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Somaliland may become like southern Somalia

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Hargeysa—(SomalilandPress) the latest scuffle of the Somaliland parliament and the violent demonstrations with rampaging rioters may make the peaceful republic like the strife-ridden southern Somalia.

Like this violence may cause that some Somali militants to take this violence and start new waves of violence and turn Somaliland into a horror state.

With this violence goes on within a week alone, Somaliland is considered one of the most peaceful countries in the east Africa, which had no stable government since warlords overthrew the country’s long-time dictator in 1991. Experts have said crimes may rake in up to Somaliland soon if no solution comes.

“There are growing indications that Somaliland … may become new southern Somalia and may give haven for extremist organizations” that could further destabilize the republic, Somali expert Anab Noh tells Somalilandpress.

He did not elaborate, but called for international efforts to help stamp out the threat.

The eyes of the world are on Somaliland these days as extremist groups are taking advantage of the currently brawl of the MPs and the violent demonstration, to devastate the livelihoods of this quiet republic.

When the Somaliland parliament MPs scuffled, the Alshabaab extremists became ambitious for destroying Somaliland like southern Somalia.

“The answer is neither insurgency nor the Somaliland people to determine their future,” Anab added.

Somaliland has enjoyed relative peace compared with other parts of Somalia since the Horn of Africa nation plunged into anarchy in 1991. But persistent delays to presidential elections have worried rights groups and angered opposition politicians.

A poll set for July was put back to September 27. But the electoral commission postponed the election again this week due to worries about whether a vote could be held in the current political climate amid disputes over new electoral lists.

The motion to impeach President Dahir Riyale Kahin was presented on Saturday and the legal advisor to the lower house told lawmakers on Tuesday the move was legal — sparking an angry response from ruling party politicians.

Somaliland is governed by an opposition-led house of representatives elected by the people and an upper house made up of clan elders. The House of Elders has twice extended President Kahin’s mandate and it is now due to expire on October 29.

The polls are seen as a test for the former British protectorate, which has been clamouring for international recognition since declaring independence after dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown.

By: prof. Clarke Cooper
Email: clarke.danniel@googlemail.com
Johannesburg, South Africa

Tragedy and Hope: Somaliland’s Political Crisis

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HARGEISA, 13 September 2009 (Somalilandpress) – We watch on the news and read newspapers about the political crisis going on in different parts of the world. In 2007-2009 there are so many political crises in the world; we can see Honduras, Barma, Thailand and Afghanistan. In some parts of Africa political crisis were tainted in to civil wars, From Somalia to Afghanistan, from Iraq to Sudan sons were bleeding and bullets now replace the rain.

But take a minute or may be even ten to think about it. People caught in crisis are just ordinary people who have an identity, real lives, dreams, hopes, fears and desires. They want the same things that you want in life. They want to live peacefully and prosper.

Closer to my home, the people of Somaliland are no different. The small child is crying with hunger. Thousands of young Somali Landers are drowned in the seas with little hope in life. Years of neglect and poor leadership, water is precious than the gold. Social infrastructions are dead and functionless. Public health clinics have no medicines and fail to meet the needs of growing people. With out life supporting needs thousands of children spent their coolest nights at the big towns in Somaliland.

For a decade and half Somaliland is an oasis of peace and tranquility in the horn of Africa and moving increasingly towards consolidating democracy. Somaliland has done amazingly well in managing electoral process. Peaceful, free and fair elections were held to convince the international community of Somaliland’s bonafides as an independent state. Today, time is tough and political temperature in Somaliland reached a precarious echelon. The concept of freedom, democracy and rule of law was misunderstood by most of our politicians.

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Somali Landers are not normally enthusiastic the actions of National Electoral Commission. Reflecting the postponement of Somaliland presidential elections many people suggesting to change the election commission, unless there is a change some members of the commission, peace in Somaliland my also in jeopardy. If we are thinking clearly, we are widely blamed NEC for this political crisis.

As a Somali Landers inside and outside we have to look for what is going on our country today. Lack of constitutional interpretations is one of the major causes of this recent political calamity. Though the constitution is formulated after wide public discussions and is the highest law of the country, its using remains flimsy.

Today Somaliland is in the road of danger and the question is about power. The UDUB party is preparing for its third term in office but the euphoria has now giving way to worries about the dominance of the opposition parties. It is some thing needs to be worried that the government take the law of the country in their own hands and make interpretation of their own to fit their political interest. It is clear as the day that the regime is creating more problems and puts as back in the hands of war and chaos. “Stop not thinking Mr. Riyale”.

Where are Somaliland intellectuals, where are Somaliland Sultans & Aqils, Where are the Somaliland young educators and where are men and women who devoted their blood for the existence of this country- the parliament house was under siege again by the government.

In conclusion, we will not accept this kind of dictatorship. We paid very high price to get back our government and we will not parley our peace, stability and our freedom of existence to any one or other group. It is the time to end political argument. It is the time to close the eyes the foreign interventions. You Somali Landers tighten your belts, it is you and I, lets build the nation.

Long live Somaliland for ever.
Written by Farhan Abdi Suleiman (oday)
Hargeisa, Somaliland

Farhan Abdi Suleiman is a social worker, fresh graduate at University of Hargeisa and also youth activist. He can be contacted at: oday1999@yahoo.com

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Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial

A Week In Somaliland – Part Three

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HARGEISA, 13 September 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Ngonge A. is writing to Somalilandpress about his experience in Somaliland and will be talking about his funny yet true experience during his stay in the country – discover Somaliland from the experience of a person on his first ever trip home.

To read the part one CLICK HERE
To read the part Two CLICK HERE

In the evening of the first day, myself, my tourist guide and a couple of newly made friends visited one of H town’s happening spots (Summer Time Restaurant). The pictures are attached above. I discovered there that the rumour about Somalis hating to have their photos taken was a blatant lie. The minute they saw the huge lens on my camera they all fell over themselves pleading with us to film them (even though they knew there was no chance of ever seeing the photos).

Ramadan-Waiter
This happy waiter was actually directing us and asking us to film him bringing the food, the drink and giving us the bill. He also asked for more photos the second time we visited the place.

guys-at-summer
There were also a group of guys who, for some unexplainable reason were very eager for us to take pictures of them as they hoisted their mobile phones up in the air.

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That night, after having our food and walking out of the restaurant I realised how dark the city can get at night! There were not many streetlights around and people were actually strolling about in the dark!

They carried no torches and had no lights but they could still see where they were all going! I blindly stuck close to my tourist guide and kept him in constant conversation in case I lost him in that oppressive darkness. Furthermore, and because of the sandy, messed up nature of the roads, I was worried that I may step on a snake as I lifted my feet and put them down again. Of course, to my tourist guide, I appeared as cool as ever and he did not suspect a thing. I jokingly asked him if there were any snakes in the city. He told me he has not seen any in years. I jokingly asked again and he jokingly told me there were none. We carried on walking and my eyes started to acclimatise.

At first, the only way I could tell that a person had walked past us was by using my sense of smell. A whiff of manly sweat, a rush of female perfume, a trace of uunsi, a gush of petrol fumes or a hint of glue told me that a human had just glided past. Some cats ran past but I didn’t smell them. The mosquitoes buzzed around my ears but I couldn’t see them. This darkness was very tiring and I longed for a place with a bit of light. At this point, I have to confess that it was not always dark. Every once in a while a car would drive past and shower us in glorious light but then we would go back to even more darkness.

Only when we got to the shops did I feel I was in a real city! I walked into a couple of malls, a bookshop and even had a look at nuune’s favourite hang out. Unlike Somali shops in the West, the actual workers here were polite, courteous and very helpful. The image of Somalis that was ingrained in my mind for years began to fade away and I was enjoying this newfound respect for H town’s finest.

I am going to digress now and share with you a theory I am developing. It is to do with the contrast between the Somalis on the inside and those on the outside. Though the two share many characteristics, and though I only had a mere week to reach this conclusion of mine, I believe the Somalis on the outside to be ruder, rougher and more ignorant than those on the inside. Having met a couple of my fellow westerners there, I could not help noticing that they thought they knew it all and seriously believed the gruff, irresponsible and backward attitude they employed was actually the done thing! This is where my theory comes into play. You see; I believe that most of these outsiders have left home either as children or in their early teens. What was fashionable and accepted at the time (and that age) was to be rude, to play with words, to act tough and to shout as loud as you could in order to be heard. That fake nostalgia, those memorable days and the ideas of how it is to be a Somali stayed with them ever since. Now they return home with such an attitude and people either think them mad, get taken in by their theatrical acts or merely snigger behind their backs. Of course, all this may only apply to those from Somaliland and our southern brothers may turn out to be as hopeless as their kin on the outside (I doubt it but I shall withhold judgment for now).

On that first night, we went to Hargeisa University where an evening of poetry and prose was being held. The place was packed to the rafters with students, poetry lovers and many bored people that just enjoy the feel of being in the middle of a large crowd. The hall where the event was taking place was full and we could not push our way in. I discovered two things that night. One, the people of Hargeisa would travel for miles for a bit of entertainment. Two, that city has very pretty girls. The third discovery was not my own, it was foisted upon me. It turns out that my tourist guide knew them all (those HE did not know, knew him).

The University looked nice and had many faculties. But it also had that dreadful sand that can be found in every corner of Hargeisa! Now, it was not the sand that I objected to. It was actually nice brown sand. I disliked the idea of what may be slithering on that sand. It was night after all and most cold blooded creatures love to come out at night when unsuspecting tourists happen to be tabbing their feet against the sand in frustration and worry. Luckily, nothing came out of the sand that night.

The next day, after having my lunch (I slept right through breakfast and the morning) and spending some time talking to the hotel crew in the restaurant, my tourist guide arrived and proudly declared that I was going back to school! We were going to Hargeisa University (again) but, this time, we were attending a lecture. I took my camera with me and followed him to the car. We drove to the university and as we got out of the car, we were spotted by a traffic policeman. He hurried to us and demanded that we take photos of him. Just like he would direct traffic, he directed us on how to take the photos and what angles to film him in! There was no traffic whatsoever yet he still pretended to be dealing with a real heavy load and kept on blowing his whistle (until my tourist guide lied to him and said that this camera recorded sound). After dealing with this cheerful policeman, we went to the library and checked out the various books they held there. We later went to the IT section where we took photos of some picture frames of various graduates. After half an hour of milling about and chatting to different people it was time to attend the lecture.

I entered a classroom with lovely little tables and chairs. The tables were full of scratches and words like any that you would find in schools all over the world. There was a picture of a heart with the word IMAN on it. The words were faded and old, they made me wonder what this girl would look like now and how many children (or even grandchildren) would she have! Before I could get carried away with my daydreams the lecturer started talking to the room and asking them to help him fix the overhead projector. I started paying attention and felt embarrassed about intruding on this serious lecture (it was a real course with the certificates issued by an American University). These students have spent months attending this course and I suddenly appeared from nowhere and had the temerity to sit amongst them and act as if I understood what was going on (which I did). I found the lecture very interesting and was fascinated by the way peace building, conflict resolution and damaged societies were dealt with. The lecturer was very entertaining and his anecdotes were real good. I also discovered that some of the students in that room were some of the elite of Hargeisa Society (minsters, members of the gurti, etc). Some were not young men at all. But I suppose I will have to agree to that banner I saw and say that the road to success is always under construction.

As the lecture was reaching its middle part and the American professor was in his element, we were all distracted by the crackling sound of radio! We all looked back to see an old man walk into the room and stand there staring at his phone and listening to the blaring sound of BBC Somali! He paid us no attention at all and carried on listening for a full minute. Someone made a sound (I am not sure if they spoke to him directly) and that seemed to shake him out of his reverie. He grunted with a smile and walked out of the room! I am still dying to find out why he came into the room in the first place.

To be continued …………………………….

NGONGE A.

Recognising the value of Somaliland

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HARGEISA, 12 September 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Gordon Brown, in his speech on the war in Afghanistan last week served up that old truism: failed states are a seedbed for terrorism and establishing democratic elections are the long-term solution. Pity then that this principle is not applied more widely.

The violent scenes in Somaliland’s parliament on Tuesday, following the third cancellation of the presidential election, showed one country’s fragile democracy crumbling before our eyes. One MP even pulled a pistol on his colleagues. Why is no country, such the old colonial power Britain, offering to mediate and prevent an eruption of hostilities?

The electoral dispute is relatively simple; it stems from disagreements about the best system of voter registration. A similar impasse in another African country would have elicited an immediate offer of international arbitration. But so far, nothing. It is because the world cannot find the courage to recognise Somaliland, which forms the northern part of Somalia, as a sovereign state.

The recent elections in Afghanistan attracted more than £100m in funding from western countries, in addition to hosts of observers and support staff. Somaliland, given the chance, could also form a bulwark against regional Muslim extremism and terrorism. Lord Malloch-Brown, on leaving the Foreign Office in July said Somalia was a bigger potential source for terrorism in the UK than Afghanistan.

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The threat is not academic. The ultra-extremists of Al-Shabab effectively control south central Somalia and they have made clear their murderous contempt for the “un-Islamic” democracy of Somaliland. A series of multiple bombs in Somaliland’s capital, Hergeisa last year killed more than 20.

Somaliland’s democratic institutions were born of one people’s determination to find peaceful resolution to a bitter civil war. Although extremely poor, it has emerged as a brave and resourceful country. Yet the United Nations, the EU and Britain seem content to sit idly by, observing this vulnerable country descend into the familiar chaos of its neighbours in Somalia and Eritrea. Ahmed Yusuf of Somaliland Focus (UK) said: “The involvement of the international community is paramount and desperately needed. Let us not abandon Somaliland … as they did to Somalia 19 years ago.”

So far the only country to make any kind of intervention has been Ethiopia. Although assistance should be welcomed from any quarter, the long-standing antagonism between Somalis and Ethiopeans makes this offer of help more problematic than useful. Imagine India offering to negotiate between political parties in Pakistan.

Britain and the US’s decision not to act to preserve this young African democracy is directly attributable to Somaliland’s lack of recognition as a sovereign nation, despite nearly 20 years of stability. The UN still clings to an absurd notion Somaliland should rejoin its wayward cousin, Somalia. The union of the two countries (1960-1991) was an undoubted failure by any measure and referendums in Somaliland have shown immovable resistance to its restoration. It would be about as welcome as telling the Scots they should be part of England.

The US maintains a freer role than Britain and pivotal one at that. Hillary Clinton’s recent seven country tour of Africa shows the continent has risen much higher on the state department’s agenda. But Washington still appears widely divided (between state and defence departments) on the issue of diplomatic recognition.

A Foreign Office spokesperson hinted independence was an achievable goal eventually: “Free and fair elections will be vital to Somaliland’s democratic credentials.” But a former Foreign Office minister described their case as a “no-brainer”. So there looks to be a similar conflict of opinion between British officials. But regarding the current crisis, the Foreign Office could offer nothing more than this lethargic response: “A new election timetable should be decided by independent experts and should be agreed by all the parties of Somaliland.”

Professor Ioan Lewis, a leading expert on the region, sees Somaliland president Dahir Riyale Kahin’s “sticky” presidential chair as the main problem. “It is down to the reluctance of the current president, like so many leaders elsewhere, to follow the constitution and accept that his term is over … his obduracy and growing charges of corruption have prompted this constitutional crisis,” he said.

Somaliland’s situation underlines the international community’s unerring ability to show a failure of leadership. While leaders dither about the etiquette of which country should be first to agree Somaliland diplomatic relations, the country risks capitulation. Its continued isolation can only harm all of us – even from an entirely selfish point of view, we should help them.

By: Jeremy Sare
Guardian.co.uk

Riyaale and his thugs Resorts to Violence Out of Desperation and Cowardly Act

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HARGEISA, 13 September 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Somalilanders around the world are outraged to see their country descending a state of incipient panic and on the verge of being ruined by ill-advised decisions made by Riyaale and his Party members who do not have the best interest of the country at heart and whose best interest is their own personal gains and how to stay in power at any cost.

We are in disbelieve about the Political Crisis created by this man and his thugs whose mandate expired long time ago to destabilize the country so that they can buy a time to prolong their stay regardless. Inciting a Civil Conflicts by giving police, his relatives, and Party members undue latitude to shoot at peaceful public demonstrations and use means of intimidations. But we will not be held hostage by few uncivilized UDUB thugs.

The safety and the security of everyone is the responsibility of the police.

They should not take sides and always be neutral in the eyes of the law. “I was taking orders from my superiors is not a reason for shooting unarmed and peaceful demonstrators.” The public has the right to express themselves and vent out their anger because they have a voice if anybody is listening.

Being the peace-loving people they are, for years now, Somalilanders have been patient with Riyaale’s dictatorial mentality. Taking into consideration the public safety and the common good of the country and an enormous respect for their blood acquired freedom. That is why they have unbelievable patience, self-control for not resorting to violence and give-in to self-destructions. And they should be commanded for their selflessness and wisdom. But there should come a time when one must say: “ enough is enough and we are not going to take it anymore.” That time is now.

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Despite breaking every rule in the book and backing down from every agreement he made time and again, Riyaale was given chances time and again to come around, but to no avail. He disrespected everybody and anybody (including our elderly, our scholars, our people of eminence), the International Community and all Somaliland Friends. He refuses to work with Opposition Parties and believes he can force them into submission. But instead, he boxed himself into a corner and put a noose around his neck.

As we speak, Riyaale is a lame duck in the Presidency and a coward who is afraid of his own shadow. He is paranoid that people are out to get him. He is cowering in his underground bunker and behind the security guards and doesn’t have the audacity or the courage to come out and speak to the nation or explain his unilateral and outrageous decisions. He is isolated and out of touch with the reality. He is incommunicative, uncompromising, and arrogant with an attitude of my way or the high way – aanay garina gelin, garina ka bixin. And we are ashamed to call him our President.

He is a burden, a liability to our freedom and progress. And unless he comes to his senses and forget the idea that he can force the whole nation to see things his way, removing him from the office and stripping him from the honour we bestowed upon him is not matter how but a matter of when. Ciddii aan sharafta aqoon sharaf looma yaalo. Life is simply give and take. Me, me, me doesn’t work. So take a hike voluntarily or face the consequence of your action!

Amina Ahmed Hassan
Gurhan02@yahoo.com
Calgary, AB

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Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial

Police Briefly Detain Somalilandpress Reporter

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HARGEISA, 12 September 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Somalilandpress reporter in Hargeisa, Mr. Abdiqani Baynah has been detained by the police today.

Mr. Baynah who was covering the demonstrations during the day has been taken by police forces while he was on duty reporting from the ground.

It is not clear why Mr. Baynah was arrested but he is was held at the Cetral Investigation Department (CID) Head Quarters without any charges against him. He was among tens of other reporters covering today’s demonstrations but it is not clear why he was targeted at this stage. Mr. Baynah was released after he spend few hours in the CID department.

Somaliland: Police Use Tear Gas against Protestors, One person died

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HARGEISA, 12 September 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Somaliland police used tear gas for the first time in the history to disperse protests that began today infront of the Parliament house in Hargeisa.

One person died on the spot when the police fired at the crowd gathered around the MPs who were trying to go into the parliament house. The Parliament was closed by the government last week after the MPs fought during a controversal motion which aimed at the government’s impeachment.

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The demonstrations are now spreading to the wider areas of the city specially in the downtown where the police are using life bullets against the demonstrators.

The protestors are burning tires and blocking the streets with stones, trees and other materials. There are reports indicating one police vehicle has been burned down by the demonstrators.

Rayaleh is time for you to take a hike.

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(Somaliland)-We are all ashamed about what is going on the land of my fathers, Somaliland. We are all ashamed how Rayaleh and his entourage are dealing with the people. We call him Rayaleh because he doesn’t deserve any more to be called “President”.

There is one thing that humain beings should protect out of desperation, which is honor and justice. Honor is the core value of Somaliland people. It is to preserve their honor, justice and the dignity of their people that the SNM warriors defeated the dictatorial regime of siad barreh and it is again with honor that the SNM put down their weapons.

We all learned today that Rayaleh never had this God given quality that we Somaliland people enjoy and it is a universal reality that the lack of honor lead to disrespect, rayaleh is disrespectful toward the people who elected him as their legitimate President; he is a parasite to the Somaliland’s constitution and its people.

What happened last Tuesday inside the parliament was a game that a five year old child can easily understand and it is a proof about the lack of politics and creativity of the rayaleh regime. The stupid MP with the gun was a way to let the police take over and close the parliament. And then we have the child minded ministry of interior (cirro) talking like his audience was a maternity school kids. He started blaming the parliament and the council for exercising their constitution given rights to impeach rayaleh, what a shame!
Then he tries to scare the population about losing peace and stability if they support and listen to the parliament council complain to the people who elected them. But he don’t know that the Somaliland people (because at that time he was working for barreh security services) have the reputation to ignite fire as well as to make peace out of ash just to live with honor and freedom.

And beyond that we have rayaleh who is afraid, hiding his head like an ostrich hopping that this will not bring the people’s attention. He doesn’t have the courage, the honor or the charisma to step up like a President, play politics and talk to the people that elected him. He don’t say a word, he is afraid or not sure if he say something this will turn bad.
He suddenly feels like a stranger in Hargeisa, he doesn’t know anymore what to do, he is listening the mercenaries around him who keep lying to him about what is going behind the wire, he keep rushing his head and accepting whatever they say the will do to keep him in place. When he fells demoralized some of them want even pay some people on the street and ask them to claim that they come from Kulmiyeh party (just like what happened in Wajaleh) then they show him the movie and tell him “you see Mr. President people still like you” and then he start smiling.

But he forgot one thing, honor and justice that is what Somaliland people stand for. Those men and woman who are ready to lose everything but their rights and that is what will happen in the coming days. It is time for you to take hike Mr. rayaleh because you don’t deserve the Somaliland people.
A coward president without honor doesn’t deserve my people.

God bless Somaliland

Djibril Y. Omar
Kabul Afghanistan

Somaliland: Street children "becoming the new gangsters"

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HARGEISA, 10 September 2009 (SomalilandPress) – The number of street children in Hargeisa, capital of Somaliland, is on the rise as more Ethiopian children cross the border in search of a better life.
The immigrant children are adding to the burden of local street children, most of whom have been forced on to the streets by drought and insecurity within Somaliland and further south, in Somalia.
“You can see old women accompanying about 20 children, of different ages, crossing the border into Somaliland from Ethiopia. These women may be their grandmothers, aunts or mothers,” Khadar Nour, chairman of the Hargeisa Child Protection Network (HCPN), told IRIN.
(Photo: Knives recovered from street children in Hargeisa on display at the town’s police station)
“The children, who are mainly from the Oromo [region of Ethiopia], beg in the streets of Hargeisa with their mothers,” Nour said. Some work as shoe shiners, sending their earnings to relatives in Ethiopia.
Hargeisa is also a popular transit point for those seeking to travel further. “About 100 to 200 immigrant children cross the border from Ethiopia into Somaliland [annually] on their way to [the self-declared autonomous region of] Puntland, or to Yemen,” he said.
Poverty and family break-ups have also fuelled the rise in numbers. There are about 3,000 children, most of them boys between five and 18, living on Hargeisa’s streets.
Crime threat
With the rising numbers, officials are concerned about an upsurge in crime. “They [the street children] are becoming a threat to the town’s stability,” said Nour.
“When they grow up, they still find themselves living in difficult conditions; it is for this reason that they grab mobile phones.”
Consequently, a number of the children are now in conflict with the law. In August, Nour said, a 16-year-old was sentenced to death in a Berbera regional court after being found guilty of murder.
“The grown-up street children have become the new gangsters,” Mohamed Ismail Hirsi, Hargeisa’s Central Police Station commander, told IRIN.
“In the last 72 hours, we have arrested more than 30 street children who have committed crimes such as stealing mobile phones in different parts of the town.”
(Photo: young boy makes a living polishing shoes on the streets of Hargeisa, Somaliland (file photo): Immigrant children are working in Hargeisa to support their families )
In the past two years, some 5,000 knives and other weapons, which are commonly used in robberies, have been recovered from the street children, prompting calls for more focused interventions.
“People say good words in workshops, but few interventions for street children have been [implemented],” said Nour of HCPN, which recently started providing food and education support for the children.
Once arrested, the children are charged as adults because a 2008 juvenile justice law has yet to be implemented.
Glue sniffing
The children living rough are turning to drugs. “I use glue because when first I came to the streets I saw my friends sniffing it,” Ahmed Omar, 12, told IRIN. “Whenever I use it, I am able to survive a difficult situation.”
The lack of a family support system also means more children may end up on the streets, as Abdi-Qani Ahmed’s experience illustrates. “When my mother and father divorced, there was no one left to take care of me,” Ahmed, 11, said. “I used to get my food from restaurants in Hargeisa where I fed on leftovers.”
During Ramadan, however, few if any restaurants are open. “I have to wait to see if someone gives me something to eat or not,” he said.
Living on the streets puts the children at risk of abuse from other street children as well as strangers. For protection, the children often seek refuge outside the police station at night.

Source: (IRIN)

UN Envoy Arrives Somaliland

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HARGEISA, 10 September 2009 (Somalilandpress) – A delegation led by the United Nation’s envoy to Somalia arrived Somaliland today. Ahmedou Ould-Abdalla with senior political and humanitarian officers were welcomed at Hargeisa airport by the Minister of foreign affairs and other Somaliland officials.

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The trip which was not officially announced is believed to the current situation in Somaliland. During his stay, the UN envoy will meet with the government, opposition parties, parliament and Guurti members as well as others. Sources told Somalilandpress that the envoy will try to mediate between the government and opposition.

Thais is the first trip of Ahmedou to Somaliland since he was appointed as the UN especial envoy to Somalia and Somaliland.

The visit comes when the political crisis in the country is its highest where no solutions can be seen to the deteriorating political situation in Somaliland.


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