Stilstudie

Redan i rubriken "Is Somalia Doomed to Repeat History?" erbjuder reportern Tim Lister två av de vanligaste stereotyperna om Afrika: fördömt och tidslöst.
Sedan kommer den paternalistiska ömkan

Pity the poor Somalis,

sedan kontrasten mot Oss Som Frälsarna

or the millions of them that have not yet found sanctuary in Europe, Canada or the United States.

(att finna tillflyk på den afrikanska kontinenten är tydligen inte möjligt). Sedan aktörslöst kaos

Recent events seem to have sucked them back into the cycle of violence and destruction that ruined the country in the 1990s,

sedan ett påpekande om det eviga misslyckandet

and made Somalia the poster-child for the concept of the failed state -- a country without institutions or basic services, where malnutrition is commonplace. Now, the possibility of reconciliation among competing groups may be evaporating

sedan förminskning, förlöjligande

as clans once again squabble over the spoils of victory

(squabble = käbbla), och så historiens tidslösa dom igen

and the vanquished melt away, only to plot their return.

Reporting on Africa. Because first impressions last.