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Kyelar Lemons

Mr. Phillips

AP Language and Composition

14 December, 2018

Somalia on the Brink:

What Can Be Done for this Starving Country?

Out of the 7 billion people on this planet, nearly 815 million are hungry. It is no

coincidence that 60% of those who are starving are located in war zones where conflict is

everywhere (Vernoosel). Somalia, found on the Horn of Africa, has been battling malnutrition

and famine for nearly two decades.What reason is behind Somalia's constant inability to feed its

people? Over the last 20 years, Somalia has been thrown into a maelstrom of drought, climate

change, and warfare; however it is clear that the biggest contributor to the famine is the

al-Shabaab militia group, who are turning the country into a war-torn disaster.

Many countries located in the Horn of Africa have been caught up in conflicts with one

another for decades. All of these countries suffer from exceptionally weak governments and

economies. In Somalia, there has not been a secure central government for over 20 years.

Southern Somalia is where the government is the weakest and the malnutrition is the worst, with

the lack of government resulting from the militia and extremist group, the al-Shabab. When the

central government fell apart in 1986, the al-Shabab took over the country and set Islamic laws

throughout Somalia (al-Shabab). This furthered the country into warfare, and now other

countries around the world had to step in to assist Somalia in restoring peace. As Somalia was
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struggling to stay intact with the al-Shabab ruling over them, it was not long before this terrorist

group began utilizing “starvation as a weapon of warfare” (Food Security).

In general, why do war and hunger tend to go hand in hand? The United Nations yearly

hunger report cautioned that starvation was rapidly increasing, and that as of September 2018,

“conflict and insecurity” were the top catalysts (Famine and Starvation). One main reason this is

the case is due to the danger associated with getting supplies into these conflict zones. In many

areas where hunger is prominent, the citizens rely on other countries or institutions, like the

United Nations, from which to retrieve food. If the fighting is bad, this will “make delivery of

assistance difficult and dangerous” (African Famine Relief). If citizens can not feed themselves,

and conflict around them makes it impossible for any other country to get food in, they will run

out of options. When conflict is at its peak, this additionally shows that a central government is

weak and insecure. If this is the case, warfare is the main concern, and there is no leader to focus

on feeding the people. When there is no government, and no safe way for outside sources to get

food to the malnutritioned residents, the result is famine.

This reasoning behind the connection between famine and warfare directly translates over

to the starvation of the Somalian population. Somalia has been caught up in warfare and military

conflicts, both internally and with other countries, for 20 years. Somalia's conflicts involving

Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti are directly caused by their lack of government, which clearly

contributed to the 2.6 million Somalis needing immediate aid to survive hunger (African Famine

Relief). The correlation between weak government and hunger is also seen in Somalia because it

is in Southern Somalia “where the fledgling government was the weakest, that [the] famine was

most severe” (Famine in Somalia). A lack of a central government makes the transport of food
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and aid much more difficult for a country; In Somalia, it becomes apparent that there is much

less concern with the famine when government is falling apart and civil war is erupting. In

Somalia's case, as the al-Shabab extremist group attempts to step in during the absence of a

strong government, and this will only worsen the case for the country.

The main reason that the al-Shabab take over played such a prominent role in Somalia's

famine is because this militia group was preventing aid from reaching the people who needed it.

The armed group heavily obstructs the passage of citizens looking for food and water, and they

hinder these people's access to help (​Bearak​). Additionally, the militia also impedes the

“distribution of food supplies from port cities”--they let no food come in, and no people go out

(Food Security). Therefore, even when the agriculture is thriving in Somalia, the al-Shabaab's,

who have corrupted the government, can easily stop the transit of food into areas that seriously

need it (African Famine Relief). This plays a clear role into Somalia’s famine because this

terrorist group is preventing the country from getting the help that it needs. If supplies could be

transported to the residents of Somalia, this would help the hunger tremendously. However,

when food and aid desperately needed is being rejected by the new, corrupted government, this

only fuels Somalia’s famine.

The al-Shabab have contributed to the famine in ways other than just the major issue, the

obstruction of food and aid. The fighting and warfare happening between Somali government

agents and rebels from the terrorist group has dislocated nearly 75,000 people. When trying to

escape malnutrition and military conflict, Somali residents escaped to “refugee camps” in Kenya

and Ethiopia (Famine in Somalia). These armed conflicts are forcing innocent citizens into

starvation because they get caught up “in the middle of a fight that is not their own” (Vernoosel).
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The al-Shabab is already intentionally starving their citizens by not allowing assistance inside

Somalia. Now, they are pushing people out of the country because of the mass amount of

fighting and warfare happening, and the thousands of displaced people are also held accountable

for the famine in Somalia.

Clearly, the warfare and government corruption in Somalia plays a large role in

contributing to the famine; but what other issues could also be affecting the amount of starving

people? It has been shown that hunger is rising as temperatures rise. In areas with more severe

climates, Somalia being one of them, the amount of citizens that are malnourished seems to be

greater (Clarke). Additionally, Somalia was going through a period of major drought at the time

that their famine occurred. With the drought, livestock began dying and water became

contaminated, leading to starving people (African Famine Relief). These are other obvious major

contributors to the famine in Africa, but this still can not top the fact that warfare is the biggest

problem. While a correlation has been seen between drought and climate, these are both things

that can be dealt with using supplies and aid from other countries. The big issue is that aid can

not get into Somalia because of blockades and the danger associated with it. If this one problem

of civil war were to be solved, other contributors to the famine could be resolved much more

easily.

All of the information regarding the al-Shabab militia group answers one major question:

why are the UN’s attempts at helping this famine in the Horn of Africa failing? These “relief

agencies” can not get supplies into Somalia when the militia is blockading the food and aid

(Food Security). Along with the al-Shabaab's starving Somali citizens, funding coming from

these relief agencies also poses an issue. Famine is a widespread issue all throughout Africa.
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“Due to the severity of other humanitarian crises” in other East African countries, “aid projects”

are left with little funding for Somalia (Famine in Somalia). Attempting to get food in is no

longer an option because of the al-Shababs blockade, and funding is running low already. It is

becoming clear that a new plan is needed to help the famine in Somalia, given that humanitarian

attempts being made at the moment are not doing anything to resolve the problem. So what

needs to happen in order for Somalia to be able to feed its citizens? The al-Shabaab rebels need

to be dominated, and the government needs to assist in getting aid from other countries. If the

rebels can be put under control, then there will be easier access for outside sources to get aid into

Somalia, and the government can focus on the famine. If outside countries with stronger armies

and governments would send assistance to help protect citizens and rid Somalia of terrorists,

Somalia would be a safer place where food aid could reach the people who desperately need it.

After looking at all the facts, there is no denying that all of Somalia's issues relate back to

the conflict and danger of being in the country. The government falling apart, the warfare already

happening, and conflict relating to the al-Shabaab are the most evident reason that famine

occurred and is still occurring. If there was no warfare and weak government, food could have

been imported into the country. Even if climate and drought had been the cause of the famine

rather than conflict and insecurity, the conflict is the reason aid could not reach the people who

need it. This only escalated the amount of starving people and severity of the situation. If a

strong government could be reestablished in Somalia, and the conflicts involving the al-Shabaab

could be put to an end, the famine in Somalia could be easily resolved with the assistance of the

United Nations and humanitarian aid resources.

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Works Cited

"African Famine Relief." ​Global Issues in Context Online Collection,​ Gale, 2018. ​Global Issues

in Context​,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CP3208520192/GIC?u=rale84535&sid=GIC&xid=46

7f4c5c. Accessed 13 Dec. 2018

"Al-Shabab." ​Global Issues in Context Online Collection​, Gale, 2018. ​Global Issues in Context,​

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CP3208520491/GIC?u=rale84535&sid=GIC&xid=a1

2c8ad2. Accessed 13 Dec. 2018.

Bearak, Max, and Laris Karklis. "Wars have Left 20 Million People on the Brink of Starvation."

Washington Post​, 12 Apr. 2017, pp. A.8​. SIRS Issues Researcher​, ​https://sks.sirs.com​.

Clarke, Hilary. "Hunger Rising with Global Temperatures, UN Report Says."​ CNN Wire Service​,

11 Sep. 2018, pp. n/a​. SIRS Issues Researcher,​ ​https://sks.sirs.com​. 

"Famine and Starvation." ​Global Issues in Context Online Collection​, Gale, 2018. ​Global Issues

in Context​,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CP3208520045/GIC?u=rale84535&sid=GIC&xid=b6

c69bce. Accessed 13 Dec. 2018.

"Famine in Somalia." ​Global Issues in Context Online Collection,​ Gale, 2018. ​Global Issues in

Context​,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CP3208520404/GIC?u=rale84535&sid=GIC&xid=6d

f2aac9. Accessed 13 Dec. 2018.

"Food Security." ​Global Issues in Context Online Collection​, Gale, 2018. ​Global Issues in
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Context​,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CP3208520047/GIC?u=rale84535&sid=GIC&xid=94

9f9b6b. Accessed 13 Dec. 2018.

Vernoosel, Herve. "Breaking bread with violence; It's time societies connected the dots between

conflict and hunger." ​Spectator​ [Hamilton, Ontario], 4 Dec. 2018, p. A11. ​Global Issues

in Context​,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A564218555/GIC?u=rale84535&sid=GIC&xid=87f8

42fd. Accessed 13 Dec. 2018.