the forgotten country

The only two things that Westerners most likely know about Somalia is that it is in Africa somewhere and it served as the setting for the movie Black Hawk Down. The capital of Somalia, Mogadishu was once a vibrant community because of its location on the Indian Ocean. Today though the lobby group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has stated that it is 'the most ignored tragedy' in the world. Somalia has been without a central government since 1991 when the then President Siad Barre was overthrown by opposing clans. Without a central government in place, chaos and violence have become the norm which leaves normal Somalians constantly struggling to survive. HRW said that if a similar situation was occuring anywhere else in the world, like Lebanon or Georgia, it would be considered a travesty and international bodies would quickly move to ensure their stability. This is absolutely true. Can you imagine what the response would be if this kind of fighting and human rights abuse was occurring in a region like eastern Europe? This is another excellent example of how Somalia and Africa as a whole are completely neglected. The fact is that this region is of no geopolitical consequence to the United States or any other Western state. Time and time again, we hear of atrocities occuring to human beings in the most unstable area of the world and nothing is done. It can be frustrating to see so much suffering occur in a world that has so much. What needs to happen for poverty and situations like the one in Somalia right now to become a priority for the international community? Until this question is resolved, Somalia will most likely remain the forgotten country and Africa the forgotten continent. However, we must have hope that love will conquer hate and that suffering can and should be defeated. How I am using my energies today to work towards this?

source: bbc news