NomadNet

NomadNet went online in 1993, back when I wrote HTML code in MS word and uploaded it to the server. Its original purpose was to publish outtakes from articles I was writing for The Village Voice, The New Republic, and other magazines. These outtakes were the Somalia-specific information that was too esoteric for American audiences, but the kind of stuff that Somalis in the diaspora were hungry for; minute details about the clan politics behind the conflict in Mogadishu. It was an adventure, as whatever I wrote was guaranteed to piss off one clan, sub-clan or another. Articles were followed up with death threats and insults, and after a while I just figured that it wasn’t worth the bother. Eventually the site became redundant. I left it as a resource, but haven’t added any articles to it since the late 1990s. As time goes by I'll try to dig up some more of my articles and I'll add important pieces from other journalists.
Outmanned, Outgunned in Sierra Leone: Posted May 9, 2000

New York Times op-ed
The drama in Sierra Leone, where… Read More

The Faces of Famine: Posted July 27, 1998

Over and over, the pornography of African suffering simply rewards… Read More

The Mysterious Death of Ilaria Alpi – part 1: Posted May 12, 1998

Some people say she had information about the Italian military… Read More

The Mysterious Death of Ilaria Alpi – part 2: Posted March 13, 1998

Dominico Vulpiani tears a sheet from his memo pad and… Read More

The Might Interview: Posted March 3, 1997

“A complete waste of money that succeeds primarily at keeping… Read More

Save the Children: A Different Kind of Child Abuse: Posted December 12, 1996

Save the Children’s fund-raising strategy is at odds with its… Read More

WAR AS PEACE: How the Army and the Aid Agencies are Reinventing Militarism: Posted December 13, 1994

The Village Voice By Michael Maren
Peacekeeping ’94 is dedicated… Read More

Spoiled: Mogadishu Post Card: Posted December 12, 1994

The New Republic
By Michael Maren
Acetylene torches tint the… Read More

Leave Somalia Alone: Posted July 6, 1994

Copyright 1994 The New York Times Company
 
The New… Read More

A Journalist in Mogadishu: Posted December 12, 1993

©Copyright 1993 by Michael Maren.

This is a loose compilation… Read More

Spinning Dunkirk: Mogadishu Post Card: Posted December 6, 1993

The Pentagon quits Somalia.
The New Republic
By Michael Maren… Read More

Good Will and Its Limits in Somalia: Posted August 27, 1993

New York Times op-ed
Four hundred U.S. Army Rangers arrived… Read More

The Food-Aid Racket: Posted August 12, 1993

Harper’s Magazine
by Michael Maren
From a speech delivered in… Read More

How the Culture of Aid Led to the Tragedy of Somalia: Posted January 19, 1993

From The Village Voice, January 19, 1993
 
by Michael… Read More

U.S. Callousness and Mozambique Massacres: Posted August 22, 1987

New York Times op-ed
News of two massacres in Mozambique… Read More