Somalia+Economics

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Somalia Economy: On the Surface   Somalia Economy is actually flourishing with livestock such has earning 65 percent the national exports per year. This is because Nomads make up most of the country and they depend on the sheep, goats, fish, and camels to survive. These are the biggest exports, while sugar and corn are the biggest imports﻿ sugar and corn. Most of the imports and exports come through the countries of Yeman and Oman. Somalia also has new telecommunication lines through out every major city. On the surface it looks like a booming port country that is on the rise with a GDP growth rate of 2.5 percent a year, and with great ports to transfer their natural resources. However, this is far from the truth. http://worldfacts.us/Somalia.htm  Somalia Economy: The Truth    Although the national GDP is on the rise year after year, and the export and import is booming, the country itself is very poor. Many of these jobs are not utilized corretly and there is only 3.7 million people hired in the labor force. Most people still live in the rural areas of Somalia depending on the land to live. A land the is very unpredictable. This means that these people to not have wealth of monetary value. When the land or the weather is working against their favor it is hard for them to live and survive. Also with no real government help these people are completely on their own, left to starve. Another problem with the economy is the fact that individual companies create their own paper money. This means that Somalia has no real currency to work with, and their money has no value internationally. It is hard for Somalia to trade with the industrial countries because the fact that their money is not respected across the world. Speaking of money, the people that do make money in Somalia are very few, and very rich. The GPD per capita is a staggering 600 dollars, the fifth poorest in the world. Again, there is nothing set up for these people to help them. It is a never ending cycle. Born poor, you will stay poor because you can't afford to work your way out of poverty. The majority of people in Somalia are supressed economically, and with no stable government they will stay this way. The people doing the repressing are too busy making their own money to worry. This is why some of the poor people have been going to drastic measures to provide for their family. Stealing, murder, kidnapping, these are three words that make people think negatively, which is understandable. However, many men in Somalia have resorted to these three things, whether it is joining a militia army to enforce their will on villages, and steal their wealth. Again, with not stable government their is no stable militia making it near impossible to punish these men. What they are doing is wrong, but sometimes people are left with no choices. I do not approve what these militia men are doing, but I understand why they started. Another option is becoming a pirate, which has made Somalia internationally infamous. Beginning in 2005 many Somali men began taking fishing boats over. They would take the boat, port it in Somalia, and then take what was in the boat. They would then try and sell the boat. Because of the location of the Somali coast line, many major oil rigs sail close to them. The Somali men understood this, and started to capture the oil rigs. They would set a ransom for the boat. The money they were asking for was in the millions. One dutch ship even gave them the money. This only led for more pirating, that is still going on today. THese men risk life and limb to make money for their families. They are fearless, even firing at an U.S. ship last April. What they are doing is wrong, and needs to be stopped. However, what are they supposed to do with no government support, no jobs, and no hope of an education? These crimes are not just the fault of the individuals, but of their country at whole. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/01/world/main6354292.shtml          http://headdowneyesopen.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html     http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.vinography.com/archives/images/somali_pirates_hands.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.vinography.com/archives/2009/04/somali_pirates_take_ransom_in.html&usg=__4sVbq16NeKJ6-I2y9BXEiDrKugk=&h=300&w=400&sz=38&hl=en&start=18&zoom=1&tbnid=TPFmqaPFUZbZCM:&tbnh=146&tbnw=167&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsomalia%2Bpirate%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D622%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C357&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=235&vpy=264&dur=272&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=147&ty=84&ei=LZsHTZDqN9OfngeO1NWEDg&oei=IZsHTcu6LsemnAettaXfDQ&esq=2&page=2&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:18&biw=1280&bih=622