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Canada provides about $1-billion of aid to Africa, an amount Prime Minister Paul Martin has said will be doubled by 2008. The government says that, by 2010, more than two-thirds of its foreign aid will be distributed to 25 countries. Although 14 of these countries are in Africa, Somalia is not on the list.

Canada should increase the aid it gives to the Somali people. Although the Somali community is the largest African community in Canada, Somalia received only $2.22-million from Ottawa in 2003-2004. Canada distributed this assistance through multilateral organizations and not-for-profit agencies.

To raise the profile of Somalia in the eyes of the international community, Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj visited Jowhar last summer; the city, some 90 kilometres northwest of Mogadishu, is the seat of one of the wings of the recently established transitional federal government. Mr. Wrzesnewskyj was shocked to see the condition in which parliamentarians and cabinet ministers lived in Jowhar.

But the condition of the average Somali is even worse. The United Nations Human Development Index ranks Somalia as one of the lowest in the world. This country has the second-highest infant-mortality rate and second-highest rate of maternal mortality; for every 1,000 children born, 225 of them die before they reach their fifth birthday. The average lifespan is only 46 years. As Unicef reported, only one in five Somali children attends primary school, the lowest in the world.

Canada can help in providing relief and development support to the Somali people. Since Canada is a leader in the area of human security, it can also play a role in peacemaking and peacebuilding efforts in Somalia.

The Somali people will surely benefit from increased Canadian assistance. And such aid will also benefit Somali Canadians as the conflict back home affects them both economically and emotionally.

Relief aside, Canada can also help in the area of development. Although there has not been a functioning national government in Somalia for the past 15 years, the civil society, non-governmental organizations and private sector co-operated to rebuild, at least partially, some important institutions. Local communities in many cities now run their own schools and health centres, and Somalis in the diaspora helped establish universities in some of the major cities.

According to the UN Development Program, Somalis in the diaspora have sustained the Somali economy for the past 15 years. In 2004, according to the UNDP, they sent home six times more than the entire international community provided in aid and development to Somalia - about $775-million.

Canada is a home to thousands of Somalis who regularly send remittances to their families. The post-9/11 security atmosphere and the closure of Al-Barakat (the largest Somali corporation) have had a great impact on this critical source of income for millions of Somalis. Many Somali remittance companies face difficulties when dealing with Canadian banks. Regulating this area in a way that facilitates business and ensures that the system is not abused would be helpful.

But there should be no confusion over providing assistance to the Somali people and giving help to the divided Ethiopian/Kenyan-imposed regime in Jowhar and Mogadishu. Canada must clearly understand that the current parliament, government and constitution came through a process that the Somali people did not own. Any assistance for such a regime should be linked to its performance on reconciliation and its commitment to democracy and good governance. Let the imposed leadership, wherever it is, earn domestic legitimacy first.

One immediate need is controlling the behaviour of Somalia's notorious warlords, most of whom are now in the divided government. To help end the impunity with which the warlords in Mogadishu and Jowhar now enjoy, it is necessary to involve the International Criminal Court. This would also enhance the chance for peace. Canada can do a lot in this regard.

But if peace is to be achieved, we have to look beyond the two factions of the government and understand the role of Somalia's neighbours in the Somali conflict. These neighbours have been exploiting the misery of the Somali people for the past decade.

Ethiopia has undermined the Cairo peace accord of 1997 and the Arta peace process of 2000. The UN Security Council's expert panel report on Somalia in 2005 confirmed that Ethiopia was also regularly sending weapons to Somalia.

With the help of Kenya, Ethiopia is determined to impose a constitution, parliament and government of its own design on the Somali people. If the current arrangements succeed, Somalia will be balkanized into hostile regions controlled by Addis Ababa. Dictatorship or another round of destructive civil war are the only possibilities.

To deal with this meddling, Canada should use its influence over Ethiopia and Kenya. Ottawa gave Ethiopia $87-million worth of assistance and Kenya $28-million in 2003-2004.

Internationalizing the Somali peace-building efforts will also discourage the regional spoilers.

As Barbara Walter of the University of California says, parties in civil wars can only be expected to commit to a genuine disarmament when a credible third party is there to oversee how the opposing groups implement the accord. One of the pressing needs is to create a secure environment where all factions can start to work together. Perhaps Canada could assist the newly created UN Peacebuilding Commission and take over leadership of the Somalia case. Canada also should support the Security Council's decision to strengthen the arms embargo on Somalia. Denying weapons to the warlords will surely enhance the chance for peace.

As Taiseer Ali and Robert Mathews of the University of Toronto point out, building peace can start long before the conflict ends. There is no need to wait until peace accords are signed. Canada should support development projects that strengthen peacebuilding efforts and empower civil society groups. It should also provide immediate relief through multilateral agencies.

Canada should not associate its good name with the bickering warlords in Mogadishu and Jowhar, and it should not finance the self-serving Ethiopian/Kenyan project to perpetuate the Somali conflict. In a nutshell, Canada should empower the civil society, not the warlords.

Afyare Abdi Elmi is a Somali journalist and PhD student in political science at the University of Alberta.