Ali Omar Ghedi( Ali Garabey) MP
Sunday, August 14, 2011
According to the international media, almost 300,000 children were killed by the famine in Somalia and others will die in the coming months unless external aid reach in time and the distribution of food aid arrive in all the regions of Somalia including remote areas under Al-shabab control. Additionally, thousands of children and women will die as a result of cholera outbreak as reported by International and local NGOs. This is another new problem!
Outside the Capital, millions of children, women and elderly will die under the strict rules of Alshabab. In spite of addressing this humanitarian catastrophe the TFG is busy preparing a reconciliation conference under the auspices of United Nations which is scheduled to be held at the start of next month. This conference which will bring together 160 Somalis will only run for two days from September 4 to 6, 2011.
It is inconceivable that the TFG will go ahead with such conference in the midst of humanitarian catastrophe. The TFG should postpone the conference if and it is big if, they have the ownership of the reconciliation conference.
With respect to ownership of this conference it begs to ask could a conference of such magnitude in terms of financing such large number of participant yield any tangible outcome within two days; or are the participants merely called in to participate in a conference with predetermined outcome?
It is paramount that for these aforementioned reasons the TFG declare a State of emergency and continue its war against Al-Shabab while concurrently dealing with this humanitarian catastrophe by distributing food aid and saving lives. If the government fails to prioritize logically its tasks and goes ahead with the conference, then obviously the invited participants will be conducting their dialogue knowing well that the TFG lost the confidence of the people.
Moreover, it will show a pretty bad picture to the world community to be hosting such a conference in the midst of famine and will diminish what ever little legitimacy it has in the eyes of the international community; you can also expect its opponents capitalizing this window of opportunity. Therefore the TFG will wake up only when it will see thousands of demonstrators, people with conscious rallying in front of the Conference facility or throughout the city of Mogadishu.
Ali Omar Ghedi( Ali Garabey) is a member of the Diaspora and Member of the transtional Federal Parliament
He can be reached at Email: [email protected]