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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
The Killers of the People Enjoy Impunity as they Kill the Children from the Cradle Printable Version PRINTABLE VERSION
by ABUKAR ALBADRI, Somalia Mar 29, 2006
Peace & Conflict   Short Stories
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The Killers of the People Enjoy Impunity as they Kill the Children from the Cradle Mogadishu (GLED) –after four days of heavy fighting that engulfed more than 75 people, the situation of Mogadishu is still a dilemma, and the people are worrying about another possible war.

Both parties are still threatening each other and the people are confused; as if the other fighting will take the lives of many other people.

A mission team from GLED Somalia visited the hospitals and the war areas to assess the situation and help those who were still in the war areas without a way to escape.

The GLED team met in Madina Hospital, where a 3 month old young girl called Amina Zahra Moalim, who was seriously wounded in the arms and the stomach was being treated.

The team had an interview with Amina’s Mother, and asked how her infant was victimized. The gloomy mother, crying replies,“The fighting was the misfortune of my daughter, because she was only 85 days into this world. Now she is a victim, and nobody is trying to punish those who harmed my child”, She added that, “the bullets hit her arm and stomach, and I am afraid that she will be mentally retarded because she banged her head on the ground when she bounced from the bed... [due to] the reaction of the missile that destroyed the house”.

Amina’s situation is very critical and she is the youngest victim in the fighting. Her family is very poor: her father is a teacher and her mother kept a small kiosk in front of their house. However, the storms of missiles destroyed their house and wounded Amina, destroying the kiosk in the process.

The perpetrators of the cases like these are members of the transitional federal government (TFG), and want to make the blood of the people like a bridge to reach political positions.

Most of the education sectors are still closed; the people are alert to flee, while more than 180 wounded remain in the hospitals - those the GLED Team visited on Tuesday-Monday.

Ugaso Sharif 23, pregnant mother of two children, was paralysed by bullets in her backbone. She is in a very serious situation, and the doctors told her that they can’t do any thing for her. Ugaso says that, “..A week [before], I was working [for the] survival [of] my kids; but now I am paralysed, and I feel very helpless. I don’t have money to go outside the country, and the doctors told me that they have no way to safe my life”. She adds that, “my house was destroyed, and my children are in [a state of] displacement, while the perpetrators are still announcing another war”.

The situation is very critical; the people are hopeless and the phenomenon has evolved into another war that will destroy the lives of the rest of the people.

The fighting not only affected Amin, but others were extremely affected as well. Elmi Mohamed Ahmed, a 13 year old child who was seriously wounded in the stomach and other parts of his body, but recovered after four hours of surgery, told GLED; “I was preparing to go to school with my younger siblings. Unfortunately, the fighting started; three of us were seriously wounded and my younger sister died”.

Uneasy efforts are maintained by some well-known moderate religious leaders; but still don’t seem to have the means to bring the warring parties together at the same table, as the fighting factions maintain the energy to fight and kill more people without any accountability for thier actions.

Why do the people feel that they are in a dilemma? The people are nervous about the situation that they are facing at moment and that they will face in the future.

Prof. Abdulkader Mohamed Osman, a lecturer at the Somali Institute of Management and Administration Development (SIMAD Institute) in Mogadishu, expresses his anxiety about the future of the country.
Osman says,

“I am worrying how the things are going on; the Sharia courts seem to have defeated the warlords and want to take power in the capital city. If the Islamists succeed to power, the United States may attack Somalia like they did Afghanistan and Iraq, pursuing, allegedly, Alqaeda members. If the warlords succeed, the security will worsen and the killings of innocent people will continue".

Aweis Nur Abukar, Secretary General of the Somali Youth Development Network, in agreeance says, “I don’t believe that one of the rivals will fully succeed, but the result is the massacre of the people and displacement of the rest”. He believes that ,“The international community can send all of them to the International Criminal Court in the Hague, and charge them withwar crimes, because they [have] committed war crimes and violated the arms embargo in the country”.

Anfa Amin, the GLED deputy chairlady says, “as the fighting is going [on], the arms embargo is violated and the gun dealers order new frighting”. She adds that, “If the UN waits more years, these warlords will finsih the people and they will kill like the beasts”.

The Islamists started propaganda, offering CD-Rom video clips about the fighting, edited with some of their aims, which were intended to gain the public opinion in the Cyber-cafés.





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ABUKAR ALBADRI


My Personal Identity:
I am Abukar Albadri; I am a Somali citizen. I live in Mogadishu at this moment, but was born in Hudur, the City of Bakol Region of Somalia, 450 Kms from west of the Capital City. I am 27 years old.

Educational Background:
I am Bachelor's Degree of Journalism holder; I gained the Certificate from the Indian Ocean University in Mogadishu.

Job:
Professionally, I am Journalist; I work for the Spanish News Agency (EFE) as their Somali reporter.
I am member of the National Press freedom Committee, and a member of the Somali Journalists Society. I am a member of the Board of Directors.

Besides that, I am Youth Rights Activist; I was working for Youth Advocacy in Somalia since 1996, when The ELMAN PEACE CENTRES in Mogadishu trained me in Youth Leadership and Organizational Development.

Now, I am the chairman of GREEN LEAF FOR DEMOCRACY (GLED Somalia), the wider and broader youth-led organization in Somalia, an organization that supports youth organizations to succeed in implementing their visions.
Since The love affectionate affected me in 2001 I started to be part of the poetry world and created many poems in Somali language and many others in English and Arabic.

Projects:
GLED is running small projects.
1. Vocational Training: GLED is running three centres intended to provide skills to the youth, especially those rehabilitated from the Militias.
2. ICT: GLED runs an ICT centre in Mogadishu, but the project didn't succeed in getting enough funds to cover all their ICT needs. However, it's going very well.
3. Peace education: Peace education program through Media.
4. Community safety Program: GLED runs a Community safety campaign as part of the ControlArms Campaign for the UN PoA. GLED in Collaboration with International Action Network on Small arms (IANSA), Amnesty international and Oxfam is running the Million Faces Petition and the Lobby for the Arms Trade Treaty (to be Ratified as Constitutional in Somalia).
5. Messenger for Peace: GLED Somalia Runs a Bimonthly bulletin called the Messenger for Peace and it published an issue about social security and community development.
6. Media and HIV/Aids Project: GLED is running a one year project for the media and HIV/Aids Reporting; 30 Journalists were trained to report on HIV/Aids.

Programs attended as a volunteer:
From 2002 – 2005 I used to organize events on Global Youth Service day, I was organizing the Youth to do voluntary Jobs for the community.
GYSD in 2005, I organized an event in which the Students in Mogadishu planted 2000 trees in the schools and public places to show the people the importance of the environment.
From 2003 – 2004 I was a Volunteer Teacher for UNICEF, and taught literacy lessons to youth over 18 as NFE (non formal education).
Now I am a Community Psychosocial Helper, and am expecting to start Psychosocial training for the Youth organization in 2006; UNICEF Somalia will support that Project.
I ran the Global Week of Action against Small arms in June 2005 as the national coalition Team leader.
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