Somalia Briefing: caught between anti-terrorism legislation, militants and
starving to death
– By Magnus Taylor
Posted on
<
http://africanarguments.org/2014/07/15/somalia-briefing-caught-between-anti
-terrorism-legislation-militants-and-starving-to-death-by-magnus-taylor/>
July 15, 2014
When I heard, last night, that several regions of Somalia are once again at
risk of famine, the prevailing feeling was one of déjà vu. The reason for
this was that it was only 3 years ago, in 2011, that Southern Somalia
suffered its last devastating food shortages. Despite the existence of
effective early warning systems, approximately
<
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22380352> 260,000 people starved to
death. Half of these were children under the age of 5.
This number is truly staggering. In 2011 16 warnings of famine were made
before it was officially announced and a more intensive humanitarian
response could kick in. This time around we are on warning number 8. An
estimated 2.9 million people are currently facing humanitarian crisis.
UN Special Representative to Somalia, Nicholas Kay, stated that
“humanitarian peril” is one of the “sharks near the boat” in what is
generally thought of as an improving situation in the country.
Edward Paice, Director of the London-based
<
http://www.africaresearchinstitute.org/> Africa Research Institute (ARI),
made the point during the organisation’s ‘Somalia Briefing’ last night that
it was important to bring this worsening humanitarian situation to greater
attention.
To this end, ARI hosted Degan Ali (Adeso), Sara Pantuliano (ODI) and
Abdirashid Duale (Dahabshiil) – all have experience of specific aspects of
famine response. The discussion focused, in particular, on the current
challenges to the humanitarian community provided by the specifics of the
Somali situation. This included anti-terrorism legislation and its impact
on, in particular, the remittance industry.
Degan Ali outlined what she sees as the main challenges for the response:
1. Competing Crises (Syria, CAR and South Sudan take time and money from
international organisations and NGOs)
2. Poor Planning (humanitarian agencies could have put in place better
mitigation measures)
3. Continuing Conflict (Many people cannot access their land to cultivate.
Traders are also unable to access certain communities)
4. Climate (failure of rains)
In addition, she detailed how anti-terror legislation, which in 2013
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http://africanarguments.org/2013/07/09/somaliamoney-transfer-barclays-decis
ion-threatens-efforts-to-build-lasting-peace-and-security-by-laura-hammond/>
gained particular notoriety over the projected impact on the operational
capacity of remittance companies (notably Dahabshiil), has made an effective
response to famine more difficult to achieve. This is for 2 reasons.
First, it has made operating in Somalia, for NGOs, a risky business. The
official association of the country with Islamic extremism has meant that
NGOs are particularly wary of operating in Al-Shabaab areas for fear that
they could be prosecuted if resources (particularly cash transfers) are
suspected of ending up in the hands of militants.
Under US anti-terrorism legislation, NGOs can be liable for funding listed
terrorist groups even if their assistance only inadvertently helps illicit
groups.
Second, it’s still a possibility that Dahabshiil and other money transfer
companies operating in Somalia (MSBs) will have to cease their work their
due to the withdrawal of Barclays’ banking services (a direct result of the
anti-terror legislation). This would mean the end of what is generally
considered to be the most effective method of transferring resources to
food-insecure people.
Around 40% of Somali households rely on remittances for survival, so
removing this lifeline would place a further burden on the international
community’s humanitarian response systems. Remittances form an estimated 46%
per cent of foreign capital flows to Somalia – exceeding that of foreign
direct investment and aid – which amounts to an inward flow of between $1.2
and 1.3 billion per year.
Even in Puntland, a relatively stable part of the country, one third of
people are unable to carry out various every day functions without
remittance assistance. Remittance flows are, quite simply, the best
humanitarian safety net for Somali households. Those communities that have a
large presence in the diaspora are generally more food secure and better
able to cope with periodic shocks.
As Abdirashid Duale, CEO of Dahabshiil – the region’s biggest money-transfer
company – put it: thousands of Somalis find themselves “in the middle of
anti-terrorism legislation, militants and starving to death.”
A better international response must be found.
Received on Tue Jul 15 2014 - 11:36:05 EDT