Double take: Somalia

Dialog from the nuafrica list, August 1996

Cyber membes of nuafrica:

Many in the west could care hoot about what happens to Somalia, especially the US which the whole Somali imbroglio is a bad dream which they want to forget, but the recent events could raise some eyebrowses. Aideed, the pariah who singlehandedly derailed UNOSOM operation passed away and his son, Corporal in the US Marines took over.

Any comments on this or is it a bad dream to you, nuafricans, too.

Regards,

Hirad

Hirad,

Bad dream, or bad conscience?

I haven’t had time to work out what I think about it all, but suspect it would be worth teasing out the implications of the near simultaneity of this interesting revelation of multi-nationalisation of U.S. volunteer, professional armed force (can anyone say mercenary?), with the withdrawal of eligibility of legal aliens for basic social services under the social security act, regardless of their actual social contributions.

Elderly legal immigrants are likely to be the earliest visible victims of this year’s model of President Clinton’s electoral opportunism. I suppose there’s a remote possibility that a jobless Aideed junior might himself have been affected, had his father been luckier. And the campaign to cut off education for immigrant kids proceeds apace, revoltingly.

Aideed fils’ marine corps service brings two questions to my mind. 1) Was there a prehistory to the U.S.—Aideed falling-out that we haven’t heard much about? After all, Siad Barre had been a bad guy to the U.S. until the Ethiopian revolution in the 1970s; how did the fall of Mengistu affect U.S. official attitudes towards him? (My chronology is really hazy about this & it may make no sense whatever). 2) How many African citizens serve in U.S. armed forces, and to what extent does the new version of the imperialism of free trade bring with it a similarly loose & ad hoc mirror of colonial soldiery?

best to all, must bid you adieu for a while. See you in September from Boston.

Chris not @reed very much longer Lowe

Well Chris, I suppose the whole thing seems comical, because things seem to sort out in a very strange way in that part of Africa. Another twist to this is that I could go Mogadishu, Somalia and speak to Corporal Farah (the young Aideed) and aks him for the VP position, after all I know him from my days in Operation Restore Hope. He was a nice fella, soft spoken, firm hand shake, like any Marine would. He wasn’t happy with his father hell-bent scheme of becoming a Somali president at any cost.

One lesson learned from Aideed’s demise and th prior misfortune of Siyad Barre is that no one warlord or clan, for that matter, could rule the Somalis fiat. An omen lesson to the rest of the warlord, would-be warlords, or dictators. As much as the young Aideed is stigmatized by being a young lad, an American more than a Somali, he could broker some peace among the Somalis, but that would be difficult, if not impossible, for a culture that associates youth with not-much of authority and old with wisdom and authority.

I wonder what the rest of Africa, especially East African countries, threw Somalia to the wolves, but then one doen an African come to the rescue of another unless the west assumes the role of the knight with the shining armour. A role they have been woefully trying to deligate to the Africans, but Africans are either incapable or unwilling to assume that role.

Regards,

Hirad