The deputy minister in charge for security in the ministry of interior Hon Abdillahi Abokor has termed the decision by the British government to issue a travel warning to its citizen as rush and irrational.
Hon Abdillahi went on to say “Somaliland has always carried out risk assessment in order to protect its own national interest and those of all westerners working or settled in Somaliland soil. Somaliland is a country which has the most sophisticated intelligence agencies, having a very professional well trained staffs and maintains constant working relationship with its international security partners’.
“The downgrading of Somaliland security status to grade C by the British government is uncalled of and with regards to this potential terror threat in Somaliland which deems to be very exaggerated and superfluous assessment and sadly damaging the excellent record of peace and stability issues of Somaliland,” said the security minister.
The Security minister told reporters during a press briefing “It’s sad our friends (British) didn’t inform us on this new development considering the existing relations between our intelligence agencies and we have the right to know the source of these preposterous allegations’. `
Residents In the port city of Berbera took to the streets today to demonstrate against the recent decision by the U k foreign office and commonwealth affairs warning British citizen not to travel to Somaliland.
Hundreds of residents of berbera flocked to the main roads of the port city waving the flag of Somaliland and slogans demanding that the UK government should retract its decision of downgrading the security status of Somaliland to grade C hence being in the same status as neighboring Somalia.
The demonstrators later converged at the 26 of June stadium which is situated at the center of the city and were addressed by the mayor and governor of sahil region.
The Governor of Sahil Region lauded the people of Sahil for their zeal and unrelenting devotion when it comes to protecting the name of their nation; He went on to say Somaliland had accomplished much in the past 21 years and has taken many strides in the right direction be it in the fields of democracy, development, security, health and education.
“Somaliland has a good security record compared to many African countries not to mention that foreigners roam our streets freely without any security escorts and will continue to do so,i assure you all Somaliland is also capable of maintaining its own security, “said the governor.
The Newly elected Mayor of Berbera told residents “let it be known that Somaliland is here to stay whether the English stay or leave, we are here to stay that’s for sure and I urge all Somaliland to safeguard our hard earned security and peace.
Many Somalilanders are upset by the UK government stance on with many terming it as rush and irrational.
There Is No Time To Sit Back, Relax, And Forget The Fact That As Somalilander
We cannot go back to the Days of Faqash….These Days will be no more. There will be rough times, difficult situations, things to fall into, major obstacles, hurdles, stumbling blocks, mountains to climb, things to get over, oppositions to resolve, unpleasantness to face, feelings to understand, disappointments to accept, mysteries to solve, wonders to unfold and promises to keep to yourself.
Now that you know what to expect, prepare yourself, get ready. The only way to get to what we want to be is to do what needs to be done to get it. “ You know what I mean”. Do it fast, do it right, do it in the daylight, do it by the moonlight. Do it alone, do it with others. Do it for free. Get paid to do it. Do it for yourself.
We always want to do the right thing, but we do the wrong thing when we do not make a decision about what to do . Decisions have power. Decisions have force. They usually take us to the exact place. We need to be , exactly the way we need to get there “ ICTIRAAF”.
It is the wavering back and forth that is dangerous. It places us at the mercy of events; We fall prey to the choices people make for us. Since time and opportunity wait for no one, our lives will not what to do. The rightness of a decision is based on our ability to make the decision when we weigh what we want against what we will have to do, a decision can be an effortless event. We must know what we will and will not do, what we can do and choose not to do; and decided in harmony with the things we know. The freedom from making a decision can only come we have made the decision.
THE DECISION ON MAY 18, 1991, THE DECISION ON MAY 18,1991, THE DECISION ON MAY 18,1991…..
Somalilanders keep the faith, continue the fight for your rights, strive to keep the dream alive. “ SOMALILAND REPUBLIC “. BE proud of your heritage, stand tall. Do not slumber, and risk the chance to lose it all fate stands knocking at your door…..I SAID FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT AND KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE…..” SOMALILAND REPUBLIC “…NOW!….SOMALILANDERS, I SAY TOMORROW MAY BE TOO LATE
ANIIS A. ESSA. HEAD
SOMALILAND ADOVCACY GROUP
WASHINGTON DC…USA
ANIIS@YAHOO.COM
May 28, 2012, Nairobi (Human Rights Watch) – An Ethiopian government-backed paramilitary force summarily executed 10 men during a March 2012 operation in Ethiopia’s eastern Somali region. Detailed information on the killings and other abuses by the force known as the “Liyu police” only came to light after a Human Rights Watch fact-finding mission to neighboring Somaliland in April.
On March 16 a Liyu police member fatally shot a resident of Raqda village, in the Gashaamo district of Somali region, who was trying to protect a fellow villager. That day, men from Raqda retaliated by killing seven Liyu police members, prompting a reprisal operation by dozens of Liyu police in four villages on March 16 and 17. During this operation the Liyu police force summarily executed at least 10 men who were in their custody, killed at least 9 residents in ensuing gunfights, abducted at least 24 men, and looted dozens of shops and houses.
“The killing of several Liyu police members doesn’t justify the force’s brutal retaliation against the local population,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The Liyu police abuses in Somali region show the urgent need for the Ethiopian government to rein in this lawless force.”
Refugee women and children in Somaliland who fled their homes in Ethiopia as a result of a “Liyu police” operation, April 2012
The Ethiopian government should hold those responsible for the killings and other abuses to account and prevent future abuses by the force.
Ethiopian authorities created the Liyu (“special” in Amharic) police in the Somali region in 2007 when an armed conflict between the insurgent Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and the government escalated. By 2008 the Liyu police became a prominent counterinsurgency force recruited and led by the regional security chief at that time, Abdi Mohammed Omar (known as “Abdi Illey”), who is now the president of Somali Regional State.
The Liyu police have been implicated in numerous serious abuses against civilians throughout the Somali region in the context of counterinsurgency operations. The legal status of the force is unclear, but credible sources have informed Human Rights Watch that members have received training, uniforms, arms, and salaries from the Ethiopian government via the regional authorities.
Human Rights Watch spoke to 30 victims, relatives of victims, and witnesses to the March incidents from four villages who had fled across the border to Somaliland and who gave detailed accounts of the events.
Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that on the evening of March 16 the Liyu police returned to Raqda following the clashes with the community earlier in the day that left seven police force members dead. The next morning, March 17, the Liyu police rounded up 23 men in Raqda and put them into a truck heading towards Galka, a neighboringvillage. Along the way the Liyu police stopped the truck, ordered five randomly selected men to descend, and shot them by the roadside. “It was three police who shot them,” a detainee told Human Rights Watch. “They shot them in the forehead and shoulder: three bullets per person.”
Also on March 17, at about 6 a.m., Liyu police in two vehicles opened an assault on the nearby village of Adaada. Survivors of the attack and victims’ relatives described Liyu police members going house to house searching for firearms and dragging men from their homes. The Liyu police also started shooting in the air. Local residents with arms and the Liyu police began fighting and at least four villagers were killed. Many civilians fled the village.
After several hours the Liyu police left but later returned when villagers came back to the village to bury those killed earlier that day. Fighting resumed in the afternoon and at least another five villagers were killed. The Liyu police took another four men from their homes and summarily executed them. A woman whose brother was a veterinarian told Human Rights Watch: “They caught my brother and took him outside. They shot him in the head and then slit his throat.”
For five days Liyu police also deployed outside Langeita, another village in the district, and restricted people’s movement. The Liyu police carried out widespread looting of shops and houses in at least two of the villages, residents said.
Human Rights Watch received an unconfirmed report that following the incidents local authorities arrested three Liyu police members. However it is unclear whether the members have been charged or whether further investigations have taken place.
The Ethiopian government’s response to reports of abuses in the Somali region has been to severely restrict or control access for journalists, aid organizations, human rights groups, and other independent monitors. Ethiopia’s regional and federal government should urgently facilitate access for independent investigations of the events by independent media and human rights investigators, including the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial and summary executions.
“For years the Ethiopian government has jailed and deported journalists for reporting on the Somali region,” Lefkow said. “Donor countries should call on Ethiopia to allow access to the media and rights groups so abuses can’t be hidden away.” Liyu Police Abuses, March 2012 Summary Executions and KillingsHuman Rights Watch interviewed witnesses and relatives of the victims who described witnessing at least 10 summary executions by the Liyu police on March 16 and 17. The actual number may be higher.
On March 16 in Raqda, a Liyu police member shot dead Abdiqani Abdillahi Abdi after he intervened to stop the paramilitary from harassing and beating another villager. Several villagers heard the Liyu police member saying to Abdiqani, “What can you do for him?” and then heard the shot.
The shooting ignited a confrontation between the Liyu police and the local community. The nine Liyu police who were deployed in Raqda then left via the road to the neighboring village of Adaada. A number of Raqda residents, including members of Abdiqani’s family, took their weapons, went after the Liyu police, and reportedly killed seven of them in a confrontation that followed.
The next morning, on March 17 at around 11 a.m., the Liyu police selected five men from a group of 23 men they had detained in Raqda and were taking towards Galka village in a truck. The Liyu police forced the five men to sit by the roadside and then shot them. Another detainee described what happened:
In between Galka and Raqda they stopped the truck. There were four other Liyu police vehicles accompanying the truck. This was around 11 a.m. They told five of us to get out of the lorry. They [randomly] ordered five out – none in particular. The man standing near the lorry ordered them to “Kill them, shoot them.” It was three police who shot them. They shot them in the forehead and shoulder: three bullets per person.
Another detainee saw the five being shot in the head and said the Liyu police threatened the remaining detainees, saying, “We will kill you all like this.”
The same day the Liyu police summarily executed four men in Adaada, where they had carried out house-to-house searches that morning. In all four cases multiple witnesses described the victims as unarmed and in custody when they were shot, either in the neck or head, shortly after having been dragged from their homes.
Witnesses described the summary execution of a veterinarian. The Liyu police dragged him from his home and shot him in the head, but when they realized that he was not dead, they slit his throat. The veterinarian’s middle-aged sister told Human Rights Watch:
They entered the home and asked where the man responsible for the home was. There were seven of them. They caught my brother and took him outside. They shot him in the head and then slit his throat. After killing him, they asked my niece where her father’s rifle was, but she could not find the keys and they hit her on the back of the shoulder with the butt of a gun.
Witnesses also told Human Rights Watch that a teenage boy was dragged from his uncle’s home, taken nearby, momentarily interrogated, and then shot. One witness heard him reciting a prayer before being killed. His body was left on the ground near a trash dump. A third victim, an elderly man, was taken from outside his home, interrogated for a short time, and then shot while standing. Several witnesses heard him pleading with the police to spare his life. The fourth victim was also taken from his home and shot shortly after.
At least nine other men were killed by the Liyu police in Adaada, but the circumstances of their deaths are unclear. There was armed resistance to the Liyu police attack, and some of the nine may have been armed. However, according to witnesses, the Liyu police shot several men, in the upper body and head, who were trying to escape. Two men fleeing were reportedly run over by Liyu police vehicles. Abductions, Torture, and Ill-TreatmentDuring the house searches in Adaada, the Liyu police abducted a number of village men and tortured and mistreated several people, including at least three women.
An Adaada resident, one of the first to be taken from his home on the morning of March 17, described to Human Rights Watch his treatment by the Liyu police:
They entered and told my wife to shut up. Four men entered the house with four waiting outside. They came over to me and took me. They also took the gun from my house. They hit me with the butt of a gun and took me to a small river near my home. They tied a belt around my neck. I lost consciousness. They threw me in a berket [small water hole] that was 15 meters deep and then they threw branches over me. There was mud in the berket. I managed to climb up when I woke up.
The Liyu police seriously beat at least three women during house searches in Adaada. A young woman said that Liyu police members who had entered her home beat her after she told them that her husband was absent: “They said I was lying, they kicked me and crushed my head with the back of the gun. I had some injuries in my kidney. I lost a tooth.”
The Director of Immigration department Col Mohamed Yusuf Ali has revealed that there is no change in the country travel patterns following the UK travel advice which warned British citizens not to travel to the country.
Col Mohamed Told reporters during a press briefing that the announcement made by the Uk foreign office and commonwealth affairs has not affected the country’s travel trends in any way what so ever.
“People are coming into the country day every day be it foreigners and nationals alike ,even from the united kingdom , America and the whole world, added the Director of Immigration.
Col Mohamed went on to say “ I want to take this opportunity to sure all those traveling to the country their safety is guaranteed and there is no any reason to be alarmed about the security of the country’.
On the other hand, the head of the immigration department said that I want to confirm to that it is true we are holding some of our officers for misconduct and not corruption as purported in most media outlets.
You would think that the UK would know better than to cry wolf.
On Sunday, the UK government issued a warning urging their citizens to flee Somaliland. According to a statement released by the UK foreign office, there’s danger of “kidnapping for financial or political gain, motivated by criminality or terrorism”.
This bizarre warning has left us Somalilanders stunned and in a state of confusion. The Republic of Somaliland has never been known for danger and terrorism but rather for its peace and democracy.
Many other questions have risen since the warning was issued. How can Somaliland’s stability be compared to Libya’s and Syria’s? What do we have in common with these unstable countries?
Libya just went through a deadly civil war and is getting acquainted with terrorist attacks. Syria is still in a bitter power struggle and the fatalities are rising daily.
Clearly we do not share the same problems as these countries.
Our national security is incomparable considering the fact that we share a border with Somalia. Also, unlike Kenya – a country that has political and economic advantage over Somaliland – we have been virtually untouched by terrorist attacks.
But then again, Britain, like every other nation, has a right to assure the safety of their citizens abroad. Despite that, there should have been proper steps taken to address this matter. Britain should have teamed up with the Somaliland government on this matter and issued an investigation rather than put us in limbo. Our government should not be undermined nor downplayed. Our strength and peace should be aided and commended not ignored.
This attempt at crippling our image should not demoralize us nor put an end to our battle of self-determination.
It is vital that we remain united and continue to prosper and showcase our achievements over the past 22 years.
The truth is – we are not perfect. We might be Africa’s best kept secret, but there is still room for improvement.
We must put an end to the conflicts that were ignited by November’s election. We must put an end to our trivial tribal differences that still linger today. But most importantly, during times like this, we must put aside our political differences and put our nation first.
All these issues are minor compared to what’s going on around Africa, but since we are an unrecognized country, our flaws are magnified more than our achievements.
We are not a nation that hosts terrorism nor are we a country that is headed into political turmoil. We are the nation that shines bright like the moon that covers ours dark skies. And most importantly, we are – and always will be – the most peaceful and stable country in Africa, no matter what anyone says.
Statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Somaliland in response to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s revised travel advice for Somaliland
The Government of the Republic of Somaliland takes its responsibility to protect foreign nationals living and working in the country very seriously. International organizations, multinational businesses and other foreign entities have been operating securely in Somaliland for many years, thanks to the resources we have invested in our security institutions, and the willingness of the general public to cooperate with the Government in defeating security threats from terrorists. We do everything in our power to ensure that the Somaliland security forces are employed to the fullest extent in protecting the public, including foreign nationals living here.
The Somaliland government is investigating thoroughly the specific concerns underlying the change in the travel advice which the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office issued on 27 January. So far our efforts have failed to uncover any evidence to substantiate the information contained in the revised advice.We will continue to investigate until we are fully satisfied that the issue has been addressed. We also have an ongoing dialogue and collaboration with our international partners in this regard, and reiterate our appreciation of the support that Somaliland receives on security matters.
Somaliland has been cooperating with the UK and other foreign governments on many security-related issues for some time now. We have received support for the training of the security forces, as well as on the investigation of specific threats. Somaliland has not only been successful in maintaining its record as a bastion of peace and stability in a volatile region, but has also been a reliable partner to the international community in the prevention of spillover from the instability in the Horn of Africa. We will continue to work with domestic and international partners to ensure a satisfactory resolution to this matter.
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – A suicide bomber blew himself up near the Somali presidential palace on Tuesday, killing at least two soldiers in a strike apparently aimed at the country’s leaders, a palace guard at the scene said.
Officials working in the palace and guards said Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was abroad at the time of the blast and Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon Saaid, whose house was near the site of the explosion, was safe.
The blast was the first this year in Mogadishu, where security has improved greatly since Al Shabaab – Islamist rebels allied to al Qaeda – were driven from the capital by African peacekeepers in late 2011.
The group – which wants to impose its strict version of Sharia or Islamic law – is fighting to topple Mohamud, whose election last year was the first such vote since warlords ousted military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
“The man blew up himself near a wall between the Ethiopian embassy and the Somali PM’s residence,” Ahmed Ali, a Somali soldier at the presidential palace told Reuters.
The two buildings are inside a sprawling compound that also houses the presidential palace.
“One guard died there and then. Another died of his wounds. They were all the guards of the PM,” said Ali. “The man was an al Shabaab defector. He had a gate pass, an identity card of the national security.”
Guards at the palace who declined to be named said the blast partially damaged a small room made of iron sheets where the prime minister’s guards are stationed, but little else was damaged. Buildings and cars within the compound were untouched.
OUSTED FROM URBAN CENTRES
The guards said the bomber was known to them, and frequently visited the palace. When he came by on Tuesday morning, the guards took the suicide bomber through a routine inspection and found he was clad in an explosive jacket.
The guards tried to prevent him from detonating his device, but it went off – killing one instantly and wounding two others.
Al Shabaab was not immediately available for comment on the attack.
The group fled to southern Somalia after quitting Mogadishu but in late September Kenyan troops forced it to withdraw from the port of Kismayu, its last major urban stronghold in the Horn of Africa nation.
That appears to have ended it as a quasi-conventional military force, though Al Shabaab remains a threat and has vowed to step up suicide bombings and hit-and-run attacks.
On January 17 the group said it had executed a captive French agent after a French commando mission to rescue him failed.
The time is now for Somaliland to build a stronger and smarter military.
In Somaliland, there are many naïve people who think that Somalia can be a friend, when in reality, and in the words of the Somalia Prime Minister, “Somaliland is part of Somalia”.
Today, Somaliland is living in a period that could be considered one of the biggest historical turning points in the Somaliland-Somalia relations: The London talks is about to start and Somalia officials are misleading the world over the talks while Somaliland is silent witness.
The international community agreed to finalize the Somaliland-Somalia relations in the upcoming talks, which will set Somaliland free. The world has no option but to accept the demand of 3.5 million for self-determination else Somaliland can continue as democratic and progressive nation without the rest. Somaliland can survive without the aid of the western world, if the London conference brings the sovereignty of Somaliland into question.
Somaliland has stronger case than Somalia because of the following facts: Somaliland has democratic functioning government; it controls its territory; it is financially independent; it has elected president, parliament and municipal council, in addition to multi-party political system; Somaliland democracy is considered one of the best in Africa.
Somaliland enjoys highest human rights record between East African states; Somaliland law protects women and children rights, and childbirth death cases has been dramatically reduced where government of Somaliland provides health services to the majority of its female citizens including in remote areas.
EDNA Maternity Hospital is a point of pride, where the hospital produces many well-trained nurses and midwives, which contributed in reducing the childbirth death rate. Today, EDNA and other similar health training centers cover Somaliland’s need for skilled medical staff. Thousands of Somali women travel from war-torn Somalia and Somali Region of Ethiopia to EDNA to receive medical attention.
Somaliland recreated public services from scratches without outside help, and after Somalia (Siyad Barre regime 1969 – 1991) destroyed the entire infrastructure and killed 60,000 civilians in less than three months – one of the most devastating genocide in the history of east Africa.
Somalia Air Force and Military were used to destroy the cities of Somaliland. Against all odds, Somaliland is helping Somalia in the hardship, where Somaliland government and people donated $700,000 to the hunger-torn people of Somalia during 2011 famine. Somaliland’s donation was highest from an African nation, followed by South Africa with $500,000.
Somaliland citizens enjoy free education equally, which reduced illiteracy rate in last 10 years.
In a contrary, Somalia is depending on foreign aid, where even the salary of the government officials comes from the donors. The Mogadishu regime cannot run the country independently, as it had no administration in last 21 years. Although, the current government declared end of transition period, but it is not different than earlier governments and has no power. The end of the transition is on paper but not in reality.
Somalia is a country on the political map that doesn’t exist in the real ground. Somalia has no government and its people live on international aid agencies. It is a country ruled by Somalians with dual nationalities and have no interest in keeping the country peaceful, because, in case of a war, they will catch the first flight to their luxurious homes in Northern America and Europe. Somalia need to be in the hands of its people, instead of diaspora members who have their families in America and Europe.
Internationally, Somalia is graded lower than Afghanistan in security and services. The shaky government in Mogadishu is functioning under control of the African Union Forces, and even failed to appoint administration to the port city of Kismayo because there are countries who have interest and forces in Kismayo under African Union Forces umbrella, and such countries have the final word in the city.
The arrogant statements over the destiny of Somaliland people by the weak government in Mogadishu, downgrades the importance of upcoming talks during May 2013 in London. The President and Prime Minister of Somalia expressed their reluctance towards fair disintegration of Somaliland from Somalia. This unveils the ugly agenda of the current regime against Somaliland sovereignty, which needs stronger preparation from Somaliland side.
Somaliland has many reasons to build its army including recent undiplomatic statements made by Somalia Prime Minister and President against Somaliland independence. Prime Minister is encouraging Somaliland fugitives by appointing them in his government. In addition to that, first hand reports indicate that Prime Minister of Somalia is preparing conference for some Somaliland tribes against Somaliland and he promised to arm them against Somaliland like Khaatumo militia.
Conclusion:
Somaliland puts peace before violence, however, when the national integrity is under threat and no option is left except to fight , Somaliland has long experience in fighting and will defend its people and sovereignty with all means.
Somaliland must know that danger from Somalia is on its peak and must build and prepare the national army, in order to confront such threat that is coming from Mogadishu.
Military build-up is necessary for Somaliland in both shorter and longer run, because of the volatile region. Somalia had history of invading neighboring countries illegally and Somaliland could face similar unlawful attempts.
The government of Somaliland led by President Siilaanyo must induce National Military Services, where every secondary graduate in Somaliland will go under six months military training. This is part of the military build-up and to stop any illegal attempt to invade Somaliland borders.
Mogadishu, Somalia – Ali Hassan spends his day sitting in a former mosque, now a ramshackle shelter for drug users, idly staring at his cell phone as he waits for it to ring. A gravedigger with more than 20 years of experience, Hassan is finding life in Mogadishu’s newfound stability hard. He became a gravedigger at the height of the civil war, when he used to dig at least 30 graves a day. “I became a gravedigger in 1991, when burying dead bodies was the best business in Somalia.” People who want to bury their deceased family members ring his cell phone to ask him to dig graves for them. He listens religiously to the cacophony coming from downtown Mogadishu for the sound of loud bangs or continuous rounds of fire. “When there is a loud bang, we know it is an explosion. When there is a sustained gunfire, we know something is wrong and people may die. Deaths mean there will be business for us.” However, with gun battles falling in Mogadishu these days, the number of people brought to the cemetery for burial has almost fallen markedly. “Two years ago I used to bury 30 bodies a day, now I bury one if I’m lucky and often I bury none.” The father of four is struggling to put food on the table for his young family. His children have been forced to drop out of school because he can’t afford to pay their school fees. He is struggling to provide one meal a day. After more than 20 years of continuous fighting, Somalis finally seem to be emerging from the dark days of their civil war. “Somalis are tired of fighting. They know now, first hand, that fighting each other brings only two things: death and destruction. Somalis are the biggest driving force behind the return of peace in Mogadishu,” says Abdullahi Mohamed Shirwa, chairman of the Mogadishu-based peace advocacy group Somali Peace Line. Al-Shabab retreat More than 17,000 African Union soldiers are now in the Horn of Africa country to support the weak government in their fight against the hardline rebel group al-Shabab. Under increased military pressure, al-Shabab has retreated from major cities in south-central Somalia. This has moved the frontlines of the war away from populous cities and town, reducing deaths. “Mogadishu is no longer a frontline, and Bakara Market [the biggest market in Somalia] is no longer been shelled and fought over by al-Shabab, Somali government soldiers and African Union (AU) troops, so the number [of] deaths has decline greatly,” said Shirwa. At the height of the civil war, 14 gravediggers used to work seven days a week at Abdirashid Ali Sharmake cemetery, but currently only two remain, one of whom is Ali Hassan. Fifty-one-year-old Mohamed Jama, a father of seven, is the other remaining gravedigger. Jama dug his first grave in 1994 for $30, and never looked back. He remembers the days, just over a year ago, when AU soldiers and al-Shabab were fighting in Bakara Market. “I sometimes use to make about $300 a day when they were fighting in the busy market. Many people were killed and were brought to this cemetery to be buried.” He recounts that business was even better before, when warlords constantly fought for turf, leaving countless people dead. Even though Jama made the most amount of money during those years, he remembers that time as the worst in his career. “Their militias would many times bring live people to the cemetery, then order us to dig graves before executing the people in the graves we just dug right in front of our eyes, telling us to bury them.” Those years continue to haunt Jama: “I don’t like to dig a grave for a person standing next to me begging for mercy.” Some of his colleagues were killed when they refused to dig graves for militias. “Five of my friends were killed when they refused to dig grave for militias when they brought a live person.” Despite those challenges, his seven kids went to private schools and he had a maid helping his wife with housework. The family lived in a four-bedroom rented house, but have now moved from their rented house into a camp for internally displaced persons. The pinch of peace It’s not only the gravediggers feeling the pinch of peace in Mogadishu. The dead bodies brought to Jama for burial are usually wrapped in a white piece of cloth. According to Muslim customs, when someone dies they should be wrapped in a white piece of cloth called kaffan before being buried. With the number of deaths in Mogadishu falling greatly, kaffan sellers in Hamar Weyne have also been left wondering how to make ends meet. “Two years ago we use to sell at least 49 metres of kaffan a day. Now, we barely sell two metres,” sayskaffan seller Mohamed Abdi Khadir. He’s been forced to diversify his target market from selling kaffan for burials to selling it as a tablecloth to new top-end restaurants opening in Mogadishu. “In Mogadishu, if you don’t adapt with the changing currents, you will die.” Jama feels he is too old to change his career. He speaks clearly about what will put food on the table for his family: “For us, we are happy when there are bombs going off and fighting taking place. I have seven children and a wife to feed. “If others don’t die, they will die.” Source: Al Jezeera
