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Caelainn Hogan

Column The UN must brave up to terrorists to get aid to Somalia

Charity GOAL’s chief executive John O’Shea says that while agencies are trying to help refugees flooding out of Somalia, some four million people are trapped inside and facing death.

GOAL IS ONE of a few charities involved in delivering emergency relief to the Horn of Africa, where drought and famine are threatening millions of lives. CEO of the charity, John O’Shea, writes that the UN needs to stand up to the militants who are blocking aid going to those people trapped inside the country’s borders.

FOUR MILLION PEOPLE stranded in Somalia, suffering the worst effects of famine, are being denied the life-saving aid they so urgently require, on the diktat of terrorists and criminal gangs.

In its latest pronouncement, the Al-Qaeda linked group, Al Shabab, is reported by the BBC as denying that it intends allowing aid workers to intervene – which amounts to them passing a death sentence on untold numbers of their fellow citizens.

Why is the UN standing idly by and allowing this to happen? Why is the fate of millions of drought-stricken, malnourished people being decided by warlords?

Since when has the lawless state of a country been allowed stop the UN from going about its business?

The list of violent countries where the UN has intervened directly on behalf of a population is endless, yet it appears on this occasion millions are to be left to the ravages of hunger and thirst.

The UN moved swiftly in Haiti, for instance, to safeguard humanitarian workers against heavily-armed criminal gangs, after the earthquake of January, 2010. What is preventing it from doing the same thing in Somalia?

There was no talk of negotiating with or bribing the Haiti criminals to allow aid be delivered. Whether the gangsters liked it or not, armed UN peacekeepers were sent in to create and maintain safe corridors. However, bribery appears to be the only option that is being half-heartedly mooted for Somalia.

Why don’t the UN demand that the warmongers cease their violence, move into Somalia, and create safe corridors for aid organisations to mount a meaningful emergency relief operation in the country?

GOAL has been inundated with people ringing us to ask this precise question. They are watching and reading about the unfolding disaster, and are responding magnificently to appeals from aid agencies – but are then being told that the majority of famine sufferers cannot be reached because of violent criminality.

GOAL has been working in the Horn of Africa for over 30 years. Since January 2011, we have been tankering water to drought-affected communities in Ethiopia and delivering nutrition, health, seeds and fertiliser at 20 locations across six regions. During this time we have treated 33,500 children suffering from malnutrition and distributed 47 million litres of water to 500,000 beneficiaries.

Upwards of 2,000 Somali refugees are now streaming into southern and eastern parts of Ethiopia every day. Thus far, we have provided clean water to 140,000 people and over 90 metric tons of food aid to malnourished Somali refugee women and children in Kobe camp on the Somalia/Ethiopian border. Our organisation is also tending to large numbers of refugees in the Dadaab camps on the Kenya/Somalia border.

However, regardless of how much aid agencies manage to achieve outside Somalia’s borders, this is the smallest and least problematic part of the humanitarian tragedy that is unfolding. Aid must be got to the people inside Somalia.

Somalia has been ignored by the international community for decades, as its warlords and factions fought for overall dominance of the country, each brutally imposing themselves on the populations under their control. Without a central government since 1991, Somalia has been like an unwanted orphan to rest of the world.

The habit has been hard to break: and continues even through the present famine.

But break this habit the international community must. Unless it stops ignoring the starving people of Somalia, and moves to exert its authority over the groups currently holding sway in the country, millions of lives may be lost.

Horn of Africa crisis
1 / 6
  • Horn of Africa crisis

    Newly-arrived Somali famine refugee collecting food rations of flour at the reception area of the Dagahaley camp in Dadaab, East Kenya. These rations must last for two-three weeks before they officially register and receive their ration card. Pic: Caelainn Hogan
  • Horn of Africa crisis

    GOAL Country Director Conor Phillips with Mogai, a 32-year-old Somali refugee who walked for more than five days to get to the camps at Dadaab with her four young children.
  • Horn of Africa crisis

    GOAL's Frank Prouten distributes hygiene kits and other essential items to Somali famine refugees at the Dadaab camps. Pic: Caelainn Hogan.
  • Horn of Africa crisis

    Newly-arrived Somali famine refugee Fatima and her family in front of their new temporary shelter on the outskirts of the Hagadera camp in Dadaab.
  • Horn of Africa crisis

    A female Somali famine refugee drags two jerrycans full of water back to her temporary shelter on the outskirts of Hagadera camp in Dadaab. Pic: Caelainn Hogan
  • Horn of Africa crisis

    GOAL Country Director, John Rynne, pictured with Somali famine refugees at a camp just inside the Ethiopian border. Some 2,000 refugees are flooding over the border into Ethiopia from Somalia every day. GOAL has provided over 90 metric tons of food aid to malnourished Somali refugee women and children in these camps, and they have provided clean water to 140,000 people.

Nearly 800,000 children in Somalia face immediate death>

“The people here show me the graves of children”>

In pictures: A photo essay from war-torn Somalia>

More news on the humanitarian crisis in East Africa>

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    Sep 24th 2015, 9:47 PM

    Picture a world were Kanye West replaces Donald Trump as US president.

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    Sep 24th 2015, 9:47 PM

    *where

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    Sep 24th 2015, 9:51 PM

    Does it involve electrolytes???

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:14 PM

    And lots OF LSD?

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    Sep 25th 2015, 6:07 AM

    idiocracy the movie

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    Sep 25th 2015, 6:58 AM

    Don’t forget Kim would be the First Lady!

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    Sep 25th 2015, 10:16 AM

    Seriously deluded. West is the next MC Hammer.

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    Sep 25th 2015, 6:31 PM

    Oh Dear God.

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    Sep 24th 2015, 9:46 PM

    If Kanye loves America like Kanye loves Kanye, they’ll be sorted

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    Sep 24th 2015, 9:45 PM

    God help America, imagine what the founding fathers would think of it now

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    Sep 24th 2015, 9:59 PM

    I don’t think they would really dig it.

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:13 PM

    The founding fathers be like yo, what’s up muhphuqqaz?

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    Sep 24th 2015, 11:04 PM

    nothing to see here lads..him and his have exhausted mtv by now, its about time they brought on a new family mess. Cheaper and less damage to the whole economic universe. Oh and we dont have to widen doors to get bog heads in.

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    Sep 24th 2015, 11:05 PM

    I meant to say big heads..

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    Sep 25th 2015, 7:51 AM

    Yo Bro, we will build a bigger White House. We’s will call the mother fuc*er black house. We’s will make rap sh*t and sing about it. My wife will not be First Lady, she’s like only lady bro. The North wing was named after my first born. My second born will be called West. We won’t like downsizing but we’ll do it cuz we love you all. America needs the Wests, the world needs the West’s

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    Sep 25th 2015, 11:26 PM

    I think that MTV has forgotten what the “M” stands for…

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:00 PM

    I’m pretty sure the “we hate Kanye ” era hasn’t passed and I don’t think it will for some time.

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    Sep 24th 2015, 11:05 PM

    I’m not convinced by Kanye, he’d take my money when I’m in need…..

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    Sep 24th 2015, 9:49 PM

    Would be worth him winning just for Donald Trump to interupt the inauguration by grabbing the mic and saying Jayz would be the best politician of all time.

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:01 PM

    His grandfather, seven times removed, was from Clonakilty. You heard it here first. He’ll drink a pint American President in De’Barras yet I’m telling ya.

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:37 PM

    They’ve always been good a producing black ‘puddings’ down there…….. I’m gonna hell for that joke.

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:25 PM

    Absolute f*cking bell end he is, if he was ever voted in now that would say a lot about Americans

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    Sep 24th 2015, 9:52 PM

    If Trump can be a contender why not this clown?

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:06 PM

    Jedward for the Áras!

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:41 PM

    Don’t encourage em

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:41 PM

    Don’t encourage em

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:41 PM

    Don’t encourage em

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    I heard you the first time.

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:29 PM

    If ever a bloke suffered from Up Syndrome.

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:30 PM

    Does he like fish sticks?

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    Sep 24th 2015, 11:32 PM

    Great …Not the first lady will have been in playboy,have a sex tape been married three times. Totes hillarious

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:26 PM

    The West Wing….

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    “I think we can”

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    Sep 24th 2015, 9:45 PM

    who ?

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    “Never heard of her! ‘….. Lemmy

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    Bo’Selecta! Proper Bo’

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    Sep 24th 2015, 9:51 PM

    A candidate with an ego and intellect Donald Trump

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    Sep 24th 2015, 9:52 PM

    *with the ego and intellect of Donald Trump

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:15 PM

    Clown

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:09 PM

    And we think we’re bad with Enda Kenny

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    Sep 24th 2015, 9:51 PM

    At last, an African American candidate.

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:32 PM

    I’m sorry Paul but I have to say I find a large amount of your comments to be utterly nauseating. You have nothing interesting about you.

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:41 PM

    who would struggle to spell candidate

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    Sep 25th 2015, 12:43 AM

    And struggle to spell American

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    Sep 25th 2015, 7:15 AM

    Soz.

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    Sep 24th 2015, 11:02 PM
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    Sep 24th 2015, 11:03 PM

    kanye’s unscripted rant about George Bush says it all

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    Sep 25th 2015, 12:11 AM

    That was TV gold!

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    Sep 25th 2015, 1:32 AM

    Well it may not be a joke to him but to everyone else…

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    Sep 24th 2015, 10:33 PM

    Kanye West has left the building…

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    Sep 25th 2015, 12:47 AM

    Hopefully he got lost

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    Sep 25th 2015, 10:36 AM

    Dick

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    Sep 25th 2015, 8:43 AM

    The thoughts of that fxxkin eejit being president of America just cracks me up

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    Sep 26th 2015, 8:26 AM

    He’s just so dislikable

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    Sep 25th 2015, 4:40 PM

    Is he that arrogant or does he need an exorcist?

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