Thursday May 24, 2018
A cargo ship at Kismayu Seaport. /RAMADHAN RAJAB
War. It opens the floodgates of violence and unlimited brutality. The aftermath is death, displacement, shattered social fabric and collapse of governance.
Somalia in Africa is one of the countries that know too well the cost of war.
A booming Somalia descended into anarchy after strongman Siad Barre was overthrown in the 1990s. The armed conflicts pitted warlords and clan militia that led to the collapse of the official state. All institutions shut down, rendering the once-vibrant country a failed state. It defied UN and US intervention.
For about 10 years from 2006, the Union of Islamic Courts had control over Mogadishu until it was ousted by Ethiopian forces with US support. Ethiopia, however, was unable to exert full control, leaving the country and capital a battleground for the then UN-backed government and al Shabaab militants.
The preceding years saw al Shabaab gain control of large swathes of Somalia, including its capital Mogadishu and major sea ports. Piracy bloomed in Gulf of Aden, with the International Maritime Bureau recording over 200 hijackings annually.
The pirates operating in the sea lanes of the horn of Africa hijacked ships, stole cargo and extorted billions in ransoms, which in turn financed anarchy, exploiting the collapsed judicial, law enforcement system and the black market.
But the armed conflict and its effects wasn’t confined to Somalia territory. It was exported to neighbouring countries, with refugees fleeing the war and al Shabaab militia carrying out attacks in Kenya and Uganda. International trade and security also suffered a major blow.
OPERATION LINDA NCHI
Al Shabaab’s frequent abduction of several foreign tourists and aid workers on Kenyan soil triggered the country to deploy its troops to Somalia in October 2011, under Operation Linda Nchi.
At the time, only Uganda People's Defence Forces was in Somalia, controlling less than 10 per cent of Mogadishu. After Kenya's entry, other neigbouring countries sent in their contingents, which were later merged to operate under the African Union Mission for Somalia (Amisom).
It is now 10 years since the operation began, but what used to be a war-torn country is seeing slow but sure silencing of its guns, with zero incidence of piracy since 2012 after pirates were vanquished.
“This is the first time we are seeing some semblance of development and institutions forming, and now are even we talking about transition,” said Major General Tai Gitaui, Amisom’s deputy force commander for operations and plans.
“Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) war is a war of cowards, which we are seeing much often used by al Shabaab, which means they are losing ground.”
Amisom head Francisco Madeira said the country is moving forward with the help of Amisom forces. “The government that used to operate from Nairobi and later Baidoa now operates not in secrecy or at night but openly in Mogadishu today,” he said, adding that even though al Shabaab sometimes still launches attacks, they were ejected from the city.
He said all regional governments are in operation and in the hands of civilians.
Seated in an ancient building where the Italian governor used to rule Mogadishu is Abdirahman Omar, commonly known as Eng Yarisow, the Benadir Governor and mayor of Mogadishu.
After independence in 1960, Yarisow recalls, his country was among the greatest on the continent and always helped in peacekeeping under then Organisation of Africa Unity, now African Union.
But he was forced to flee at the height of the civil war in 1991. He settled in the UK and built a family and a career. But in 2008, he returned.
He says on his return to Somalia, his family was hesitant and reluctantly wished him good-luck!
“At the moment, no one wanted to work for the government. Looking back 10 years later, though I miss my family and good job I had, I have no regrets,” he said.
“The country is making huge progress thanks to African forces that came to help Somalia in this recovery path. It is a show of PanAfricanism. Without Amisom, we wouldn’t have achieved this progress.”
DODGING BULLETS
When Yarisow used to work at the Office of the President, he remembers they would drive through Makkah Mukarram junction very fast to dodge bullets from al Shabaab’s base a hundred metres away.
“Citizens rejected our invites to the villa or any government office. Thinking of working for the government was suicidal, too. Today we are getting many people visiting government offices and every day many are sending their interests to work for government,” he said.
“Over 50 per cent of those who had fled the city to the outskirts are back and have rebuilt their lives. With the help of Amisom, 80 per cent of Somalia is now under the government, and now we can even afford to speak about elections in 2020. This was not possible 10 years ago. Even though we are not yet there, we are on the right track.”
Yarisow said there have been incremental changes in transparency, accountability and governance system, and for the first time, Somali's public financial management system has been accepted by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
This will help it apply for debt relief and in turn attract investments, Yarisow said. He said despite inability to collect taxes, there is considerable growth in all sectors of the economy, as seen in upcoming real estates and the hotel industry.
“This is because our people are entrepreneurial and resilient. That’s why a place al Shabaab has bombed, within a week, a shop will be up and business going on. This is the strength we are banking on to rebuild Somalia, as the public continues to denounce al Shabaab and its ideology in entirety,” he said.
Another sector that has seen exponential growth is education. Before the civil war, there was only one university. It closed and reopened 20 years later. But today, there are over 100 universities, with 50 located in Mogadishu.
The aviation sector has also returned to government control this year, after being under UN control and run from Nairobi since the start of the civil war.
“Our public beaches are also now operational and we are slowly taking back the country to its African riviera status it used to be. Our criminal system is developing but terrorists continue to undermine us, thus lack of witnesses in courts to help in prosecution, leading to collapse of cases,” Yarisow said.
“Terrorists are desperate and are engaging in insurgencies, trying to shutter the people's hope. They have resorted to attacking innocent civilians to earn headlines to show their associates that they still have a foothold here. But these are their end days.”
The mayor said liberalisation of Somalia and its subsequent reconstruction could have been much faster if Amisom was given all the needed logistical support from the UN and the international community.
“If resources similar to those that are being pumped into Iraq and Afghanistan were brought here, the war could have been won long ago. We need logistical enablers,” Yarisow said.
In Dhobley, a football tournament is organised frequently by the Kenya Defence Forces, aimed at promoting the military civilian relations.
“To us this sports is recreation and opportunity to nurture our talents, interact and unite to confront the common enemy. This was not possible when al Shabaab used to control these areas,” Rangers Club team captain Abdirazak Mohamed said.
“Life is back here. We now have formal education ongoing and development, which the KDF is playing a key part in,” Dhobley DC Siyat Hassan said.