Development Blogs.com

If the world could only have one father, the man that we would choose to be our father would be Nelson Mandela Peter Gabriel, British Pop artist and political......

“The international community must put Somalia at the top of its agenda and press for change before it is too late. We call on all authorities in Somalia to help us reach those in need and urge donors not to give up on this country.” Peter Goossens, WFP’s Country Director for......

“I was amazed and impressed with the hopefulness of the people that I met during my stay in Somalia. Somalia is a conservative Muslim nation and I was impressed to see that in some areas women are being empowered, thanks to investments in education. For example, the women in this photo rose to the top of their class and, despite many obstacles, decided to join the first ever female police unit.” Elizabeth Latham, Executive Director......

I am saddened that the independent media is being oppressed. (…)These [media organizations] have worked for the Somali people for the past 17 years and they are loved by the people. Seynab Mohamed Amir, MP Somali Transitional Federal......

Dr. Khaled Batarfi writing for the Arab News Online says: Our governments are suppressing the rights and freedoms of their peoples. Between those who take away our right to think and innovate and the ones who deny us the right to practice our religion, most of us are living in fear, depression and desperation. Dr. Batarfi went on by saying: If we have any chance of getting back to our glorious days, when we ruled and enlightened the world from the walls of China to the gates of France, and from the jungles of Africa to the summits of Samarkand, we must change. You know your path is wrong when every step brings you down and takes you closer to a dead end. We have been down this road for ages. Isn’t it about time we doubted our direction? Interesting? Click here to view the full......

The European Union’s Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, condemned Monday the escalating battles in Somalia. Speaking in Brussels, he was quoted as saying: I express my deepest concern on the reported involvement of foreign forces in Somalia and urge all external players to refrain immediately from intervening militarily in Somali affairs and provoke further violence. Click here to view the full......

Apee Ojulu editor of Gambela Today writes: There has been a sort of unanimity among various advisors in Prime Minister Meles Zenawi government that in an all-out-war they will defeat the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) within few days. Zenawi’s Foreign Ministry warning to the UIC that his administration “will not tolerate an Islamist regime in neighboring Somalia” is an indication of that confidence (see MCT, /22, 2006). But hubris is not a military strategy to win a war. It is a risking scheme. Having mechanized forces, countless warplanes, weapons, backing of the international and capacities to destroy every house in Somalia do not prove to win the war. Recent war between Israeli mechanized army forces against a lesser tech wired Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah forces have...

The Tennessean Newspaper writes: Phil Bredesen; the Governor of State of Tennessee has given an unusual twist to his family’s Christmas card: He is marking a Christian holiday with a card depicting a Muslim girl. The card’s cover is a print of a painting by the governor of a young woman he met when he toured Afghanistan in March. “May the peace and joy of this Christmas season be with you and your loved ones throughout the coming year,” the card reads. “While it may seem odd to put a portrait of a young Muslim woman on a Christmas card, this Season reminds us that He loves His children most of all,” Bredesen stated on the back of the card. Click here to view the full article....

Foreign interference and the presence of foreign forces on Somali soil, some of whom are already there, is a recipe for another civil war, instead of the pursuit of reconciliation and reconstruction. Ibrahim Hussein Addow, Leader of Somalia’s Islamic Courts Union Delegation Khartoum, Sudan. I agree!...

(…) for some reason or other, I am a sad exile. In some way or other, our land travels with me and with me too, though, far away, live the longitudinal essence of my country. Pablo Neruda,......

The leader of the Somali Union of Islamic Courts was quoted as saying: We do not negotiate with a Government which is being helped by the enemy of Somalia. I do not believe this is a wise move! There should always be an open channel for a political talk between the opposing factions of the Somali bloody conflict. After all, the lives of millions of Somalis are on the line. Indeed, the future of the entire Somali Nation is at stake. Hence, we must look beyond personal difference and work for the common good of our people. Sheekh Sharif Axmed looked like a cool-headed and reasonable man and he must maintain that image by ordering his troops to move out of Bay region. He must also ask his delegates in Khartoum to resume talks with their TFG counterparts. It goes without saying that the TFG...

How much injustice and brutality is carried out in reaction to irrational internal fears? Still, it’s only the most insightful educators or counselors that appreciate this dynamic even on an elementary school playground. Try applying the principle to our adult world, where everyone thinks white men in authority are little less than gods, when in fact they are grown up children who’ve perfected, relatively, the technique of deflection. They deflect their own insecurities by pointing angry fingers at any weakness they can find in others. Nicholas F. Benton of the Falls Church News Press....

The theory of economics does not furnish a body of settled conclusions immediately applicable to policy. It is a method rather than a doctrine, an apparatus of the mind, a technique of thinking, which helps its possessor to draw correct conclusions…. Economics is a science of thinking in terms of models joined to the art of choosing models which are relevant to the contemporary world. J. M.......

Charles Onyango-Obbo of the Kenyan Daily Nation newspaper writes: Everywhere you turn, you are either reading or hearing on TV or radio that the rout of the Somali warlords in Mogadishu by the Islamic Courts Union came as “a surprise”. The warlords are now dispersed to the far corners of Somalia, leaving the American project of backing their Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism in tatters. There are many who are mourning the fact that the Islamic fundamentalists have won, saying that we are all in danger now. It’s not that simple. What we are witnessing is not the triumph of religious fundamentalism, but the crisis of secularism. Those of us who consider ourselves secularists, the fellows who believe in the separation of religion and state, bear...

Mukhtar and his daughter Amina with traditional Islamic clothes. The picture was taken during Eid-Al-Fidr celebrations few months ago....

We hear that the sacked Central Intelligence Agency Director, Porter Goss, visited Somalia in February after a trip to Kenya. CIA staff certainly helped to organize the alliance of the antiterrorist.  Africa Confidential, London-based Newsletter. You may like to click here for recent Africa Confidential’s articles and analysis on Somalia...

I think ultimately you’re not going to be able to control something like corruption if you have an entire elite that believes that their primary duty is to their families rather than to the public good and there’s certainly lots and lots of countries around the world for which that’s true.  Prof. Francis Fukuyama, School of Advanced International Studies, John Hopkins University . The Author of “End of History and the Last Man” ...

As animals die by their hundreds each minute due to the severe drought that is ravaging Somalia, the livelihoods of millions of Somali pastoralists die along with it! Consequently, those who lost everything their lives depended upon will have no choice but to migrate to the more urban areas and into the Somali cities and towns with all economic and political repurcussions that comes along with it. Sadly, this is the looming human tragedy that no one is talking about.  Copy Right (picture): Jason Beaubien; Africa Correspondent for the National Public Radio (NPR). You may like to click here to view Jason Beaubien’s dispatches from the drought devestated Somalia...

Total annual rainfall (mm) for selected pastoral areas in the Greater Horn of Africa in relation to the minimum threshold for viable pastures: 1995 – 2005.. Copy Right:......

This is a crisis on the verge of becoming a catastrophe. There are dead cattle everywhere and people have sold everything they have to buy food.  (…) These are the last few weeks that many people are going to be able to survive without help. Dominic Nutt; Emergencies specialist, Christian Aid....

The International committee of the Red Cross is releasing a short movie about the victims of the drought in Somalia. Following is information about the film: Title: Somalia: Emergency relief for victims of the drought Date & location: Bakool region, Somalia, Nairobi, 16-20 February 2006. Natural with Somali speech and local dialect Duration: 9′35′’ Produced and realized by Pedram Yazdi, Nicole Engelbrecht, Virginie Miranda. Source: ICRC – Access all. Click here to learn more about this film. ...

This is a historical opportunity for the Somalia parliament, government and the people. (…) Let us choose between serving our people or being put on the bad list of history as people who promoted confrontation among Somalis and lacked the skills to administer a modern Somalia.   Cabdullaahi Yuusuf Axmed President Somalia Transitional Federal Government ...

This is a historical opportunity for the Somalia parliament, government and the people. (…) Let us choose between serving our people or being put on the bad list of history as people who promoted confrontation among Somalis and lacked the skills to administer a modern Somalia.   Cabdullaahi Yuusuf Axmed President Somalia Transitional Federal Government ...

This is a historical opportunity for the Somalia parliament, government and the people. (…) Let us choose between serving our people or being put on the bad list of history as people who promoted confrontation among Somalis and lacked the skills to administer a modern Somalia. Cabdullaahi Yuusuf Axmed President Somali Transitional Federal Government...

The Sydney Morning Herald featured story about a Somali teen-ager and says:  In many respects, Mohamed is a typical teenager. He likes to drive the family car, regards the prospect of working in an office with dismay and his dad wants him to study harder. In many ways he also is a normal young cricketer. He wants to bat higher, reckons he ought to bowl more and thinks his captain is a dunderhead. He is different in only two regards. He is from Somalia. And he has one leg.  The determination to success and perseverance of this young Somali man is admirable!  Click here to view the full article on the SMH. ...

Nick Haan, FAO Chief Technical Advisor of Food Security Analysis Unit (FSAU) for Somalia was quoted as saying:    While Somalia is normally one of the poorest and most food insecure countries in the world, current conditions are dire and way beyond the typically resilient Somali peoples’ capacity to cope with stress……..The window of opportunity to avert disaster is quickly closing. See below for a full press release by FSAU. ...