Somalia Natasha Moore Tierney Burris Social Justice Block A April 2010

The country of Somalia can be found on the coastal line of Africa. It boarders Ethiopia and Kenya. The capital city is Mogadishu. The cities that make this country up are as shown to the left. The flag is light blue with a large white five-pointed star in the center (the blue color was influenced by the flag of the UN

Historical Background In 1960, Britain left the area of British Somaliland to allow its territory to combine with the Italian Somaliland and form the actual nation of Somalia. In 1969, an authoritarian socialist rule manage to impose some source of stability in the country for more than 20 years. The regime however collapsed in early 1991 and Somalia fell into turmoil, factional fighting and anarchy. In May of that same year, the northern clans declared an independent Republic of Somaliland (includes the regions of Awdal, Woqooyi Galbeed, Togdheer, Sanaag, and Sool. Although it does not appear to be, Somalia has remained stable and continues to establish a democracy (holds a parliamentary and presidential elections).

Was it…a colony? According to the book definition of colonialism, a powerful country conquers native peoples and establishes colonies. Before the 1960s, Britain and Italy had controlled a portions of Somalia.

At the beginning of 1993, a two-year UN humanitarian effort alleviated famine conditions. However in 1995, the UN withdrew due to the suffering of significant causalities (order had not been restored yet). A two year peace process ended in October of Although an interim government was created in 2004, other regional and local governing bodies continue to exist and control various regions of the country, including the self-declared Republic of Somaliland in northwestern Somalia and the semi-autonomous State of Puntland in northeastern Somalia

Current Politics & Government Government type: No permanent national government; transitional, parliamentary federal government (contains a executive, judiciary and legislative branch) Constitution: Established on August 25, 1979/ presidential approved on September 23, 1979 No national legal system; it is a mixture of English common law, Italian law, Islamic sharia, and Somalia customary law Diplomatic rep. from the US: the US does not have an embassy in Somalia. US interests are represented in Kenya. Diplomatic rep. in the US Somalia does not have an embassy in the US (They ceased operations on May 8, 1991)

Current Economics Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy. It is largely based on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies, and telecommunications. Agriculture is the most important part: 40% More than 50% are from exporting goods A large portion of the population is made up of nomads and semi- pastoralists (dependent of livestock) Principal exports: - Livestock - Hides - Fish - Charcoal - Bananas - Mangoes & Coconuts Principal imports: - Sugar - Sorghum - Corn - Qat - Machined goods Somalia’s small industrial area has been looted and sold as scrap metal.

…Continued … Somalia's service sector also has grown. Telecommunication firms provide wireless services in most major cities and offer the lowest international call rates on the continent. In the absence of a formal banking sector, money transfer/remittance services have sprouted throughout the country, handling up to $1.6 billion in remittances annually. Mogadishu's main market offers a variety of goods from food to the newest electronic gadgets. Hotels continue to operate and are supported with private-security militias. Due to armed attacks on and threats to humanitarian aid workers, the World Food Program partially suspended its operations in southern Somalia in early January 2010 pending improvement in the security situation. Somalia's arrears to the IMF have continued to grow. GDP: $2.763 billion (2009 est.)/GDP – per capita: $600 (2009) – country comparison to the world: 224 [ Made up of agriculture (65%), industry (10%) and services (25%) ]

Resources =] factbook/geos/so.html factbook/geos/so.html