Somalia is a nation of roughly 19 million people and territory roughly the size of Texas. It sits on the mouth of the Red Sea, very near the Strait of Hormuz, at the intersection of the European, African, and Asian worlds. Its coastline is the longest on mainland Africa. Israel’s wars on Gaza and Iran and the naval presence of all the world’s great powers now make it more geostrategic than ever.
Most all Somalis speak the same language, share the same culture, and practice Sunni Islam. For centuries, they have united against invasion, colonization, and other forms of foreign aggression, but clan rivalry has made it difficult for them to establish a cohesive national identity and central government. Upon independence they sought to create a Greater Somalia including all the ethnic Somalis in the Horn of Africa, but today Somalia is one of the most conflict wracked nations on the continent.
Despite internal conflict, terrorism, and a weak central government, Somalia keeps developing, largely due to diaspora support.
This week we spend the entire hour with anthropology professor Markus Virgil Hoehne, senior lecturer at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Göttingen, Germany, who speaks the Somali language and has studied Somali issues since 2001.
We thank all of Pacifica’s sister stations and affiliates who contribute to the production of this show. Today’s program was produced and hosted by Ann Garrison and the Capitalism, Race & Democracy collective.
You can find this and all previous episodes at our website “capitalism race and democracy dot ORG”. Make sure you click the subscribe button. Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, @PacificaCRD.
Thanks for listening!
Music:
Ahmed Rasta – Haybad waxaad Ku leedahay, Dhulkaaga Hooyo – Full Song
AXMED BUDUL | BEST DHAANTO | SINJIGA BOQRAN IYO GOBTII SOOL | MUSIC VIDEO
