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Somali
women statement
VOICE OF
SOMALI WOMEN FOR PEACE,
RECONCILIATION AND POLITICAL RIGHTS
STATEMENT ON THE
SITUATION IN MOGADISHU
We are deeply distressed by the latest outbreak of armed conflict in Mogadishu
and the surrounding area, the worst fighting that Somalia has seen in
more than a decade. After 16 years of civil war and armed conflict, the
Somali capital region has not achieved the relative peace that has been
established in other parts of the country. The recent ceasefire between
the rival groups has been violated, and the UN-imposed embargo on arms
has done nothing to stem the flow of weapons into the area.
As in most wars, the
main victims are not soldiers or the militia, but innocent, defenceless
people: children, women, the elderly and the disabled, from the many communities
living in southern Somalia. The fragile infrastructure of these people?s
lives and the ecosystem of the region have been greatly affected by the
war. The overcrowded, marginal living situation of the large numbers of
people living in slums around the capital offers no protection against
the highly sophisticated weapons that are being deployed, and because
of the way the people are forced to live, even a single hand grenade can
destroy the lives and homes of hundreds of people. Barricades set up by
the fighting groups have prevented injured civilians from reaching what
scant medical facilities are available.
Over the long years
of lawlessness, anarchy and war, the reasons for the fighting may change,
but the reality does not: the devastation continues and the same innocent
people are suffering.
Our group, Voice of
Somali Women for Peace, Reconciliation and Political Rights, was formed
to advocate for an end to war and to create the conditions for peace.
As a group of Somali women and their allies living in Somalia and in various
diaspora communities around the world, including in Canada, we say ?Enough
is enough!?
·We urge
the warring groups to recognize the devastation the continuing violent
conflict is causing and work to bring a speedy end to the war.
·We urge all the relevant international, regional and national
actors to do everything in their power to bring an end to the violence.
These actors include: the UN system, the African Union, Inter-Governmental
Authority on Development (IGAD), International Islamic organizations,
the Arab League, and the governments of the world.
·Most of all, we invite Somali women and peace-loving women and
men all over the world to speak out and take action to bring this violent,
senseless struggle to an end.
For more information,
contact:
Nurta Hassan Alasow (416) 665-3690
Zeinab Haji Borako (416) 736-1478
Amina Sharif Hassan (905) 290-9575 e-mail: aminash05@yahoo.ca
Anne Goodman (416) 657-8095 e-mail: agoodman@oise.utoronto.ca
Faduma Ahmed Mahamud Adde (416) 247-9001
Charles David Tauber, M.D,
Abdiaziz Ibrahim Asser,
Mohamed Hussein Ali ?Boodaye?, M.D
Shukria Dini
Endorsed by:
Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (Ontario)
Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (Toronto)
Transformative Learning Centre, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
at the University of Toronto
John Woolman College of Equity-Restorative Justice, Peacemaking and Conflict
Transformation Generation Sans Frontieres (Canada)
Generation Sans Frontieres (USA)
Coalition for work Psychotrauma and Peace
New Banadir Association, Ururka Wacyigelinta Banaadirta Cusub
C/O Canadian Voice of Women for Peace
761 Queen St. W. #203, Toronto, ON. M6J 1G1
Phone: (416)603-7915
E-mail: vow@ca.inter.net
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