Inhumane In Somalia

When you think of the country Somalia, what comes to mind? To most of you I’m sure the terms under developed, poor, corrupt, and even hopeless come to thought. The question that many fail to ask is, why? Why should innocent citizens, including mothers and young children have to live in this kind of environment? What people are forgetting is that these Somaliland citizens are human beings. Nobody in this world should to have to live in a country where there life is in danger every single day. This is why I believe members of the Militant Islamist group Al- Shabab should be punished for crimes against humanity, for crimes including restricting the right of mobility, “murdering by starvation” during Somalia’s drought crisis, and conducting inhumane
acts of violence against the people of Somalia.

A crime against humanity as defined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court are “particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings.” In Somalia this is evident.
The Militant Islamist Group Al-Shabab is the Somalia-based organization of the Militant Islamist group al-Qaeda. Al-Shabaab has approximately 14,426 militants. They also control nearly the entire southern hemisphere of the country. Al- Shabaab continues to conduct inhumane acts of violence against Somaliland citizens. The inhumane acts of power that Al-Shabaab conducts are corrupt, immoral and downright wrong. Map showing territorial gains made by Al-Shabaab from January 31, 2009 to December 2010. (Al-Shabaab Green Color)

As shown in the map above Al-Shabaab is constantly growing and literally “taking over” the country. Each community that Al-Shabaab claims as their own, the militant group shows there power by; raping women and children, killing any person who disobeys orders, and torturing individuals for no certain cause or reason. This is wrong. Human Logistics Author Matt Bryden explained it best, “Somalians don’t deserve this, what has the word come to if people cannot see that this is immoral and wrong.” Al Shabaab should be punished for these crimes against humanity, and the people of Somalia should be given the proper aid and rehabilitation to help heal the wounds Al-Shabaab
has inflicted on Somalia. Al Shaabab is literally committing “murder by starvation!” Somalia has been in a horrible drought for over two years now.
The United Nations has called it the worst African drought in 60 years. Since the beginning of the drought nearly 500 000 deaths have occurred, and the United Nations warns that if aid is not provided to Somalia, then the death toll could exceed 750 000 by summer 2013. Why wouldn’t aid be provided to people who are suffering? The answer to this question is easy. As CNN author Jens David describes it, Somalia is in a state of near anarchy. Somalia is a country where the media portrayed it as a country to avoid. They did this by publishing the famous movie Black Hawk Down. The movie was a story of the United States trying to provide aid to Somalia, but instead the mission failed, and several soldiers lost their lives. This movie caused people to not support missions in Somalia and it is now doubtful that The United States will intervene again. Somalia is also known as the home for modern day pirates. Al-Shaabab threatens the lives of any individual or organization, who tries to contribute to the aid of Somalia’s citizens. These inhumane actions cause many people of all ages to suffer. “Every six minutes a child dies in Somalia, due to starvation.” (UNICEF) Al-Shaababs actions have created not just present problems in Somalia, but also future problems. Abdi Samater from Aljazeera.com explains that even if the country of Somalia was given a miracle amount
of rain; it would still not solve the drought. This catastrophe was manmade. Drought does not necessarily lead to famine. Even if rain came for days, plants may bloom but so will disease killing countless malnourished people.