A MESSAGE TO MOGADISHU

Arte Moalin

Once Busy Center of Hamarweyne - Photo by Salad Idow Hassan (Xiis)- (HOL) - More pictures ....

Somalia’s capital city of Mogadishu has been in turmoil for over fifteen years and, as if that wasn’t enough, it seems, just now, a new set of fireworks are finding roadways to Mogadishu.

I had long wondered: Is it really the armed factions or the lack of a will on the part of the people of Mogadishu, both old and new residents, who are not committed to the city as one of their own, with the responsibility to fight for its sovereignty, even from those who are of Somali born.

Back in the early 90’s, a group of brave Somalis under the leadership of the late General Aideed, may he rest in peace, found the strength and courage to fight off a military reign of some 21plus years from the city; and when the forces of the United Nations showed up, with a rush to misjudge the commitment of the warriors of the late General, the world, including Hollywood, took notice with few books and a movie called “Black Hawk Down”.

Somewhere along the line since that turning point of Mogadishu’s history, where its then citizens, both old and new, had taken notice of the UN Forces, the city and its leaders had fallen into a black hole where no leaders or public of superior moral values have come to wage patriotic wars on Somalis of interior motives, whether political or religious ideology.

I sat in silence, avoiding any chances of offending religious Somalis when the leaders of the armed factions of the TFG ministries showed up for lunch with the self-declared leader of religious right, Mr. D. Aweys. What I didn’t understand then, and still don’t, is: Why would a man who is supposed to be so religiously right, and superior in moral code of conduct, associate with people who had long waged indiscriminate shelling of the Somali people of Mogadishu, and who robed the people through “illegal roadblocks [isbaaroyin]” as if they were a legitimate tax collecting government that provided the people protection, and all the other services a tax collecting government is expected to provide.

Now, the message to Mogadishu is this: If it hasn’t realized, it is by law the capital city of Somalia and that implies that it ought to, and is expected, to conform to international code of conduct for a capital city. That, a city is not a city on its own, or by a government but by the people who make it of what it is.

For instance, just few hundreds of kilometers north of Mogadishu is a city called “Hargeysa”. Where the late military government fled Mogadishu after the Fearless General Aideed and his warriors showed up, the same military government had demolished Hargeysa to the ground, leaving it to ruin in smoke while its daughters were raped, and its sons shot point-blank, with no remorse.

Today, its citizens, most of whom lived through the horrible days of the bombardment by running to the jungle, or to other neighboring towns in Somalia, or even across to refugee camps in neighboring Ethiopia, have, in memory of the injustice that was committed against them and their citizens, stood up, and built the city to be a living memory to its fallen citizens in the hands of Somalia’s military rule. What a Courage and Will, rather than sitting helplessly, and crying foul against a destroyed military government!
Rather than learning from its sister-city of Hargeysa, it appears the citizens of Mogadishu are full of excuses, like: “Oh, Mogadishu is such a large city that no one but a Government can bring law and order back to city.”

I ask: Who was it that lead to the failure of an existing government in Mogadishu back in the days of the military rule? Was it not the citizens? And if so, then, who can bring law and order to the city? A government? One the likes of the military rule that the people shelled out of the capital city?

I say, what Mogadishu needs is: ITS RESIDENTS. And so long as the ‘z’ in the x + y + z equation is missing, ‘z’ being the pubic while the ‘x’ stands for the warlords and ‘y’ stands for the self-declared religious groups who are, like the warlords, armed to dictate upon the people, the equation can’t and won’t be solved.

There are three groups in Mogadishu. The Warlords. The Self-declared religious groups. And the public.

The warlords are of course unjust; the self-declared religious groups, (who I think would have not come about had there been a functioning government, or the existence of warlords, with both factors having given rise to the birth of armed robbers and killers roaming freely in Mogadishu), are self-imposing upon the people though they have done some good for the people, unlike the warlords. And the public seem to feel like it is not their job to fight for their rights, or that they do not understand there is more arms and ammunition in their possession but only if they realize, communicate, and work together for their own interest.

The public in Mogadishu have enough money, manpower, arms, and ammunition to rid the city of the thieves, robbers, killers, and all the unlawful creators. Rather than collectively standing up to the warlords like they should have done long ago, they decided to die slow deaths in the hands of thieves, killers, and indiscriminate shelling by the warlords, like Mr. Qanyare.

In addition, what interest does it serve the people of Banadir to rid the warlords today and fall victim to the self-declared religious men of Mogadishu tomorrow? Had the public elected the religious members of Mogadishu? Has anyone, that is a government, certified the claims of the religious men of Mogadishu as legitimate religious scholars from credited Islamic Religious Institutions? Or are they like the self-declared Medical Doctors roaming around Mogadishu, prescribing pills for the body while the self-declared religious Doctors prescribe seducing sermons to the soul?

If the people of Mogadishu do not demand, and fight for, the immediate cessation of violence by all groups, and thus return law and order to the city of Mogadishu, who do they expect will do their job? Mr. Abdullahi Yusuf?

Though he is a consensus elected president, the realities are: His children, grandchildren, and immediate relatives are far from Mogadishu. So are the Speaker’s now. As for Mr. Gedi, his family is comfortably living in the Rich Bungalows of Beautiful Nairobi.

The people of Mogadishu have a choice to make. Either stand up, fight off everyone who incites violence in your city, or sit helplessly and hope for the world to come and rescue you, your children, and your neighbor. Or, fight back. Years ago, you fought back against the military government and the UN Forces. You can do the same today. Fight off both the warlords and the self-declared religious men of Mogadishu.

You are equal or even better, in strength and economics, than those in Somaliland and Puntland, and both live in peace while you, your children, and neighbors continue to die slow and meaningless deaths in the hands of so many, such as the warlords, the daily thieves and robbers, and the self-declared religious rights in Mogadishu.

What are you waiting for? Neither of the governments in Somaliland and Puntland were the products of foreign aid. How can you, in the capital city of the nation, want to clean your streets because of foreign aid? If that is your goal, then, how can you argue for Mogadishu remaining the capital of the nation? There are more arms, legs, and living fleshes in Mogadishu than is required to clean the streets, beaches and ports of Mogadishu.

If you don’t clean your won city, what do you expect? The world to pay you in foreign aid just for you to clean where you live and your city?

Perhaps we should crown Hargeysa, Garoowe or even Baidoa the New Capital City of Somalia since the Somali citizens of those cities have shown leadership of a magnificent magistrate.

Mogadishu used to have qualities that no other city in Somalia had: It was a city that had law and order; it was the seating of the nation’s president and ministries; it was a city with embassies and ports; and it was a hub for the world to make a visit to Somalia.

Today, it has no law and order; it seats neither the presidents nor ministries; it has no embassy or embassies from the world;  it has no working regular ports but makeshifts; and it is not a place where a foreign visitors dare to land.

So, what is it?  A place with a name and a lot of helpless people?

Arte Moalin
E-mail: [email protected]