Mogadishu Braces for Clash of Titans

Southern Somalia’s militant giant al-Shabab, the only leading force that is still wielding considerable political, social, and economic clout and the most formidable force that remains an obstacle to Sheikh Sheriff’s otiose and corrupt administration, has taken one further attempt to overrun Galgadud region currently controlled by ASWJ-the Sufi-led faction that just finalized an agreement with the TFG. Despite beating the drums of war loudly and pronouncing a declaration of war against al-Shabab and despite the TFG mobilizing its forces for a final onslaught, al-Shabab is seemingly emerging a force to reckon with. Its marvelous application of covert and overt battle operations, its ability to mobilize forces, its meticulous garnering of public support through the use of diplomacy, radio and cyberspace communication, its adroitness at manipulating tribal elders, and its meritorious skill of tendering support to minority clans for the sake of weakening and deracinating powerful tribes that pose threat to its survival, and its undaunted will to survive unparalleled hardships and challenges remain tools yet to be discovered by its avowed enemies inside Somalia’s murky political waters.

Al-Shabab has even become skillful at controlling international aid agencies operating in the areas under its control by requiring them to abide by stringent laid out rules and regulations otherwise they risk being kicked out of the country. The recent altercation between the World Food Program (WFP) and al-Shabab where WFP ultimately pulled out of southern Somalia revolved around al-Shabab’s demand that WFP buy local Somali farmers produce instead of bringing in expired relief supplies to the country and distributing as a humanitarian gesture to an already famished and displaced war-afflicted persons.

Al-Shabab’s refusal to allow WFP run its relief operations has led to massive starvation of residents of ceelasha biyaha and opened a new round of hostilities with a select group of council of elders supported by the hierarchy of Hizb al-Islam who feel al-Shabab is imposing sanctions on their tribal enclaves where majority of their kinsmen or followers reside. The enclave in question-ceelasha biyaha as it is called or the water wells-is roughly a few miles to the north of the town of Afgoi-where the largest concentration of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who escaped the shelling in Mogadishu resides.

So far the said council of elders has issued a decree denouncing the actions of al-Shabab and to that effect are convening an assembly that include the top echelons of Hizb al-Islam who will collectively deliberate on the most effective countermeasures to take. Sooner or later a deadly clash of titans could be expected should al-Shabab continue to stubbornly deny the said IDPs access to WFP’s relief supplies.

Ironically, many Somalis, presidential observers, and political analysts are bewildered and dumbfounded at President Sharif’s peripatetic itinerary. His travel plans bring into play a passion for endless merrymaking and craving for leisure travel, red carpet receptions and deafening twenty-one gun salutes, all-you-can-eat buffets set around intricately and articulately designed manicured lawns, and accommodation at five-star hotels with continental breakfast to share with an inflated procrastinating entourage lacking guided protocols and principles.

To make matters worse, the absence of accountability and national security and the absconding of duty by those who took the oath of allegiance to the constitution have made the current Transitional Federal Government headed by Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed wallow in pathetic corruption and remain absorbed in indeterminate situation.

Shocking revelations of embezzlement and mismanagement of donor funds, political bickering and the higgledy-piggledy nature of its bloated parliament, the exodus of highly-priced, newly-trained, and tribally-inclined troops switching allegiance then joining jihadi camps, and the tiptoeing of the colony of political chameleons hiding in its midst seem not to be signaling its ultimate salvation but its timely and imminent death.

What Advantage is there for Rwanda to Switch from French to English?

The landlocked nation of Rwanda is located in Central Africa and is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Massachusetts or is half the size of Scotland. To the north, it is bordered by Uganda, to the south by Burundi, to the east by Tanzania, and to the west it is partially separated from the Democratic Republic of Congo by the Ruzizi Valley and Lake Kivu. This tiny nation of over 8-million inhabitants came into the international limelight during the 1994 genocide where approximately a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in a span of 100-days thus going down in history as the worst ever documented intertribal genocide. Rwanda, the most densely populated country in Sub-Saharan Africa, has often been described as the “Land of Thousand Hills” by geographers and visitors alike. It has a rich history and culture and prides to have had mysterious kingdoms with legendary military force before European powers set foot in Africa. Formerly a Belgian colony, Rwanda is now saying farewell to the French Language in favor of English which has become the lingua franca of Sub-Saharan Africa. The Government of Rwanda claims that English has become the backbone for growth and development not only in the region but around the globe and that French is spoken only in France, some parts of West Africa, and in some parts of Canada and Switzerland.

Like its neighbor Burundi, Rwanda has had a long history of intertribal conflict beginning in the late 18th century when European powers convened in Berlin, Germany in 1884 under the auspices of King Leopold II of Belgium who originated what came to be known as the “Scramble for Africa” or the “Race for Africa” leading to the partitioning of the mighty continent of Africa along colonial powers Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and Germany. Formerly what used to be Ruanda-Urundi was mandated to Belgium in 1923 by the League of Nations (now The United Nations). This conference eliminated all the existing forms of self-governance and autonomy previously practiced by Africans. Inspired by explorer Henry M. Stanley’s book, Through the Dark Continent (1878), the Berlin Conference attendees found reason to exploit the human and natural resources of the African continent while at the same time establishing a prolonged imperial legacy that would benefit future generations of European expansionist enthusiasts. The splicing up of Africa among European imperialists took-off immediately after the abolition of the horrendous trans-Atlantic slave trade commencing in 15th century and culminating in the eventual industrialization of Europe and North America.

After World War II, Ruanda-Urundi became a Trust Territory of the United Nations controlled by Belgium. Rwanda and Burundi simultaneously proclaimed independence from Belgium on July 1, 1962. Prior to independence, Belgian administrators running the colony favored the tall Tutsis who had European-like features (as the Belgians claimed) over the short Hutus by giving the Tutsis administrative and military positions. In order to exploit the social structure that existed, the Belgians supported the Tutsi Mwami (king) and even introduced ethnic identity cards so as to divide-and-rule the two ethnic groups. Colonial anthropologists argued that the taller Tutsis were “Black Europeans”. The Hutus are regarded as the ethnic majority of Rwanda while Tutsis are considered in racialist ideology, a foreign race as opposed to indigenous race. It was Jean Hiernaux of the French National Center for Scientific Research, who, in late 1974, noted a 10 centimeter difference between the Tutsi (taller) and Hutu (shorter).

Racialist ideologists went as far as concluding that the civilization seen in Africa before the spread of European colonialism originated from an external Caucasian race but black in color-in what came to be known as “Hamitic Theory”. Thus, the origin of the outsider civilizing Hamitic race is placed in the Horn of Africa. These racialist ideologists were stimulated by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, the eugenics movement, and racism. Belief in the superiority of the white European race over the dark African race proliferated ethnocentrism to an extent Germany embarked on what became known as realpolitik where global dominance or influence of a larger scale was only attainable through increase in power and wealth.

Walter Rodney, in his 1972 book, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, repudiated Colonial European ethnic division of Rwanda natives by suggesting that the tall stature of the Tutsis is a result of pastoralist protein-rich diet. He further shed light by claiming that the short Twa (forest people) possess pygmoid features simply because they are hunters/gatherers by occupation and that they lack essential nutrients in their diets. For the Hutus who are shorter than the Tutsis but taller than the Twa, Walter Rodney argued that, because they are agriculturalists, they have relatively poor food available for body building.

The land once described as a “tropical Switzerland in the heart of Africa”, Rwanda came to symbolize the killing fields of Cambodia when an inexperienced Hutu president ascended the throne upon proclamation of independence from Belgium in 1962. In order to impose law and order and ensure their “civilizing missions” materialized, colonial powers vested some authority on churches of their choosing. Church figureheads in turn proselytized, trained, and elevated subservient, approachable, and courageous ethnic groups they felt would relay the expansionist colonialist torches as commanded while observing standard operating procedures (SOPS).

On April 6, 1994, a plane carrying Juvénal Habyarimana, President of Rwanda, and Cyprien Ntaryamira, President of Burundi, was brought down by a missile while flying over Kigali International Airport, the capital of Rwanda, killing everyone on board including the two presidents who had just returned from a reconciliation conference in the city of Arusha in Tanzania. From 1973 until his death in 1994, Juvénal Habyarimana favored his Hutu tribe over the minority Tutsis. Former president of the United States, Bill Clinton, on an official tour of Africa, had this chilling message for the people of Rwanda upon landing at Kigali International Airport in 1998: "We come here today partly in recognition of the fact that we in the United States and the world community did not do as much as we could have and should have done to try to limit what occurred". [1] The former Canadian general Roméo Dallaire overseeing the United Nations peace keeping operations at the time of the genocide wrote in one his books the following the lines: "Rwanda will never ever leave me. It's in the pores of my body. My soul is in those hills, my spirit is with the spirits of all those people who were slaughtered and killed that I know of, and many that I didn't know.” [2]

Rwanda and Burundi became member states of the East African Community (EAC) in 2007. Formerly, the EAC comprised of the former British colonies Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania that are English-speaking. 80% of Rwanda’s population speaks Kinyarwanda. The implementation of laissez-faire economies, a common customs and excise tax system, unrestricted airspace, common parliament, unhindered borders and free movement of people and goods across borders, and the creation of a common monetary unit (shilling), EAC member states will eventually benefit without depending much on foreign handouts.

Rwanda has introduced a cricket board mimicking the British system. The game was brought to Rwanda by its Diaspora returning mainly from Kenya where the game is common. Rwanda will be the second country after Mozambique (Portuguese speaking)-that has not been colonized by Britain-to join the Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II of England is the ceremonial head of the Commonwealth which incorporates fifty-four member states. Rwanda was admitted as a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in November, 2009. It has also been a Member of the United Nations since 18 September, 1962. Ambassador Joseph Nsengimana is Rwanda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. The leaders of Rwanda have embraced the idea of joining various clubs so as to relinquish Rwanda’s dependence on colonial master France that has been implicated in the 1994 genocide that decimated roughly 20% of the nation’s human population.

Despite the devastating genocide and the preceding political, social, and economic hardships inherited from imperialism, colonialism, and European exploitation, no wonder at present “…Rwanda has the highest number of women parliamentarians in the world with women constituting 48.8% in the Chamber of Deputies and 34.6% in the Senate. The Government of Rwanda also has 34% of women in its Cabinet.” [3]

In 2008, the Government of Rwanda announced that English would become the language of instruction in schools replacing French. On a visit to Rwanda on Thursday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy admitted that France had made “grave errors” in the 1994 genocide. [4] For now relations between France and Rwanda seem to be thawing. Upon President Nicolas Sarkozy returning to France, the French government detained Agathe Habyarimana for crimes related to the 1994 genocide. She is the widow of former President Juvénal Habyarimana who died in a plane crash in 1994. “Her arrest follows a visit to the Rwandan capital Kigali last week by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, when he admitted that France - and the wider international community - had make "mistakes" over the genocide.” [5]

Upon taking the reins of power in 1994, Paul Kagame, the current leader of Rwanda exhausted all avenues until he was forced to use coercive power to subdue the masterminds of the genocide by pursuing them into the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo by dispatching contingents of the Rwanda Armed Forces. As a gesture of goodwill and reciprocity, Rwanda’s head of state extended amnesty to some his rivals to overcome enduring rivalries. He called on Rwandans to show restraint and embark on disarmament so as to overcome enduring internal rivalries.

Rwanda underwent decentralization initiatives on January 1, 2006. Up to 2001, the country was divided into twelve regions formerly known as prefectures. The twelve prefectures have been reduced to five regions: North Province, East Province, West Province, South Province, and Kigali Province. Such decentralization techniques are meant to empower the common citizen to collectively participate in nation-building efforts so as to attain self-sufficiency and modernization.

Since the leaders of Rwanda are responsible for steering the nation to its right course and that they fully understand what is good for Rwanda as a sovereign nation, there is absolutely nothing wrong with switching from French to English as the language of instruction for the schools of Rwanda. The recent visit by the President of the France to Rwanda signals the restoration of the lost relations beween the two countries. For the citizens of Rwanda, learning a new language (English) should be an added advantage politically, socially, and economically.

Cited Sources
http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9803/25/clinton.africa/
pbs.org/.../frontline/shows/ghosts/interviews/dallaire.html
http://www.undp.org.rw/Newsroom_story8.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/world/europe/26france.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8545120.stm

Médecins Sans Frontières

Founded in 1971 by a group of French journalists and doctors after the Biafra War (1967-70) that devastated the West African nation of Nigeria, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has evolved as an internationally recognized humanitarian aid organization that provides emergency medical assistance to populations in danger in more than 70 countries.[1] It works with people threatened by aggression, neglect or calamity, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, undernourishment, and exclusion from healthcare or natural disasters.

Initially, MSF came to fore after the incorporation of Groupe d'Intervention Médicale et Chirurgicale en Urgence ("Emergency Medical and Surgical Intervention Group") that meticulously provided aid in Biafra in 1970 and the Secours Médical Français ("French Medical Relief") that responded to the Bhola Cyclone of 1970 which took the lives of almost 500,000 people in the former East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).[2] MSF was founded on the basis that all people have the right to medical care regardless of race, religion, creed, or political affiliation. It works to remain nonaligned, is imperturbable, and free of bureaucratic restrictions.

The principles of MSF are outlined in the Charter and the Chantilly Principles together with La Mancha Agreement. [3][4] In France it is known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières or simply by the contraction MSF while in the United States, Canada, and Australia it is widely known as Doctors Without Borders. The operational decisions of MSF are made by largely independent centers located in Paris (France), Geneva (Switzerland), Brussels (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), and Amsterdam (Holland). The international office responsible for overseeing international activities is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

The current President of MSF is Dr. Christophe Fournier.[5] Dr. Christophe Fournier graduated from the University of Clermont-Ferrand in France where he received his Doctorate in Medicine. Besides, he holds a degree in Epidemiology, Tropical Medicine, and Biostatistics. He previously worked as a doctor or was head of mission in Burundi, Uganda, Honduras, and Chile and as well conducted emergency exploratory missions in Mexico and Venezuela. In 2000, he became MSF's Operations Manager in the United States while at the same time managing field programs in Guatemala, Haiti, Nigeria, Sudan, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand.

Like the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), World Vision, Oxfam, ActionAid International, and other international organizations scattered all over the world, the presence of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) or Doctors Without Borders is visible almost everywhere where human conflict and natural disasters exist. The national offices of MSF are solely responsible for the recruitment and coordination of volunteers. The organization was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1999 "in recognition of the organization’s pioneering humanitarian work on several continents."[6] It was Dr. James Orbinski , president of MSF at that time, who accepted the prize on behalf of his organization. Besides the Nobel Prize, MSF was awarded the Seoul Peace Prize in 1996.[7]

Teams of medical experts conduct evaluations on the ground to determine a population's medical needs before opening programs. Experts also carry out epidemiological surveys to determine the effect of a disease on a population. For example, MSF measures mortality rates by observing burial rates in a community. By working in concert with governments, cases like genocide, human casualties, and exodus of civilians can be computed by using surveys. Astonishingly, Doctors Without Borders has at times courageously and independently delivered medical assistance to some parts of the world without consulting or working with civilian or military authorities. Because of its commitment to impartiality, Doctors Without Borders remains independent of governments and is a reliable partner in the delivery of humanitarian supplies where others dare not. During the Rwanda Genocide of 1994, together with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Doctors Without Borders withdrew from camps inside Rwanda to avoid complicity as the camps were used as military sanctuary by the genocidal militia that was behind the massacre of a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus (Pease, 274).

The earliest recorded humanitarian relief operations by MSF was in 1972 when the city of Managua in Nicaragua experienced a devastating earthquake that killed between 10,000 and 30,000 people and razed most of the city’s infrastructure. After Hurricane Fifi inundated the nation of Honduras on September 18 and 19 in 1974, leaving behind massive flooding in its wake, MSF established its first long-term medical relief mission in the country. The fall of South Vietnam to North Vietnam and the subsequent exodus of Cambodians fleeing the ruthless Khmer Rouge saw MSF establish the first refugee camp missions in Thailand. The withdrawal of Vietnam from Cambodia in 1989 necessitated the formation of MSF’s long-term operations meant to resuscitate Cambodia’s dilapidated health care system and also provide care to the survivors of the mass killings.

Arguably, MSF’s first encounter with turbulence would be when the brutal civil war of Lebanon broke out in 1976 while its mission was providing surgical procedures in Lebanon’s major city hospitals thus establishing reputation for nonaligned status and eagerness to work under hostile fire. After caring for Christian and Muslim religious groups in the midst of a long and arduous war that dragged on for almost a decade, rampant attacks on its personnel and the deteriorating security situation in Lebanon finally forced MSF to shut down its operations in 1984.

For the first time in its history, the organization has been able to make a breakthrough in the mapping of the “Meningitis Belt” in sub-Saharan Africa which typically happens between the months of December and June. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of Meningitis in the world. Psychological programs track down massacres, kidnappings, rapes, and killings so that security can be enforced by the government-of-the-day. In 2004, MSF conducted a wide-ranging mortality survey in Darfur, Sudan.

MSF has been actively involved in the elimination of diseases caused by lack of proper nutrition. The organization has a marvelous practice of setting up Therapeutic Feeding Centers for victims of marasmus who show signs of severe emaciation and weakened immune systems.[8] The same applies for patients of kwashiorkor who are known to appear physically and mentally retarded. Both diseases cause malnutrition leading to fatal opportunistic infections if not treated right away. Drought, war, and mismanagement of economies by corrupt governments may be attributed to be the major causes of marasmus and kwashiorkor in patients.

Sub-Saharan Africa has been grossly affected by myriads of diseases caused by lack of healthy and sufficient nutritional foods because totalitarian and callous good-for-nothing regimes and ridiculous pseudo-democracies headed by leaders who are outrageously brigands in outlook have surreptitiously retarded the development of agricultural technology and scientific technology leaving areas in their control to be prone to contagious diseases.

Often, children are the most vulnerable in situations where basic necessities are nonexistent. To resuscitate such famished patients, MSF has introduced two phases of treatments: Phase 1 and Phase 2. In Phase 1, F-75, therapeutic milk with low energy, low fat/protein powder mixed with water is given to patients to transition them to Phase 2. In Phase 2, F-100, also a type of therapeutic milk but containing more energy/fat/protein content along with peanut butter mixture called plumpy’nut is served to patients. Enriched flour, porridge, and PB5-which is a high protein biscuit-are used for treating populations. In situations where dehydration and diarrhea remain widespread, MSF administers Oral Re-hydration Salts (ORS) as replacement for lost body fluids since ORS contain glucose and electrolytes. For cases showing signs of diarrhea coupled with dysentery and cholera, the application of antibiotics best serve to bring about complete convalescence.

Since water is necessary for hygiene, MSF water experts ensure there is enough water for human consumption-water that is free from sedimentation. Depending on the availability of resources, engineers may build water storage facilities or dig water wells that are free from water-borne diseases. Where applicable, these experts employ chlorination or filtration techniques to contain the spread of water-borne diseases spread by pathogenic microorganisms like bacteria, protozoa, and viruses-many of which are intestinal parasites. MSF water engineers train local medical staff in the fields of simple waste-water treatment by applying physical, chemical, and biological processes. This is done in order to reduce the effects of waste on the health, environment, or aesthetics. Also, volunteers and local medical staff learn proper waste disposal, personal hygiene, and garbage disposal and treatment techniques from MSF engineers.

Nations most afflicted by war and natural disasters seem to benefit the most from the free services provided by MSF. In Africa, countries that have been once afflicted by war or are on the road to recovery such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda, Congo, and many others in Sub-Saharan Africa remain the major beneficiaries of the services provided by this internationally renowned organization whose services know no boundaries. Regardless of whether it is an outbreak of a pandemic or an epidemic, MSF continues to serve the needy afflicted by the most debilitating outbreak of diseases. Whether it is Ebola, Bubonic Plague, cholera, sleeping sickness, polio, Marburg Fever, or Tuberculosis, the forces of MSF continue to intermingle with the most vulnerable and the most wretched of the earth including refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) without regard to race, color, creed, gender, sex and political and religious affiliation.

Besides the funds provided by donor nations, MSF has to its credit millions of voluntary donors and volunteer workers who dedicate their money, time, and efforts solely for the preservation of human dignity and sanctity of human lives. Those who wish to see the survival and well-being of MSF are not drawn only from the nationals of founding member-states but from the combined citizens of the Global North and Global South whose philanthropic endeavors revolve around the continuation of a collective global effort for the betterment of humanity’s overall existence. In 1982, Malhuret and Rony Brauman who would become the organization’s president the same year introduced fund raising by mail leading to financial independence and increased the speedy establishment of new centers worldwide.

The organization remains in the forefront in its fight against contagious diseases in many parts of the world especially in developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Concerted efforts in the collective vaccination of populations against diseases like diphtheria, meningitis, measles, tetanus, pertussis, yellow fever, tetanus, polio, and cholera remain top priority for MSF’s field missions. The bulk of MSF volunteer employees who include physicians, surgeons, nurses, and others with specialized trainings in various fields usually have considerable knowledge as regards the management and containment of tropical and epidemiological diseases. In Africa where HIV/AIDS is wrecking havoc to entire populations due to shortage of medications and the absence of sex education, MSF is playing a leading role in the provision of the much-needed and extremely expensive antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) needed by patients to boost their weak body immune systems.

In Central America, especially in the nation of Nicaragua, MSF is providing public education awareness seminars aimed at curbing the spread of venereal disease and other types of reproductive infections. In areas devastated by civil wars, natural disasters, or endemic diseases, MSF psychologists or psychiatrists provide considerable support to affected communities. In addition, the organization plays central role in alleviating stress in victims confounded by depression, domestic violence, and substance abuse. At times qualified MSF personnel may train local mental health staff to fill the void.

Often, MSF keeps a watchful eye on all forms of injustices or violations committed against defenseless populations by states and armed resistance groups by issuing rejoinders, press releases, and communiqués in the strongest language so as to attract the attention of the international community. By voicing its concerns, MSF is signaling warring parties to show self-control so that remedial measures can be implemented to avoid a repeat of past risky actions not only for the present but for posterity. “MSF reserves the right to speak out to bring attention to neglected crises, to challenge inadequacies or abuse of the aid system, and to advocate for improved medical treatments and protocols.”[9] The latest MSF press release appeared on January 26, 2010 in which the organization strongly condemned the forceful evacuation of 7,000 displaced persons from Munda (Lower Dir, North West Frontier Province) by Pakistani armed personnel.

In some regions of the world where the rule of law is either shaky or preposterously outlandish, some nongovernmental organizations might find their humanitarian efforts hampered by states and other religiously-inclined fanatics and MSF is no exception. The prospects of dispensing humanitarian supplies to the disadvantaged millions living in countries like Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan and other beleaguered, impoverished, and war-ravaged nations, at times remain absolutely discombobulating for MSF’s compassionate commitments.

Despite its hard work and dedication and its unreserved service to the cause of humanity, MSF employees have not been immune from the absurdities of political instability and civil wars. Constant intimidation by armed groups, kidnappings for the sake of ransom and attacks on volunteers for political reasons, and unjustifiable arrests and abductions of volunteers and international workers cause disillusionment in the dissemination of humanitarian services to the neediest. The War on Terrorism has generated profound mistrust for MSF by nationals whose countries remain under U.S. occupation and the end result leads to apprehension and abrupt evacuation of MSF personal and hasty abandonment of humanitarian activities. The organization evacuated its personnel from Afghanistan’s Badghis region after five of its employees were killed in an ambush near Khair Khana by unidentified gunmen in July of 2004.[10] The victims were identified as Afghans Fasil Ahmad and Besmillah, Belgian Hélène de Beir, Norwegian Egil Tynæs, and Dutchman Willem Kwint. In June 2007, a MSF-France volunteer was killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo while in January 2008, two expatriate volunteers and one national staff member were killed in Somalia resulting in the closure of the project.[11]

The number of non-governmental organizations calling themselves “without borders” is seemingly growing out of proportion. They include Lawyers Without Borders, Farmers Without Borders, Architecture Sans Frontières, Bikers Without Borders, MBAs Without Borders, Pharmacists Without Borders, Librarians Without Borders, and Reporters Without Borders just to mention a few. Despite superficial psychology of imitation and phony proliferation of names identical to that of MSF in the global arena, it is only Doctors Without Borders or MSF that has the potential to ensure the ball rolls when it comes to the delivery of humanitarian services worldwide without the least hesitations.

Sources
www.msf.org
http://www.imperialcollegeunion.org/clubs-and-societies/a-to-z/f/friends-of-msf/history.html?Pcs=com.othermedia.imperial.model.ClubSocietyHandle-L-318
http://www.msf.org.uk/about_charter.aspx
http://www.msf.dk/OmMSF/Hvemervi/LaMancha-aftalen/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9decins_Sans_Fronti%C3%A8res
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/lists/1999.html
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1999/msf-lecture.html
http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?component=article&objectid=38EE4ACD-E76C-419D-8888955E03EF9E13&method=full_html
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/aboutus/
http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?component=pressrelease&objectid=8851DF09-F62D-47D4-A8D3EB1E876A1E0D&method=full_html
http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?objectid=D45AE41F-15C5-F00A-25FA38BD021FCE9A&component=toolkit.pressrelease&method=full_html

The Torchbearers of the Seeds of Doom

All aspects of the beautiful life created by Allah meant to nourish and nurture all living things have been turned into catastrophic phenomena by a group of presumptuous and lame-brained men who possess insufficient, unpersuasive, or substandard principles and judgments. The exceptional, authentic, and original religion of Islam has been deliberately infused with irrational and innovative practices and beliefs that are tantamount to hypocrisy. In the absence of law and order, those who depend on these types of avaricious misfits preaching hatred and distorted ideologies, become victims of misrule or turn sadistic and vainglorious in the long run.

The torchbearers of these seeds of doom may be identified by how they behave towards their subjects for they portray the tendency to kill, maim, or dislocate every living thing and rape innocent unarmed women and girls. They continue to annihilate innumerable innocent mothers so as to inherit and indoctrinate their children and bring them into their fold. The same children will be transformed into armies of irritated and unforgiving suicide bombers, mine-layers, assassins, gunners, and poorly-trained riflemen who kill by impulse at any given time leaving death and destruction in their wake. To these children and their psychotic leaders, everyone else except them, is branded kaffir (disbeliever).

Superficial religious misinterpretations spearheaded by shallow-minded religious fanatics in regions like Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan have been the cause of incivility and intolerance leading to unprecedented internal strife, terrorism, and piracy. The aftermath of these religious squabbles open numerous doors for mass exodus of refugees, proliferation of weapons and arms smuggling, impoverishment, water shortages, sewage breakdown, prostitution, disease, cross-border raids, armed banditry, poaching, desertization due to environmental degradation, internally displaced persons (IDPs), homelessness, brain-drain, infrastructural decay, economic stagnation, and statelessness.

Somalia remained a stable governable state from the time it attained independence in 1960 until the collapse of the central government in 1991 when all of a sudden it transformed into a ludicrously unsteady, ungovernable, and ultimately a failed state altogether. The nation’s insalubrious political arena catapulted to greater heights immediately after the military junta fell apart. The rise of tribal hegemony and the craving for territorial expansion led to the escalation of irredentist mentality. Entire communities were forcefully disbanded from their original locations and made to live in squalid conditions while new arrivals rejoiced at the newly-grabbed lands and homes.

The rise of cold-blooded, desultory, ignominious, and gluttonous warlords who emerged after the demise of General Aidid brought about an era of prolonged national self-destruction. The defeat of the warlords in 2006 by the Union of Islamic Courts (ICU), the coronation of Abdullahi Yusuf as president of the Somali transitional federal government and the subsequent defeat of the ICU by Ethiopia’s occupation forces laid ground for the explosion of religious extremism and malevolent ideological fragmentation along clan lines.

Above all, Al-Ittihad Al-Islam, a religious group that has thus far ceased to exist after being routed by Ethiopia’s mechanized army, was the precursor of all religious fomentation in the early part of the 90s. Remnants of Al-Ittihad leaders conscientiously and clandestinely pilfered into various religious assemblages with the crucial aim of carrying out onslaughts against the formation of every conceivable and internationally recognized legitimate Somali transitional government with ideological and political leanings toward Ethiopia, Kenya, and the West.

Referred to as jihadists in contemporary global politics, Somalia’s religious movements have become internationalized, institutionalized, and politicized as they have made great strides in subscribing to the global jihadist consortium waging wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, and other hotspots interconnected by globalization and cyberspace communication. The rise of Hizb-Islam, Al-shabab, and Ahlu-Sunna Waljama’a (ASWJ) all developed after the collapse of the ICU and for the most part after the departure of Ethiopian occupation army from Somali soil. With the exception of ASWJ, the former two embody strict religious traditions never before experienced by the people of Somalia.

The presence of African Union peacekeeping troops (AMISOM) from Burundi and Uganda has further aggravated the security situation in the country. Al-shabab and Hizb-Islam’s daily altercations with AMISOM troops make life unbearable for the few remaining residents of Mogadishu. Heavy shelling by AMISOM troops stationed in the presidential palace, Mogadishu harbor, and the international airport has resulted in uncountable civilian deaths and casualties. The stable autonomous province of Puntland and the unrecognized breakaway region of Somaliland have not been immune from extremist attacks either. The death toll from suicide bombings and assassination of political and religious figures continue to grow exponentially. Unless Somalis unite on a dynamic common political ground and rally behind an acceptable religious path, the current horrendous state of affairs resembling vestiges of Calvinism will prevail. Allah forbid.