AFRICA/SOMALIA - Bishop Bertin: "We must put discord aside and act together against the real enemies: terrorism and drought"

Saturday, 19 February 2022 drought terrorism politics elections

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Mogadishu (Agenzia Fides) - "The mission of the Church in Somalia is to be always well informed of what is happening and not to forget this part of the world. The mandate that I see for myself and for the Church here, is to continue to be attentive and to help the population in every possible way". This is how Msgr. Giorgio Bertin, Apostolic Administrator of Mogadishu and Bishop of Djibouti, describes in an interview with Fides the meaning of the presence of the Church in the troubled country of the Horn of Africa. Somalia, struggling with very serious problems, remains politically suspended and therefore exposed to chaos, also due to the uncertainty of the electoral process. An agreement had established that elections were to be held on February 25, but continuing tensions suggest a further postponement. Bishop Bertin says: "We hope that these elections will take place as soon as possible. But nothing can be ruled out here. If the head of one of the regions or other influential politicians veto, we start again. The impression is that this commitment should finally be honoured. The problem is that the election of the lower house (the upper house was already elected in November, ed) is much more complex: the distribution of the 275 seats is done according to the four main ethnic Somali groups, while a small representation goes to minority clans. It is not easy to find an agreement in this complex situation".
The political vacuum has included the terrorists of the Islamist al-Shabaab group who, in recent months, seem to have raised their heads. al-Shabaab has carried out a wave of attacks with impressive frequency. A minibus carrying delegates to the Somali legislative elections exploded in Mogadishu on February 10, killing at least six people and injuring a dozen. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the al-Shabab group. On January 16, Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu, spokesperson for the Prime Minister, was injured in Mgodishu; on the 18th, four people were killed in the explosion of a car bomb.
"It is clear that al-Shabaab, notes Bishop Bertin, seeing the quarrel of the political class at the state and regional level, has decided to resume its activities. We take advantage of the vacuum to send a message to the population: this federal government is not capable of maintaining order and stability, be by our side and you will be safe. The message is addressed mainly to the population of rural areas, but the population of cities is not forgotten. The correct response to these messages would be elections and the start of a political process of stable government".
In addition to attacks, the population is threatened by another very serious problem, drought. There has been very little rainfall for some time and if action is not taken in time, millions of people will be at risk. The Apostolic Administrator of Mogadishu noted: "It is said that at least 2 million people are threatened by hunger in the country. It must be taken into account that this situation of famine is now recurrent. Whereas in the past, it used to happen every 10-15 years, lately it has become much more frequent, every 2-3 years, sometimes even less. In some cases there are reverse phenomena, floods and too much water, but this is the least of the problems, the most serious issue is drought. But even drought, which is a problem of nature, can be best addressed with an authority capable of governing and channeling forces against a common enemy". Political and governmental action must also make it possible to coordinate the population in the prevention and the fight against these phenomena. Discord must be put aside because the enemies are numerous and strong. The Church has a very important task, that of keeping a window open to this country and constant attention. And to set up micro-projects to support the population, like the one we launched in the region of Garowe, the capital of Puntland. There, Caritas has a permaculture project to combat drought". (LA) (Agenzia Fides, 19/2/2022)