Sure, as long as you ask Iman (Somali wife of David Bowie) who begged for food aid to
feed her starving family to whom she could forwars no help, and remember that the
blatant racist actions which were committed in Somalia by soldiers were committed, in
the main, by Canadian troops.
At Thu, 11 Mar 1999 03:50:57 EST, you wrote:
>
>In a message dated 3/11/1999 2:59:05 AM Eastern Standard Time,
>[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>
><< The pressure on President Bush to get food to the starving Somali people
>was enormous, and could be measured, frame by frame, in the recurring pictures
>of emaciated Somalis, stomachs paradixically swollen by famine and listless
>eyes blankly gazing out of skin-covered skulls, foreshadowing deaths to come.
>We sent aid, and personnel to distribute it, and quickly found out that there
>were warring juntas with bhat-crazed mercernaries driving "technical vehicles"
>(jeeps with mounted machine guns) all demanding a piece of the foreign aid
>pie. When we attempted to confiscate the weapons with which these groups were
>killing both each other and any one else (including the rest of the Somalis)
>between them and aggrandizement (including the unarmed aid workers from whom
>they were armed-robbing everything that wasn't nailed down) and stanch the
>eastward flow of the narcotic bhat from Kenya and Ethiopia, we were attacked
>by the juntas for interfering with their drug and extortion rackets, and when
>we attempted to capture one of their leaders (Aidid) >>
>
>Adeed was a firmly american trained leader who just didn't behave as American
>planned him to do so. Those troops lovingly sent in, were also found to be
>highly abusive to the population which included stun gun attacks, beatings of
>unarmed civilians and numerous rapes - alongside the hefty focus they placed
>on encouraging prostitution and propositioning young somali women with money.
>The Italian troops even got a nice magazine spread from some foolhardy person
>taking pictures of gang rapes and beatings.
>
>So yes, some of the Somali population really didn't appreciate them.
>
>Where did the weapons come from - who is the biggest weapons seller in the
>world, with countries like China, Bulgaria and Russia following up the tale
>end?
>
>Lots of those unarmed aid workers were found to have committed some unarmed,
>though very succesful thieving and civilian abuse themselves. They also
>weren't all the selfless committed people they claimed to be in the posters.
>There is a lot more to the story of aid workers in Africa than superficial
>impressions.
>
>I don't know your level of knowledge about Somali history, about the issues of
>clan fighting, or even about politics in Somali - or the attempts of colonial
>entities, but you certainly right as if you feel you have some substantial
>knowledge.
>
>Mind if I forward this to some Somali people I know, who I am sure would - if
>the mood to dabble with such mentalities was around - definitely provide some
>"perspective" on the what you have written.
>
>Nicole
>
>
>
Joe E. Dees
Poet, Pagan, Philosopher
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