Reactions to the London Conference on Somalia
Somalia's leadership will join representatives from 40 countries, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the leaders of Uganda and Kenya, along with international bodies at the meeting in London on February 23. Here are a collection of some reaction on social media platforms.
- Nigeria's president arrived in the UK to attend the conference yesterday and was criticised for attending while the Boko Haram group wrecks havoc back home.
- Reaction from the Somali diaspora was mixed.
- Al Jazeera reached out to residents of Somalia with the Somalia Speaks project, asking the following questions in their local language via SMS:
"Waa maxay farriinta aad u direyso ergada shirka Soomaaliya ee London? Fadlan soo raaci halkaad joogto iyo magacaagaba. Waa suurtagal in aragtidaada la baahiyo"("What is your message to the London Somalia Conference ? ")
- Their responses have been translated and added to this map.
Somalia SpeaksAl Jazeera English is undertaking the first-ever largescale survey of Somali citizen sentiment.- On Twitter, we asked people to share their thoughts using the #SomaliaSpeaks hashtag. Here are some of the responses we received:
My massage to #londonconference attendees.Please put your differences aside and focus on what you‘ve in common#optimistichere #SomaliaSpeaks
Somalia finds itself in the clutches of anarchy, religious extremism, and poverty ahead of the London Somalia Conference #SomaliaSpeaks
Somalia's problem can only be dealt in Somalia, conferences has been held everywhere yet there's no difference. #LDNSomalia #SomaliaSpeaks
If South Africans,blk and white could forgive each other,and Bosnia,Rwanda, could move on, after years of fightings, why not #SomaliaSpeaks
If anything the #LDNSomalia should vehemently oppose the corrupt & inept Somali leaders #SomaliaSpeaks #RealSomalia24
Poverty and Illiteracy are big causes of evil in Somalia. Better is to provide them employment and better education. #SomaliaSpeaks- Here are some video submissions addressed to the delegates at the conference:
- This video above is from a Somali freelance journalist who lives in Dadaab, the world's largest refugee complex in north eastern Kenya.
- The above video is from Ali Sheikh Ahmed, the president of Mogadishu University. Here is a rough translation of his message:
My name is Dr. Ali Sheikh Ahmed, President of Mogadishu University.
My message to the London-Somalia conference, the government of Britain and the international community is to help the Somali people on how best they can rebuild their country and make peace.
To the Somali people, I would ask that they really think deep, start rebuilding their nation, and to elect leaders who are capable of working hand in hand with the international community, who can focus on doing constructive work, and who can fulfil the aspirations of the Somali people. - Others have been following the conference using the #LDNSomalia hashtag.
'Official' hashtag for today's London #Somalia Conference: #LDNSomalia, Aljaz hash: #somaliaspeaks, other -#Somaliland.
David Cameron: "The problems in Somalia don't just affect Somalia, they affect us all." #LDNSomalia
'I pay tribute to the memory of the brave and courageous soldiers who lost their lives in Somalia' #LDNSomalia , Ban Ki Moon
I saw the damage and danger but I also saw the promise and potential at Mogadishu amongst its people - Ban Ki Mooon #LDNSomalia
