The Safest Place in Somalia

[JBeukema]

In the world's longest running failed state, Dr. Hawa Abdi took it upon herself to start a civil society on her land, complete with a justice system that imprisons men who beat their wives. Eliza Griswold, author of The Tenth Parallel, talks to the Mother Teresa of Somalia and her daughters.
On her family farm a few miles outside of the city of Mogadishu, Dr. Hawa Abdi runs a camp for 90,000 people fleeing war. Two out of three are women and children.
Here’s what it looks like: In a sea of sand dunes, a patchwork of bright fabric moves against itself, as new arrivals weave the bramble igloos, like upside down bird nests that they’ll be living in. Almost everyone arrives hungry, traumatized, sick and wounded, and seeking the protection of this 400-acre oasis run by Dr. Abdi and her doctor daughters, Deqo, 35, and Amina, 31. For the tens of thousands of displaced people who’ve left everything behind and choose to live here, the women have only two rules in exchange for free medical care, fresh water and living without paying kickbacks to anyone.

Displaced women and children at Hawa Abdi refugee camp in the outskirts of Mogadishu. (Mohamed Sheikh Nor / AP Photo)
The first rule: There’s no talk of clan, the family and political ties that divide Somalis. “We are all Somalis here,” Dr. Abdi says. The second: Any man caught beating his wife goes to jail—an old storeroom with barred windows, until his wife and the camp council of elders decide to let him go. This means usually just a few hours in the dusty, hot cell, but its effect is revolutionary: This is the first time in history that Somali women have formed the basis of their own society, and it’s working.

The Safest Place in Somalia - The Daily Beast

 

[waltky]

Uncle Ferd says, "Why not? - we had a Kenyan as President...

U.S. citizen elected president of Somalia
Feb. 8, 2017 - Mohamed earned both a bachelor's and a master's from the University at Buffalo.

Somalia's Parliament on Wednesday elected former Prime Minister and U.S. citizen Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed as its new president. Mohamed survived two rounds of voting to replace Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the leader of the East African country. The vote began with 20 candidates on the ballot and ended with lawmakers giving Mohamed the nod after two runoffs. Mohamud ultimately conceded defeat to Mohamed, 55, who is also known by the nickname "Farmajo." The result was a surprise as most expected Mohamud to win a second term. The election was Somalia's first since 1991.

The election process started in October, and lawmakers began voting Tuesday. Election headquarters was moved from a police academy to Mogadishu's airport because it was regarded as the most secure spot in the city. A 48-hour traffic ban was imposed, flights were canceled and walking was the only way to reach a destination. Mohamed, Somalia's prime minister between 2010 and 2011, becomes the country's ninth president. He ran for the office in 2012 but was eliminated in the first round of voting. A Somali and American citizen, he earned a bachelor's degree in 1993 and a master's degree in 2009 from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Newly elected Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmajo" Mohamed speaks after his election as the country's ninth president at the international airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Wednesday.​

Somalia has not had a functioning central government since 1991. While the United Nations referred to Wednesday's election as a milestone in the country's political development, analysts and Western observers estimated that at least $20 million in bribes and other inducements for votes in recent parliamentary elections changed hands, the New York Times reported. The Times report added that Turkey, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates are among the foreign powers widely believed to have influenced the vote through corruption. Real estate deals, the spread of a harsh version of Islam and opportunities to spy on U.S. military forces are at stake. The activist organization Transparency International rated Somalia the most corrupt country on earth. The weak government is backed by a military and police force of 22,000 people, supplied by the coalition African Union.

Although al-Shabab, the militant Islamist group linked to al-Qaida that controls about one-third of Somalia, launched two attacks Tuesday near the airport, it has steered clear of the election. In recent months, al-Shabab has attacked Mogadishu's hotels, the presidential palace, courts and the airport, killing at least 19 soldiers and civilians, including politicians. "This election has been awesome for the Shabab," Mohamed Mubarak, chief of the Somali anti-corruption group Marqaati, told the New York Times. "The government loses even more legitimacy and the Shabab has a chance to buy a seat!"

U.S. citizen elected president of Somalia

 

[RodISHI]

Uncle Ferd says, "Why not? - we had a Kenyan as President...

U.S. citizen elected president of Somalia
Feb. 8, 2017 - Mohamed earned both a bachelor's and a master's from the University at Buffalo.

Somalia's Parliament on Wednesday elected former Prime Minister and U.S. citizen Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed as its new president. Mohamed survived two rounds of voting to replace Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the leader of the East African country. The vote began with 20 candidates on the ballot and ended with lawmakers giving Mohamed the nod after two runoffs. Mohamud ultimately conceded defeat to Mohamed, 55, who is also known by the nickname "Farmajo." The result was a surprise as most expected Mohamud to win a second term. The election was Somalia's first since 1991.

The election process started in October, and lawmakers began voting Tuesday. Election headquarters was moved from a police academy to Mogadishu's airport because it was regarded as the most secure spot in the city. A 48-hour traffic ban was imposed, flights were canceled and walking was the only way to reach a destination. Mohamed, Somalia's prime minister between 2010 and 2011, becomes the country's ninth president. He ran for the office in 2012 but was eliminated in the first round of voting. A Somali and American citizen, he earned a bachelor's degree in 1993 and a master's degree in 2009 from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Newly elected Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmajo" Mohamed speaks after his election as the country's ninth president at the international airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Wednesday.​

Somalia has not had a functioning central government since 1991. While the United Nations referred to Wednesday's election as a milestone in the country's political development, analysts and Western observers estimated that at least $20 million in bribes and other inducements for votes in recent parliamentary elections changed hands, the New York Times reported. The Times report added that Turkey, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates are among the foreign powers widely believed to have influenced the vote through corruption. Real estate deals, the spread of a harsh version of Islam and opportunities to spy on U.S. military forces are at stake. The activist organization Transparency International rated Somalia the most corrupt country on earth. The weak government is backed by a military and police force of 22,000 people, supplied by the coalition African Union.

Although al-Shabab, the militant Islamist group linked to al-Qaida that controls about one-third of Somalia, launched two attacks Tuesday near the airport, it has steered clear of the election. In recent months, al-Shabab has attacked Mogadishu's hotels, the presidential palace, courts and the airport, killing at least 19 soldiers and civilians, including politicians. "This election has been awesome for the Shabab," Mohamed Mubarak, chief of the Somali anti-corruption group Marqaati, told the New York Times. "The government loses even more legitimacy and the Shabab has a chance to buy a seat!"

U.S. citizen elected president of Somalia

Poor Africa is next on the Arabs list for total conquest.

 

[waltky]

Cholera outbreak on top of hunger crisis in Somalia...

Cholera Outbreak Compounds Hunger Crisis in Southern Somalia
May 17, 2017 — A regional drought has displaced more than half a million people in Somalia and left the country at risk of famine. A cholera outbreak is further complicating relief efforts, in particular in the southern part of the country where some villages remain under al-Shabab control.

Somalia continues to report between 200 and 300 cases of cholera nationwide each day. Bay Regional Hospital, the biggest in the southwest federal state, is filled with patients suffering from stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Cholera has sickened more than 40,000 people in Somalia since December. More than half of the cases have been in this state. Most of the victims have been malnourished children. Five-year-old Fatuma was admitted to the cholera treatment ward last night. Her mother, Bisharo Mohammed, says she can not lose another child. She says her eldest daughter was suffering from diarrhea, and she died two months ago in Busley village on the outskirts of Baidoa. She says the girl was seven years old.

Cholera treatment

Cholera is treatable. The World Health Organization recommends “prompt administration of oral rehydration salts.” Mohamed says Fatuma is already feeling better with treatment. They hope to be released soon. But they will not be going home. Aid agencies say the areas worst hit by cholera and hunger are villages like Busley, which are under al-Shabab control. Accessing them is a challenge. Fatuma and her family are among the tens of thousands of people who have walked to government-controlled areas like Baidoa to seek help and are now living in makeshift camps.

An internally displaced Somali family is seen outside their makeshift shelter at a camp after fleeing from drought stricken regions in Baidoa, west of Somalia's capital Mogadishu​

World Health Organization cholera expert Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar says the outbreak is getting worse due to security challenges. “If you look at Bay, Bakool, Middle Juba, Gedo, some of those areas where none of us is able to access, the deaths and cases due to cholera [are] very high, and we expect the situation will get worse,” says Abubakar. Rains this month in southern and central Somalia have contributed to a surge in cholera cases, according to Salima Sheikh Shuaib, cholera treatment ward deputy supervisor at Bay Regional Hospital. She says “the cholera cases were going down, but the past three days we have seen an increase in cholera cases. This morning, we have received 16 cases and most of them are children under the age of five.”

Life in camps

More than 150,000 displaced people are living in the makeshift camps around Baidoa and more continue to arrive. At the camps, many families do not have plastic tarps or covered places to sleep. Stagnant puddles and mud dot the walkways. There is no regular food provided. Clean water is available, but it is not enough. Medics supported by UNICEF and the WHO are going to IDP camps around Baidoa to provide oral cholera vaccination to children.

Displaced Somali girls who fled the drought in southern Somalia stand in a queue to receive food handouts at a feeding center in a camp in Mogadishu, Somalia.​

But Abubakar of the WHO says it is hard to contain the spread of cholera so long as the general humanitarian situation is not improving. “We cannot only solve cholera. We cannot only deal with cholera unless we deal with food insecurity, unless we deal with water issues, malnutrition and I think collectively, both the wash, the health, the nutrition, and the food security partners, we are working closely and we are coordinating but again in Somalia one of the challenges we are facing [is] a shortage of resources to support all these interventions,” said Abubakar. Somalia continues to report between 200 and 300 cases of cholera nationwide each day.

Cholera Outbreak Compounds Hunger Crisis in Southern Somalia