Every crumb of life must be used to conquer dignity!
Fatou Diome (Le ventre de l’Atlantique)
Official name: Somalia
Superficie: 637 657 km²
Population: 12 163 465 habitants
Capitale: Mogadiscio
Villes principales: Beledweyne, Baidoa, Hargeisa, Beled Hawo
Langue officielle: Somali, arabe
Langues courantes: Somali, arabe, Italien, Anglais
Monnaie: Shilling somali (SOS)
Religions: 1 % chrétiens ; 99,8 % musulmans, – de 1% religions traditionnelles.
Fête nationale: 1er juillet (indépendance de 1960)
Fuseau horaire: UTC + 3
Hymne nationale: Louange au drapeau
History
Before colonization
The history of the present territory of Somalia dates back to ancient times, when the region was known to the ancient Egyptians. But between the 2nd and 7th centuries AD, several parts of the territory were attached to the Ethiopian kingdom of Axum. Soon after, Arab tribes settled in the 7th century along the coast of the Gulf of Aden and founded a sultanate on the coast, centered on the port of Zeila. At the same time, the country became Islamized under the influence of the Shiites from Iran. However, the inhabitants did not Arabize and retained their ancestral languages.
From the 13th century, Somalis, nomadic pastoralists settled in the north of the Horn of Africa, began to migrate to the region of present-day Somalia; previously, the Oromo, pastoralists and farmers, had already started a slow climb to the Ogaden and the Abyssinian plateau. All these Cushitic peoples settled permanently on the territory. Arab peoples tried to appropriate the territory and many Somalis were pushed outside, especially in Ethiopia.
Colonial penetration
Great Britain was the first European power in the region. In 1839, she took possession of Aden (today in Yemen), a stopover on the route to India. After the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the strategic importance of the Horn of Africa and Somalia increased. In the mid-1870s, the Turco-Egyptians occupied some towns on the Somali coast and part of the adjacent interior region. Then, when Egyptian troops left the region in 1882, Great Britain occupied this territory, in order to stem the Mahdi revolt in Sudan.
In 1887, a British protectorate was proclaimed over British Somaliland. This protectorate, originally a dependency of Aden, was placed under the administration of the British Foreign Office in 1898, then the Colonial Office in 1905. British control over the interior of the protectorate was contested by the revolt of the nationalist religious movement of the dervishes, led by Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, known as Mad Mullah (the “mad mullah”) by the British, between 1899 and 1910, which again tried to unify the country. In 1910, the British abandoned the inland, retreated to the coastal regions, and did not subdue the rebels until 1921.
As for Italy’s interest in the Somali coast, it also grew at the end of the 19th century. By treaties made in 1905 with the Somali sultans and conventions with Great Britain, Ethiopia and Zanzibar, the region bordering the Indian Ocean coast in the south of the country became Italian. Following the Treaty of London of 1915, Italy extended its control over the interior of the country. In 1936, Italy united its territories of Somalia, Eritrea and the newly conquered Ethiopia to form the colonial empire of East Africa Italiana. After Italy entered the war alongside Germany in 1940, Italian troops invaded British Somaliland. However, the British succeeded in reclaiming their protectorate in 1941. At that time, there were only 17 public primary schools for all Somalis. Under the 1947 peace treaty, Italy renounced its African possessions.
Responsibility for its colonies was entrusted to the four Allies (United States, Great Britain, France and USSR). In 1948, the Allies, failing to reach an agreement, took the matter to the United Nations General Assembly. During this period, there were two languages for the government: English in the British zone (to the north) and Italian for the Italian zone (to the south). Over time, English became dominant in the school system and in government administration, which developed conflicts between Somali elites between North and South. Those who knew English enjoyed significant advantages in gaining access to public service positions, at the expense of those who spoke Italian or Somali. There was no school where people taught in Somali; Somalis who did not attend British or Italian schools went to Koranic schools where classical Arabic was the language of instruction.
Somalia’s independence
In November 1949, the UN granted independence to Italian Somalia, but on condition of a prior ten-year trusteeship exercised by the UN. On April 1, 1950, the United Nations Assembly placed the country, dubbed Somalia, under the administration of Italy. Then, in accordance with the decisions of 1949, Somalia gained independence on July 1, 1960, and soon after merged with the former British protectorate of Somaliland, which had been independent since June 26.
At the international level, the various powers which will succeed one another have the more or less avowed objective of bringing together in a “Greater Somalia” all the Somalis living in Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.
The country’s first president, Aden Abdullah Osman Daar, elected in 1960, was defeated in 1967 by former prime minister Ali Shermake, who was himself assassinated on October 15, 1969. A group of soldiers led by General Muhammad Siyad Barre took power and proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Somalia. In 1970, Barre, supported by the USSR, chose the socialist path for his country and, in the years that followed, nationalized most of the country’s modern economic sectors. He led a literacy campaign based on the transcription of Somali into the Latin alphabet and tried to reduce the clan hold over Somali society. The drought in 1974 and 1975 caused widespread famine which prompted Somalia to join the Arab League.
Geopolitics and Interdependence
Somalia is bounded to the west by Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya; it is washed to the north by the Gulf of Aden and to the east by the Indian Ocean. Located in the Horn of Africa, it is a geographically isolated country. Somalia is a country which has resources such as uranium, iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt.
Insecurity, instability and the lack of a central government have prevented Somalis from benefiting from the riches of their natural resources and have completely paralyzed many sectors.
Being one of the least developed countries in the world, Somalia depends on international assistance. After 20 years of internal conflicts, Somalia is ruled by a bellicose logic. Several armed groups clash with each other and have seized the country since the beginning of 1991. The numerous attempts by the international community to establish peace between these groups have not had clear results and violence and poverty have continued. to spread. Due to this chaotic situation, international poverty measurements have not been carried out for several years, but it is estimated that more than 43% of the population live in extreme poverty, with incomes less than USD 1.00 per day. Today, with international aid, Somalia is slowly rising from its ashes.
Current political development
Somalis often remember their life before the war. With nostalgia, they think back to the happy days when they swam, picnicked, went to the movies; in an era when children were in school, when the economy and business flourished, providing jobs for thousands of Somali citizens. Those golden days came to an abrupt end in 1991, when a devastating war began that brought down the economy and wiped out the banking system. Today, Somalia’s name conjures up terrifying images of deadly operations by Chabab militants, suicide bombings, and pirates. But the civil war Somalia, characterized by all kinds of atrocities, is gradually giving way to a new, increasingly peaceful Somalia, where socio-economic and political progress, despite its slowness, is constant and good. real. Unfortunately, few people realize this development.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which renewed its relations with the country in April 2013, believes in this new Somalia. Somalia’s economic growth has been fueled in part by an increase in agricultural production. According to the IMF’s mission chief in Somalia, Rogerio Zandamela, the country has made incredible progress. But the IMF has not been alone in helping Somalia. The African Development Bank, the World Bank, bilateral donors such as the European Union, and countries such as Kenya, Norway, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States are extremely active.
The economy grew at an estimated 2.9% in 2019, up from 2.8% in 2018. This rebound is mainly due to the recovery in agriculture and strong consumer demand. After peaking at 5.1% in 2018, inflation declined to an estimated 4.4% in 2019, following the downward adjustment in food prices. Public finances have remained in balance, given the restrictions imposed since 2016 on new public borrowing under personnel monitoring programs and the need to control inflation.
In collaboration with its development partners, Somalia is using targeted interventions to help it meet its debt relief obligations under the HIPC Initiative. According to a study carried out, GDP growth is expected to reach 3.2% in 2020 and 3.5% in 2021. The improvement of the security situation, the normalization of relations with international financial institutions and the prospects for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative in 2020 offer opportunities to address economic and social challenges.
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
Seas and oceans have long been understood as spaces dedicated to communication and exchanges. Marine areas were only conceived as potential food resources near the coast. Somalia’s stakes in the conservation, exploitation of the seas and marine resources are mainly focused on the fight against piracy in the seas which undermines the real exploitation of its marine resources.
Twenty years ago, at the time of the collapse of the Somali government, it was not imagined that the persistent anarchy in the country would lead to an upsurge in acts of piracy to the point of threatening the security of the western region of the country. Indian Ocean. Initially, it was generally believed that attacks on shipping would be nipped in the bud.
The problem of piracy linked to Somalia very quickly became international because several cargo ships and ships of foreign companies are paying the price for these men without faith or law. To this end, courts in Kenya and Seychelles do not hesitate to try the captured pirates. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Kenya, the Seychelles, and the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in Somalia have passed the highest number of piracy convictions in the world. As the problem has assumed universal proportions, we have so far adopted seven United Nations resolutions, one of which authorized the use of “all means necessary to suppress acts of piracy and armed robbery committed at sea. ”Especially in Somalia.
Fartuun Adan
Somali social activist for peace, human rights and those of women
Fartuun Adan was born in 1969 and raised in Mogadishu, Somalia1. She is studying at the University of Mogadishu.
At the age of eighteen, she married Elman Ali Ahmed, an entrepreneur producing electricity generators1 and activist for peace in Somalia. From their union, three daughters are born. In 1996, during the civil war, her husband was assassinated by warlords near the family home, south of Mogadishu. She then emigrated to Canada in 1999 to raise her daughters. Like her husband, she is a Somali social activist who works for peace, human rights and those of women. In 2013, she obtained the international prize
of the courageous woman.
Aden Abdullah Osman Daar
Politician and first President of Somalia
Aden Abdullah Osman Daar was born in 1908 in Beledweyne, Somalia. Between 1929 and 1941, he served in the Italian colonial administration then joined the Somali Youth League of which he became president from 1954 to 1956 and from 1958 to 1959. In 1949, Somalia was submitted to the Italian protectorate granted by the Nations. United. However in 1960, an independent Somali state, resulting from the combination of former Italian (Somalia) and British (Somaliland) colonies was created. Hope is reborn to bring together in a single state all the Somalis living in Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.
Aden Abdullah Osman Daar was then elected President of Somalia that same year. During his presidency, he tried to establish a democratic government but struggles between the clans of the North and the clans of the South, as well as difficult relations with neighboring countries, made these years unstable. Following his electoral defeat in the presidential elections, he left his post as head of state on June 10, 1967. The politician was thus the first leader of an independent African country to leave power peacefully. In May 2007, the former president was in critical condition and was hospitalized in a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. Finally, he died on June 8, 2007 at the age of 99 in
Nairobi in Kenya.
Books
Country called Somalia: Culture, Language and Society of a Vanishing State by Maria Frascarelli
Somalie, le peuple de Pount by Jean Louis GALLARD
Dictionnaire français-somali by Abdulghani Goure Farah
Videos
coming soon