No description available.

The purpose of this study has been to find out how Kenyan journalists look at their own role in the development of the Somalia conflict and how they work to make sure that they have a positive impact on the situation. The empirical material consists of seven semi-structured interviews with journalists who work in print- or broadcast media in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and who specialises in conflict reporting in general and Somalia more specifically. The interviews were summarised, analysed and presented in a thematic order, based on the initial research questions stated below:    Do Kenyan journalists believe that they can help bring peace and stability in Somalia and if so, how? How do Kenyan journalists look at their own role in reporting about the Somalia conflict? How do Kenyan journalists reason when choosing subjects to report about, angles and sources? The result of the study is very clear: all journalists interviewed believe that they can help bring peace and stability in Somalia. Some even believe that without the media, there won’t be peace in Somalia. However, they look slightly different at their individual roles as reporters covering a conflict in a neighbouring country where their own nation is militarily involved. Some look at themselves as objective messengers that report the truth no matter the implications. Others are sensitive when it comes to showing pictures of dead people or publishing the number of casualties, afraid that it might stir up emotions and cause retaliatory attacks. One journalist stands out as the only one openly supporting a patriotic line that he believes is needed for the Kenyan military to defeat the enemy and in the end achieve peace and stability in the region. They all consider it difficult to remain objective when reporting from Somalia, since they most often need to work embedded with the troops for security reasons. African journalists need to highlight the plight of the Somali people and also report about the positive sides of the region, all journalists believe. It is important to paint a brighter picture of Somalia in order to bring new investments to the poor country. Also, they all emphasise the need to talk to the people of Somalia, to let them speak for themselves, because in the end, only Somalis can bring peace to their country.

The thesis explores links between resources and conflict in contemporary Somalia. The central research questions were: Why did a society which is believed to be resilient and adaptive to its harsh environment become vulnerable? To what extent did environmental factors contribute to the emergence of conflict? How can natural resource scarcity and abundance be related to the existence of, or potential for, violent conflict, bearing in mind the historical, political, economic and cultural context of conflict? Can other determining factors such as power-relations, access to trade, or clan affiliation be linked to lower economic, institutional, and social performance and associated with higher levels of violent conflict? If a link can be made, this will help to forecast where conflict might take place. Because Somalia is largely an arid country, highly susceptible to natural disasters, and because its people have been victims of severe famine in recent decades, my starting point for this research was to investigate literature on the supposed environmental causes of conflict. Analysis of the literature which links environmental degradation and scarcity to state-collapse or civil war suggested, however, that such linkages are problematic. I argue instead that people engage in violent conflict in Somalia because they struggle to establish control over valuable resources. These resources are likely to be renewables, such as cash crops in the form of plantations in riverine areas, cereals in the Bay region, and charcoal in the coastal region of Brawa. Conflict arose over the struggle to monopolise these resources, and over the distribution of profits. Clan leaders sought to expand a source of 'tax' revenue by controlling trade networks, seaports and airports. This general approach may explain why southern Somalia has experienced continuous insecurity over the past decade.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Regina, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 109-116).

Thesis (doctoral)--Uppsala University, Uppsala, 2000. / Cover title. Includes bibliographical references (p. 164-178).

Master-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2009.

Master-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2009.

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

This thesis provides an anthropological account of the relationship between experiences of migration and reproduction among Somalis living in Nairobi, Kenya, specifically the complex relationship between motherhood and migration, and the intricacies of balancing the significance and consequences of both. Due to their legally ambiguous and often volatile status, many Somalis did not perceive Kenya as a ‘durable solution’ for settlement, instead locating themselves within an ongoing process of migration, and as part of a fluid yet highly connected transnational diaspora. This thesis draws on twenty months of ethnographic fieldwork in Eastleigh, the ‘Little Mogadishu’ area of Nairobi, with Somali women and their families, as well as medical practitioners, NGOs, UN agencies, and governmental bodies, during which I followed how reproductive decisions were made and medical facilities were navigated within a context of displacement. In this thesis I unpack what it means to exist as a ‘refugee’, ‘a migrant’, and ‘a Somali’ within Kenya, as well as the significance of living within a global diaspora community. I analyse (re)creations of ‘home’ through the temporal appropriation of space, as well as the reproduction of the nation within a context of displacement. I argue that in order to understand how women experience migration, it is essential to understand how they identify themselves within their own transnational family and clan networks as women, wives, and mothers. By illuminating how women protect and act upon their own social positions, this thesis will analyse interwoven concepts of beauty, morality, and motherhood, with a particular focus on how these were entwined with perceptions of both Islam and the Somali nation. Finally, a detailed ethnographic exploration of how women and their families navigated fertility, pregnancy, and childbirth, while simultaneously accounting for possibilities of onward migration, will shed light on the body as a site at which matters of kinship, migration and the future were negotiated. Drawing these issues together, and situating them within medical and political anthropology, this thesis argues that maternity and motherhood are points at which concepts of kinship, religion, citizenship, and gender are intricately interwoven and crucially tethered to strategies for onward migration.

Somalia’s reproductive health indices are among the worst in the world. Rates of maternal death, total fertility, and sexual and gender based violence reflect the poor reproductive health outcomes of women living in Somalia. Over two decades of civil unrest left the majority of the population without access to basic health care, particularly reproductive health services. Currently, it is estimated that about 1% of women in Somalia use a modern method of contraception, and the country has yet to register a dedicated progestin-only emergency contraceptive pill. This study seeks to explore levels of awareness and the perceived need for emergency contraception (EC), as well as stakeholders’ knowledge of and experiences with reproductive health services in Somalia. Through interviews and focus group discussions with stakeholders in Somalia, I learned that awareness about vital services like EC is low, while the need for EC and broader reproductive health services is high. Evidently, stakeholders believe awareness, availability, quality care, culture, religion and good governance are important factors for both delivering and accessing reproductive health care. These study findings will fill an important gap in the literature and support efforts to expand and improve reproductive health service delivery in the country.