When Stars Are Scattered

After decades of mixed colonial rule by Italy and Britain, The United Republic of Somalia became independent in 1960. From 1960 to 1977, no armed conflict existed though the challenge of trying to reconcile two different language systems for official business and legal rule (as a result of having been governed by two colonial powers) proved extensive. Armed conflicts between 1977 and 1991 included war with Ethiopia and war between the government and clan-based liberation movements. A dictator, Siad Barre, who attempted to quash the power and identity of clan-based movements in the country, was overthrown in 1991. Clan warfare grew, and without an established government to lead basic infrastructure needs (like agriculture and food production), the country was poised for a humanitarian disaster. Though the UN, US, and other aid-giving agencies attempted to help the growing starvation problem in the country, violence and disorganization thwarted success. Military presence from the US ended in the mid-90s after a violent battle in Mogadishu between local gunmen and American soldiers. Attempts to establish governmental control of the country in the time since have been complex and unsuccessful.

From 1991, local warlords and clans in Somalia participated in civil war. In When Stars Are Scattered, a newscaster describes how Dadaab “opened in 1992 as a temporary refuge for Somalis fleeing the Civil War in their country” (153). The newscaster points out that though 10 years have passed, the civil war shows no signs of ending, and as the refugees from Somalia in Dadaab know, returning to Somalia would put them in just as much danger as they experienced fleeing it. It can be surmised that the armed men who killed Omar’s father and burned their family’s village of Mareerey were perhaps militia aiming to gain control of territory. Many civilians died due to the civil war, and hundreds of thousands perished in the famine caused by the collapse of government and inaccessible humanitarian aid. Faced with impossible choices and extraordinary human suffering, hundreds of thousands more—like the Mareerey villagers, including Omar and Hassan—headed for Kenya and Dadaab. Omar’s backstory, which he explains in Part 2 to the UN officer in his “interview,” explains how he and Hassan fit into this historical context. Omar’s story of his upbringing and life challenges in Dadaab represent his and countless others’ very real experiences as refugees from the Somalian civil war.