Pirates to release Thai hostages without ransom

Somali Pirates are ready to release Thai hostages after more than three years of captivity, local media reported on Sunday.

The hostages were the crew of Malaysian-flagged MV Albeldo ship that was hijacked by the pirates 38 months ago near Somalia’s territorial water, but they opted to release after they failed to see anyone to negotiate with. Pirates demanded ransom for their release in the early days of their captivity, but Thai government refused to talk to the pirates. Last year, the families of the hostages sent an open later to the pirates, requesting their release without condition.

A Spokesman for the pirates said that they could not afford to hold the hostages and stated they are now ready to free the hostages as soon as possible. He did not mention were the hostages are held and their health conditions.

Turkey cuts direct budget support to Somalia

Turkey has stopped direct budgetary support to Somalia, cutting off a major source of funding for a government trying to rebuild the country after more than two decades of chaos, Reuters News Agency reported on Friday.

Turkish government is Somalia’s major ally, financing development and humanitarian projects in the horn of Africa Nation. Turkey is constructing roads, hospitals, and schools in Mogadishu, while Turkish business companies are pouring in Somalia.

The Agency referring to Turkish foreign ministry official said that the government has stopped the direct budget support payments to Somalia at the end of 2013. It is not clear what has caused this decision, but Reuters reported that Somali government hopes the payments will be re-started.

Tragedy of a Music Icon and the Shame of a Nation

Widely known as the Somali King of Melody, Maxamad Saleeban Tubeec’s unique, modulate and soaring voice spoke prophetically of the fate that would befall the Somali nation and with it Somali culture of which music is its crown jewel.

After more than half a century of fame during which Tubeec has entertained, mesmerized, and moved the passions of the Somali people with his magical and inimitable voice in defiance of the ugly tyranny of the Somali people against his rights as a human being and a native citizen, he is now lying in a hospital bed far from home.

  He said the doctors in Germany where has been taken for treatment confirmed to him that he needs a surgical operation, an operation that he cannot financially afford. The painful news came through a desperate appeal he made through a Somali TV channel, asking Somali people and the Somali government to assist him in meeting the hospital expenses so he can undergo this life giving surgery.

In any world, other than this surrealistic situation of Somalia, Tubeec would have been not only a source of national pride for his contribution to Somalia’s music heritage but also a wealthy man from the copyright and sales of his works. But is it no wonder that within the Somali context where there is no copyright and no respect for intellectual property that artists, no matter how significantly they contribute to the collective national memory of the people, would remain on the lowest rung of the economic ladder.

As a person who grew up in the heyday of Somali music and literature in the 1960s and 70s when music rocked people’s passions with its magical melody, its powerful poetry, and its appeal to the ambitions and dreams of the young Somali nation, I could never have envisioned the day when the whole nation would collapse and Somali musical icons would suffer and die of negligence and anonymity in their old age.

Hearing Tubeec’s pathetic condition, I traveled down memory lane and with the help of like minded people who preserved his music on YouTube, tried to relive the golden age of his music when he breathed the beauty of life into the hearts and souls of people who loved his music but wouldn’t otherwise treat him as an equal human being due to his clan. The days when his melodies symbolized everything beautiful in life and through it we all felt to be immortal. It was ironic that I encountered his famous lyrics which Somalis have through decades sang and may continue to sing even centuries to come to ring in every New Year. As we stand at the beginning of a New Year, 2014, it is painful and somewhat apocalyptic to hear Tubeec singing the powerful words of Hussein Aw Farah:

Addressing holistically the issue of piracy in the horn of Africa

The issue of piracy in the coast of Somalia began in 1990, when foreign vessels flocked to Somalia’s unguarded coast, profiting the marine resources and at times dumping radioactive chemical wastes as evidenced with the barrels of the 2004 Tsunami that surfaced on the northeastern coastal towns of Somalia. According to a report issued by the UN in 2006, Somalia loses annually more than “$300 million worth of seafood” for illegal fishery by foreign vessels. As a result, the country’s coast has become the hotbed for all illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) activities.

 As one expert noted, the amount of resources that is lost to IUU is “staggering sum.” That, however, was the context of piracy as we know it today. The violent reaction was particularly prompted when foreign vessels attacked the fishing nets of Somali fishermen, freezing both activities of fishermen and their livelihoods, using trawlers and water hoses to submerge local boats, which often remain rudimentary and traditional in nature. Clearly, the Somali public see piracy differently than how the international community portrays it – as a global threat against international maritime trade.

 For a majority of Somali public, piracy is simply an alternative to formal coast guard that protect marine resources and the territorial sovereignty of Somalia. They view that these armed pirates are godsend sons of Somalia to provide public services and protect the seashore in the absence of Somali federal government. In fact, some argue that local fishermen raised their concerns to the world community to intervene, but were ignored.

However, the international community made outcries over the local fishermen who banded together in armed violence against illegal fishing. Initially, their goal was to draw an international attention to the issue of IUU on Somali waters. The pushback from local fishermen was received well by ordinary Somalis, and in certain quarters, armed militias have joined forces with the effort against foreign vessels. In the midst of that commotion, again the international community failed to address the fundamental issue of illegal fishery on the coast of Somalia that remains the lifeline of millions of coastal communities.

 The corporate media’s narrative painted simply a bunch of militias that pose threat on world economy – dismissing the legitimate perspective of local fisheries and the environmental hazards dumped on the seashore. Moreover, piracy seems to be declining in the horn of Africa as a result of dispatching scores of international warships to patrol off the coast of Somalia, but the problem of illegal fishing remains unaddressed. This could hardly tackle the issue of piracy in the long term, because of failing to counter the prevailing conditions that led to the resurgence of piracy.

Similarly, it is the presence of international warships in the coast of Somalia that continue to deter Somali piracy, but analysts warn that it could return once the international warships retreat from the scene. Maintaining a costly mission of patrolling the longest coast in Africa is not going to be sustainable in the long term. What will certainly work is to provide Somali federal government the capacity to build effective coast guards that deals not only the piracy, but also the illegal fishery and dumping that devastate the livelihoods of poor coastal communities across Somalia.

With this approach, the international community will be seen by the Somali people as a partner and the network of pirates as the bad guys that should be confronted by local stakeholders. This alternative deserves a try as it involves less than a quarter of what the international community commits currently on the initiative of fighting piracy in the Horn of Africa.

African Women in Leadership

Women in leadership face great challenges and to overcome them there are a few things that both men and women need to know about themselves. This article was prompted by one of the Kenyan Governors, who went on air stating that women who were unmarried should not be elected to leadership.

He supported his remarks by adding that women who were unable to run a home should be considered unfit to run an office. The uproar that followed forced him to give a public apology which was half-hearted. He did not seem in the least bit remorseful and at first had outright refused to give an apology. However, I digress; this article is about how we think about women in leadership. We think of leaders as strong, decisive, focused and able to keep a team together to reach a common goal. Surprisingly these attributes are usually assigned to men and not women. Women in the same space are considered manly, rigid and uncaring – and surprisingly over competitive and over ambitious as they work too hard to realize their dreams.

A woman who decides to defer marriage or having children for the sake of her career is ridiculed, especially in the African society. A man in the same circumstance is purposeful and determined. However, women are different from men. Women are emotional beings; this does not mean that they think irrationally however it means that their decisions are made with the aspect of society in mind. Women tend to make decisions where as many people as possible win, men though tend to make decisions which help them stay on top.

 They might not think about who is losing and why. These are generalizations of course and when it comes down to it different people make decisions as per their personality, preferences and experiences. Another observation I have made is that men will use whatever they can to get ahead, women however, will at some point back down and give up the fight for a greater good. For example, a woman knows that if she exposes an affair that a certain man in the office is having, she will be next in line for the job.

However, she also knows that this will hurt the man’s family and children, so she may choose to find another tactic rather than hurt others. Once again this is a generalization but reveals how women tend to make choices. Last year in Kenya, several outspoken women were in the political scene. Martha Karua was vying for presidency. She weathered all manner of comments including rumours that she slept with all manner of men and the default comment

 “…the problem with these women in power is that they need a man”. Rachael Shebesh, the Nairobi Women’s representative had pictures of her circulated online, alleging her infidelity with the current Nairobi Senator and painted her as a woman who was out of control. Interestingly, her partner in crime, Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko, was not vilified in all this. All fingers were pointed at Shebesh. In Kenyan society infidelity in men is acceptable but in women it intolerable.

It is clear from the societal reactions that women have a long way to go when it comes to leadership. That does not mean that we have not had great leaders. I really admire the late Wangari Maathai who saw it all as a Kenyan woman in leadership. She still came out strong despite all that she went through. I believe that women make exceptional leaders in the society because of their ability to make decisions that benefit everyone rather than the elite few.

 However, I also know that the leadership has been dominated by men and some of the leadership concepts that women have may not fit the needs of women leaders. Below I outline some of the thoughts I have on what can help African women survive the leadership space especially in Africa. Women must ignore the noise around them. Decide what is relevant to your leadership and ignore the insignificant stuff. Men are really good at this but as women we tend to be bogged down by rumours and what people out there are saying.

 Consider it a compliment that people have time to talk about you, it means you are going somewhere. Don’t let them make you lose focus. The concept of a woman as a helper in the home has not been erased from many people’s minds, especially in African. Women should be ready to weather the storm when their leadership is criticized because they do not fit the descri of the perfect housewife. This does not mean women should go on the defensive when others point out that they cannot cook, clean, have no children and do not have a husband at home.

Women have great achievements which do not necessarily fit into the shape of the dutiful housewife; this does not mean that women have failed. Women are a different breed of leaders, many women leaders run a home, take care of children, lead multinational organizations and still are a friend, sister and wife. This means that women have an unusual ability of being in various roles concurrently. Therefore, women should not expect to copy exactly what men in leadership do, but rather to learn and adapt the leadership concepts to fit into the context of women’s leadership.

 This is very important, because a lot of the books on leadership were written with men in mind, not until recently did the script start to include women. Some of the greatest leaders in the world are women. They overcome adversity and still came out strong despite all the challenges they faced. These women should serve as a reminder to all women in leadership.

 Oprah Winfrey is the first woman to own her television network. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa. She opened doors for African women to continue seeking political office in Africa. Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to win a Noble Peace prize in 2004. Her story is a testament of how women should ignore the noise around them and focus on the goal at hand.

We can glean pearls of wisdom from the lives of these women, they show the world that despite the challenges that women face in society, when they lead, they leave a mark in society that can be felt for generations to come. I welcome further examples on how conventional concepts of leadership do into necessarily fit into women’s leadership and how women can adapt to these.

IMIMIGRATION OFFICER (VIDEO)

Soldiers complete training program in Mogadishu

In renewed efforts to boost the Somali National Army, members of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have completed a training program for the first inter-clan, light infantry company at its training facilities at Jazeera Camp in the capital Mogadishu.

Soldiers drawn from different commands in Somalia have undergone a six months rigorous training from basic rifle marksmanship to moving as a group information during a planned attack. The program started with about 700 recruits but with the intensity of the training, only 130 men and women made it to the final stage.

Colonel Mustafa Mursal Mohamed, Chief Training Officer of the Somali National Army says such trainings are very important and contribute to the overall objective, of having an empowered force, able to take charge of the country’s security.

“You cannot imagine how happy I am today. The boys displayed an exemplary level of coordination and control on the battlefield. It is important that the soldier looks out for himself while also defeating the enemy. Today you saw the perfect synchronization of the command and execution. It was very evident today and this is what is required of the army,” says Colonel Mustafa Mursal Mohamed. AMISOM conducts regular training of the Somali National Forces, as part of its exit strategy. Captain Billy Dominc Logwee, the AMISOM training Coordinator reiterates that the African Union force is only in Somalia for a limited period and is working towards ensuring that their Somali counterparts are well empowered.

“At the end of the day we would want to have the Somali army trained because we are not going to be here all the time, there will come a time when we will have to rotate out or to transition from the operations in Somalia and say enough is enough, we have trained enough Somalis and they will be able to carry out their own operations and handle their country’s affairs,” he says. The newly trained soldiers now hope to utilize their skills in protection of their country and imparting the acquire knowledge to other comrades.

“We are ready to defend the country, our people and our religion. Our soldiers are ready to counter anyone that threatens the people and the government,” asserts 2 nd Lt. Yassin, Newly Training Somali National Army Soldier. The Somali National Security Forces have been strained by two decades of war and insurgency by the al Shabaab and are now recovering, with an extensive capacity building drive on going. United Nations Security Council Resolution 2124 of 2013 calls for strategic strengthening of the Somali National Security Forces through AMISOM and its partners.

 This includes mapping the structure of the forces, establishing clear command and control systems, implementing appropriate procedures, codes of conduct and training, among others. AMISOM’s new mandate provides for support to the Somali National Army when on joint operations with the AU force. The support will primarily comprise logistics, which include fuel, food and medevac.