They continued to suffer during the civil war that tore Somalia apart from 1988 to 1991, and just when they thought peace and freedom were theirs, after Somaliland declared independence in 1991, the new country descended into chaos in 1994 as opposing factions took up arms.

Today peace appears to be here to stay. The refugees are back from camps in Ethiopia. Land mines have been cleared from the most populated areas. Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, is once again a bustling city where business is thriving. Two universities have been set up: one in Hargeisa and one near Borama, about 50 miles to the west. Many local non-governmental organisations are working to promote development and human rights. Crucially, municipal elections last December and presidential elections in May this year went ahead peacefully and were said to be free and fair by election observers.

Somaliland has achieved all this with little outside help.

The international community tends to ignore it -- it has not been recognised by any other country as an independent state -- although a recent visit by a delegation from the British government shows that interest is increasing.

In Somaliland, I visited partner projects and development workers of the Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR).

CIIR has been working in Somaliland since 1995 through its skillshare programme, International Cooperation for Development.

Among the few international NGOs working in Somaliland, CIIR has one of the most developed programmes, thanks to support from two U.K.-based organisations, Comic Relief and the Community Fund.

But we realise that long-term development is only possible if civil society and government institutions are strong.

In order to achieve this four key areas of development need particular attention.

First, the capacity of local NGOs needs to be strengthened.
CIIR currently places development workers with local organisations to help them develop their resources and skills.

I had the opportunity to visit one such NGO, called Nagaad, which means "peaceful resting place" in Somali.

Nagaad is an umbrella organisation for the host of women's NGOs that provide services such as health care, education, environmental training, assistance to returnees, microcredit and food support.

It is based in a small building in Hargeisa that was built by the women themselves and testifies to the crucial role women are playing in rebuilding their country.

Second, the country needs to put in place an HIV/AIDS strategy.
A survey carried out in 1999 estimated that the HIV/AIDS infection rate was around one percent of those surveyed.

Yet HIV/AIDS remains a sensitive topic in Somaliland, where Islam and traditional values are strong.

The HIV/AIDS workers I met try to work within the culture to promote education about the virus, particularly among young people.

They meet religious leaders, teachers and parents first to ensure that everyone is working together before they start instructing youth about HIV/AIDS.

Third, the country needs a structured health system.

I was encouraged to find a development worker from Nepal, Ram Sedhain, had helped set up a health management information system to ensure information and figures about health flow from the community level to the top ministry level.

Finally, education needs to be improved.

Somaliland's youth have been called the "lost generation" because the wars have meant that many could not attend school, let alone university.

I visited an institution four miles out from Borama, called Amoud University.

It was set up in 1998 and teaches medicine, business administration and teacher training to 360 students.

Unfortunately, many of the students plan to leave the country when they finish their course.

There are just not enough jobs for them in Somaliland. Although the economy is doing better than it has for years, there's little major investment.

Everything in Somaliland is being rebuilt from scratch.

It is hard, but it means that with initiative, efficiency, skill and motivation, new structures can be put in place that are sustainable and help bring lasting peace to a nation that has suffered too long.

source:Reuters.com


 

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