The+situation+in+Somalia.

One of the main issues going on in Somalia now is that there has been a growth of piracy in the region. Piracy of the coast of this country is continuously being a threat to international shipping. Over past several years, acts of annual piracy have alost doubled, increasing from 111 incidents to 214; in 2011, “more than 300 people were being held hostage by various pirate groups” ( Zijlma ). This is related to the lack of order and laws within the country, and this is causing more and more serious symptom of country’s insecurity. Today’s pirates come from poor fishing villages such as “Eyl, Hobyo and Harardeere” because the downfall of Somali fishing industry led to increase in poverty and thus increase in corruption (Walter). Somali government authority is currently very weak and powerless and in many areas even non-existent. It has not gone after the pirates nor can they register complaints from ships that are attacked since “pirates have more power than the government” and has a “barely functioning government” ( "Piracy in Somalia”). However, there should be some actions done to prevent piracy issue and insecurity of the country. John Steed, the former head of UN Counter Piracy unit, said that “the international community is saying enough is enough, and the Somali government and regional administration realize that piracy is preventing them from receiving the aid and support their people need’” ( Lister). Although right now some of the international organizations and communities has stepped in to help conducting anti-piracy operations, such as the International Naval Forces who are currently “patrolling the area of over 1 million square miles” ("Who Are Somali Pirates”) of the ocean near Somali region and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, who escorted vessels and conducted anti-piracy operations, more awareness and supports are encouraged. The UN Security Council has suggested local law enforcement officials to “serve aboard anti-piracy vessels to facilitate the investigation, detention and prosecution of pirates”, but besides Kenya, “few regional countries have agreed to participate” to support or to open their courts to the Somali piracy issue (Walter). This lack of security has hindered some of major humanitarian access and contributed to the increased displacement of the population. The worsening situation led to Somalis’ fled from homes both due to indirect dangers of conflict and also because they became direct targets of violence. Consequently, “many donors are decreasing their humanitarian assistance” (Walter). The main reason is that general nature of armed conflict in area made access to get increasingly difficult and thus made many of the civilian population to be completely cut off from aid agencies. Due to attacks on agencies, including the bombing of UNDP headquarters in Somali, the UN has “reduced its number of staff” (Walter) and this eventually led to decreased literacy rate and extreme famine; right now, “more than 3 million people, about 43% of the population, need emergency assistance” for food and also, the literacy rate gap is increasing – “81% of Somalia's population is now illiterate — one of the highest rate in Africa — and only 17% of Somali children go to school” (McCabe). Funds going into Somali is becoming lower and lower since the insecurity atmosphere continues to remain and situation of displaced is becoming more and more neglected. Providing food, education and health care to Somalia will be very difficult unless some form of security is established within the area; and to effectively counter this insecurity and to ensure Somali people have some economic opportunities they need, cooperation between countries and various organizations and reform the government and security sector is necessary.
 * __The Situation in__** **__Somalia__**

**__Works Cited__** Lister, Tim. "Piracy CNN Security Clearance - CNN.com Blogs." //Piracy// // C //// NN Security // // Clearance //. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. . McCabe, Coco. "First Person: Voices, Video, and Photos from Oxfam's Fight against Poverty." //Pirates and Poverty in Somalia//. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. . "Piracy in Somalia." //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. . Walter, Kalin. “The Changing Security Situation in Somalia: Implications for Humanitarian Action.” Brookings-bern Project. Web. 12 Jan. 2010. 19 Mar. 2012. . "Who Are Somali Pirates." //Your Gateway to the World of Knowledge and Information//. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. . Zijlma, Anouk. "Somalia Pirates." //About.com Africa Travel//. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. .