     Disgusted | Sunday, March 04, 2001 - 11:42 am
My recent visit to Somalia has changed me drastically forever. After almost 15 years of being away from my country I left Toronto, Canada on January 12, 2001 hoping to visit all my family in many parts of Somalia. My first destination in Somalia was Hargeisa where I planned to stay for few days to visit my sister in low. The beauty of the city immediately struck me. Hargiesa airport was calm and quite and even though it was far from being like any other airport in the western countries or like any country that lives in peace, but Hargeisa authorities had made sure that the passengers ware not bothered and that they got to their destinations and families safely. My sister in low and her family welcomed me graciously but what impressed me most were the tenderness and the politeness of the people of Hargeisa. This was to the contrary of every thing I was told when I was in Toronto.
My next stop was Bossaso. Its airport was not any thing like Hargiesa's. People rushed to the airport as soon as our plan landed. We could have easily lost our passports and belongings. However as soon as we left the airport we saw how cosmopolitan the city had became. I have never seen both Hargeisa and Bossaso and I did not know how they looked before the military regime, but from what I gathered from the natives, Bossaso had grown three folds and its population had increased more than five folds. I estimated close to 100,000.00 people living in that city now. This was a city driven by business and every other day ships from the Middle East docked to the Bossaso port. However the most important thing was that Bossaso was also as calm and peaceful as Hargiesa.
After almost a week in Bossaso I left for Galcaio where my father was born before he moved to Mogdisho and made it home and as you can guess I still had family there. It was my first time ever in Galcaio as well. The city was divided in to 4 small districts and every clan lived in their quarter. You could still sense a bit of hostility and easiness among the natives, however the elders and community leaders of that city were doing a great job keeping the peace. Further more, people still remembered what happened in 1991 and didn't want that tragedy to happen again.
It was the first week of February when I flew to Mogadishu. We landed at Bali-Dogle airport at noon. Comparing to the other two airports, this was very much like the one in the jungles of Columbia that we always see in the movies where drug users use to export their drugs. Though at the time of my arrival there was a talk that the new government would take it over, it was still controlled by young men who were carrying AK-47 and ridding in Technicals. There was no law and order what so ever. The airport looked more like a family owned and run business. After a few hours of confusion, we finally managed to leave for Mogdisho. If you think the road to Mogadishu was safe dream on my friends. We had been stopped several times during our short trip to Mogdisho and often we had to pay money. If you think that was the only reason why I am made--- read on.
Mogadishu was destroyed beyond recognition there was no one single construction you could recognize if you lived Mogadishu during Siad Barre's regime. There were many places where anyone would tell not to go. Peace was almost non-existence. Businessmen and women of Hamar had bodyguards whom they paid regularly. The residents of the city were as depressed and unhappy as you could ever imagine. I visited many prominent places that I knew when I was growing up in Mogadishu and there were all gone.
Surprisingly though, people didn't even care or bother the way Mogadisho looked. I couldn't understand whether this was because they too took part the destruction of this once most beautiful and populated city in the whole Somalia or they got tired asking. I asked though, was it Said Barre who did this? My friends the answers that I received even shocked me more. Though Siad Barre did destroy, it was the uncontrolled and disciplined militias led by Aided and USC. "It was like a storm" said one of my relatives "no one predicted this, we got tired of Siad Barre's corrupted regime and wanted him out but we didn't think they would destroy everything and drive away the innocent people of Mogadishu", tears came to my eyes and did not know what to do. Until now, I ask how this unimaginable destruction happened and I wonder if Mogadishu will ever be the same again. One of my friends asked me when I was still in Mogadishu "What did you expect when you were living your country in such a larger numbers? Did you not know that (Reer Badiye will take over)?"
I am mad because many of Somalia is controlled these thugs and the innocent peace loving Somalis are held hostages in the capital of Somalia. I mad because that the new government is even contemplating recruiting these criminals in the countries police force. Moreover, I am mad that the so called "Reer Magaal" and educated Somalis are abroad calling each other names and bragging about the destruction caused by these thugs.
It may be too late to safe Somalia but if we don't get together and find away to make a drastic changes to eliminate these thugs and find an everlasting solution to our minor problems our heritage and existence as Somalis will be gone forever. |
