During the 1990s, Somalia went through a famine crisis, which many Westerners labeled a "humanitarian crisis." As always, the hegemonic power, namely the United States, stepped up and helped provide food to the starving Somalis. Seeing children starving has led Westerners to sympathize with these individuals and accuse the inept Somali government of not doing enough to help its citizens. The intervention was intended to provide food to Somalia, but later turned into a "creeping mission", "commanders feel the temptation to chase success and perhaps glory around the corner by expanding their mandate and crushing anyone who come their way" (Hoagland, 1: 1993). What was a humanitarian crisis has now turned into a nation-building itinerary, as a result, the world witnesses a US Army Ranger tied up and dragged through the streets of Somalia. Somalis, who many people considered to be suffering from starvation due to a corrupt government, are now seen as bad individuals, their culture, beliefs and religion, being Islam, are all seen as bad and the term "terrorists" or " pirates", now associated with them. When conflicts arise in Somalia, the international community is always reluctant to intervene and instead of seeing Somalis as victims, the media portrays them as perpetrators; this is all because a US Army Ranger was dragged before the world. Cynthia Mahmood's book on the militant Sikh teaches us an important lesson, that Sikhs were not always as violent as they are portrayed. The book teaches us that these are religious people, who have been oppressed for over 500 years and have now resorted to violent behavior due to the social, political, cultural and economic inequality committed by... middle of paper... .. ..ia. It initially began as a humanitarian crisis, but when Americans attempted to build the nation, Somalis responded by dragging an American soldier through their streets. Through that incident, the world has come to view Somalia, its people, its culture and its religion as evil and to label them as terrorists. Works Cited Chandler, David G. “The Road to Military Humanitarianism: How the Human Rights NGOs Shaped a New Humanitarian Agenda.” Human Rights Quarterly. 23.3 (2001): 678-700. Print. Hoagland, Jim. “Beware of Mission Creep in Somalia.” The Washington Post. (1993). PrintMahmood, Cynthia K. Struggle for Faith and Nation: Dialogues with Sikh Militants. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997. Internet Resource Exceptional Violence: Embodied Citizenship in Transnational Jamaica. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2011. Print.