By Rick Postma as referenced in Fall 2011

In normal times, when Somalis meet on the road, they don’t ask each other where they come from but to whom they are related. Allegiance starts with immediate family and then moves to extended family, sub-clans and ultimately to a clan family (there are five clan families in all of Somalia). Children as young as eight years of age are expected to recite the family’s male genealogy at least 10 generations back. But these aren’t normal times.

In the not too distant past, what stood out about Somalis were their common culture, common language and love for camels and poetry. That was before their country was split into five sections by colonial powers, two of which (British Somaliland and Italian Somalia) joined at independence in 1960. After independence the struggle to regain their lost territories from Ethiopia and Kenya, where they had been rather summarily allotted, united the Somali clans. But embarrassing defeats and rivalries turned present day Somalia into an armed camp. Attempts by the UN and the failed intervention of the USA and other supporting countries, aptly summarized by the term “Blackhawk down” referring to the embarrassing defeat of US army Rangers at the hands of a ragtag Somali militia, only made things worse. Armed clans and sub-clans then continued to fight each other for control, leaving a wasted country. Young men either joined armed groups using their power to pillage fellow Somalis or joined pirate groups on the coasts, wreaking havoc on international shipping.

In a country with broken infrastructure, no effective government, and armed gangs where aid organizations understandably fear to send their personnel – knowing they will likely have supplies stolen and held for ransom, and put the lives of their personnel in danger – an extended drought turning to dread famine is almost inevitable.

Today when hungry Somalis meet each other on the road they are likely much more worried about where to find food than what clan they belong to. Many are walking for many days to reach refugee camps in Kenya and Ethopia – ironically enough located in areas that were formerly part of their country. While Word & Deed does not have partners in the suffering areas, Word & Deed Holland is working with several partners there. Funds received will be used to support their projects there. Please see our website for updates on what is being done.

In this issue of the magazine Daniel Pever highlights the progress being made by the Christian schools in Nigeria, John Otten informs us about Colombia, another country which struggles with refugees due to armed conflict, Manuel Kamnkhwani tells us about the important Logos Ministries project in Malawi, Hanna Luong provides a brief update on Malawi, and Pastor Ken Herfst celebrates the completion of a home rebuilding project in Guatemala. In the meditation, Dr. Arjan de Visser underlines God’s prophecy concerning Cush, present day Ethiopia and Sudan. Let us pray that countless Somalis will soon be asking each other whether they have been adopted into the family of God, through Christ, when they meet each other on the road even as we pray for and support efforts to bring relief to those suffering so much from hunger. 

Note: “The Fate of Africa”, by Martin Meredith, loaned to me some time ago by my good friend Pastor Christo Heiberg, provided the background on Somalia above. While thick and rather depressing, the book is recommended for those who want to understand more about the history of African countries in the 50 years since independence.

Rick Postma is Director of Public Relations for Word & Deed Ministries.