I was recently surfing the internet and looking for a current event article to use for my African Politics independent study course and I came across an old article (7 October 2010) on the women of Somalia. Somalia, as many may already know, is considered the original failed state – since the 1990’s it has not been able, for a lack of better a word, to get its’ shit together. Lack of government, rejection from the international community, increase in pirate activity, and the rampant influence of an islamic terrorist group it is not wonder why Somalia cannot get it together.

As I read through this article, it was nothing new nothing the international community hadn’t already heard or wasn’t already aware of, but it still grabbed my attention like no other – and the topic was the WOMEN of Somalia. It’s hard enough being a woman in the so-called “developed world” but being a woman in a country that the rest of the world believes there is no hope for is even worse. This article: “BBC: Fleeing Somali Women recount tales of Terror” tells the first hand experience of women who were able to escape to Yemen (and the stories of those who did not escape), who were forced into marriage or raped upon refusal – how they are separated from their spouses and forced to watch their children be killed…how can the international community sit and REPORT about this but yet not feel compelled to become involved is all I can wonder to myself??!?!

My teacher for my independent study actually started our lesson today with information on the Rwandan genocide – he talked about how the world and specifically the developed world knew of the genocide and did not address it and brushed it off as if it was not the proper term for the killings of 800,000 to million people. He also informed myself and the one other girl who takes the course with me that America and several other names had actually signed the “Genocide Act” – stating that if a genocide were to be in the makings the west (America) would become involved and take measures to stop what is occurring.” The fact that the United States and other developed nations allowed for the mass killings to continue is quite baffling and JUST PLAIN CRAZY! To turn your back and essentially allow it to happen – huh what kind of foolishness is that!?

But back to relating to the point of this article on the suffering of Somalia – it is the same thing the developed world is simply letting this occur in Somalia – many say they do not want a repeat of what happened in 1994 (the dragging of an American soldier through the streets of Mogadishu) but something must be done for the sake of Somalia and the sake of other African countries. If we really want to reach the proposed millennium goals – SOMETHING MUST BE DONE.

Here are some sources that I got my info from – so go out there and be an activist! CHANGE THE MOTHERFUDGING WORLD WHY DONT YA!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11437595

http://www.genocidewatch.org/COULD%20THE%20RWANDAN%20GENOCIDE%20HAVE%20BEEN%20PREVENTED.htm

Astu Mengesha – stay down blaze up