somali_piratesSomalia is in the news, once again, for all the wrong reasons. And thanks to the ‘Pirates of the Horn of Africa’ there is a flurry of activity everywhere. Take international maritime powers for instance. They are busy drawing plans to beef up security in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean to ward off further attempts of commercial ships getting hijacked despite their heavy presence. Or let’s talk about security analysts or marine experts who are coming up with ideas ranging from invading Somalia to surgical strikes on pirate hideouts to effective blockade of Somali waters. Will these measures work?

Genius Brains, Dim Solutions

I see where these solutions are coming from. The brightest minds are busy pondering the solutions on how to resolve the situation and make the international waterways safe once again for the trade. Everyone is thinking according to their trade and expertise. But let’s, for an instance, consider ourselves as an ordinary Somali and try to understand the problems they are facing during the last two decades. Then only we will be in a position to suggest the solution to the problems faced by them.

Imagine you are living in either Mogadishu or any other far flung village of Somalia. You’ll discover yourself surrounded by lawlessness, poverty, unemployment, lack of basic necessities of life and absence of any governmental structure. The last time an administration ever functioned in the country was in 1991. Since then the country is in limbo and any decent effort to return to normalcy has been blocked by internal and external powers.

Bouts of Foreign Interference

After gaining its independence from Britain and Italy in 1960, Somali leadership very soon drifted towards the Communist bloc as General Siad Barre seized control after a coup d’état. Staying relatively stable during his 22 years in power, the country plunged into chaos after a foreign engineered military coup ousted General Barre. As a result, the whole country destabilized and a civil war broke out.

Many Somalis, despite decades of mismanagement, give credit to General Barre for trying to forge unity among Somali people and uproot the centuries old clan system. The deep divisions resurfaced within no time as soon as the tribal warlords drove him out of power. Backed by Somalia’s arch rival, Ethiopia, General Farah Aidid, Abdirahman Toor and Ali Mahdi Muhammad combined to remove President General Siad Barre though later turning guns on each other.

The worsening situation got completely out of control when foreign troops under the mandate of United Nations stepped on Somali soil. American forces launched Operation Restore Hope in order to maintain the law and order situation in Somalia and coordinate UN humanitarian aid distribution program. But things did not go according to the plan. Instead of being welcomed as saviors, American troops along with other coalition forces were seen as invaders prompting clashes with vying Somali factions.

In a bloody clash with Somali insurgents, 19 US servicemen lost their lives, along with several other casualties suffered by UN forces. As a result, American troops were immediately withdrawn from the country, severely affecting the aid supply and renewing the civil war that paused when UN-backed forces arrived in Somalia. On 12 July 1993, US forces attacked a safe house in Mogadishu that killed 73 tribal elders taking part in a meeting became the turning point of the conflict. According to critics of the UN mission, Somalis since that day lost their faith in UN troops and unified under a single banner to oust them.

No Chance for Peace

Amidst decades of utter chaos, Somalia had its chances of peace and did see glimmer of hopes for stability. But thanks to foreign intervention the forces that tried to end factional warfare and curb warlordism were attacked and their attempts sabotaged.

The Union of Islamic Courts, despite allegations that they sought to impose their form of Sharia in the country, defeated and neutralized the warring militias in Mogadishu. As a result, peace returned to the streets of Mogadishu for the first time since 1991. Shops reopened, people began returning to their homes and the port began functioning thanks to the security provided under the UIC controlled areas.

However, peace was never given a chance to establish itself. The United States of America, along with other western and regional powers intervened in Somali affairs only to push the country into further chaos. Citing ‘fears’ that the group is aligned to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda, warlords opposed to the UIC were heavily armed and encouraged to overthrow the Islamist administration in Mogadishu. When the warlords couldn’t deliver a breakthrough on their own, Ethiopia was asked to invade the country to overthrow the UIC regime. As a result, heavy fighting and bloodshed erupted on the streets of Mogadishu as chaos made a strong comeback.

Accused of using heavy-handed tactics and killing ordinary civilians, the extremely unpopular Ethiopian occupation forces left Somalia by the end of 2008.

Birth of the Pirates

So, what in your opinion a catalogue of intervention and chaos invites to a society? Somalia got civil war, famine, poverty, corruption and – on top of it – piracy as a result of two decades of conflict.

Virtually non-existent till 1991, piracy became one of the major problems posed by Somalia. Pirates carried out low profile attacks on shipping vessels and sought ransom. Their activities came to an immediate halt when UIC militia captured Mogadishu and clamped down on their activities. The pirates made a powerful comeback soon after the overthrow of UIC militia by Ethiopia-backed Somali groups in 2007. According to UNOSAT, more and other shipping agencies, than 300 hijackings have taken place since 2007.

Why ?

Taking into consideration the UN estimate that more than 80% of the population earning less than $2 a day, let us consider the options Somalis are left with to earn their living.

Agriculture – More than 2/3 of Somali workforce is employed in the agricultural sector. Continuous droughts and famines during the last two decades have wiped out agricultural lands. Low rainfall during 2008 compounded the misery of the people. It led to acute shortages of food and pasture, forcing thousands of people to migrate internally in search of water.

Fishing – Given the 3,000 km long coastline with a 200 nautical mile of territorial sea boundary, fishing seems to be the best natural option for Somalis, especially when majority of the population lives in the towns located on the coast. But it comes with its own cost.