Education, education, education

Image credits: Free Grunge Textures

Further to Harry Scrase’s piece on the Kenyan shopping mall which can be read here, Olivia Paine investigates the root of the problem back in Somalia.

The attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya on 21 September shocked the world. Al-Shabaab militants stormed the centre killing 67 people in the worst terrorist attack Kenya has seen since 1998. The international community came together to condemn the atrocity and US Navy Seals have attacked the leader of Al-Shabaab, Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr, at his home in Baraawe, Somalia. In an article in the New York Times an American security official is quoted anonymously as saying that the raid “was prompted by the Westgate attack”. Clearly the international community and particularly the US are targeting senior members of al-Shabaab due to their involvement in the Westgate siege and in an attempt to prevent further acts of terrorism.

Yet central to reducing terrorist attacks, is to understand why they happen in the first place. We will never know why the attackers themselves chose to kill innocent people because they died in the four-day siege that followed. A Twitter account which claims to represent Al-Shabaab, however, released a statement saying that the attack was in revenge for the actions of Kenyan forces which have been in Somalia since 2011, aiding the government and fighting against Al-Shabaab militants. According to the source the violence and death caused in Kenya was a “very tiny fraction” of the pain that Somalis have suffered at the hands of the Kenyan military and that “now it’s time to shift the battleground and take the war to their land”. The anger felt by Al-Shabaab militants, and possibly Somalis generally is clear. In an interview with The Telegraph, Amber Prior, a mother who managed to rescue four children including her own from the Westgate shopping mall, told of how one of the attackers was keen to let her know that they were “not monsters”. He claimed that their actions were as a result of Kenyan military intervention and even apologised for her having been shot. Regardless of this, it is impossible to escape that these men needlessly killed 67 people. The suffering of Somalis cannot absolve the attackers of their crimes. The loss of innocent lives in one country can never justify the murder of innocents in another.

There is however a more complex reason for the atrocities at the Westgate shopping mall. I was made to think of this last week when I was in a seminar and watched a lecture given by Dr Dambisa Moyo, a leading world economist, on her book Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is a Better Way for Africa. Moyo said something which I found truly shocking: no child has been to school in Somalia since 1992. There has been no school in the entirety of my lifetime. Between 1991 when the socialist state founded by Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown and 2012 when the formal government led by Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was sworn in, there was no real state infrastructure. Somalis have endured one tragedy after another, from civil war, to famine, to a tsunami. It is estimated by the CIA that since 1991 up to 1.1 million Somalis have been internally displaced due to the conflict in their country. The proof of this suffering is all around us, 15,000 Somalis came to my hometown of Leicester in one year alone. Somalis now make up 5% of the total population of the city. Combine this with every other city and country that takes in Somali refugees and the numbers are

US military personnel are prevalent in Somalia.
Image credits: expertinfantry

staggering.

Although the establishment of the new government in 2012 was an enormous step, the country still faces enormous problems. The CIA World Factbook states that the time Somali children spend in school is still only two to three years which, when considering that 44% of the population is under 14, is a lot of children out of school. Without school, children and young people have no focus in their lives, they have very few prospects for employment and they are left with nothing for which to strive. They can see no way out. There is a whole generation that has been lost in Somalia. I for one cannot imagine where my life would have gone without the education that I have received. It is not surprising then that it is easy for terrorist organisations to recruit young men and women from Somalia. They are angry and have nothing to do. All they have known for their entire lives is turmoil and Al-Shabaab gives them something to believe in and someone to take out their anger on.

UNICEF acknowledges the power of education and one of their key goals is to achieve universal primary education by 2015. They have committed $233 million dollars to the cause and place particular focus on improving girls’ education. Apart from the obvious benefits like improved employment prospects, UNICEF recognises that school can “provide a sense of normalcy, as well as safety and security from the heightened risk of violence and exploitation” that children undergo during times of crisis. With education children are protected from social and political unrest and are given future opportunities and the likelihood of engaging in terrorism and violence is reduced.

Obviously you can never justify the murder of innocent people by the destruction and suffering your own country has witnessed. Two wrongs will never make a right. The people in the Westgate shopping mall had nothing to do with what Somalia has endured over the last twenty years, whether they were Kenyan or not; they did not deserve to die. Understanding what has happened in Somalia since 1991 however, is an important step to ending this cycle of violence where young people have little else to turn to other than extremism. It is not enough to simply demonize these attackers. I don’t really have any answers about what should be done to counter terrorism, but one thing seems clear to me. The international community and the Somalian government must do all they can to establish schools within Somalia. With the benefit of education young people are given hope and something to strive for, something which is essential to fight future terrorism.

Olivia Paine

What future lies ahead for Kenya?

Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city.
Image credits: Jonathan Stonehouse

Having had a few weeks to reflect on circumstances in Kenya, one of Africa’s most popular tourist destinations, Harry Scrase looks at the future for Kenya for Exeposé Features.

Just a couple of weeks ago, on 21st September, Nairobi experienced a brutal and violent terrorist attack, the worst of its kind since the bombings on the US Embassy back in 1998. Unidentified gun men, from the Somali terrorist group, Al Shabab took hold of the Westgate Mall Shopping centre for three days, killing seventy-two people during this time.  Attacks like these, which would have come as huge surprises twenty years back have sadly become more and more commonplace. When we think of the lengths that people go to in order to gain their revenge, or to prove a point, it is incredibly disturbing to comprehend that people go to these kinds of extents. Furthermore, how is a country like Kenya ever supposed to be able to move forward in its status when events such as this and the sabotage of Nairobi’s main international airport Jomo Kenyatta just a few weeks prior, continue to pull the country in the wrong direction.

Al Shabab claimed that their reason for the attack in Nairobi was due to Kenya’s military having entered Somalia and been integrated into the African Union in Somalia. Somalia is a country which has now been waging civil war since 1991, there appears to be no rational thought to their actions. It has been in disarray for twenty-two years – longer than most of the student population has been alive. When we consider that many civil wars contain conflict between different religious sects battling against each other, we must remember that Somalia is a predominately Muslim country; how is it that they are capable of such conflict over such a large period of time, when religious prejudices may only be few. There must be other reasons than those given.

These terrorist groups maintain such a huge influence over the running of the more impoverished countries. The people of Somalia have very little and so when offered just a small sum of money for something, they will likely take it as they do not see a choice. It is possible in this way to begin to convince them, and round up more soldiers to fight for this terrorist group. Through the work of the group’s leaders, these people develop a certain conviction that the crimes they commit, which seem so very hideous to us, are merely an act of faith.

Surely the solution to these problems lies in the idea of education? The system is so very disjointed and the sole focus for people is to try and move on day by day, in hope that perhaps that one day will finally come where this prolonged civil war will finally reach closure. Someone needs to reach out to these people, and it needs to be explained to them that these violent acts of retaliation will not solve any of their problems. Evidently the countries’ problems will not be solved in the short term and many people appear to be unable to foresee a way out for themselves. They lack the opportunities that they see others gaining and consequently feel bitter; this is their way of acting out. Unfortunately for many Somalis, Al Shabab appears to be too great a force with too great an influence.

When a terrorist group like Al Shabab stones adulterous women, takes young girls as wives and recruits child soldiers, it seems very difficult to envisage a change in these kind of people – those who are constantly brainwashed into these cults and are willing to do anything to have power and use their name as a form of intimidation. Clearly Somalia has a mighty task on its hands in order to reverse its current situation. Then, and only then, in an ideal world it will be able to develop and the new generation will have more simple lives than the current crop.

For Kenya, a country that has become somewhat akin with disaster in recent years – the political unrest in 2007 and the Somali pirate attack on Lamu last year, these devastations only continue to increase the concept of ‘living on the edge’, that feeling of uncertainty and never being quite sure of what the next day will hold. It is so very ironic that the tourist industry out there, which pulls people to the idyllic coast of Diani and Waitamu and over to the Mara, perhaps the most famous park of its kind in the world, can still contain such a desperate and fearful side to it.

A different side to Kenya.
Image credits: Frontierofficial

In fact the most awful problem with some of the events which take place out there is that there are such huge cover-ups in order to paint as neutral a picture as possible to show to the outside world, constantly looking in and wondering if these failing countries can ever truly be fixed. The fire in Jomo Kenyatta is a prime example where it took the fire engines two and a half hours to arrive, by which time the main building was horrifically burned and consequently people were waiting four days in order to take their flights there, whilst the boarding lounge became a marquee. The amount of money that the country lost during this time was astronomical and evidently a huge hindrance to its position, both economic and political. It was almost comical to then hear that for every new flight directed into Mombasa, there were now six fire engines waiting; it almost seemed like a belief that what had happened could now be made up for by implementing these new forms of aid, yet clearly the damage had already been done.

Many Kenyan people were convinced that it had been carried out by supporters of Odinga, who lost out to Kenyatta in the election in March. At the time of the election Odinga’s men had attacked the police and it had resulted in two deaths, but a far cry from the 1200 who were killed back in 2007. Despite the fact that a more peaceful election was carried out, there is clearly still an underlying problem with the idea that violence and acts of sabotage will solve their problems.

When I spoke with a taxi driver out there on my way to the airport, he clearly seemed very agitated by the situation in which his country finds itself, echoing the beliefs of many that it will continue to struggle to overcome its third world status, despite the now high prices of rent and the almost European cost of produce out there. He complained of the consistent corruption that rules the country. Money has been given to the government five times now to build a larger road system in Nairobi; yet every time it has been donated, the money has vanished, leaving the capital with an extremely poor infrastructure. This is yet another example of how hard it is to live an everyday life in hope of justice and fair decisions. A corrupt system which continually causes riots, tension, uproar and terrorist attacks can never exist to thrive in a positive manner.

The reality of the situation is that innocent people are being killed in crimes committed in cold blood every time. The trauma which many families faced lying down (and even faking death in order to survive the siege) is sickening. Children in particular should not be facing crimes like this, ones which will continue to scar them, having watched people be massacred right in front of their very eyes. Some believed that Al Shabab had been planning an attack for sometime before the siege took place, and this kind of preconceived fear will only permeate further now that one has taken place on such a vast scale.

There is a long way to go before Kenya can start to make any real progression, and although events like this do bring people together as a community, they also fuse people with doubt and fear, two very harmful actors.

Harry Scrase

The Aid Epidemic

Image credits: frontierofficial

With his sister recently returned from Kenya, Liam Taylor asks if our good intentions actually do more harm to fragile nations around the world.

Where is Bongo Bongo Land? I hadn’t come across the phrase until I saw it plastered across the headlines after the controversial MEP Godfrey Bloom used it in his speech/rant (delete as appropriate) on foreign aid. The use of the phrase sparked controversy apparently everywhere bar his constituency, and led to a situation, then exacerbated by his stubborn defence of his remarks on the BBC, which culminated in an offer to personally apologise to the ambassador of Bongo Bongo Land himself (who unfortunately could not be reached for comment).

I guess he was unable to use the excuse that he was merely referring to the late President Bongo of Gabon, as a former Tory MP claimed when he used the phrase the last time it caused controversy, and figured that was next best option. I leave it up to you dear reader to decide whether the comments were racist or not. This article is concerned with the heart of the issue, not the semantics.

Not long after the media flurry surrounding the controversy died down my sister returned home after a summer of charity work in Kenya, a country I suspect some would consider a province of Bongo Bongo Land. The problems that the media back home deems worthy of making a fuss about, the occasional daft utterance from a politician seemed rather trivial to her, at least compared to the real problems faced in the less fortunate parts of the world. It is no secret that Kenya is by no means a rich country, to put it mildly. It receives over two billion dollars each year in foreign aid and is the second largest recipient of US aid to Africa, behind only Egypt. Like many countries in the region it has also been plagued with corruption.

Kenya can seem like two completely different lands. The westernised boarding school in Nairobi that my sister stayed at on her first night could be indistinguishable from anywhere in England save for the rather nicer weather. Yet other parts conform more to the stereotype of popular culture. A land of mud huts and endless savannah, where basic necessities like running water are luxuries and old plastic bottles are considered a sturdy construction material. In Nairobi itself this difference is perhaps even more glaring, where modern skyscrapers and office blocks stand side by side with hastily built shacks made from salvaged scrap. Indeed that kind of contrast is far from uncommon in the region. When I was in South Africa a few years ago (for the much less noble reason of a holiday) there was a stark difference between the westernised tourist areas and the slums on the outskirts of the city.

 

In a way it helps to put things in perspective. It’s easy to forget how good we have it in the grand scheme of things, how protestors in New York or outside St. Paul’s are part of the wealthiest one per cent in the world and how even the poorest in this country are comfortably in the top ten per cent. Many of the villages rely on subsistence farming, lacking the convenience of modern technology they rely on their own back breaking labour. In one village that my sister spent time helping in, a single mother of five had to single-handedly toil on a maize field all day just to grow enough food to survive. Yet even donations of modern equipment do little help; a tractor is of little use without the parts or know-how to fix it when it breaks, or even how to use it in the first place. Indeed the most advanced piece of technology my sister came across out there was an old toaster. Growth away from subsistence is not done any favours by the western world’s insistent protection of its own farmers from foreign goods.

Image credits: eGuide Travel

When my sister first told me she was going off to do charity work in Kenya a couple of thoughts crossed my mind. The first was the most obvious, that this was a really good thing to do. But I have to admit there was also a cynical part of my brain that thought “how much help can you really be? After all, what do you know about digging wells or building schools? The closest you’ve come to hard labour is helping our parents with the gardening. Surely it would be better to send them the money you’re going to spend on flying out and living there?” While it sounds bad there was some logic behind this thought. After all it is a common problem after natural disasters that lots of well-intentioned volunteers show up unprepared and without any training. The result being that actual charity workers have to waste time babysitting them, instead of helping the victims, and waste precious resources feeding them and patching them up when they hurt themselves.  There was also an element of concern that she might get eaten by a lion when she tries to pet one. Although I’m glad to say that the cynical side of me was wrong.

Empathy, the desire to help others less fortunate than ourselves, is of course very commendable and it is one that nearly every person has no matter their beliefs or where they lie on the political spectrum, if anywhere at all. Of course not everyone can go out to Africa and physically help, so this empathy manifests itself in other ways such as charitable giving. But sometimes that cynical part of us raises its head, “what good can my tenner a month do?” So that same feeling of empathy makes us demand that more be done, that government fixes it. We rely on the ‘wisdom’ of the bureaucrat in Whitehall rather than the experience of the volunteer on the ground. It feels good to be absolved of responsibility, we did our part and if it’s not working it’s not our fault, it’s the government’s fault. It’s the government that isn’t doing enough, isn’t giving enough and can never give enough.

Remember earlier when I talked about the vast divergence between the richest and poorest parts of Kenya? Just why is there the gap? Is it an inevitable part of development? Is it because there still is not enough aid? If so, how is it that Asia has managed to lift millions out of poverty without a penny of aid? $2 billion can a build a lot of schools and hospitals, yet they are conspicuously absent. Perhaps you also remember the rampant corruption I mentioned. Well put the two together and perhaps you start to realise how it’s possible that after decades of receiving billions in aid the average Kenyan hasn’t become any better off. Kenyan corruption may be bad, but it is small comfort that it is not as bad as other parts of Africa. Indeed one prominent Zambian economist argues strongly that the corruption is so bad that the corruption (amongst other things) actually makes aid harmful to African countries. It may be possible that handing over large sums of money no questions asked can create the conditions that fuel corruption, sort of like the way vast natural resources can become a curse for poor countries.

All the arguments for greater aid have at their heart the best of intentions, just like the well intentioned clothing drive that has a minor side effect of putting the indigenous clothing and textile industry out of business and inadvertently costing lots of jobs. There is an old saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. So perhaps it’s time to rethink our approach to help those that need it most. To stop focusing on intentions and start looking at results.

Liam Taylor