No Stability in Somalia

Ever since Somalia's central government collapsed in 1991, the country has been rocked by the dangers of militant groups and famine. There is no stability left in Somalia, and this instability has led to hundreds of thousands of Somalis to flee to Kenya and surrounding countries as refugees. In recent years, Somalia has faced its worst drought ever. Drought translates to weak agriculture which means no food for families and livestock. The famine in Somalia has killed 260,000 people so far. With no centralized government, there is no relief within Somalia for Somalians who are starving to death, instead they must flee across borders to refugee camps. To make matters worse, in recent years, Western aid organizations were forced out of Somalia by Islamist militant groups. Somalis pirates who control Somalia's waters also make it difficult for aid organizations to reach the main land. With militant groups and pirates controlling almost every part of Somalia, giving aid to Somalis is a huge danger in itself that not many are willing to take. America now has Somalia on its watch for terrorist activity, making this famine and terror in Somalia an international security issue.

The fleeing to refugee camps, such as Dadaab in Kenya, is a treacherous weeks-long journey on foot, where most people don't have even close to the adequate amount of food and water to provide for them and their families. No food and water isn't the only threat either, Islamist militant groups kill Somalis trying to leave the country. Dadaab is located 50 miles inland from the Somali-Kenyan border. It was originally intended to hold 90,000 people, but more than 360,000 people have made it their new "home". Many children die on the way, forcing families to bury them, and then keep moving on. Once in Dadaab, there aren't enough hospitals and staff to treat the large numbers of children and adults who need to be treated. The more people packed into the refugee camp, the most likely it is for people to contract diseases. Food is still scarce and always a race to get the allotted amount. Even within Dadaab, only a few will survive.

While Kenya is giving their support for Somalis, they are scared Somalis will never leave Kenya. Somalis who seek refuge in Kenya are not allowed to work in Kenya, which makes starting a new life hard. Kenyans began to enter Somalia in 2011 to help curb Islamist militant groups, and help out Somalis in need. The future of Somalia is uncertain. With no government and militants groups fighting, killing Somalis, Somalias waters being guarded by pirates, its hard to imagine a safe and famine-free country in the near future. Environmental threats are a huge problem that no one can control. It is very unfortunate that Somalia has turned out the way it, hopefully though nations can work together to help save Somalia's people and country.