The Patriotic Type
When most people hear the name Somalia, the Black Hawk Down book, movie, and video game come to mind. The movie Black Hawk Down over idolized the American soldiers. It was about how American soldiers were so brave and gallant while they were being attacked by savage Somalis. Somalia is just another example of the direr conditions Africans put themselves in. To be more accurate, few people have even heard of Somalia, and even fewer know where it is. They can only manage to say “Somalia, now that’s in Africa right?”
Unrest in Somalia began around 1981 when the President Mohammed Siad Barre chose members of his own Marehan clan for government positions while excluding the Mijertyn, Isaq, and other clans. These actions soon erupted the country into a civil war that has not deceased since.
In Burao on December 20th, 1985 forty two merchants were brought to military barracks early in the morning, charged as rebel sympathizers, lined up, and machine gunned on the spot. Northern Somalia was lathered in rebel activity by January of 1985. The rebels were supported by Ethiopian, Cuban, and Russian forces. The military was in full force, patrolling the streets and markets with guns. Saudi Arabia provided two tankers of fuel to the government of Somalia as a gift to the people of Somalia. The government was so desperate for money; they diverted the tankers to South Africa and sold the fuel.
A year before in a town near Burao, eight students were pulled out of their dormitories, accused and shot for being rebel sympathizers. A few people, mostly professors, were so upset; they hijacked a plane to bring attention to the crisis. After the rebel forces united, the government fell in 1991. Once the rebels beat their common enemy, they turned on each other when they could not accept each others right to rule the country. Twenty three months after the overthrow of Mohammed Siad Barre 50,000 people had been killed by factional fighting and an estimated 300,000 had died of starvation.
The United States intervened in 1993 after months of news agencies traveling to Somalia to capture death live. A UN force built mainly of Pakistani and American troops took over management from the Americans. The leader of the UN Mission in Somalia was General Howe, a former US Navy officer. He didn’t know anything about Somalia or its people. He didn’t even know the proper engagements of modern warfare. Modern warfare is unlikely to be open war. It involves common people in the mist of the conflicting sides. Operation Restore Hope, the US military term for the offensive in Somalia, was suppose to give the people back their country. But because of the miscalculations and misunderstandings between the rebels and the American forces, the most powerful military power in the world got brutalized and beat by a ragged group of Somalis. The US left after a year and the UN soon followed. After many incidents and conflicts, the international community lost interest in Somalia. Somalia was left for the scavengers to pick over.
I personally am not the patriotic type. I strongly believe that people are not nations. All governments represent their own interests first and the interest of their citizens second or last. The US declaring war in Afghanistan and Iraqi, Sudan’s refusal for UN Peacekeepers, and the world’s lack of environmental and energy consciousness are a few examples.
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