Somalia Worst Humanitarian Crisis in Africa, U.N. Says
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN, The New York Times
AFGOOYE, Somalia — The worst humanitarian crisis in Africa may not be unfolding in Darfur, but here, along a 20-mile strip of busted-up asphalt, several top United Nations officials said.
A year ago, the road between the market town of Afgooye and the capital of Mogadishu was just another typical Somali byway, lined with overgrown cactuses and the occasional bullet-riddled building. Now it is a corridor teeming with misery, with 200,000 recently displaced people crammed into swelling camps that are rapidly running out of food.
Natheefa Ali, who trudged up this road a week ago to escape the bloodbath that Mogadishu has turned into, said Monday that her 10-month-old baby was so malnourished she could not swallow.
“Look,” Ms. Natheefa said, pointing to her daughter’s splotchy legs, “her skin is falling off, too.”
Top United Nations officials who specialize in Somalia said the country had higher malnutrition rates, more current bloodshed and fewer aid workers than Darfur, which is often publicized as the world’s most pressing humanitarian crisis and has taken clear priority in terms of getting peacekeepers and aid money.
The relentless urban combat in Mogadishu, between an unpopular transitional government — installed partially with American help — and a determined Islamist insurgency, has driven waves of desperate people up the Afgooye road, where more than 70 camps of twigs and plastic have popped up seemingly overnight.
The people here are hungry, exposed, sick and dying. And the few aid organizations willing to brave a lawless, notoriously dangerous environment cannot keep up with their needs, like providing milk to the thousands of babies with fading heartbeats and bulging eyes. “Many of these kids are going to die,” said Eric Laroche, the head of United Nations humanitarian operations in Somalia. “We don’t have the capacity to reach them.”
He added: “If this were happening in Darfur, there would be a big fuss. But Somalia has been a forgotten emergency for years.”
The officials working on Somalia are trying to draw more attention to the country’s plight, which they feel has fallen into Darfur’s shadow. They have recently organized several trips, including one on Monday, for journalists to see for themselves.
“The situation in Somalia is the worst on the continent,” said Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the top United Nations official for Somalia.
That situation has included floods, droughts, locusts, suicide bombers, roadside bombs and near-daily assassinations.
United Nations officials said the recent round of plagues, natural and man-made, coupled with the residual chaos that has consumed Somalia for more than a decade, have put the country on the brink of famine. In the worst-hit areas, like Afgooye, recent surveys indicate the malnutrition rate is 19 percent, compared with about 13 percent in Darfur; 15 percent is considered the emergency threshold.
The officials, in making the comparison, were not trying to diminish the problems in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have died from violence and disease since 2003. But they said they were concerned that the crisis here was increasingly urgent.
Unlike Darfur, where the suffering is being eased by a billion-dollar aid operation and more than 10,000 aid workers, Somalia is still considered mostly a no-go zone. Just last week, a Somali aid worker and a guard were shot to death at an aid distribution center in Afgooye. United Nations officials estimate that total emergency aid is under $200 million, partly because it is so difficult just getting food into the country.
Pirates lurking off the coast of Somalia have attacked more than 20 ships this year, including two carrying United Nations food. The militias that rule the streets — typically teenage gunmen in wraparound sunglasses and flip-flops — have jacked up roadblock taxes to $400 per truck. The transitional government last month jailed a senior official of the United Nations food program in Somalia, accusing him of helping terrorists, though he was eventually released.
United Nations officials now concede that the country was in better shape during the brief reign of Somalia’s Islamist movement last year. “It was more peaceful, and much easier for us to work,” Mr. Laroche said. “The Islamists didn’t cause us any problems.”
Mr. Ould-Abdallah called those six months, which were essentially the only epoch of peace most Somalis have tasted for years, Somalia’s “golden era.”
Somalia’s ills have always come in waves, starting in 1991 when clan-based militias overthrew the central government and the country plunged into anarchy. That fighting, like the fighting today, disrupted markets, kept out aid shipments and led to rapid inflation of food prices. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people starved.
The United States tried to come to the rescue in 1992, sending thousands of soldiers to Somalia to assist with humanitarian operations.
But American troops abruptly pulled out after Somali militiamen shot down two Black Hawk helicopters in Mogadishu in October 1993.
After that, the United States — and much of the rest of the world — basically turned its back on Somalia. But in the summer of 2006, the world started paying attention again after a grass-roots Islamist movement emerged from the clan chaos and seized control of much of the country.
The United States and Ethiopia, Somalia’s neighbor and rival, quickly labeled the Islamists a threat and accused them of harboring terrorists from Al Qaeda.
Inside Somalia, the Islamists were very popular, at least initially. But then they overplayed their hand and declared a holy war against Ethiopia in December 2006, which provoked a crushing Ethiopian response. American military commanders funneled key satellite imagery to Ethiopian Woyanne troops as they rolled across the Somali border; American planes bombed fleeing Islamists. One American official said the operation was considered an antiterrorism success.
The transitional government arrived in Mogadishu at the end of December. It has struggled ever since against an insurgency that is a mix of Islamist fighters, rival clans and profiteers who have made a fortune as a result of the anarchy, whether by importing expired baby formula or renting out former government land.
“Those criminals are our biggest problem,” said Abdi Awaleh Jama, an ambassador at large for the transitional government.
The African Union promised to send 8,000 peacekeepers to help. But because of the focus on building a 26,000-strong force for Darfur, only 1,600 Ugandans have arrived. Clearly, some of Somalia’s problems are not the government’s fault. Neither is the drought-flood-drought cycle that has left an impenetrable crust of rock-hard silt over Somalia’s fields, causing the worst cereal harvest in 13 years.
But most Western diplomats agree that unless the transitional government reaches out to Islamist elements and becomes more inclusive, it will fail — like the 13 transitional governments that came before it.
“This government doesn’t control one inch of territory from the Kenyan border up to Mogadishu,” said a Western diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing diplomatic protocol.
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, the warlord turned transitional president, recently forced out the prime minister and is looking to replace him with a leader who can bridge clan divides.
“This is basically the last chance,” the Western diplomat said.
But the people in Afgooye’s squatter camps do not have a lot of faith. “We want the Islamists back,” said Mohammed Ahmed, a shriveled 80-year-old retired taxi driver.
Mr. Mohammed said he was not especially religious. “But,” he said, “at least we had food.”
4 thoughts on “Woyanne creates the worst humanitarian crisis in Africa – NYT”
ERITREA-MISSIONARIES Nov-19-2007 (530 words) xxxi
Religious expelled from Eritrea want to tell tale, but hope to return
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
ROME (CNS) — The 14 Catholic missionaries forced to leave Eritrea in mid-November are torn between telling the world about the growing loss of rights and increasing poverty in the country and staying quiet in the hope that the government will let them return.
“We all want to go back. The people are wonderful, faithful and suffering,” one of the expelled missionaries said. “Once you live in Africa, you cannot live anywhere else.
“The Catholic Church has kept quiet until now in order to do what we could to help the people,” she said after arriving in Rome Nov. 17.
“Last night at the airport the people were saying ‘Remember us,’ ‘Speak for us.’ But it is a dilemma because we want to go back,” the missionary said.
She spoke to Catholic News Service on the condition that her name, religious order and nationality would not be revealed.
She said she was concerned not only about damaging any chance she had of returning, but also for the fate of the Eritrean sisters she left behind.
Eritrea’s government tries to control every aspect of its citizens’ lives “from universities to bread,” she said. “It is ideological. They use the border dispute with Ethiopia as an excuse, but they would do anything to hold on to power.”
“Most of the nongovernmental organizations have been forced out,” she said. “But this is the first time they have gone after the Catholic Church.
“They say, ‘We are OK. We are self-contained. We can manage on our own,’ but, of course, they cannot. People are starving. Food is rationed. No one drinks tea anymore because there is no sugar,” she said.
The 14 missionaries held residency permits that expired early in 2007, she said. Catholic Church officials “begged the government” to extend the visas and were able to get several reprieves. Then, she said, in early November “they told us we had two weeks to leave.”
Other foreign missionaries remain in the country, “but if they follow the same process when their permits expire, they may have to leave,” she said.
The group expelled included seven Italians, a Filipino, two U.S. citizens, two Mexicans, a Colombian and a Kenyan.
Four Comboni priests, two Comboni sisters and a member of the Daughters of Charity expelled decided that they would speak out once they returned to Rome.
They told Vatican Radio Nov. 18 that they were given two official explanations for being expelled: their refusal to serve in the military and the fact that foreign employees of nongovernmental organizations can stay in the country a maximum of two years.
The Combonis said the real reason was the government’s desire to control the Catholic Church like it controls every other sphere of life in Eritrea.
Sister Isabella Limongi, of the Daughters of Charity, told Vatican Radio that the departure of the missionaries will mean the Eritrean people will not be able to feel and experience the solidarity of the international church.
“The bridge between us and them — which certainly gave the people, the church and our (Eritrean) sisters so much courage — will be missing,” she said.
END
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Terrorist TPLF will soon be flushed out of Somalia. TPLF is increasingly becoming a liability to the U.S. and there is a visible growing unease in the U.S. officials’ circles in dealing with the TPLF. The State Department has given TPLF a stringent order to leave Somalia in a maximum of three months. In a futile face saving attempt and a sign of admitting defeat, terrorist TPLF today issued a sham statement that purportedly asks for deployment of U.N. peacekeeping force as soon as possible. Since terrorist TPLF lost its right hand stooge, Ali Gedi, things are getting worse for TPLF in Somalia. It is no secret that Gedi was forced out of his puppet position as prime minister through the U.S. pressure. Terrorist TPLF did all it could to save its stooge but to no avail. There is a widespread consensus that Norway, the current chair of the International Somalia Contact Group initiated and formed single handedly by the U.S. in the wake of the takeover of Moquadishu by ICU, played a significant role in pushing the U.S. to pull the rug from underneath of Gedi. It is mainly because of this important role Norway is playing as a true mediator in the conflict in Somalia in particular and the horn of Africa in general that terrorist TPLF has singled out Norway for its despicable attack and consequently the expulsion of six its diplomats from its embassy in Addis Ababa. To bring about peace and reconciliation in Somalia, the U.S. and Norway would like the premiership position to be assumed by opposition/insurgent groups fighting the Somalia’s TFG. Terrorist TPLF initially said no to the proposition and went as far as saying on my dead body. But the U.S. and Norway prevailed and in order to save its face terrorist TPLF issued a statement right after the ‘resignation’ of Gedi ‘accepting and respecting’ the decision. Terrorist TPLF is paying dearly for its reckless and irresponsible acts. All possible and credible shortlisted replacements for Gedi are putting the pulling out of TPLF’s terrorist militia from Somalia as soon as possible as a precondition for their acceptance of the position of premiership. For that, all the candidates have the full backing of the U.S. and the contact group chaired by Norway. The terrorist card TPLF is trying to play is blowing up right in its face and the world is increasingly understanding TPLF for what it really is; namely, a terrorist group terrorizing the Ethiopian people and the peoples of the Horn of Africa in general. It is only a matter of few months before we see TPLF terrorists picked up from their hideouts, wherever it is going to be, and brought to justice or justice brought to them for terrorism, genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity they are perpetuating.
Deresse
Dear labo,
The humanitarian crisis is far worse in Ethiopia.. Eventhough there is a problem in Eritrea it is by no means comparable to Ethiopia.
Speak out the truth, and don’t say, like the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate, “What is truth?”
Most of us know the duty of a missioner: to go out to a less- or well-known country, to a country of strange language, custom, religion, and form of government, to tell the truth, to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to minister the people, and finally to get a blessing from the Almighty God.
The Roman Catholic Church has been serving almost the whole world through its active and vibrant missionary work by spreading out the good news and by expanding or propagating the supremacy of the Pope for almost two thousand years. Through its dedicated and celibate missioners, the Jesuits, the Roman Catholic Church has done many good missionary works such as opening religious schools, universities, hospitals, and building magnificent cathedrals in many places of the world, especially in Rome, France, Germany, Spain, Latin America, Canada and the United States.
These 14 missioners who left Eritrea, however, have failed as many missioners before them, to show extreme courage and devotion to speak out the truth about Isaiah’s oppressive government. Instead of speaking out the truth that Isaiah’s regime is a dictatorial government that oppresses his own people and does not want anyone to speak out about his propensity against foreigners as well as his own people, these missioners left Eritrea and went to Rome, and the Roman Catholic Church, collaborating with these cowardly missioners, kept quiet for some time from telling out the truth about the sufferings of the Eritrean people under the dictatorial government of Isaiah of Eritrea. I think, if they speak out the truth, they believe they will not come back to Eritrea and enjoy life there – a kind of life that they will never find anywhere else except in Africa. In fact, one of these missioners did not want to reveal her name, her religious affiliation, and her nationality as she spoke to the Catholic News Services because she was afraid of, perhaps, persecution by the Eritrean government if she went back to Eritrea.
From what we know now, can we say confidently that these 14 missioners have missed the whole points of the nature of a missionary work? A real missionary work requires commitment, dedication, and self sacrifice for the sake of spreading out the truth, no matter what the conditions and the circumstances are. A missioner has no choice but to speak out the truth whether or not he/she is going to be persecuted if he/she does. Forget about the missioners: “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted….” (2Timothy 3:12) In this case, if living a godly life brings sufferings and persecutions, how much more working as a missioner!
The 14 missioners, before or after they sought a sanctuary at the Vatican, should have confronted the dictator Isaiah and told him the truth that he is an immoral and pour thirsty person for imposing heavy burden upon his people. Why did they scare of him? When John the Baptist saw the immorality and the injustices of King Herod who had married his Brother Philip’s wife, he denounced him by saying: “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” (John 6:17) So, how come these 14 missioners kept quiet from telling Isaiah that his government is corrupt, that he is a dictator and an abuser of power? Shame on them and shame on the Roman Catholic Church, too, for hiding the truth!
The Roman Catholic Church knows very well that the Isaiah’s government looks like Benito Mussolini – dictatorship, and it is a well known fact that the Roman Catholic Church has a history of supporting dictators. For example, during World War II, the Roman Catholic Church supported and blessed Benito Mussolini to invade Ethiopia and Albania; it also helped Hitler by signing a concordat and offering allegiance to the Nazi regime. So we should not be surprised if we see at this particular time that the Roman Catholic Church has been silent in speaking out against the two dictators Isaiah and Meles. I think the Catholic Church is very sympathetic with its former colony’s regime. It does not want to provoke dictator Isaiah but wants him to continue what he has been doing on his people for a number of years: committing the violation of human rights, the deprivation of his people of basic necessities and the suppression of demonstration against him.
Finally, for being reticent instead of speaking out against the evil acts the two dictators have been committing, the Catholic Church with those 14 poor missioners must repent by saying: “For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me.” (Psalm 51:3) Further, it must continue praying to God: “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7)