………The invasion of Kenyan army into Somalia on October 17, 2011 is wrong, unjustified and is similar to the invasion of Ethiopian army in Somalia back in December 2006 where Somalis rallied around Al-Shabaab to defeat Ethiopia.…….Regrettably, without regard of international humanitarian laws Kenyan Army decided to invade Southern Somalia at a time when the people of lower Juba are struggling to overcome the effect of ongoing famine.……..With a false pretext of fighting the extremist group Al-Shabaab, Kenyan army crossed the border into Somalia…………..This never-ending military adventures and political meddling in Somalia by neighboring countries are clear violations of international laws and in particular Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter, which states “All members shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or the political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purpose of the United Nations”.
…………..We, the Somali people, envision resolving Somali conflict by peaceful means and advocate Somali owned conflict resolutions is the best way forward. We see Kenya's illegal self-serving approach at the expense of Somali lives and sovereignty as counter-productive and clear violation of international laws.
………..This invasion is not in the interest of Somalis as Al-Shabaab has been losing recent battles fought against TFG and AMISOM. In this context, it can be argued that Kenya’s heedless measures are not intended to defeat Al-Shabaab but to resuscitate and legitimize them, so that the destabilization of Somalia continues unabatedly. It is our opinion that this aggression embodies Kenya’s intension to create buffer zones in Somalia or perhaps to annex parts of Somalia’s southern coastal territories – an idea rejected by the U.S. Department of State as revealed by U.S. diplomatic cables.
We, the undersigned members of Concerned Somalis in the Diaspora with roots across Somalia, including activists, educators, and professionals request from the UN General Assembly, the UN Security Council, and the International Community to: Denounce the Kenya’s illegal invasion of Somalia as such a unilateral action violates the inherent right of a sovereign and an independent member state, Assist the Somali people in “owning” the necessary means and solutions to our country’s conflict, Respect the spirit of self-determination and the aspiration of the Somali people to defeat Al-Shabaab on our own terms without external involvements, Demand immediately the unconditional withdrawal of the Kenyan forces from Somali soil.
(The signatories to this petition included a list of 80 people. You can read the whole petition here.)
I was incensed at the time, angry at a people who I considered not better than the Al-Shabab for deserting Somalia. I wrote a response in that rage of emotional impulse and a state of irritation- I couldn’t post the article here at the time since I thought my emotional involvement had derided objectivity but looking at it now I think it can enkindle some thought in the Somali in the Diaspora especially at this time when a major international conference on Somalia has just been concluded in London.
Instead of lamenting about Kenya’s inversion of Somali, those of you in the Diaspora should be thinking of ways to work with Kenya in establishing a new Somalia, a Somalia with a positive impact in the international system. Kenya or Amisom can not have the capacity to reconstruct Somalia on its own, its actions is limited only to safeguard its borders, the safety of its people and in reinforcing the actions of the Somalia Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in eradicating the Al-Shabbab menace. The solution to establishing a peaceful and stable Somalia totally lies with the people of Somalia, it is in the hands of their sons and daughters to establish a better Somalia.
Maybe eating pizzas and enjoying the luxury of whichever states in which you are makes the suffering in Somalia so distant and a totally alien condition of life that you don’t have links to. Don’t you think you are worse than the Al-Shabaab by deserting your own country and leaving your countrymen wallowing in a miasma of the most deplorable conditions of life?
Maybe its time you the signatories to this petition, notable among you several engineers, doctors and professors think of ways to bring your expertise back home to serve your own, to help Somalia rewrite the single story of suffering and malnourished and dying children and help them realize the beauty of life, show them that there is another story to this life than the constant battles and hungry days.
Someone recently casually made a joke/statement in my political science class about the Somali children and it might ring some bells in you, the Somali in the Diaspora. It went thus “did you guys know that the dream of every child in Somalia is to grow up in Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda or Uganda?”, the implications of this casual and careless statement speaks a lot and portends a doom for the future of Somalia, are you happy with this situation? Its time you guys went back home and rebuilt Somalia, go back and give back some life to this nation state that has become a ‘pariah’ in the international system.
Its time you reexamined the context under which you are in other states and not your own, you should ask why you are scattered as refugees and fighting hard to belong to these new states, its time you went back and reestablished what is truly yours. Don’t you realize that you are losing the context and pain of the people of Somalia? And what are you “members of Concerned Somalis in the Diaspora with roots across Somalia, including activists, educators, and professionals” as you call yourself doing to help restore Somalia? What are you doing? Do something that is progressive for Somalia and then you can have the moral authority to condemn the actions of other states within Somalia!!
What do you do when nude pictures of dying children are aired on your television screens? Do you flip the channel as your hosts are doing? Or do you feel some pain in you? If you are pained, when will you wake up from your inaction and lethargy? It’s about time we see some true sons of Somalia wake up and reclaim the dreams of a stable Somalia.
And concerning your petition to the United Nations, its time you realized that the UN does not exist because it has powers to force its will on the world’s states; but that it exists because states have created it to serve their needs. Write another petition to ask the UN to give you technical support, advice and support to establish the new Somalia that the world silently yearns to see. Petition the international community to stand with you to reestablish Somalia.(This is the second of a series of articles about Somalia on this blog) read the previous one here.
History is a harsh judge, its only a matter of time before Somalia gets liberated from the claws of war, poverty and misery!! will they be tongue tied when that time comes or will they be chest thumbing seeking the applause?
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