I read Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem's article in sheer wonder and disbelief as he twisted facts and history, abused logic, and conveniently ignored other inconvenient facts to premise an illogical argument. I think in the end, the article belittled him as an intellectual (see No matter how much he likes the Hezbollah and Hamas, no matter how much he sympathizes with their cause, if he wants to make an intellectual argument on the issues, then he must respect the facts, he must be balanced, he should be fair and just, and he should try to be logical, otherwise he should simply abandon any claim to intellectualism and focus on demagogery and propaganda.

He roundly condemns Israel which, at least in this case, is exercising its right of self-defence as a nation. He cannot run away from the fact that Israel has a right to defend itself. He fails to even acknowledge that Hezbollah provoked this latest violence, with no provocation at all, six years after Israel withdrew from Lebanon. He does not have a single critical word for Hezbollah for this. He prefers to ignore the facts as it suits his purposes better to award to the Hezbollah the victory for "expelling" Israel from Lebanon. He stands logic on its head and moves into the realm of untenable speculation by declaring that "it is clear to anybody that even if the two soldiers were not abducted Israel would have found another reason for 'reinvading' Lebanon."

He refuses to acknowledge that the Lebanese government bears any responsibility by omission or commission. He closes his eyes and intellectual mind to the fact that Hezbollah is continuing to fire hundreds of rockets daily into Israel, also killing innocent civilians, and remains unrepentant. Perhaps in his mind, the death of innocent Israeli civilians, women and children means nothing! They are fair game in his human rights mind. There is no suggestion in his article that Hezbollah itself, which started all this, should stop. He twists the facts and alleges "a campaign of blockade and sanctions that punishes the Palestinians for voting democratically" when the truth is that Western governments (Europe and the United States) have simply said that they cannot continue to support a government that has committed itself to the destruction of another State and refuses to renounce terrorism.

He blames Britain and the United States for their "uncritical" support for Israel while himself betraying his uncritical support for Hezbollah and Hamas, despite the atrocities they are committing in the Middle East, even against Arabs! Whatever his beef is with the Israelis, the Americans and the British, he is an intellectual and must think like one. We do human rights work, but it is based on the principles of truth, fairness and justice. If we start to propagate falsehood, or become unfair and unjust in our human rights work, we lose the moral high ground and have nothing else. Dr Abdul-Raheem should take the pains to establish the facts fairly, he should try and see all sides to the issue, and understand the different perspectives. Otherwise, he will not stand a chance in hell of proffering any realistic or workable solution. He certainly lost me with his article.

FEATURED: Yav Katshung Joseph argues that, in a post-conflict DRC, one way to heal the wounds of war and colonialism is through reparations.
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS:
- Richard Akum interrogates the ongoing Juba Peace Talks between the Ugandan government and the Lord Resistance Army.
- Mammo Muchie et al. argue against the financial support of the Ethiopian government.
- Issa Shivji, on the occasion of his retirement as Professor of Law from the University of Dar Es Salaam, tackles the role of lawyers in propping up the neo-liberal system.
LETTERS: Middle-East, History as disconnected, The DRC and Ethiopia
BLOGGING AFRICA: blog discussion on e-commerce, racial profiling, literature, sex workers and 16th International AIDS Conference.
BOOKS AND ARTS: Book review, two film reviews, Spike Lee New Documentary and Puppet theatre
CONFLICT AND EMERGENCIES: Links to news on Sudan, Somalia, Uganda
HUMAN RIGHTS: International Day for the remembrance of Slave trade.
WOMEN AND GENDER: Reflection of women’s right at the AIDS Conference.
REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION: AIDS meeting says IDPs and Refugees should get access to treatment.
ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE: Human Rights groups call for President Bingu wa Mutharika impeachment.
DEVELOPMENT: IMF: Shrink or Sink it?
CORRUPTION: South African former MP faces jail.
HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS: International AIDS Conference closes with call to deliver universal access.
EDUCATION: Engendering Education
RACISM & XENOPHOBIA: Israeli Apartheid
ENVIRONMENT: Islamic Courts ban trade in charcoal and wild life
LAND AND LAND RIGHTS: Kenyan lands ministry promises to repossess all land owned by “absentee landlords”.
MEDIA AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Highway Africa around the corner
DIASPORA: Black History
INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY: Continent slow to adopt low cost fibre.
PLUS: e-Newsletters and Mailings Lists; Fundraising and Useful Resources; Courses, Seminars and Workshops; Jobs.

Last year, in November 2005, the EU and the US called for respect for human rights in Ethiopia, an end to mass arrests, the lifting of restrictions on the opposition, and the freeing of political detainees. In January 2006, the donor community halted direct budget payments to Ethiopia over concerns about its commitment to human rights This article argues that: “Until the political situation shows remarkable improvement, budget support from the donor community translates into the undermining rather than the building of democracy in Ethiopia. The donors must not reward the arrogance and rigid stance by the regime.”

The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, appeared on BBC recently asking the donor community to give budget support to Ethiopia. Remarkably, apart from a British EU MP, the critics of the Meles government were not invited to the programme. The lack of opposition representation, when the BBC deals with the question of Ethiopia's aid dependency is a serious omission. This article therefore, is in part a response to the BBC report on this issue.

In Ethiopia today, elected opposition leaders are in jail. More than 20 journalists are in prison. Thousands of political prisoners are languishing in prisons throughout the country. It must be emphasised that they are innocent. They were arrested because they dared to contest the rigging of the election last year. They are in jail because they hold different political views. They are in jail because their conception of a democratic state, human rights and good governance contradicts that of the government. Independent observers agree that the elections were rigged. Most serious political analysts reject the regime's claim that there were no irregularities in the counting of ballots. A significant component of the international community took a symbolic step by suspending budget support to show their disquiet regarding the mishandling and subsequent excessive violence by the regime against those who protested against electoral injustice.

As a consequence, Britain, the EU and even the World Bank made a symbolic gesture by suspending budget support alleging breakdown of 'trust' (Hilary Benn) mainly because of the government crackdown on democracy, the people and the opposition. The understanding was that the political situation had to improve first before budget support could be reinstated. That seemed to be the overall donor position regarding the political situation in Ethiopia.

However, it now looks like the World Bank has found a trick to make it seem as if it is not giving budget support to the regime directly while, in reality, it is giving funds to branches of the local regional government indirectly. Budget support to the current government only helps the regime and not the poor. Aid should go directly to the people or to the programmes that yield direct benefits to the people. It should go directly to the health services, schools and other local services to the people, but not to the local government offices, which are run by one and the same political party, and its overt and covert structures of control. The World Bank is fully aware that the central and the local Government are run by one and the same party, as a number of its own studies on the budgetary flows between the centre and regions attest. The indirect aid to the Meles government agreed to by the World Bank will strengthen the government, and this is going to prove to be a further barrier on the efforts to bring about the much anticipated democratic transition in the country.

The situation has NOT changed

The crackdown continues. The elected opposition leaders are still in jail. If health and education services are suffering due to budget cuts, who is to blame for the situation? The responsibility falls entirely on the shoulders of the Government. It is not to be ruled out that the Government can tamper with these vital services to protest the donor community's just action to suspend budget support direct to its coffers. It has always been the government's position that aid be channelled directly to its coffers. We encourage the donor community to be creative by finding alternative avenues that will enable it to reach directly the people or civil society groups, especially community, faith-based and other grassroots groups, which are interested in providing communities with sanitation, water, health, education, farm support and other local needs. The donors must not give the money to the Government knowing that the regime wants to have complete control of the flow of aid in Ethiopia. Until the political situation demonstrates remarkable improvement, the current budget support by donors translates into the undermining rather than the building of democracy in Ethiopia. The donors must not reward the arrogance and rigid stance by the regime. The goal of providing monetary aid should be to empower the public, strengthen civil society, and to build an independent media and organise independent judiciary.

If Meles wants budget support desperately he should not persecute the opposition. Meles has submitted conditions to the donor community on how he should receive aid. He has asked the donor community not to take the lid of aid on and off, meaning he indirectly begs them to put the lid on rather than take it off. The current development assistance prioritises good governance, democracy, human rights as paramount for aid. Meles has been violating these values and principles - most glaringly during the election in May 2005. If the donors uphold these principles that he has violated, they should be congratulated. When they fail, they should be criticised. At the moment, it is the regime in Ethiopia that is violating these principles. It is principled not to give money to those who kill and violate the rule of law, abuse human rights and put in jail the opposition. The BBC should have invited the opposition to explain and clarify why budget support was suspended in the Ethiopian in the first place. There was no opposition representative to put the case forward. The BBC should redress this omission in the future. Generally speaking, the BBC, the donor world and others must understand that the Meles regime has structural and objective weakness that will sooner or later cripple it. Internally the Ethiopian people are against its chicanery and fraudulent actions. There is growing urban and rural resistance. Externally it has been embroiled with Somalia's Islamic Court. It has a war-like relationship with Eritrea for nearly a decade now. There are pockets of resistance sprouting for this or that reason everywhere. Regardless of what problems the opposition camp may have, the Meles regime has even bigger and more structural problems.

The opposition forces grouped around Kinjit, the new Alliance for Freedom and Democracy, have called for a national dialogue with the regime in order to change the political environment. The regime seems hell-bent on undermining national reconciliation and is determined in its belief that it can fight on all fronts as long as it can hoodwink the Bush administration as its partner in the 'global war on terror.' The regime has been blinded by its own arrogance, and appears more desperate to win back its loss of budget support by its inexhaustible willingness to assume the role of regional policeman, than to release political prisoners and create a favourable environment for a broad-based, all inclusive national dialogue and reconciliation.

The international community must hold firmly to the position by linking budget support to the immediate and unconditional release of the political prisoners in Ethiopia. Nothing is acceptable other than this. First, the prisoners must be released, and then budget support can follow. Not the other way around. We call upon the international community not to sacrifice political prisoners who have risked their lives for no other crime than trying to create a sustainable system of democratic transition. In order to bring back budget support, the pre-condition of the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners must be a top priority.

The Struggle for Democracy Continues

At present, Ethiopians inside and outside the country are united in their desire and motivation to see the birth of a democratic transition within a united national framework in their country. Ethiopians want to achieve, at a time when their own millennium is just around the corner, the following: the structural uprooting of poverty and inequality by instituting a comprehensive, effective and capable system for fair representation in politics, fair distribution in economics, fair governance in administration, fair treatment in the eyes of an impartial legal/judicial system, and freedom, rights, justice, dignity and security for all. A lot of Ethiopians in the Diaspora have decided to act as a moral community by focusing on the larger issues of making our country achieve a major civilization shift from authoritarian and tyrannical traditions to democratic, participatory and people empowering frameworks and traditions. May 15 2005 saw a massive voter turnout serving as a guidepost and as a huge resource for effecting the transition from tyranny to democracy. Ethiopians at home and abroad united, and struggled tooth and nail to show how debased it was for that massive turnout to be marred by accusations of fraud in the post-election period. Those who remained true to their principles and fought to the end against this gross abuse of peoples' trust were thrown into jails. The donors must not finance this gross injustice by funding their jailors.

Concluding Remarks

We call on the international community not to finance injustice owing to unrelated and possible expedient reasons to the development of Ethiopian democracy. We urge the international community to stand firm against injustice. It is only by upholding such principles that a democratic renaissance in Ethiopia could come into existence. In Ethiopia, the immediate and unconditional release of the prisoners comes first. It actually brooks no delay. Withholding budget support and supporting other well-targeted boycotts are necessary to change the rigidity and arrogance of the regime. Financing its rigidity is to court injustice and not to serve justice. The international community must support the people, the opposition and especially those who are languishing in jail such as the renowned human right activist like Prof. Mesfin, the elected mayor of Africa's capital, Dr. Berhanu, elected party leaders such as engineer Hailu and judge Birtukan, journalists and civil society activists, and an unaccounted number of innumerable rural and urban young people across the breadth and depth of Ethiopia. Above all, the media and others should not exclude and must include the voice of the opposition for justice, freedom, democracy and dignity for all Ethiopians.

* Professor Mammo Muchie , Chair of NES-Scandinavian Chapter, Berhanu G. Balcha, Vice- Chair of NES-Scandinavian Chapter, Tekola Worku, Secretary of NES-Scandinavian Chapter.

* Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Book Review: Ansell, Nicola. 2005. Children, Youth and Development. London and New York: Routledge.

Nicola Ansell’s ‘Children, Youth and Development’ provides a much-needed critical introduction into young people’s experiences in contexts of poverty, ‘development’ and globalisation. Although 90% of young people under the age of 18 and 85% of 15- to 24-year-olds (p. 1) live in the Third World, Ansell rightly points out that insufficient attention has been paid to the ways in which they experience, and are affected by, global processes. This book is a step towards correcting this imbalance, by offering a comprehensive, but succinct and readable, overview.

It adopts a textbook format, with clear explanations, interspersed with boxes, tables and figures. Each chapter contains bulleted lists of principal themes, key ideas, discussion questions and further resources. The book begins with a definition of key terms, and chapters outlining conceptualisations of childhood and youth, global processes of ‘development’ and globalisation, and cultural contexts at local levels. These chapters maintain a careful balance between young people’s common experiences of age-based discrimination, with recognition of diversity due to gender, disability, ‘race’, class, familial contexts, religion, etc. Ansell also manages to highlight the ways in which young people may experience global processes differently than adults, while situating these within multiple relationships and contexts. Although writing in clear, pedagogic language, Ansell does not ‘dumb down’ complex debates, but highlights critical insights into complex issues. In particular, she contextualises and challenges Western ‘exportation’ of childhood and youth ‘models’, as well as development and globalisation processes, into Third World areas.

Chapters 4 to 6 explore three key areas in which young people interact with global processes: health, education and work. Each chapter provides an overview of different conceptualisations of each theme. Ansell then highlights key issues and debates in each area, as they relate to young people. She offers critical analysis of the ways in which international policies affect young people’s access and choices, with particular attention to effects of structural adjustment policies on social service provision, and international legislation regarding children’s work.

Chapter 7 uses UNICEF’s term “children in especially difficult circumstances” (CEDC) to focus on children in war, those with disabilities, children exploited for labour and commercial sex, street children, children affected by AIDS and children in institutions. This chapter marks a problematic departure from the contextualised and historicised approach adopted in the rest of the book. By mirroring UNICEF’s CEDC framework, Ansell implicitly reinforces labels such as ‘street children’, even while problematising them. This is apparent in her change in terminology: from emphasising ‘young people’ as a broad and diverse group, to specifically focusing on ‘children’ and portraying certain circumstances as inherently ‘difficult’. While other chapters situate young people vis-à-vis broader social processes at micro, meso and macro levels, chapter 7 groups together a vast array of different groups and does not allow enough space to interrogate issues in depth. This leads to some problematic generalisations about categories of young people, which detracts from more nuanced arguments made elsewhere in the book.

Ansell’s concluding chapter returns to her more critical analytical perspective in evaluating issues surrounding rights, participation, activism and power. She historicises and critiques the emergence of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and argues that rights are not ends in and of themselves; improving young people’s lives in the Third World also requires broader structural changes. The chapter also provides a good introduction to the potential and challenges of young people’s participation. It concludes with the necessity of political change, recognising young people as actors, but also the structural challenges they face.

At the beginning of ‘Children, Youth and Development’, Ansell sets out four principles guiding her approach: recognising the diversity of young people in contrast to homogenising discourses; focusing on social contexts in which young people live, rather than exclusively on young people themselves; highlighting the importance of young people not only for the future as ‘human becomings’, but also in the present; and, approaching them as actors in their own lives, rather than “merely objects of development or victims of history” (p. 6). With the exception of the shortcomings in chapter 7, the book achieves these objectives and thus provides a timely overview of the diversity of young people’s experiences in complex ‘development’ and globalisation processes in the Third World.

* Christina Clark is a Commonwealth Scholar at the Department of International Development, Oxford University, where she is currently completing research on the political roles of Congolese young people in Uganda.

* Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

The fraught process of constitutional review in Kenya marked another chapter this week, with an announcement by President Mwai Kibaki that there would be no partial reform of the constitution ahead of general elections next year. This came after certain parliamentarians proposed changes, dubbed "minimum reforms", saying another whole scale review of the constitution was not feasible before the 2007 poll; the reforms include having the president stripped of his exclusive right to appoint members of the 21-person Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK).

As the annual summit of the Southern African Development Community got underway Thursday (August 16), Zimbabwean activist Bishop Shumba was on hand in Lesotho's capital -- Maseru -- to remind regional leaders about the political and economic difficulties in his country.

A call has been made for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to involve civil society in its decision-making process -- in deed, as well as in word. This comes ahead of the annual SADC summit for heads of state and government that gets underway Thursday (August 16) in Lesotho's capital, Maseru. The constitution of the 14-member grouping provides for the inclusion of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the process.

Former South African MP Tony Yengeni has lost his final appeal against a four-year jail sentence imposed for defrauding parliament. Mr Yengeni formerly headed parliament's defence committee and was chief whip of the governing ANC party. He was convicted in 2003 after it was found he had received a large discount on the purchase of a luxury car, from a firm bidding for an arms contract.

Swaziland's chiefs have condemned the new constitution as a plot by political progressives to "steal the country" from them. At a gathering of traditional leaders, called this week by the country's executive monarch, King Mswati, chiefs discussed the new constitution, which includes a Bill of Rights permitting freedom of assembly and speech, among others.

The Togolese government and opposition parties have agreed to end a 12-year political impasse that had put off foreign donors, hurt the economy and triggered unrest last year that sent tens of thousands of people fleeing across the border.

A UN convention that would protect the rights of the world's disabled has made progress but still faces difficulties and lacks U.S. support, UN and American officials said. The leadership of the committee drafting the treaty "was pleased by the progress on a number of key issues" but 150 proposed amendments received over the weekend "could jeopardize reaching an outcome," Thomas Schindlmayr of the UN Secretariat helping with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities said Monday (August 21).

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Cote d'Ivoire issued a scathing report on the country's penitentiary system, saying people were being held in overcrowded, unsanitary, crumbling prisons, with severe malnutrition a leading cause of death. The report also cited extended provisional custody, lack of health care and aging infrastructure as among the problems in Cote d'Ivoire's 33 prisons.

White African - (http://whiteafrican.com/?p=262) is a blog largely devoted to developing communication technology ideas in Africa. In this post he is asking why there is a lack of interest from e-commerce sites on the potential of the African market:

“As the mobile telecoms and banks of East Africa try and develop platforms that allow people to tie into their particular system, they end up missing the big picture. It’s not about your particular bank or phone platform, it’s about people being able to trust and pay using an agnostic payment system. Meaning, the credit and payment system should interact with all banks and phones regardless of type.”

He poses the challenge of starting an African type PayPal scheme which was started with only $3 million and suggests the name “Afripay” – time is of the essence:

“As I mentioned to someone while in Kenya last week, it’s not as if there isn’t a banking mogul’s son who isn’t looking to try his own thing, or even an investor that would turn away a chance at millions.”

The Moor Next Door - The Moor Next Door (http://wahdah.blogspot.com/2006/08/white-boys-cant-fight-jihad-that-is…) takes up the issue of racial profiling of US Muslims suggested by US Congressman. The Moor Next Door believes this is discriminatory and that it cannot work:

“Sure, you can profile Muslims, who come in all shapes, sizes and colors; but there really is no reason to profile Americans that happen to be Middle Eastern, who are really more likely to be Christian or atheist anyway. You'd probably have more luck picking up a terrorist by choosing the white guy with a blonde beard and a funny cap than the swarthy guy with chest hair popping out of his shirt and a uni-brow.”

He gives the example of the DC sniper who was an African American Muslim convert and not an Arab and as he quite rightly points out the whole idea shows the ignorance by the Congressman who seems to confuse being Muslim with being Arab and vice versa.

Naija to the core - Naija to the core (http://aramide.blogspot.com/2006/08/proudly-nigerian-tribute-to-nigeria…) celebrates Nigerian literature by highlighting the various authors and the literature prizes they have won recently. Commenting on 18-year-old Onyeka George Nwelue he writes:

“Onyeka George Nwelue began to write at the age of eleven and won the THOMSON Short Story Prize in 2000 (at the age of twelve) with 'Chants of a Poet'. He was nominated as the International Library of Poetry Best Poet of 2005, and won the Outstanding Achievement in Poetry Silver Bowl and the 2004 Afro Poet of the Year. He is presently both the founder and editor of Flames magazine and BritNig Poetry Club, based in Lagos, Nigeria and Wales, UK.”

Zimbabwean Pundit - Zimbabwean Pundit (http://zimpundit.blogspot.com/2006/08/life-in-zimbabwe.html) points to an article by Nelson Katsande in “Ohmynews International” on the life of prostitutes on the streets of Harare.

“Tsitsi, 15, ran away from poverty and abuse in the Musana communal lands. She was lured into prostitution by her elder sister, who died of HIV/AIDS six months ago. Tsitsi started prostitution at the age of 14 after having been subjected to physical abuse by her father. She reported the matter to her mother, who accused her of lying. She later made a report to the police and her father was arrested. He is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for child abuse as well as cattle rustling.”

What is heart rendering is that the stories here are similar to those of young girls across the world. Children are abused and instead of finding support from within their families and communities they are accused of lying and in some cases driven out to fend for themselves when they become pregnant. In Zimbabwe like many other African countries the situation is made worse as children are often abandoned as they become HIV/AIDS orphans which then puts them at risk of contracting the same illness that killed their parents."

Chippla’s Weblog - Chippla's Weblog (http://chippla.blogspot.com/2006/08/babangida-and-presidency.html) posts on the presidential hopes of Nigeria’s ex military dictator, Ibrahim Banbaginda who he writes was one of the country’s most corrupt leaders in a country full of corrupt leaders.

“Nigeria surely does not need an expired politician as its potential leader and surely not one who misused an eight year opportunity at the helm of affairs. A Babangida presidency in 2007 would be a huge joke and nothing but that. It is up to reasonable and thinking Nigerians who have the means to prevent this from happening. The National Electoral Commission of Nigeria would be wise to ban all previous Heads of State and Presidents from contesting at the polls again—though I doubt it has the power to do so. These people ought to retire from party politics. They have practically nothing to offer to young Nigerians, who in every sense have become both the present and the future.”

The NEC may not have the power to ban previous dictators from running but the National Assembly only needs to make a constitutional amendment to ensure these people never have the opportunity to lead Nigeria ever again.

On the occasion of the 16th International AIDS conference, Black Looks - Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/08/blogging_against_aids.html) blogs against AIDS by posting an interview with Masias Cowper:

“...who’s been HIV positive for 13 years discusses her status and the problems of disclosure that continue to exist and the forming of new relationships. She talks about disclosing her status to her family which she describes as 'the worst thing ever'. It took her 6 months and when she did disclose to her partner the reaction was violent and negative even though it was he who was the source of the infection. Slowly she began to come out to her family and her workplace despite being fired from her job. '...five years after my diagnosis was five years of recovery' - recovering her rights as a woman, to love, to be reproductive, to be respected, to be in a relationship, have a job, participate in her community."

* Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, www.blacklooks.org

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

The Conference aims to build on what has already been accomplished by greater NGO and civil society participation in many of the debates taking place at the United Nations, including Informal Interactive Hearings by the General Assembly President with NGOs, civil society and private sector representatives. Speakers at the Conference are being asked to illustrate their work on the ground by real-life examples of effective partnerships to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Implementation of the outcomes of the recently concluded World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) gathered momentum with the launch of the United Nations Group on the Information Society (UNGIS). High level representatives of twenty-two UN agencies met on Friday, 14 July 2006 at ITU Headquarters in Geneva under the chairmanship of ITU Secretary-General Yoshio Utsumi to facilitate the process.

In 2000, Small World Theatre (SWT) collaborated with Tanzanian performers to find out what prevents people, particularly women in economically poor communities, from participating in elections by voting and standing as candidates. The project used drama - participatory theatre - as a research tool. The main focus was on uncovering attitudes and constraints to women's participation in the democratic process in the light of the upcoming (October 2000) multi-party election (the first multiparty election was in 1995).

Human rights groups and a prominent lawyer said last week (August 17) President Bingu wa Mutharika has gone too far with his constitutional violations and have since called for his impeachment as a lasting solution to the governance crisis rocking his administration. But government has challenged the groups to go ahead, arguing that others have tried the same before and failed.

Dear Pambazuka News Subscriber,

This week we suffered some problems with our list server. As a result, you were sent a number of messages that had not been authorised by us for distribution. While we think there may have been a breach of security, we are not certain why this happened. We are investigating this at the moment to make sure that it doesn't happen again.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused. And thank you to the many who wrote to alert us to the problem.

The Editors

Months of fighting in Mogadishu has just ended, with the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) defeating warlords allegedly backed by the United States for control of the capital. In the last week, the threat of new violence has loomed with reports that Ethiopian troops have entered the country to defend its powerless government against the Islamist forces. The following article was compiled and submitted to Pambazuka News by Strategic Initiatives for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) Network and details the difficulties faced by ordinary people trying to escape the violence.

The struggle for power in Somalia is an ongoing battle. In recent days Ethiopian troops have been sent into the country, allegedly backed by the US, to defend the town of Baidoa, seat of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), against a possible attack from the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) who took control of the capital Mogadishu last month.

The battle for the capital itself involved many months of fighting between the UIC’s militia, who have also assumed power in many areas of South Somalia, and an alliance of warlords believed to have been backed by the US. The involvement of the Islamists is only the most recent move in a series of power struggles which began following the departure of Siad Barre’s Government, overthrown in 1991. Warlords have fought between themselves ever since to succeed in governing the country.

Now, although most of the warlords have fled Mogadishu, there remains a continued threat of further conflict with the rising tension between the UIC and the TFG. Many Somalis, whose population is predominantly Muslim, are glad that the Islamists have taken control of the capital because they have brought a severe reduction in violence. However UIC control has raised alarm with the TFG (who have limited power), Ethiopia and the US. They believe that Islamic dominance will lead to Somalia becoming a safe haven for terrorists, including members of al-Qaeda.

Yet while the gunbattles rage and the political struggles are fought it is the people of Somalia who continue to suffer as victims of attacks, with few job opportunities, with no stable Government and thus little access to services. Moreover, unlike its neighbour Sudan, due to the ferocity of fighting and lack of Government, the involvement of the international community in assisting Somalia has been limited. For many Somalis life has become unbearable and they have little hope for any improvement. Violence against women, including rape, is rife, there are limited police and hospitals, theft and lootings by gangs is commonplace, most children in IDP camps have had no education and many IDPs are forced to move from camp to camp.

This has driven some Somalis to take desperate measures to try to change their situation. A special report by IRIN (UN news agency) in June told the tales of the thousands of Somali people attempting to escape to the Middle East by paying middlemen to take them across the Red Sea. Many never make it past the port as their fares for the journey – their life savings – are stolen on the way to reach the boats. Others who make the treacherous voyage will have their bodies washed up on the shores of Yemen. Even those who do make it risk being deported back to Somalia. But they will try again; for Somalis life or death is a challenge they face every day.

Civil Society Forum for Peace

Two Strategic Initiatives for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) members, the Coalition of Grassroots Women’s Organisations (COGWO) and the Peace and Human Rights Network (PHRN), have joined with other civil rights groups in Somalia to set up a Civil Society Forum which held its first planning meetings this month. The idea of the Forum came about in response to the continued conflict in Somalia, the recent deployment of Ethiopian troops and tensions between the TFG and UIC, which has led to fears of further armed confrontation.

The aim of the Forum is to strengthen the role of civil society in promoting dialogue and in achieving a peaceful resolution to the Somali conflict. The Forum will seek to develop a common agenda, strategy and vision for civil society so that organisations can work together with a comprehensive approach to achieve greater impact. It is hoped that the Forum and its participants will be able to play a crucial role mediating between the UIC and TFG as well as ensuring that community needs are addressed. The Forum also wishes to promote the establishment of a government of national unity and to prevent the collapse of the TFG. Any organisation that believes in these objectives is welcome to become a member of the Forum and further meetings will take place later this month. For more information please contact: [email][email protected]

Saving Lives through Food Distribution

SIHA member Kalsan voluntary organization recently donated 2,000kg of maize and sorghum to four refugee camps in the north of Mogadishu, Karan district, Wajeer quarter. Two hundred families, of mainly women and children, each received 10kg of the provisions. Food distribution projects like this can play a life saving role as few aid resources are available for IDPs living in the camps. However there is hope for the future. The United Nations Emergency Coordinator, Jan Egeland, recently met UIC officials to open discussions on allowing the UN and other aid agencies access to deliver badly needed supplies to Mogadishu.

A Cry for Help: Internally displaced women living in camps in Mogadishu tell their stories

RUKIO AHMED ALI comes from Bakal region of Southern Somalia. “We used to live in another IDP camp which was hit by a mortar during the recent fighting. A friend of mine, an old woman, was killed. A number of children were also killed. Others who did not manage to escape were injured. Most were people I knew and still know. I moved to this IDP camp, Tawakal, after that attack and I feel secure here now.”

On the safety issue she continues: “Whilst I do feel safe here and generally in the city too I have no idea for how long. The shooting and fighting has stopped at the moment and I am able to move around relatively easily. But I don’t have the security of a livelihood to sustain me and my family. I see my future as doomed. Look, I have nothing, no work, no home, just this shelter. Who knows what the Islamists will do. I do not know whether we will have rights under them. Remember that I am an IDP who essentially has no right, no voice and doesn’t exist. In that context, my future is bleak. But there is something I do know, this war has caused unimaginable suffering to a lot of people and it must end. Can you help, please?”

SA’IDO BARISE CEYMOY lives at AMIN NUR IDP camp in Wardhigley District in Mogadishu. She and her family were evacuated from another IDP camp known as BUR EYLON in Bay Region, South West of Mogadishu. She has two children and is 7 months pregnant. “It was terrible (referring to the recent fighting). Right now as we speak, I do not know the whereabouts of my husband. It is two months today since he disappeared. I do not know whether he was killed or what. I am very worried. I have two young children and am pregnant. I do not know how I will cope without him. Life has become a misery. This war has made me very sad and angry. It has robbed me of my husband. I live here, a miserable life. I own nothing that I can call my own: no assets and no means to earn a livelihood. The future is bleak for me and my children whose father…no one knows where he is!”

On the issue of sending her children to school she responds with a smile: “That is a good thing to do for ones’ kids, but I am not in a position to send them since I have no means to pay them through school. In any case I do not feel comfortable enough to do so since security is not yet all that good. Remember I am an IDP. To me the most important thing is to try to feed, clothe and house them. That is what is critical. Can I do that? I do not know since right now I am pregnant and cannot seek any work around the camp or outside. It is terrible. My husband was everything and now he is not here.”

MADINO ADEN BIYOOLE and her family have lived in Mogadishu for a period of 12 years. They left their home in the Bay region of Somalia because of severe drought. “Fighting has become a normal occurrence here. We hide under these makeshift huts as our only place to seek safety. However, fighting does not know IDP camps, it does not know children, it does not know women and the elderly. These people shell everywhere indiscriminately. It is terrifying especially for the kids. I thank God we are alive and together. But I don’t know for how long. I feel secure now but who knows, another fight may be coming. It is awful. It may not be over yet. Pressure must be exerted on these people to lay down their weapons and seek dialogue for the sake of peace. In Somalia life is all about risks perpetrated by power hungry people. As a woman, things are harder. As an IDP they are even worse. I am helpless and feel unworthy. Imagine what could happen if a shell hit this hut?” She begins to cry.

FATIMA AHMED MOHAMED: “I do not know where Somalia is heading. The people fighting have no compassion for us women and children. They have been fighting for so long that it has become a habit. This madness must stop and let us rebuild our lost lives. Look at this camp (Fardow). Is it a place for human beings? No sanitation, no clean water and no means to change the situation since no work is available. We live in poverty, wretched poverty. Why has God forsaken us?”

FADUMO SHEIKH ALI has lived in ISBARTIIBO IDP camp for 10 years. She originally comes from the Bay region of South Somalia. “I tell you, we have nothing: no clothes, no shelter (pointing around) and no food. I am waiting for God to help and improve my future. We live in deplorable conditions as you can see. This is made worse by war, war, war or whatever you may call it. It kills people: young, old, women, men and everyone. It does not help anyone. I feel angry, angry at those causing us so much suffering, so much trauma and above all making it difficult to have a livelihood. I need to be secure from harm, secure from hunger and secure in assets. But I do not possess any of these. Of course the fighting has stopped again but nothing has changed for me. I still eke a living from begging. Is that the life we want to live? NO! We want our leaders to give us hope not misery. We need the basic requirements of life: schools for our children, health centres for pregnant mothers and livelihoods. Maybe what I am saying is a dream. So be it. Let me dream to soothe my pain temporarily, to reduce my sadness and anger. What a world we live in! It is not a good life to live in an IDP camp. But this has become necessary because of selfishness amongst our leaders who have no souls, hearts and foresight. What a pity.”

* This article was compiled and submitted to Pambazuka News by Strategic Initiatives for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) Network. SIHA is a network of civil society organisations from North and South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia and Somaliland. Founded in 1995 by a collection of women's groups with the view of strengthening their capacity, SIHA has grown over the years and is now comprised of 28 member organisations.

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

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