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[ [The Collapse of the Somali State And The Reconstruction of Community] }

"'Introduction: ''' Somalia entered a civil war with the collapse of the Said Barre government in the 1990s. From the early 1990s to the 2010s, the country went through a period of war, natural disasters, food crisis, domestic terrorism, and political instability that did not decrease until 2015. This caused many people to choose to leave and start new lives as refugees in other countries like the US, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. However, those who stayed interacted with the rest of the international community through humanitarian aid.

"'The War and the Initial Collapse: Diaspora Somali Experience:'" The war and political instability brought Somali people into a strange position where many who were forced to leave and restart their lives had to remake communities with each other. Those who left stayed together in groups of 2- 6; they worked and lived together. As time progressed, they went from living in small groups and being distant neighbours to creating their associations. One of the largest communities in Canada is the Somali-Canadian Association of Etobicoke. *"The Canadian Association of Etobicoke aims to broaden the services available to this community while combatting the hardships that hinder access to these services, such as racism and hate, poverty, and language barriers. The association has created and hosted various workshops over the years, focusing on vulnerable groups such as Somali youth and seniors. Through these workshops, the association and its staff are not only able to directly engage with the community it serves but hear about their concerns firsthand, concerns they can then amplify and see addressed through current and future initiatives as well as collaborative partnerships with local non-profit and community group" (Somali- Canadian Association of 2020). This association is just one of many established to bring forth a sense of community and support to new immigrants to develop people and their families within Etobicoke and Toronto.

"'Those that Stayed:' "

However, the people who stayed in the country had to deal with the negative consequences of having no stable government. Even with humanitarian aid, the people of Somalia still suffered. Peacekeeping has a double meaning for the people of Somalia. The Somali affair was a period of Canadian peacekeeping missions between 1992-1997 where Canadian peacekeeping soldiers were sent to Somalia to help stabilize the state's political unrest from a local level. However, the mission turned out to be a violent display of torture against civilians by peacekeeping officers until the mission was terminated in May 1997. They violated and mistreated black bodies in an attempt to establish control over the people that they were there to help. The actions of the Canadian peacekeeping officers and how the lack of action conducted to stop the mistreatment and dehumanization of Somali citizens clearly showed that there was a racial bias present: "Some soldiers held the view that Canadian society penalized them for violent acts in Somalia that it would condone or treat less severely if committed in Canada. In a revealing moment when violated black bodies in Canada are linked to violated black bodies in Somalia, one soldier commented, "[If] civilians beat a guy to death, it would probably pass as normal," or "[If] five White guys beat up a black guy, Ya so what. It happens" (quoted in Winslow 1997:49). While such views lead Winslow to conclude that at least the members of the Airborne Regiment were "hyper invested in a warrior identity, she makes little connection between their perceptions and the perceptions of a racist national culture.10 Put another way, while she acknowledges that the men learn to be men through the practices of othering women, homosexuals, and racial minorities, Winslow fails to see that they learn to be what be white men. She does not interrogate what Messerschmidt terms "the social construction of white-supremacist masculinity." There is, then, little chance that the racial dimensions of the violence in Somalia could be uncovered." (Razack, 14 2000).

"'Conclusion:'"

The collapse of the state led to improper treatment of the people who stayed. Even with humanitarian aid, the state of Somalia is still considered by political scientists as a "Failed state." The country still has present-day social and economic issues present. However, communities still thrive, and people continue to live within the country, thriving in the best way possible. Those who left found community within their new homes and established means to help and support incoming refugees with proper aid and support they did not have when they first arrived.

"'References: ''' Razack, Sherene. "From the 'Clean Snows of Petawawa': The Violence of Canadian Peacekeepers in Somalia." Cultural Anthropology 15, no. 1 (2000): 127–63. http://www.jstor.org/stable/656642. Ingiriis, Mohamed Haji. "The Making of the 1990 Manifesto: Somalia's Last Chance for State Survival." Northeast African Studies 12, no. 2 (2012): 63â€ "94. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41931314. "About Us." Somali Canadian Association. Accessed April 3, 2024. https://somalicanadian.com/about-us/.