Somalia: Finding Rest

"Once we begin to flee the things that threaten and burden us, there is no end to fleeing. God's solution is surprising. He offers rest. But it's a unique form of rest. It's to rest in him in the midst of our threats and our burdens. It's discovering, as David did in seasons of distress, that God is our rock and refuge right in the thick of our situation." -Mark Buchanan


Being in Somalia is being right in the thick of a situation.  Not only has the country seen fighting from factions and clans and civil war, but the country also has to deal with pirates.  Somalia is a dangerous place to be for any Somalian, but then to add to that the danger of being a Christian convert in an Islamic country and life gets really uncertain.  Just this past month on November 16th, militants publicly murdered a young Christian man by beheading him in broad daylight and desecrating his body as a warning to others because he converted from Islam.  The church in Somalia has been underground since the civil war in 1991, but despite the persecution they remain faithful, even unto death.  While we lift Somalia up in prayer this month, let us pray that our God provides rest to these believers even in the midst of their distress, and that God would be their refuge even when life is uncertain. 
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Somalia

Basic Info: The country of Somalia is slightly smaller than Texas and it is located in Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia. This strategic location on the Horn of Africa provides a route through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. However, the country suffers from recurring droughts, frequent dust storms over eastern plains in the summer, and floods during the rainy season. All of this contributes to a problem with famine. Figuring an estimated population for Somalia is difficult because of the large number of nomads and by refugee movements in response to famine and clan warfare. The current estimate is based off of an official census in 1975 and lists the population at 10,085,638. The official languages are Somali and Arabic, but Italian and English are spoken as well. Only 37% of the population is urban and only 37.8% are literate. It is estimated that due to the civil war in 1988, clan-based competition for resources, the famine in 2011, and fighting between al-Shabaab and TFG allied forces, there are about 1.36 million internally displaced persons in Somalia. Also since 2005, the UN has listed the Transitional Federal Government and its allied militias as persistent violators in recruiting children (2010).　

Government: Somalia has had a turbulent history in the recent past. In 1960, Britain withdrew from British Somaliland to allow the country to join with Italian Somaliland and form the new nation of Somalia. Only 9 years later, a coup headed by Mohamed Siad Barre ushered in an authoritarian socialist rule characterized by the persecution, jailing, and torture of political opponents and dissidents. Civil war finally toppled the dictatorship in 1991, but no viable alternative emerged and Somalia descended into turmoil, factional fighting, and anarchy. One ray of hope is that in May 1991, northern clans declared an independent Republic of Somaliland that now includes the administrative regions of Awdal, Woqooyi Galbeed, Togdheer, Sanaag, and Sool. Although not recognized by any government, this entity has maintained a stable existence and continues efforts to establish a constitutional democracy, including holding municipal, parliamentary, and presidential elections. The regions of Bari, Nugaal, and northern Mudug comprise a neighboring semi-autonomous state of Puntland, which has been self-governing since 1998 but does not aim at independence; it has also made strides toward reconstructing a legitimate, representative government but has suffered some civil strife. Puntland disputes its border with Somaliland. Beginning in 1993, a two-year UN humanitarian effort (primarily in the south) was able to alleviate famine conditions, but when the UN withdrew in 1995, having suffered significant casualties, order still had not been restored. In 2000, the Somalia National Peace Conference (SNPC) held in Djibouti resulted in the formation of an interim government, known as the Transitional National Government (TNG). When the TNG failed to establish adequate security or governing institutions, the Government of Kenya, under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), led a subsequent peace process that concluded in October 2004 with the election of Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed as President of a second interim government, known as the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of the Somali Republic. The TFG included a 275-member parliamentary body, known as the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP). The TFG was supported by Ethiopia and other democratic nations. Around the same time, the Islamist group Union of Islamic Courts (supported by Islamic powers and jihadists) emerged as a national power. In 2006, the Union of Islamic Courts took control of the capital, Mogadishu, along with significant areas of the country. Eventually Ethiopian and Transitional Federal Government forces were able to expel the militants from the capital, but more than 10,000 civilians were killed and approximately one million people displaced in the insurgency. Militant Islamic groups still control the majority of the south and center of the country. President Yusuf resigned late in 2008 while United Nations-sponsored talks between the TFG and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) were underway in Djibouti. In January 2009, following the creation of a TFG-ARS unity government, Ethiopian military forces withdrew from the country. The TFP was doubled in size to 550 seats with the addition of 200 ARS and 75 civil society members of parliament. The expanded parliament elected Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the former ICU and ARS chairman as president in January 2009. The creation of the TFG was based on the Transitional Federal Charter (TFC), which outlined a five-year mandate leading to the establishment of a new Somali constitution and a transition to a representative government following national elections. In 2009, the TFP amended the TFC to extend TFG's mandate until 2011 and in 2011 Somali principals agreed to institute political transition by August 2012. The transition process ended in September 2012 when clan elders appointed 275 members to a new parliament replacing the TFP and the subsequent election, by parliament, of a new president. The new President is Hassan Sheikh Mahamud. The country has a mixed legal system of civil law, Islamic law, and customary law. After the breakdown of the central government, most regions reverted to local forms of conflict resolution, either secular, traditional Somali customary law, or sharia (Islamic) law with a provision for appeal of all sentences.

Economy: Despite the government's turbulent history and its lack of oversight in the midst of other national crisis, Somalia has maintained a healthy but informal economy. It is based mostly on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies, and telecommunications. Livestock provides typically about 40% of GDP and more than 50% of export earnings. A large part of the population is nomadic and semi-pastoralists, who are dependent upon their livestock for their livelihood. Livestock, hides, fish, charcoal, and bananas are Somalia's principal exports, while sugar, sorghum, corn, qat, and machined goods are the principal imports. Somalia had a small industrial sector, but it has mostly been looted and the machinery sold as scrap metal. Telecommunication firms provide wireless services in most major cities and offer the lowest international call rates on the continent, but during the civil war, the public telecommunications system was almost completely destroyed or dismantled. There are two private TV stations that rebroadcast Al-Jazeera and CNN. Somaliland has 1 government-operated TV station and Puntland has 1 private TV station. In the absence of a formal banking sector, money transfer/remittance services have sprouted throughout the country, handling up to $1.6 billion in remittances annually. Somalia's service sector has grown. Mogadishu's main market offers a variety of goods from food to the newest electronic gadgets. Hotels continue to operate and are supported with private-security militias. The International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial and offshore waters in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean are still at the greatest risk for piracy and armed robbery against ships. In 2010, 50% of all attacks occurred in this region; 217 vessels, including commercial shipping and pleasure craft, were attacked or hijacked both at anchor and while underway. Hijackings off the coast of Somalia accounted for 92% of all ship seizures in 2010. As of May 2011, 26 vessels and 522 hostages were being held for ransom by Somali pirates. The presence of several naval task forces in the Gulf of Aden and additional anti-piracy measures on the part of ship operators have reduced the number of incidents. In response Somali-based pirates, using hijacked fishing trawlers as "mother ships" to extend their range, shifted operations as far south as the Mozambique Channel and eastward to the vicinity of the Maldives.

Religion: Sunni Islam is the official religion of Somalia according to the Transitional Federal Charter. The Somali Church was driven underground in 1991 when the dictatorial regime of Mohamed Siyad Barre fell in a popular uprising. Most of the several hundred Somali believers went underground or fled, taking refuge abroad. There are possibly about 4,000 Somali Christians in Somalia and twice that in the diaspora. They practice their faith in secret under extremely dangerous conditions. The murder of Christians and especially converts from Islam to Christianity is increasingly common. At least 10 Christians, including four teachers, were killed for their faith in 2008 and several others kidnapped and raped. A 17-year-old Somali woman who converted to Christianity from Islam was shot to death in November 2010 in an apparent "honor killing.” Muslim militants murdered a 21-year-old Christian man in April 2011 after someone allegedly informed the Islamic militants of his conversion from Islam.

Info compiled from CIAWorldFactBook “Somalia”; VOMC “Somalia” www.persecution.net

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Pirate Coast Somalia (Journeyman) 　

Somalia Justice
　

Somalia's fishermen make a comeback (Oct 2012) 　 　

Groundbreaking Somalia President offers hope and hard work (Oct 2012)