History and Government Somalis have a 1,000 year history of nomadic culture where people are identified and divided by clans. Somalia was colonized by the English, French and Italians. The borders of Somalia were determined by colonial powers in the 19th Century. In 1960 the British and Italian protectorates joined to form an independent United Republic of Somalia. Many Somalis, for example those colonized by the French, were left out of the new nation of Somalia. Somalia has had intermittent border disputes with neighboring countries in an effort to include all cultural Somalis within Somalia. For a few years after its founding Somalia enjoyed an era of parliamentary democracy and the success of a multiparty system, in part because the clan system is traditionally egalitarian. However, toward the end of the 1960s the government began to be perceived by Somalis as corrupt. In 1969, the President was assassinated by a bodyguard. Major General Mohammed Siyaad Barre, a military leader, took over in the aftermath. During his first years as president Somali was developed as a written language. This accompanied a literacy campaign and improved educational access. Over time, Siyaad Barre became a dictator, controlling much of the Somali economy and practicing nepotism. After a breakdown in the Somali-Soviet relationship, the Soviets were expelled in late 1978, and Siyaad Barre created ties with the U.S. and Europe. During the 1980s, dissident groups opposed to the increasingly corrupt Siyaad Barre government began to voice opposition, and in 1991 he was ousted. Late 1991 marked the beginning of two years of intense fighting, especially in the south, over control of the country. In the first two years after Siyaad Barre fell, agriculture and animal husbandry were disrupted, and 400,000 people died of starvation. An additional 50,000 people died in the fighting and 45% of the population was displaced. In August 1992 one-quarter of the population was at risk of starvation and one half of Somali children under five had died. Since then, the death toll has risen to nearly 1,000,000. In 1992, the United States sent humanitarian aid and troops to Somalia and the United Nations took over in 1993. Divergent clans have not been able to agree on a central government, so virtually none exists. The northern part of the country has declared itself the Somaliland Republic but it is not recognized by any government as an independent state. In August 2000, a parliamentary government was put together although it not fully operational. The head of state is Abdiqassim Salad Hassan and the Prime Minister is Ali Khalif Galaid. Economy Somalia is one of the world’s poorest countries, with a per capita income of about $600 per year. Ninety percent of the population lives outside of the cities, remaining nomadic and primarily practicing animal husbandry. The nomadic population has no running water, electricity or services. The cities generally have these services, although the civil war has caused disruption. Clans have always had disputes over resources and land. During the ongoing civil war, these conflicts continue. Somali Immigration In the early 1990s the conditions of fighting and starvation forced many Somalis into refugee camps. Since then the flow of migration has continued across clans and includes both nomads and city dwellers. Overall conditions created by ten years of civil war have prompted ongoing migration. Over 80% of the survey respondents cited war in their homeland as the reason for immigrating to the U.S. The U.S. accepts certain numbers of refugees from around the world each year. Refugees who are living in camps in Africa fill a percentage of these slots. Refugees do not usually choose the country in which they will be resettled. Between 1991 and 1999 a total of 29,328 Somalis were admitted into the U.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Jul 2013 23:39:39 +0000