When observing the outcome of lawlessness, when anarchy is allowed to reach out and take a bite of the global world order, we need to understand what has created this anarchy, what has melded these precarious conditions, to rightfully prescribe a prescription for a future. We need to understand the past to comprehend and appreciate the future. And starkly, we must take responsibility for past actions that have contributed to the state of affairs today, as Somali pirates terrorize one of the world's busiest shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden. As per the Economist's report on Somalia this week, "...the outside world helped tip Somalia into chaos."
And chaos is now what the world order will need to help remedy, so the destabilizing factor does not spread in this already volatile of regions. Even more troubling, in this land of famine and complete lack of social services, is that the pirates have spawned the only viable industry; the take in ransoms dwarfs the rest of the economy in the region, and is now the only light and the end of many young, darkened, and dusty tunnels.
The descent of Somalia into anarchy was not a completely isolated, internal event; it was directly perpetrated by the outside world through negligence and outright interference, something the global powers have always excelled in. The last leader of Somalia, Siad Barre,
excelled at using the food aid of the west to prop up his corrupt and brutal dictatorship, often with the direct compliance of the West. Barre limped along in this manner for years, repressing the Somali people with sacks of grain stamped USAID. The US defended its staunch anti-communist ally in international forums, supplied him with hundreds of millions of dollars of weapons to further repress his people, and directly related in the simmering of civil society which resulted in the violent overthrown and anarchy which have reigned in the Horn of Africa ever since. All for the small price tag of a US military base and severing ties with the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War.
Michael Maren detailed the state of affairs as Somalia crumbled, in his critical work, The Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of International Aid and Charity. Maren reported extensively from Somalia during the death throes of the Barre regime, and describes the role of international aid in the propping up of dysfunctional governments.
My experience in Beledweyne during the last few months has confirmed my growing suspicion that the Somali government is deliberately taking part in the diversion of refugee food, has deliberately inflated refugee figures in order to facilitate these diversions, and is now simply humoring donors by submitting itself to the impotent inspection and monitoring of these donors.
Our involvement in the refugee relief operation is a participation in a political ploy to gain support for an unpopular military government. I do not presume to influence the policy of the American government in this regard, however I believe that the situation should be recognized for what it is. Our continued support for the refugees makes possible continued activity of the WSLF in the Ogaden, which in turn results in more refugees...
There is a festering resentment among the general population towards the expatriates and the refugees. An old man stopped me on the streets of Beledweyne and demanded to know why he was not entitled to the rations and health care just because he had decided to settle in town instead of the refugee camp.
A man with four children working in Beledweyne for 800 shillings a month (an extraordinarily high salary) could not supply his family with the amount of food the refugees receive for free.
The future for refugees in the camps holds only years of relief. The efforts of the international community should be aimed at solving the problem-getting the refugees out of the camps. "
And in its present state, "...wretched as it is, Somalia can cause a lot of trouble-on land and at sea. It is a disaster that the rest of the world cannot shrug off."
