By Abdi-Noor Haji Mohamed
Though the level of danger has dropped considerably in Mogadishu following the eviction of warlords from their strongholds, there are still high chances to walk into danager as a result of the access to weapons by all people at all ages including children. The well-to-do business people and company managers or representatives of UN Offices move with the escort of armed staff who are equipped with the most dangerous firearms including machine guns and hand gernades.
Sometimes it happenes that the untrained militia unexpectedly come to a serious security situation which needs to be handled very carefully before starting to shoot. But they open fire without waiting any instruction from anybody, thereby killing innocent people to save their boss. Time and again it happens that a bullet escapes from one of the escort staff and takes the life of a another militia in the same vehicle or hit an innocent child in the roadside. Even in the houses where people keep weapons of all sorts, the danger of dying from firearms is still as high as it was before the warlords were chased out. Because of the mishandling and the access family members have to these weapons, the chances of using them improperly is high. But danger has diminished for bus users who move within the city.
Check points are much more safer than they were before, hardly one hears any gunshots at those places which were known as Mogadishu's "Death Points" As flare-ups are no more erupting in the market places and virutally at all locations in the city, the life expectancy of the ordinary man milking his foot to move around has increased. He or she has now more chances to live than to die from gun wounds. I belong to this group and i am happy with the Islamic courts efforts to clean the city from the blood-thirsty warlords who wanted no power, no government, no nation, no state but to suck the blood of the innocent people.
Despite these security improvements still one has to be careful. Some observers say the city is deceptively quiet, one should mind his steps. Following is a poem dedicated to all Somali peace lovers who know no tribal boundaries and who defend the rights of people regardless of their clan origins.
Brother brother, Hey brother
Feel free my dear brother
But be careful brother
Within lack of freedom
People enjoy freedom
They are free to move
Yet they can't move freely
Movements invite danger
But safety lives inside danger
Without being in danger
One can't be safe from danger
From the depths of danger
People must seek safety
Some move with armed escort
They move with a moving danger
Others need arms to move
Unarmed movers are at risk
You are a civil society activist
You carry no guns, no bombs
Love and peace are your weapons
May Allah protect you Peace Lover
Abdi-Noor Mohamed
e-mail: [email protected]
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