Archive for Opinions

• How can the international community help Somalia move forward?

  By Abdinur Aw Ali* External influences, at the regional and global levels, are playing pivotal roles in Somalia, both in positive and negative ways. And while many Somalis, increasingly believe that left to their own devices, the political/tribal conflict in the country have better chance of been s...

• Somali Diaspora Associations in Italy: between integration and transnational engagement

  by Flaminia Vola Within the framework of the Diaspeace Project, (Diaspora for Peace , case studies from the Horn of Africa) CeSPI (Italian Centre for Political Studies) held a seminar on “Diaspora, Peace and Development in Somalia” in Rome, on November 11. Petra Mezzetti and Matteo Guglielmo f...

• Interview with Mohamed Aden Sheikh: Rebuilding Somalia – whose role and responsibility?

  SID Programme Officer Flaminia Vola interviews Dr. Mohamed Aden Sheikh, former representative of the Somali government (1970 - 1982) and active member of the Somali Diaspora in Italy. 1. The Somali Diaspora SID: In respect to the worsening of the crisis in both the political and humanitari...

• Interview with Sara Pantuliano: Sudan, North-South Conflict – current policy options for a potential 2011 scenario

  SID Programme Officer Flaminia Vola interviews Sara Pantuliano, Research Fellow and Programme Leader at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). SID: To what extent are the crises in Sudan a function of resource conflicts at the community level and to what extent are these influenced by the clas...

• Irene Panozzo: SID Forum on Conflict – Launch of Sudan Observatory

  By Irene Panozzo 2010 will be the most crucial year in recent Sudan’s history. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in January 2005 in Nairobi between president Omar al-Bashir’s government and the then southern rebels of the Sudan’s people liberation movement/army (SPLM/A) is approa...

• Ibrahim Farah: The Somali conflict and the regional context – A few provocative remarks

  By Ibrahim Farah Introduction Somalia is facing the worst humanitarian crisis of the past 18 and half years, with an estimated 3.7 million people in need of aid as security deteriorates. It is a country described as one of the most dangerous places for aid workers in the world and the humanitarian...

• Interview with Matteo Guglielmo: Somali crisis – five questions on key actors and regional dynamics

  SID Programme Officer Flaminia Vola interviews Matteo Guglielmo, PhD candidate in African Studies at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”. SID: The media depicts Somalia as chaos, do you agree with this perception? To what extent is the international media complicit in the problems of...

• Ibrahim Farah: Letter to Nelson Mandela

  Nairobi, July 9th 2009 Mr. President, My name is Ibrahim Farah; I am a Nairobi-based Somali academic working both as a development practitioner with Sida Sweden and as a part-time lecturer at the University of Nairobi’s Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies (IDIS). This letter is to s...