wielding their weapons on the upper deck of the dilapidated fishing vessel, but no hostages have been seen in or near the vessel.
The EUNAVFOR update said that it believes that negotiations are on-going between a hostage support program and the pirates to try and secure the safe release of the hostages. Only time will tell really.
Somali pirates still hold a total of 54 hostages and just one vessel (the Naham 3), according to EUNAVFOR figures.
