NGOs
have failed Somalia, and the international community retains the cynical
perception that the country is little more than a ‘security issue’. These same
international organisations have failed in addressing the wider and pressing
issues facing this complex issue. Somalia itself is dominated by four ‘majority’
clans that are often referred to as ‘nobles’. These are the Hawiye, Darod, Dir
and Rahanweyn. These family clans tend to control Somalia’s politics and
economics since independence. The majorities’ over-arching powers cast a long
shadow over the rights of the minorities.
Somalia has always had a very diverse
population of minorities. The three largest groups of minorities are the Bantu,
Benadiri and Occupational Groups. The Bantu are farmers and were traditionally
subjugated by the Arab slave-trade – they are often the victims of land grabs.
The Benadiri live on the coast and are mercantile people. They were migrants
from all over the Gulf and used to have a sizeable population in Somalia (at one
time, they comprised of half the population of Mogadishu). Finally, the
Occupational Groups (or caste groups as they’re sometimes known) represent the
lowest rung in the socio-economic strata. They especially suffer from a lack of
official protection.
If you’d like to understand the extent to which Somali
minorities are marginalised on an international level, you need look no further
than the latest International Crisis Group’s latest Somali report, in which the
plight of minorities has been wholly omitted. This should come as little
surprise to many in the field. After all, the false myth of demographic
homogeneity within Somali society is prevalent. It is the purpose of this report
to challenge this misconception about the people that make up Somalia. It is not
a pastoralist society, but a plural and heterogeneous one. It might be dominated
by pastoralist clans, but this is neither here nor there.
The minority groups
within Somalia are an invisible, forgotten people and lack basic access to
redress and justice. There is a traditional Somali saying that indicates the
historical practice of prejudice within this troubled country: ‘No one will weep
for me’. Despite this backdrop of discrimination, there remains a few
opportunities for real positive change. As already addressed, our methodology
throughout the project was adopting a qualitative approach towards collecting
data. Our male and female research team collected some vivid testimonies. We
wanted to ensure that our project was not purely based on figures. Ideally, this
project would represent a turning point in the normative sense: it was supposed
to encourage minority groups to research their own heritage and, as such,
compelling them to undertake a greater level of activism.
The marginalised
minorities come from varied backgrounds and have retained their social
differences. It is estimated that up to 3 million Somalis fall in to the
minorities demographic. Despite their retention of their traditional cultures,
there is a large body of evidence to suggest that integration with local clans
has been fairly prevalent. Fraternisation with the ‘nobility’ is still frowned
upon though and, in some cases, it’s illegal. To develop on the different
minority groups as outlined before, a greater indepth analysis of these groups
is required:
Bantu were traditionally from slave communities have maintained
many of their socio-cultural institutions and languages despite attempts to
repress its peoples. After opportunities afforded unto them with the economic
upturn after the 1969 coup, Bantu were granted greater access to state schooling
and employment, and they keenly pursued jobs in agricultural development and
trade. Despite these developments, the Bantu still suffer at the hands of
warlords’ armed militias and agrarian subsistence.
The Benadiri built
Mogadishu and were instrumental in spreading Islam across Somalia. They traded
abroad as well as inland with the pastoralists. They are chiefly based on the
Benadir coastlines of Somalia. Benadiri are proud of their cultural heritage and
regularly practice Sufi studies and speak in their Swahili dialect. In the early
1990s, warlords’ forces pillaged Benadiri lands and used rape prolifically as a
weapon of war – the results of which was a massacre. Food aid from international
organisations was diverted and large proportions of their population have fled
to neighbouring countries.
Occupational Groups could be compared with the
untouchables of India – although the use of the term ‘caste’ is only partly
useful in describing their heterogeneous nature. They are primarily craftspeople
and artists and can be split in to three main groups: the Midgan (aka Gaboye),
the Tumal and the Yibro. The Midgan were traditionally hunters and
leatherworkers but have also undertaken crafts: use of the term Gaboye in
Somaliland is generally considered offensive. The Tumal are chiefly ironworkers
and blacksmiths by trade and the Yibro make their living mainly through
soothsaying and astrology.
Ashraf and Shekhal are two religious Islamic
minority groups that often provide warring parties with forums in which to
discuss matters peacefully. They are seen as major regional players in conflict
resolution. They also suffer at the hands of the pastoralists due to their lack
of an armed militia to support them.
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It should be emphasised that the three regions within Somalia (Somaliland,
Puntland and South Central Somalia) treat their minorities in different ways.
Somaliland has provided the most rapidly progressive region in advancing
minorities’ rights but educational discrimination and objections to intermarriage are still major barriers facing these causes. Minorities in Puntland
are regularly internally displaced by pastoralist communities, lack effective
avenues for justice and minority women in particular are subjected to genderbased violence. The situation for minorities in South Central Somalia is the
most fraught, with the ongoing conflict causing wide-ranging human rights
abuses across the region
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