Silver LiningThe raped Somali refugees the raped country! [Archives:2006/926/Opinion]
Mohammed Hatem al-Qadhi
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I have been very much stunned by the story of the three Somali refugees raped by security men. I interviewed two of them. They told me a very tragic story of how they were beaten up brutally and raped by some savage security men. Two were raped when security men broke up the month-long sit-in for hundreds of Somali refugees last December in front of the UN agency UNHCR office in Sana'a. The third was raped upon arrival the land of Yemen in Shabwa in October 2001. Like many other refugees, she was blackmailed by the marine security men and was asked to pay YR 1500. All paid expect her. She had nothing and therefore, was not allowed to leave. She was beaten up and then raped by three soldiers in front of her three children. They were crying but to no avail.
The National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms (HOOD) has demanded an immediate investigation into the case and the attorney general responded positively and ordered the prosecution to start investigating into the refugees claim. The two women told me they could not go to the prosecution out of fear to be killed and shame which makes it difficult to start the investigation.
This is just an example of how the Somali migrants, asylum seekers and refugees suffer. Others are drowning in the sea from time to time in their endeavors to escape the instability of their homeland. Last week only, 137 migrants and asylum seekers were forced by human smugglers deep into water. According to UNHCR, these people are beaten up, raped and tortured by their smugglers.
Dictatorial regimes can never produce but disasters and chaos. The war-torn Somalia is a sheer example of this fact. The regime of Siyad Barri put the country into the turmoil of civil war and killings for over 15 years. It is the people who suffer while the rulers manage to escape. Of course, there is a difference between dictators in the Arab countries and those in the other part of the world. Due to the absence of institutionalized states where the rulers enjoy absolute power, these countries are forced into disorder and the result is collapse of the system at large when the dictators are out of power.
Another example is that of Iraq. I used to think that Saddam managed to create a secular state free from the complex of religious differences. However, when the regime fell down, the whole system collapsed and the hidden rotten apples and religious conflicts came to the surface. The recent fiasco in Iraq is a real example of this. Saddam oppressed his people and ruled them with an iron fist but did nothing to build an institutionalized state the can sustain even after he heaves power. I believe other examples can be seen in other Arab countries where the regimes do everything that can prolong their stay in authority.
Let us go back to the plight of the Somalis who are scattered in many parts of the world looking for a better and safe life. The Somali state does not exist as the whole system has collapsed after Barri who raped the country for many years and finally left it to ruins. The lack of life opportunities force the Somalis to take the risk and sail on even old-aged and unsafe boats under the sun. Most fall an easy prey to human smugglers who have the reputation of treating their passengers brutally. According to UNHCR, between 12 January and mid-February, 48 boatloads of people arrived off the Yemeni coast from the Somali port of Bosasso. Among these were 2,528 Somalis.
What is more saddening is the silence of the international community that is just entertaining watching the movie of a dying nation and people left at the mercy of human smugglers and high seas. The UN has not moved to do something to the Somalis as it did somewhere else. The Arab States and the super power countries including the US just keep watching the dilemma of this people as there is no interest that can attract them there.
I know the world is driven by economic and political interests. However, out of their ethical commitments towards the power countries like Somalia, the international community should at least urgently stop these ruthless smugglers, putting an end to the desperate people plight in the seas.
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