WAR DEGDEG AH: QARAX XOOGAN OO ISMIIDAAMIN AH OO GOOR DHAW MUQDISHO KA DHACAY - TIRADA DHIMASHADA OO CAGACAGAYNAYSA 20 RUUX + SAWIRO

Muqdisho - Qaraxyo ismiidaamin ah oo xooggan ayaa ka dhacay barxadda iskaashatooyinka oo kasoo horjeedda dhismaha ex-fiyoore oo ku dhow maqaayadda Village oo horay qaraxyo ismiidaamin ah ay uga dhaceen.
Inta la ogyahay 15-qof oo isugu jiray shacab iyo ciidammo ka tirsan kuwa dowladda Soomaaliya iyadoo ay ku dhaawaceem in ka badan 20-qof dad rayid ah u badan.

Weerarradan ayaa waxay ahaayeen kuwo isugu jira gaari miineysan oo ku qarxay barxadda iyo ruux markaas kaddib ismiidaamiyay, iyadoo la sheegay in ruuxa isqarxiyay uu sababay inta badan khasaaraha dhimashada iyo midda dhaawac.

Madaxweynaha Soomaailya oo ka hadlay weerarkan ayaa ku tilmaamay mid naxariis-darro ah oo lagu laayay dad aan waxba galabsan, isagoo sheegay inay qayb ka tahay qorshayaasha ujeeddoo la’aanta ah ee shacabka lagu laynayo.

“Inta aan maqlay waxaa ku dhintay qaraxyadan 14-qof, waxaana dadkani ay intooda badan dhinteen iyagoo doonayay inay u gurmadaan dad waxyeello ay ku gaartay qaraxii hore, waana arrin xanuun badan,” ayuu Xasan Sheekh ka yiri shir looga hadlayo xag-jirnimada oo ka furmay Muqdisho.

Xildhibaan Xiis oo ka mid ahaa xildibaanno ku sugnaa maqaayadda Village ayaa sheegay inuu arkay dhimashada 10-qof oo rayid ah, kuwaasoo isugu jiray sideed rag ah iyo laba dumar ah, kuwaasoo ku dhintay qaraxii uu ruuxa miineysan geystay.

Guddoomiye ku xigeenka dhinaca ammaanka ee gobolka Banaadir, Warsame Maxamed Xasan (Joodan) oo saxaafadda kula hadlay goobta ayaa sheegay in weerarkan uu ahaa mid lagu doonayo in shacabka lagu laayo, isagoo intaa ku daray in la diidan yahay inay wadashaqeyni dhexmaro dowladda iyo shacabka.

Weerarkan oo aysan jirin cid weli sheegatay ayaa wuxuu kusoo beegmayaa xilli ay habeen ka hor ka dhaceen Muqdisho qaraxyo waaweyn oo geystay khasaare dhimasho iyo mid dhaawac, taaso mas’uuliyaddiisa ay sheegatay Al-shabaab.

Somalia: URGENT NEWS - 20 dead after dual blasts hit Mogadishu + Photos

From Omar Nor, For CNN

Mogadishu, Somalia (CNN) -- A pair of bomb blasts in Mogadishu Saturday killed at least 20 people, most of them civilians, police said.

An apparent car bomb exploded in the parking lot outside of a restaurant frequented by journalists and civil servants in the Somali capital.

Minutes later, a second bomb went off on the other side of the restaurant, police official Mohamed Ali said.

Amina Osman, owner of a nearby tea shop, said she heard powerful explosions and saw thick, black smoke billowing from behind a group of buildings at The Village restaurant Saturday morning.

Ambulances rushed to the scene of the blast, which shattered windows and sent up a cloud of smoke visible throughout much of the city, she said.

It was the second time since last year that The Village restaurant, which is located near the presidential compound, has been attacked.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Source: CNN

Twitter Shuts Down Somalia’s Extremists… Again

Summary

• Twitter shut down al-Shabab's account Friday for the second time this year
• U.S.-based terrorist expert reported violations of Twitter's terms of service
• al-Shabab tweeted that about a failed assassination attempt against Somalia's president, claiming next time the president wouldn't be so lucky
• The closing of the account is likely temporary, as those running it could easily open another one

By JASON STRAZIUSO,  Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The flagship Twitter account of al-Shabab, Somalia’s al-Qaida-linked terror group, was closed Friday for the second time this year, less than 24 hours after a U.S.-based terrorism expert reported violations of Twitter’s terms of service.

The closure comes only days after al-Shabab claimed a failed assassination attempt against Somalia’s president and tweeted that the next time the president wouldn’t be so lucky.

Al-Shabab uses Twitter mainly to make claims of enemy kills and to spread its view of events in Somalia and East Africa. A United Nations report on Somalia released last month said U.N. experts believe the person running the English-language account is a British member of al-Shabab.

Twitter in January suspended al-Shabab’s previous account two days after the group used the platform to announce a death threat against Kenyan hostages. Twitter’s terms of service says it does not allow specific threats of violence against others in its posts.

The extremists’ use of Twitter has upsides and downsides, say terrorism analysts. Analysts and governments can use the rebels’ Twitter postings to gather intelligence, but militants can use the accounts to spread propaganda and recruit fighters.

The closing of the account is likely to keep al-Shabab off Twitter only temporarily. Whoever ran the account can easily open another one.

J.M. Berger, the U.S.-based terrorism analyst who made several posts on Thursday about al-Shabab’s violations on Twitter, said in a post early Friday that “I’m sure Al Shabab will be back on Twitter, but maybe next time they’ll know they have to behave like civilized people to stay.”

Analysts debate whether society is better served by closing social media accounts and the messages they propagate or if it’s better to keep the accounts open so intelligence can be gathered. Berger argues that there is little intelligence of value to be mined from the accounts.

Berger wrote earlier this year, following the first Twitter closure, that closing the accounts strengthens intelligence gathering because experts can track who quickly follows the new Twitter account, and that they are often people with a connection or interest in al-Shabab or terrorism.

Meanwhile, a wanted American who moved from Alabama to Somalia to join al-Shabab resurfaced on Twitter on Friday. Omar Hammami was once an avid Twitter user who engaged in long Twitter conversations with U.S. terrorism experts when his Twitter handle suddenly went silent in May.

Hammami, who had a well-publicized falling-out with al-Shabab, reported earlier this year that he had survived an al-Shabab assassination attempt. He then disappeared from social media sites. Hammami on Friday took to Twitter to complain that Voice of America had publicized only a small portion of a 30-minute interview he gave. VOA says it will air a special news report on Hammami later Friday.
----
RYOT NOTE: It is difficult to hear of the atrocities taking place in Somalia, especially firsthand accounts via social media. However, Mercy Corps is on the ground in Somalia responding to emergency needs rising from the Horn of Africa hunger crisis, while continuing work to build more peaceful, productive communities in Puntland, Somaliland and the Central region.  They have even formed peace committees to help communities resolve clan disputes and provide mediation services. Click the gray box to learn more, donate and Become the News!

THE FUTILITY OF USING RACIST LABELS

By Hassan M. Abukar

I woke up early Tuesday morning and was checking the latest news with my laptop when I saw a flashing headline in Wardheernews titled, “Midgaans and the Ethiopians are fighting for the last Place in Somaliland.” The article was written by Mark Hay and reprinted from Vice. My initial reaction was one of bewilderment. Is this a typo? The word “Midgaan” is a pejorative in Somalia. It is a word used by clannists and the ignorant to refer to a cluster of minority groups. The problem is more acute in the Somaliland region than any other part of Somalia.

The reporter from Vice himself mistakenly wrote that these minority people’s “actual name” is “Midgaan” and that the groups encompass “the Timal (sic), Yibir, Gaboye and other groups.” He also noted the name “double[s] as an insult.”  He added that some “Midgaans” still “see it as a connoting pseudo-slavery in Somali society, where they have traditionally been restricted to ‘unclean’ work like barbering, blacksmithing, infibulation, and leatherwork.”

I am disappointed that a major Somali website like WDN would reprint such a vulgar and tasteless article that demeans an entire community in the name of investigative journalism. It is one thing to cover the plight of a minority group, but insulting them by using the very name that they were given by their oppressors is abominable. A similar example would be writing about the lack of employment opportunities for many African-Americans in inner cities and then debasing them in an article that starts with the “N” word.

The piece did not add to our knowledge of what the minority groups face in terms of loss of job opportunities. Last year, WDN posted a TV news clip from the Universal channel that dealt with Daami, a neighborhood in Hargeisa that is inhabited by minority groups. That show was informative and analytical and not a single pejorative word was uttered. This kind of news coverage is what we need, not knee-jerk articles that perpetuate racist labels and symbols.

Each of the minority groups the article mentioned has a real name. The Tumal, the Yibir, and the Madhiban are proud of their names, but they feel insulted when they are called “Midgaan” a pejorative label that connotes a sense of superiority by its user. These minority groups have traditionally performed skills that other Somali nomads could not or did not want to perform. What the writer calls “unclean jobs” (barbering, blacksmithing and leatherwork) are what has sustained Somalia’s economy for hundreds of years. It is ironic that these so-called “menial jobs” are careers highly touted in many parts of the world. What is wrong with barbering, leatherwork, and blacksmithing? It is perhaps only the ignorant who do not appreciate such lines of work. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “There are no menial jobs, only menial attitudes.”

Hassan M. Abukar

Email: Abukar60@yahoo.com

Source: wardheernews

W/Ku xigeenka Arrimaha Dibadda Imaaraadka Oo Qaabiley Weftigii Wasiirka Arrimaha dibadda

Dubai UAE - Wasiirka Wasiirka Arrimaha dibadda iyo iskashiga caalamiga ah Mudane Maxamed Biixi Yoonis ayaa shalay hab-maamuus sare Loogu qaabilay dalka imaaraadka Carabta, halkaasi oo uu shir kula yeeshay Wasiir Ku-xigeenka Arrimaha dibada Iyo amniga Sheekh Faris Maxamed Al-masruuci.

Kullankan oo waxa lagaga wada hadlay sii xoojinta xidhiidhka labada dal iyo Kor u qaadida kaalmada ay siiyaan Somaliland.

Wasiirka Arrimaha dibadda Somaliland Maxamed Biixi Yoonis ayaa Wasiir Ku xigeenka Arrimaha dibadda ee Imaaraadka carabta uga mahad celiyay soo dhaweynta balaadhan iyo kaalmadda ay dawladda dalkaasi siiso dalka Jamhuuriyadda Somaliland.

Kullankan waxa Wasiirka Arrimaha dibada Somaliland ku wehelinayay Wasiirka Caafimaadka Saleebaan Ciise Axmed (Xagla-toosiye).

Xabaal Wadareedyadii Xasuuqii Hargeyska Oo Dhibaato Uu Gaadhsiiyey Dooxa Malka-Durduro

Khadar Axmed Like

Xabaalihii xasuuqii ka dhacay Somaliland sanadihii sideetamaadkii, khaasatan xasuqii loo geystay dadkii Hargeysa ku noolaa xiligaasi ayaa saddex meelood oo ka mid ah goobihii dadka lagu xabaalay ee koonfurta Hargeysa ayaa halis ugu jira inay baaba’aan kadib markii ay noqdeen wax daadadka dooxa Malka-durduro uu qaado iyo wax ay dad guryo iyo seesas ka dul binaysteen.

Xabaalahan Xasuuqii Hargeysa ka dhacay ayaa dadkii la laayey waxa ka mid ahaa goobihii lagu xabaalay Malka-Durduro, Warshadii hore ee Caanaha iyo Goobta Badhka ee xaafada Axmed Dhagax.

Guddida Dabagalka Xasuuqa oo khamiistii tagay goobahaasi ayaa qaylo dhaan ka muujiyey dayaca iyo baaba’a ay Daadadka iyo shacabkuba ku hayaan Xabaal Wadareedii Somaliland uu ku ashkatoonayey in xasuuq ba’an oo naxariis daro ah uu u gaystay Rajiimkii Burburay ee Maxamed Siyaad Barre.

Xabaalo Wadareedyadii Malko-durdure laga helay dad badan oo la isku xidhxidhay oo la xasuuqay oo dheega ku hayey dooxa ayaa soo faqay hadhaagii dadkii lagu laayey Somaliland, isla markaana dooxu uu gudaha u galay Xabaaalaha ku dhawaad 50 Mitir. 

Waxa kale oo iyaguna xabaal wadareedyadan dhibaato weyn ku haya dad dul dagay oo guryo iyo seesas ka dhistay saddexdaasi meelood ee ay ku aasan yihiin dadkaasi la xuuqay, kuwaas oo ilaa iyo hadda aanay jirin wax haba yaraatee laga qabtay.

Gudoomiyaha Guddida Baadhista xasuuqii dalka Khadar Axmed Like iyo xubno kale oo ka tirsan Gudidaasi oo shalay Warbaahinta ugu waramayey halkaasi ayaa walaac weyn ka muujiyey sida foosha xun ee loo dagay xabaalihii Xasuuqa Hargeysa, isla markaana baaq gurmad degdeg ah oo waxlagaga qabanayo dadkaasi degay Xabaalahaasi u diray Xukuumada iyo waxgaradka Somaliland.

Gudoomiye Khadar Axmed Like oo arintaasi ka hadlayaana waxa uu yidhi “Halkaa aynu imika joogno ee dooxaa Malka-durduro marka laga bilaabo, iyadoo ahayd meeshii ugu balaadhnayd ee la isugu geeyey dadkii la xasuuqay ee xabaalo wadareedyadoodu ka muuqdeen ayaa dayac badani uu ka muuqdaa anaga oo aad uga xun intii itaalkayaga ah waanu dedaalnay, laba goor ayaanu Gaabyan saarnay labadii goor midna daadkii wuu iska xejin kari waayeen ilaa 50mitir oo gabigaasi uu had inoo jiro ayaa wax alla wixii lafo ku jiray ay tageen, daadkiibaana qaaday iyadoo uu halkaa ka sii muuqdo raadkii Gabyanka aanu dhisnay hadana waxba kamuu tarine waxa uu noqday wax uu xejin kari waayey . 

Dhibaatada weyn ee gaadhay Xabaalo wadaradeedkii uu dalkani ku ashkatoonayey ayaa halkan ka dhacay, wali hareerahooda dad badan ayaa ku aasan oo ku jira, hase ahaatee intii u waynayd ee tagtay waa ilaa 50 mitir lafihii ku aasnaa inta laga gaadho”.

Waxa kale oo isaguna halkaa ka hadlay Sarkaal kale oo ka tirsan Guddida Dabagalka Xasuuqa Qaranka kaas oo yidhi “Halkana waa xaafada Siinaay oo badhka ayay u dhaw dahay 37 Xabaal Wadareed ayaa ku yaala, halkan imika Aqalka Buulka ah laga dhisay iyo halkan sandaqada laga dhisay oo ilaa saddex guri oo ood lagu wareejiyey ayaa waxa xabaalahaasi ka mid ah Xabaal ay Qaramada Midoobay koox ka socota 1997-dii ay baadheen oo ay iyagu ka doorteen xabaalahan oo la xaqiijiyey Buulkan ayaa hada saaran oo laga dul dhistay. Dhamaan goobahani 1998-dii ayaanu Moos yar ku wareejinay mooskii wuu baaba’ay gudaha ayaa loo soo galay, waa xabaalihii kaliyahaa ee ka fayoobaa, malka-durdure waynu soo marnay way masaxantay oo wax yar ayaa ku hadhay, wershadii caanaha deegaan ayay noqotay oo binooyin ayaa laga dhistay, badhka wixii ku jiray waynu arkaynaa, iyadoo ay dhinaca kalena xabaalihii shicibku ay dhinac ka soo galeen”.

Source: somaliland.org

NSA SPYING MAY GIVE SOMALI MEN NEW TRIAL

Greg Moran

By Greg Moran

SAN DIEGO — Four local Somali men who were convicted in February of sending money to the terrorist group al-Shabaab are demanding a new trial, contending that the sweeping surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency violated their rights and led to an unfair trial.

The motion filed Friday in U.S. District Court in San Diego is unique in the growing legal backlash across the country to the massive electronic surveillance system that swept up data from phone calls, emails and Internet searches.

The San Diego case is the only known criminal case where the NSA surveillance played a key role. And it was cited in congressional testimony in June by government officials as an example of how the secret surveillance programs had foiled terrorist plots.

Those two factors have made the case one that is now being closely watched.

“This is the only case where the government has said, ‘Yes, we used it,’” said Hanni Fakhoury, a lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, a group that advocates for privacy rights and civil liberties and has filed several lawsuits seeking more information on the surveillance programs.

“It’s going to be very interesting to see what the government’s response is.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego, which prosecuted the case, declined to comment Friday. They will file their own arguments against the new trial motion in two weeks.

The lawyer for Basally Moalin, the San Diego cabdriver who was the lead defendant in the case, said the surveillance was the “worst-fears nightmare” example of intrusive and unchecked government surveillance.

In a court filing on Friday, lawyer Joshua Dratel said that the secret surveillance violated the four men’s constitutional rights against illegal searches.

He also argued the men didn’t get a fair trial because the government did not tell defense lawyers about the NSA involvement and the massive wiretapping program. Prosecutors disclosed before trial that they intended to use information obtained from warrants authorized under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Defense lawyers sought the FBI affidavits filed in support of the warrants with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a special federal court in Washington, D.C. But the government resisted, outlining its reasons in filings that remain secret. U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Miller rejected the defense request in a ruling that is also sealed, and turned down a challenge to keep the evidence out of the trial.

In February a jury convicted the four men of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization following a three-week trial in San Diego federal court. Prosecutors said the men raised and then funneled about $8,500 in cash in 2007 and 2008 to the al-Shabaab group, which was fighting government and peacekeeping forces in Somalia at the time. The U.S. government designated the group a terrorist organization in 2008.

The four have yet to be sentenced, and face up to 20 years in prison each. Dratel could not be reached for comment but his court filing lays out an aggressive case against the surveillance program.

The core of the case against the four men was 1,800 intercepted phone calls that prosecutors argued detailed their fundraising efforts, and Moalin’s dealings with a Somali man who prosecutors said was an al-Shabaab leader.

The case attracted little notice outside San Diego until June, when FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce told a congressional committee that the NSA surveillance played a role in the San Diego case. Moalin had been investigated by the FBI in 2003 for suspected terrorist links but the investigation was closed about a year later when none were found.

But in 2007 Joyce said the NSA tipped off the FBI that a phone number in San Diego had been in “indirect” contact with an “extremist” in Somalia. Armed with that information, investigators connected the number back to Moalin, launching the terrorism investigation.

Dratel argued that even though Moalin was cleared in the earlier investigation, it was illegal for the government to warehouse his phone number in a massive database for years. He said it shows the dangers of a mass surveillance program that can create “a perpetual database on persons cleared of wrongdoing, unhinged from any standard designed to hold intelligence-gathering accountable” to constitutional protections.

Dratel also said that Joyce’s congressional testimony contradicted the government’s key argument at the trial. Prosecutors told the jury that the wiretaps revealed Moalin was in “direct” contact with an al-Shabaab leader named Aden Ayrow. Defense lawyers had contended that prosecutors were mistaken and Moalin was actually speaking to a different man.

But Dratel noted that Joyce testified that Moalin was in “indirect” contact with an extremist in Somalia, and that testimony undercuts the linchpin of the government’s case.

The issues are scheduled to be argued in front of Judge Miller on Sept. 30. If the judge turns down the defense motions, the four men will be sentenced at that same hearing.

Source: UT San Diego

Reuters Governance Reporting Course for developing countries

Governance Reporting

Course duration: 09 December - 13 December

This course is designed to assist journalists in combating corruption in all its forms. It offers sessions on defining and recognizing corruption and writing media campaigns on the subject.

What the course aims to achieve:

1. Define and describe common forms of corruption and the media commitment to redress this to increase public good
2. Improve critical thinking, including an ethical, objective approach to investigations
3. Explain in depth a range of financial documents, including government budgets, and published corporate accounts
4. Offer practical advice on how to uncover and report corruption using investigative journalism techniques
5. Deepen awareness of potential legal issues
6. Set guidelines for high-impact news, features and opinion writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

Start date: Dec 09, 2013

End date: Dec 13, 2013

Location: London, UK – England and Wales

Application deadline: Sep 16, 2013

ELIGIBILITY:

All applicants for Thomson Reuters Foundation training courses must currently be working as journalists or regular contributors to broadcast media organisations. They must be able to demonstrate a commitment to a career in journalism in their country, must have at least two years’ professional experience and have a good level in spoken and written English. If you have been on a Thomson Reuters Foundation training programme within the last two years you will not be eligible to apply.

FUNDING:

Thomson Reuters Foundation offers full bursaries for journalists from the developing world/countries in political transition working for organisations with no resources for training.

Bursaries would include air travel expenses (economy class), accommodation and a modest living allowance. This arrangement is subject to variation.

Part-funded bursaries are available for journalists from the developing world/countries in political transition who work for organisations that have limited resources for training. In this instance Thomson Reuters Foundation waives the tuition cost and the participant will be expected to cover travel and accommodation costs.

In exceptional circumstances journalists from the developed world will be considered for part-funded bursaries.

Thomson Reuters Foundation also offers training for journalists from any region from an organisation that has the resources to fully cover the following costs of the programme: tuition fees: £200 per day (£1000 for a 5-day London course), travel and accommodation costs and living expenses. Thomson Reuters Foundation would provide a list of hotels for participants who require accommodation in London. If you have any questions please email: trustmedia@thomsonreuters.com

SUBMISSIONS:

A biography of up to 250 words outlining your career.

Two recent examples of your published work, preferably relevant to the course for which you are applying, with a brief summary in English (if necessary). TV/Radio journalists can send in their scripts and a brief summary.

A statement of between 250 and 500 words describing any factors affecting your work as a journalist. Explain how you hope to benefit from the course for which you are applying.

Somalia gov't: Audit faults UN corruption claims

By Associated Press, 

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia's government said Friday investigators it hired have cleared it of the allegations of massive corruption in a report by United Nations experts monitoring sanctions on Somalia and Eritrea.

President Hassan Sheik Mohamud said forensic accountants from FTI Consulting, Inc. and a legal team from the US firm Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy & Ecker, PA found that the methodology and conclusions in Annex 5.2 of the report were "deeply flawed and entirely unreliable." A statement from the president's office said that the allegations also predate Mohamud's time in office.

"As President, it was my responsibility to take seriously the allegations and to direct a thorough assessment of them," he said. "I am pleased that the investigative team concluded that these allegations were unfounded," Mohamud said.

In their report the auditors recommend among others that the section of the U.N. monitoring panel report carrying allegations of corruption should be removed. The firms also ask the Security Council to issue a public admonishment to the panel for its failure to adhere to and apply fact finding stands set in by the U.N.

The firms also recommended that the U.N. reimburse the Somali government the costs it incurred for the investigations which were caused by the "unsupportable narrative produced by the monitoring group."

The investigators said that Somalia should upgrade its internal controls and financial reporting systems because the systems are not up to date due to the prolonged conflict and crisis in the country.

Somalia had not had a functioning central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a longtime dictator and turned on each other, plunging the impoverished East African nation into chaos. But since African Union forces ousted the Islamic extremist rebels of al-Shabab from all the major towns last year, a relative peace has returned, creating a new sense of hope and opportunity in the country.

Last year, a new interim constitution was approved, a new parliament was seated, a new president was elected and a new government and Cabinet started work, replacing a weak and largely ineffective transitional government that had been accused of widespread corruption.

The U.N. report, released in July, said the election of Mohamud "presented an opportunity for a new kind of leadership in the country," but he inherited a system in which he controls neither the flow of money nor security institutions.

While struggling to extend the government's reach, the panel said the president has had to seek external funds and arrange security relations inside and outside of government.

The U.N. report said that 80 percent of withdrawals from Somalia's Central Bank are made for private purposes, indicating it is operating as a patronage system for members of government.

President Mohamud said among the monitoring panel's flawed findings were that criticism of Somali Central Bank Governor Abdusalam Omer's stewardship of the Bank was entirely unwarranted. The investigation concluded that the Central Bank applied appropriate internal controls when dispersing government funds, he said.

Nairobi Forum & Oxfam Meeting: Remittance Transfers to Somalia,

Date: Wednesday 11 September 2013

Venue: KICC – Aberdares Room
Time: 10am – 12pm
Entry: STRICTLY Prior Registration

Every year, Somali migrants around the world send approximately $1.3 billion to friends and families at home, dwarfing humanitarian aid to Somalia. Individual transfers are usually less than $300, and often as little as $35. Families depend on the money for basic costs such as food, water, education and healthcare, and to cope with new crises.

A recent report by the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation shows that up to 40 percent of families receive some form of remittance, and that the money is integral to their survival. However, banks and regulators are in danger of inadvertently undermining this financial lifeline and driving it underground, as interpretation of UK and USA money laundering and counter terrorism legislation becomes tighter. Banks in the West are closing down the accounts of money transfer operators, thereby threatening to cut the lifeline to hundreds of thousands of Somali families.

This meeting will examine the impact of the decision by UK and US Banks to discontinue their services to the Somali remittance companies and explore challenges raised by the international remittance sector.