Somalia History

War, Famine and instability has haunted the Federal Republic of Somalia for many decades. The small country has faced unbelievable trials and tribulation, but has always remain resilient throughout their entire uphill battle for freedom and basic survival. Our future of tomorrow has been trained to handle high level machine guns, and education being on the back burner. Due to the high level of corrupt and non-guidance, Somali continues to only take baby steps towards stabilization.

Background:

Somalia has been frowned upon as one of the most dangerous place to live in the world due to all the turmoil through war and inhumane behavior that has haunt the country. Somalia is haunted by corrupt leaders and clans of terrorist that impose harsh reality for the native people. Many other countries around the world has tried their best to support the Somali community, but due to the fear of retaliation it’s extremely hard to follow through on assisting the people properly.  Over the past twenty one years from 1969 to 1990, Somali was under the ruling of president and military dictator Siad Barre. During the 1980s, the Somali armed forces targeted innocent civilians in the northwest which claimed over five thousand innocent lives. Barre regime developed a calculated policy using clan sentiment to exacerbate competition, conflict, and grudges among Somalis. Brutal punishments was imposed on civilians suspected of harboring sympathies for one or the other armed opposition fronts.  Political violence targeted civilians on the basis of their clan background, which is a common practice in Somalia during the military regime of Barre. The year of 1991 when Siad Barre power started to dwindle Somalia was plunged into a chaotic internal conflict from which it has never recovered. Today, Somalia is universally cited as a 'failed state.' According to many reports by magazines and the media, Somalia key issues can be linked to three reasons why Somali continues to be in an uproar with no positive ending in sight. Colonialism, Cold War international relations, and the Siad Barre dictatorship has left Somalia in a tailspin. Laitin, D. & Samatar, S.S. (1987).

In 1960 the North and the South merged to form the independent United Republic of Somalia, which was a huge step from being divided by the ruling of the British and the Italians. The attack on Ethiopia marked a major turnaround for Somalia civilians. Italy’s attack on Ethiopia forced the nation to unite and for the first time in forty years all the Somali clans that had been arbitrarily separated by the Anglo-Italo-Ethiopian boundaries was illuminated.

History:

Somali is located on the “Horn of Africa” which started a completion between the British, French and Italians. The three European nations were competing to control various territories in Somalia for their personal gain. European interest in Somalia develops after 1839, when the British begin to use Aden, on the south coast of Arabia, as a coaling station for ships on the route to India. In 1939, the British took control of Aden, which they renamed Somaliland. Italy followed Britain’s lead in 1889 and took control of two protectorates in northern Somalia and along the southern coast, which the renamed Italian Somaliland. The fight against British rule was led by Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan in the early 1900’s, but to no avail the Somalia’s were defeated. The Somali’s community continues to fight for their independence from the British because they wanted to govern themselves (Britton, 2013). Somalia population is estimated to be around 9.3 million civilians in 2012.

Clan Cleansing Period:

During the “Clan Cleansing Period” the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu was dismantled. As the violence continued across the south, south central and central Somalia, productive activities was impossible and conflict arose over the control of food, causing famine in 1992. International heavy weights the united States and United Nation intervened in order to assist Somalia with hope. Somalia politicians is putting their best foot forward to rebuild a central government and political entrepreneurs, warlords continue to create problems over whom is the rightful owner of certain resources. Many believe that violence. Greed, and other forms of unethical, unjust, irreligious and “un-Somali” behavior have gone unchecked and that’s why these behaviors continue to resurface (Cilmi, 1990).

Geography:

During late 1800’s to 1960 conflict arose between Somalia and Kenya regarding who control which portion of the border, which led to even more border discussion among Kenya – Ethiopia, Kenya- Sudan and Kenya- Uganda as well (Thompson, 2015). The north-eastern horn in Africa is considered to be the most dangerous corner, where terrorism thrives. Somalia is overlooking the passageway between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The peninsula between Somalia and Yemen, is one of the most important trade routes in the world. Somalia is the gateway to the Suez Canal, which connects Europe and North America with Asia and East Africa. Somalia is a unique location that accounts for approximately four percent of the world’s daily crude oil supply.