Brace yourself, Bridget: war comes to Somalia by way of Ethiopia and Eritrea. If you were unfortunate enough to have seen or participated in the "Do They Know It's Christmas" Band Aid and We Are the World campaigns of the mid-1980s, the ones designed to end famine in Ethiopia and so on, you might be depressed about the latest events. If you never heard of it, surprise, surprise.
I still haven't read or seen Black Hawk Down, which involves US helicopters and troops in Somalia disastrously fighting warlords, but intend to.
So far, it seems, Islamic Courts and Islamic militia have set up their version of law and order in the formerly anarchic and warlordish parts of Somalia. Further in the interior, a lame government, friendly to the West, has a scrap of land and a few strategic points that the Islamic forces intend to control.
The government of Ethiopia, ostensibly a "Christian nation," has moved troops, tanks and airpower into Somalia to prop up the "official" government. Meanwhile, Eritreans, who hate the Ethiopians, are supplying the Somali Islamic guys with weapons and reinforcements. They are now having at it.Bottom line: the nastiness in the Middle East is spreading wildly into the Horn of Africa. Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward Men everywhere?
Today's Rune: Harvest.
Merry Funky Christmas, Part II! And happy first day of Kwanzaa.
3 comments:
Well, this week Bono - one of the original Band Aiders- got his Knighthood, but really - he's just a PR boy for the oppressors. He means well, but Africa's problems are deeper and caused by the system our governments propagate, isn't it so?
That song - the Band Aid one, is so depressing! I know it is meant to help people in Africa and those living in poverty, but it is very, very depressing.
If only it was a peaceful Christmas.
Helen
Despite the depressing nature of this topic, I wish we heard more about Somalia on the news. I'm fascinated and appalled by what happens there. It's so devastating.
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