The marginalized Somali groups are mainly residing in Southern and Southwestern Somalia, especially at the Jubba and Shabelle rivers. The main ethnic group is the Bantus and is ethnically and culturally somewhat different from the pastoralists population that is made up of the Cushitic Somali clans. They have been dominating Somalia’s social, political, and economic system since its independence in 1960. Thus, the pastoralist Cushitic clans have systematically pushed out the Somali Bantus and other marginalized groups, depriving them of educational, economic, and political opportunities in the country. The marginalized groups are categorized as “minority” groups and also referred to as “others” and “.5,” which are “half” groups. The “.5” or “half” is a term designed for political power-sharing in the county, and these groups are officially recognized as .5 or half for all combined. Although there are no reliable statistical sources today, the Somali population is estimated at 16 million, according to the 2021 World Population Review. Of that figure, the entire Somali Bantus and other marginalized groups referred to as the “.5” population in Somalia, is estimated at 7-8 million of all the Somali ethnic groups (55%). This clan classification system had the largest impact when it came to claiming membership within a larger Somali society than it was for day-to-day life within marginalized communities.
Many rights organizations, including Amnesty International and UN Human rights Watch, have documented numerous atrocities against marginalized Somali communities, especially the Bantus. The atrocities included extrajudicial killing, mass arrest, rape, torture, and burning people alive and their villages.
Over the years after the Somali civil war, the Bantus and other marginalized groups have frantically searched for someone possibly in the West to stand up for them and acknowledge the problems they faced or are still facing in Somalia. These realities need to be faced in the democratic world because Somalia, as a government, refused to recognize the existence of Bantus and other marginalized communities, which are culturally and traditionally distinct from them. Therefore, we aim to restore safety, equality, dignity, peace, and justice to the Bantu people and other marginalized communities in Somalia who are uprooted by the civil war, terrorism, discrimination, and injustice at every level. We demand that law and order prevail in Somalia, where every citizen has his/her rights preserved. We also need Somalia that is peaceful in itself and peaceful with its neighbors and the rest of the world. The marginalized communities have been conducting their struggle peacefully, knowing the value of non-violence resistance, but the international community should act swiftly to avoid further violence that would cause human rights violations.