A new report on Somalia by the Humanitarian Futures Programme (HFP) at King's College, London, reveals a society functioning in significant and unexpected ways that Western observers fail to see.

The report is published at a time when the United Nations warns that an expected 750,000 Somalis face imminent death from drought and famine which is ravaging the Horn of Africa.

The Director of HFP, Dr. Randolph Kent, says his report was intended to discover how Somalis envision their future and its findings show that Somalis worldwide feel the solutions to the problems facing their country lie in their own hands.

 "The depiction of Somalia as a failing state is too simplistic and not a true reflection of the country, as our report reveals. There are effective networks operating between the widely-dispersed Somali diaspora and indigenous citizens in Somalia and Somaliland. Our findings suggest different approaches and solutions to the seemingly perpetual crises that have haunted the nation for decades and more. This report indicates that it's time to step back and re-evaluate largely Western assumptions about Somalia's lack of governability," says Dr. Kent.

The report's conclusions and recommendations include the need to reconcile a seeming paradox - the fear among Somalis on the one hand that their fundamental ways of life are being eroded and on the other hand that while they welcome help, they do not want Western interference and believe in their own ability to bring about stability.

"It's a complex situation which is unseen and I hope this timely research - published at such a critical moment in the life of Somalia - will bring hope of a brighter future," says Dr. Kent.

Notes: Somali Futures: An Exploration

* the overarching purpose to determine whether there are any consistent themes emerging from an in-depth survey of Somali respondents that might prompt different forms of support to the Somali people and their nation.

* for almost twenty years, the international community has attempted to introduce measures to promote democratic governance, security-sector reform and disarmament in a nation rife with conflict, poverty and disharmony.

Recommendations from the report include:

i. one way to promote Somali solutions for Somali futures is to recognise what Somalis generally perceive as a formidable strength, namely, their business community. With that in mind, supporting and promoting indigenous small and medium‐sized commercial ventures throughout Somalia and Somaliland, with particular emphasis on activities that could create employment in urban areas, is one fundamental way to restore Somali faith in themselves and a Somali way forward; ii. promoting practical linkages between the Diaspora and indigenous Somalis may be a second way to reconcile the paradox. These sorts of linkages could take the form, for example, of promoting training linkages between overseas academic and technical institutes that have Diaspora faculty with businesses and related institutions in Somalia and Somaliland. The use of the Somali Diaspora and the Somali language to transmit skills across continents would be an effective way to provide training in a Somal!

i context; iii. support indigenous efforts to promote and disseminate Somali art and literature within Somalia and Somaliland, seeking the involvement of the Diaspora towards this end.

View full report here.

Resume on Randolph Kent:

Dr. Randolph Kent was a member of the senior advisory panel on the UK government-commissioned, HERR review of UK emergency response, under Lord Ashdown, which reported to DFID in June 2011; he contributed a chapter to the 2011 United Nation’s Global Assessment Report launched in the UK at the House of Commons on 30 June, 2011; was appointed by the World Economic Forum in July 2011, to its advisory council on disaster management - described by WEF as representing “the world’s foremost interdisciplinary brains trust of innovative thinking and idea exchange on global issues”;  and he was a speaker/presenter at the 2011 Dubai International Humanitarian Conference.  Prior to joining King’s, he served for 25 years  as the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia,  Kosovo and Rwanda, Chief of the UN Emergency Unit in Sudan;  Chief of Emergency Prevention and Preparedness in Ethiopia; and Special Advisor to the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs from 1995 to 1996.

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