For the past 30 years, Somalia has relied on aid agencies to provide for its citizens basic necessities, including food and shelter. Whether Muslim Aid or non-Muslim, the majority of these organizations are foreign-based, and they dispatched representatives to Somalia. Some of them founded branches in Somalia, while others discovered local NGO partners that carried out and led to their missions and objectives. Nevertheless, such organizations offer a variety of services. In reality, Somali nationals made up the majority of the recipients. In 2023, there will be numerous humanitarian organizations operating in Somalia and setting up headquarters. Also, 8.25 million people in Somalia need humanitarian assistance. Conflict, insecurity, forced evictions, drought, and flooding have displaced more than 3.8 million people (internally or across borders). Refer to OCHA 08/02/2023, IOM 28/02/2023, ICG 21/06/2022, and IPC 28/02/2023.
The crisis in Somalia has actually gone through a number of stages and phases, each of which has had its own consequences. Humanitarian organizations and the people who work for them have an impact on people both directly and indirectly; however, given that the Somali people had urgent needs that needed to be met in order to prevent humanitarian crises, humanitarian organizations had to operate for extraordinarily challenging reasons. Other potential aspects of the Somali conflict include clan disputes, political unrest, military operations against Al-Shabaab by both domestic and foreign authorities, and ongoing Al-Shabaab attacks on innocent civilians and aid workers. The conflict also includes instability and insecurity across the entire country. In truth, conflicts persist in Somalia and have an impact on humanitarian efforts there, particularly in areas where the terrorist group is powerful.
On top of that, if conflict broke out elsewhere, it would lead to more displacement, and people would experience the typical challenges of conflict, such as a lack of housing, a scarcity of water, and insufficient food. So that workers from humanitarian organizations may deliver aid, report on the situation, and assist the local community where displaced individuals are. The team occasionally deals with threats, murders, and kidnappings without an appropriate reason. It typically occurs in crisis zones like Somalia; therefore, neither I nor any other Somalis find it surprising.
Working in a conflict area was originally extremely difficult for the Humanitarian organization's workers and their staff, whether they were internationals or locals here in Somalia. The good news is that threats have been substantially reduced in Somalia over the past few years, so it is not surprising to see foreign employees walking through the streets, markets, and shopping centers. The majority of international and local staff, with the exception of those in areas controlled by the Al-Shabaab Group, have a Department of Security Office that undertakes security assessments before personnel deploy and distributes daily security reports. However, this is insufficient given the general threats that Humanitarian staff face, some of which may exist in the vicinity where the terrorist organization controlling it is located. Anticipates threats that may be taken towards personnel, such as:
Meet the area of an explosion like any other normal individual, as this has been occurring in Somalia for the past 15 years.
Personal attacks might come from individuals or groups who hate you personally.
Attack or threat from Al-Shabaab Group; it might be that they have asked you for money and have been close to your ears.
The staff may not be really paying attention to security alerts from the organization's security sector that tell where you are going.
It might be that staff have not gotten enough awareness, security information, and mobilization from the Department of Security.
Is it possible that the organization's Department of Security is understaffed and unable to provide the personnel with the most recent information on security concerns where the organization operates or where they will be working tomorrow? And.
It is highly possible for this to happen. In Somalia, a person who was recruited as chief of security does not relate to the position, has not worked before, lacks security experience, and doesn't have enough environmental context as well.
FG: Either local or international humanitarian agencies may offer training to those who are assigned as the chief of security. However, general security issues are usually dynamic, especially in the Somali context.
The security challenges facing Humanitrain staff in Somalia are: Kidnapping: It may result in individual or group interest, Kill: It comes from either the Al-Shabaab Group or someone else, Revenge While rare these days, it can occur in exceptional circumstances between two troubadours. For instance, Abdirisak Mire Dhore, a journalist, kidnapped Xawadle Trop out of vengeance against the Habargedir community, Discrimination: In this case, it does not happen regularly in Somalia, but in terms of getting a job as a humanitarian assistant, it happens in every Somalia you could miss because of discrimination against them by other troopers and Threat: This situation occurs in an infinite number of ways and may manifest in numerous manners for a variety of reasons; indeed it is particularly common in Somalia. While some of the Humanitrain staff members passed away, suffered injuries, etc., it also still exists in specific areas under great threat in Somalia as well.
Here are some points of solutions.
How does the organization or Department of Security prevent threats to their staff in the workplace?
does not necessarily mean that every member of staff will be working outside; in that case, every member of staff should obtain security advice before leaving their houses, As we enter the office, the following is what we must explore further and emphasize: Some staff employees are heading out for fieldwork, which may be inside or outside the town. The organization's or department's Chief of Security's responsibility and obligations will now begin. Prior to being willing to take office, the first task allocated is:-
General security concerns have been evaluated by the security department, especially with regard to where workers will be heading today.
She or he should inform the team of their whereabouts, any security concerns, and any warnings that have been issued.
Even if the personnel have already completed the security Even if the personnel have already completed the security orientation, he /she should nevertheless provide it daily before starting work.
He /she should nevertheless provide it daily before starting work.
Let the staff members know which clan resides there more frequently, and let them know whether that clan and one of the staff members have ever engaged in combat.
There should be means for communication within the group, such as WhatsApp groups and other channels.
Staff should get physical security protection, although it is not compulsory.
The staff should have security guards with guns, which is required.
Conclusion
Since an appropriate person was hired as Chief of Security, the organization has been crucial to the protection of both the workers and the organization. However, if this doesn't happen the right way, it might jeopardize both worker and organizational safety.
Author: Farah Muhumed Hirane
Specialist in security management.
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