Youth of Somalia: From heroes to criminals and victims

It is hard to mull over the history of Somali Youth and not first feel pride and then despair and sadness because of the bright past and tragic present. First, thanks to the mass mobilization and effective leadership of a small group of young Somalis, the British Somaliland protectorate and Italian Somaliland trusteeship gained their independences and formed the Republic of Somalia on July 1, 1960. On May 13, 1943, a group of thirteen young Somalis got together and decided to form a political organization called Somali Youth Club (SYC) later renamed Somali Youth League (SYL) on May 15, 1947. They penned down the indelible principles of their political platform based on nationalism, unity, education, equality and justice for a prosperous and strong Somalia which was divided at that time into five parts under different colonial powers as a result of Berlin Conference of 1884-85 on the scramble for Africa.

Five of the thirteen Somali Youth League founders were 17 and 18 years old, while six were age 24 and 26 and the remaining two were 28 and 33 years old. The African Youth Charter adopted in July 2006 defines youth as individuals aged 15 to 35. The group courageously and successfully led the Somali nationalist movement for the liberation and nationhood of all Somalis. They defeated the curse that divides the Somali people into clan chauvinism. Indeed, the representative of the British colonial military administration scorned the ambition of the youth when they applied for permission because of the intense clan division among the Somali people. However, the Somali Youth League founders proved the administration wrong and succeeded in resisting the clan syndrome. The Somali Youth League enjoyed considerable followers and enthusiastic support everywhere in the Somali lands.

All national post-independent governments echoed the national principles and sentiments set by the Somali Youth League founders. Frequently, today’s young generation in the Diaspora form organizations with the same name to keep alive the psychological nationalistic fervor and unforgettable legacy left behind by the thirteen young heroes of the league. Somalis inside and outside Somalia often sing in social or political gatherings the Somali Youth League era songs for tribute and societal uplifting.

The revolutionary military regime which overthrew the civilian government in 1969 gave special attention to the youth and established a national youth organization called Somali Revolutionary Youth Organization (SRYC) which played an influential role in the power consolidation of the military regime. In addition, the regime established a Cabinet Ministry for Youth and Sports which became a fix cabinet position in any Somali government thereafter.

The regime undertook many programs that promoted the development, political participation, and socialization of the youth. The government offered free education up to university and free health care and guaranteed employment for all university graduates. In addition, it invested in the promotion of competitive sports and games among secondary school students or regional tournaments for boys and girls. It organized cultural competitions during annual celebrations.

All secondary graduates were required to undergo a boot camp for civic training. This has facilitated the social integration of the youth from the different regions and social backgrounds. The participation of youth in the political process expanded and increased youth awareness. Notwithstanding the significant dropouts of girls for different reasons, it is particularly important to note that during the revolutionary military regime the equal treatment between girls and boys and access of girls to education and employment has substantially improved. More girls benefited from the government policies and sponsored programs.

After the adoption of the script of the Somali language in 1972, the government launched two historical campaigns for urban literacy and rural development. The secondary schools students played a crucial role in both campaigns conducted in 1973 and 1974. Since the rural development campaign became an internationally admired success, the Somali youth were also heroes in the eyes of millions of Somali population for their contribution to the profound economic and social changes that took place in the country at that time. In 1975, late minister of education Abdirizak Mohamed Abubakar received on behalf of Somalia the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) literacy Prize.

Unfortunately, unchecked escalating corruption, economic mismanagement and political repression eroded the initial success stories and the State became a dictatorship which dashed the aspiration and expectations of the youth so that many of them either joined rebel movements or travelled outside the country for better opportunities. Precipitously, the political, economic and social situation of Somalia deteriorated.

Finally, the military dictatorship collapsed in 1991 and the ensued civil war for power struggle and resource control among rebel clan factions made the youth victims and perpetrators of violence. Today, the situation of the Somali Youth imbues a sense of sadness and despair despite national and international efforts to reverse it. The Somalia Human Development Report 2012 of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) focuses on empowering Youth for peace and development and describes the youth situation as follows:

“With two decades of endless civil war and unrest, Somali youth face harsh realities. Many are poor, uneducated and unemployed, or have left the country as migrants or refugees. Others have joined the armed militia, either voluntarily or involuntarily and use violence to earn quick money, through robbery, ransacking or piracy. With few choices or outlets to express their anger, they are ready recruits for engaging in risky behaviour. A lost generation poses significant challenges not only to youth themselves, but also imposes formidable economic, political, and social costs a real threat to national stability.”

As described in the above cited report, Somalia faces the challenge of demographic pressure because 73% of the population is below the age of 30 and this ‘youth bulge’ remains a serious barrier to peace and stability in Somalia unless immediate actions on employment, education, training and economic support are undertaken. A survey conducted for preparation of the report found that the unemployment rate among youth aged 14 to 29 was 67 percent, one of the highest in the world. The environment of violence, unemployment and poverty deprived the youth hope and forced them to partake in the conflict.

For the first time, the report analyzes the plight of the Somali Youth in detail and advocates for their empowerment …defined as the expansion of assets and capabilities of young people to participate in negotiate with influence control and hold accountable the institutions that affect their lives… as an essential condition for peacebuilding and sustainable stability and development. The report proposes a holistic approach for removing exclusionary policies and institutional barriers as well as for fostering bottom up process based on community led initiatives that empower local populations.

For the past two decades, the Somali State was absent from the debates on youth empowerment taking place at the international forums like the United Nations, African Union and Arab league. In July 2012, the Somali government signed an action plan to end the use of child soldiers. But the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of the action plan throughout the country is hampered by the lack of government capacity to persecute lawbreakers.

During the prolonged civil war, hopeless youth became prey for a host of unscrupulous warlords, politicians and religious fanatics. These adult exploiters lured, trained and forced the youth to become criminals by committing murder, rape, looting and kidnapping. The youth also joined piracy activities. Hundreds of young Somalis are today languishing in jails all overall the world up to South Korea, Seychelles, Kenya, France, United States, India, Libya, and Saudi Arabiya for piracy, kidnapping crimes or for illegal immigration. Many died in the Sahara desert; others drowned at the sea for seeking opportunity in far countries up to Australia and New Zealand. World TVs show routinely images of dead bodies of young Somalis lying at the beaches of Italy, Libya and Yemen. Others were killed by international forces protecting the maritime navigation off the Somali coast of Indian Ocean, while thousands are missing.

Thousands of youths and their families fled their homes and they are either internally displaced people (IDP) or refugees in crowded camps in neighboring countries with abject poverty. The lucky ones are those who got resettlements in Europe, America, Australia and Canada. Somalia lost its most precious assets for peace and development. The African Youth Charter states that ‘the Africa’s greatest resources is its youthful population and that through their active participation, Africans can surmount the difficulties that lie ahead.’

A large number of youth who lost hope turned to religion for salvation and comfort. This opened up an opportunity for the religious leaders to fill the vacuum created by the statelessness by using the youth. So the religious leaders formed Islamic courts and trained young generation for addressing the intolerable level of insecurity situation. Inauspiciously, the emergence of the Islamic movement attracted the attention of the international powers engaged in the global war against Al Qaeda responsible for the terror attack on America on September 11, 2001.

Somalia became target as it has been suspected a safe haven for jihadists with link to Al Qaeda and for terrorist individuals who committed terror in Kenya and Tanzania. The hunting of suspected individuals ignited a violent conflict in Mogadishu between the forces of the Islamic courts and those of a group of warlords allied to the US Government. The Islamic courts whose backbone was a well organized and trained youth defeated the warlords’ forces and all of a sudden became the de facto rulers of south central Somalia. This trigged the military invasion of Ethiopia in Somalia which quickly chased out the Islamic court forces.

But the youth regrouped and formed the radical organization ‘Al Shabab’, which means youth. Immediately they engaged a bloody war against Ethiopia forces and Somali Government. In their fight against foreign invaders, Al Shabab won the minds and hearts of a large segment of the population, specially the young generation to the level that some of them became suicide bombers. But their brutal tactics and indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians have corroded the public support and their military capability plummeted drastically. But what is frightening is that the youth not supporting Al Shabab express lack of confidence and negative expectation towards the political dispensation. Somalia needs urgent and substantial international intervention to save its youth from self-destruction and against the rest.

In the 21st century, the chance for the eruption of youth rebellion has dramatically increased partly to the Arab spring which brought down autocratic governments in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. The youth’s frustration and agitation against the political system is increased by their high awareness and connection facilitated by the social media. The average percentages of awareness of female and male Somali youth to their rights of education, decent work, participation in organization, political participation, equality of young men and women, and freedom of expression are 63.21 and 69.89 respectively. Therefore, it is far better to empower the youth in facing the challenges of the real life within the democratic values and norms. Lack of empowerment is disaster for the entire society.

One practical policy prescription put forward by the practitioners and searchers of youth problems in conflict zones is the youth’s involvement in the allocation and management of resources intended for their empowerment on the basis of the fifteen priority issues agreed upon by the international community including the African Union like education, employment, hunger and poverty, and health. The defeat of the terror ideology of Al Shabab and recover the lost generation in Somalia depends on effective coordinated national and international efforts focused on the urgent needs of young generation in terms of security, livelihood, education and employment support.

* Mohamud M Uluso is a Somali commentator