by Shamsa Scego
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Once upon a time there was a juvenile and conceited Emperor who was very fond of new clothes. He ignored the duties of ruling the country and spent most of his time buying new suits of clothes, trying them on and having official parades in which he showed off his clothes. Two swindlers from a distant town heard about the silly Emperor and devised a clever plan to fool him.
The swindlers told the Emperor, "We know a secret way to make a magical, golden cloth that is the most beautiful cloth ever created. The patterns are so intricate that they will make you swoon with disbelief and the fabric is as light as a feather. This incredible cloth is only visible to people who are wise and worthy they continued; it is fit only for rulers who are worthy of their office -- fools cannot even see this magical cloth.” The Emperor's men couldn’t see the clothing themselves, but pretended that they could for fear of appearing unfit for their positions and the Emperor did the same. Finally the swindlers reported that the suit was ready, they mimed dressing him and the Emperor headed for the parade through the town, where people were waiting for him. At first, people gasped when they saw a nearly-naked Emperor walking through the town. Then they remembered that only fools couldn't see these magical clothes, so they began cheering and congratulating the Emperor on a magnificent suit of clothes.
Suddenly, one small child spoke the truth. She pointed at the Emperor and said, "The Emperor is only wearing his underwear." Everyone in the crowd gasped. They knew it was true and all cried out "The Emperor is only wearing his underwear."
What is the purpose of telling this story one may wonder but please let me explain my parable. You see, I am mystified by the following:
1. Ethiopian troops withdrawing from Hudur two weeks ago leading to Al-Shabab immediately taking over the town.
2. The United States of America (US) renews sanctions against Somalia despite new government and positive progress. http://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/africa/291951-obama-renews-sanctions-against-somalia-despite-new-government
3. The United Kingdom (UK) following up with a warning issue to its citizens to avoid traveling to Somalia. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said “terrorists were in the final stage of planning attacks to the capital city of Somalia.”
I remember a similar alert issued by the UK foreign office in January 2013 warning its citizens in Somaliland to leave the country due to ‘specific, eminent threat to westerners’ this happened almost at the same time the US State department issued a similar alert to its citizens in Somaliland, but their warnings did not materialized, but presumably damaged their economy.
These successions of the events seem anomalous to me: a) Ethiopian troops almost ‘handing over’ the Hudur City to Al-Shabab, so the later can terrorize the community and plan their heinous killings spreading terrorist attacks to the rest of the country. b) US sanctions renewal despite progress and efforts from new government and now c) the warning follow up from the UK.
It is anomalistic for strong warnings to be issued and for the evacuation of British Nationals out of Somalia just as the city's security has radically improved to the point of non-Somalis participating The Reconciliation Music Festival organized by a Somali rap group Waayaha Cusub for the first time in 22 years.
We all know the Somali Conference in London on May 7th is impending and could have something to do with this. Could this be a coordinated diplomatic strategy from The US and UK to put the Somali government under some kind of pressure to ensure their interests are prioritized as they did with Somaliland back in January 2013? Should we be reading between the lines?
For the first time in two decades, Somali people speak of hope, optimism and faith in new developments.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H. E. Fawzia Y. H. Adam told United Nations Security Council on February 14th 2013, that there has been a rebirth in Somalia and argued the UN and other friendly stakeholders return to Mogadishu. Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Taye-Brook Zerihoun said the progress called for a concomitant change in support, based on a new Somali-led partnership with a UN that no longer worked remotely from another country. He added that the United Nations presence could steadily relocate in the coming 6 to 12 months from Nairobi to Mogadishu and substantially realign from a political office to peace building mission. Regarding the security sector the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs added that despite several attacks by Al-Shabab, there was now a “tangible sense of security and optimism in Mogadishu”. Across the country, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was deployed in full strength and has been effective in demeaning Al-Shabab’ s operational capability.
Security has never been better and Mogadishu is booming for the first time ever in two decades. It is not a secret that there are ongoing challenges regarding the security in Somalia but as H.E. Fawzia Y. H. Adam told the United Nations, The Somali government is very aware of it and has “no illusion about this.” Getting rid of Al-Shabab is the Federal Governments top priority but this requires the strengthening of the military capacity of the Somali Defense Forces through training.
Those warnings and sanctions discourage the efforts and the progress made by the Somali Government with the help of AMISOM troops who are fighting the terrorists. Many African countries have shed their blood for the betterment of Somalia. Irrelevant warnings could only hinder their desire and commitment to root out Al -Shabab and would give a moral boost to the already defeated Al-Shabab and other militia. The UK should play a prominent role in making a prosperous and peaceful Country.
The Somali Government is working on a policy framework consisting of six pillars: Security and peace building; law and good governance reform; economic recovery and public finance management reform; good and target service delivery; restructuring of international relations; and safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia.
We don’t need the two weavers who promise the emperor (Somalia) new suit of clothes that is invisible to everyone. We the people of Somalia had suffered and are still suffering from remnant of the self-inflicted civil war, and what a nation driven to despair urgently need is to be assisted in rebuilding their devastated Country. We desperately need all sorts of aid, encouragement, and training to our troops, not hysterical warnings or sanctions that could have a devastating effect on our re-emergence as a Nation.
Shamsa Scego is a social worker and founder of The International Somali Diaspora Movement (ISDM). ISDM is behind the Spot on Somalia campaign. www.spotonsomalia.org (currently under construction), please follow me on twitter @ ShamsaAOScego.