A Prayer for Peace

A Prayer for Peace

As soon as I was allotted my room and I had managed to freshen up, I headed to office. I had lot of briefings lined up for the afternoon. These were pretty routine and administrative till I reached the security briefing. The first step in that was being allotted a bullet proof vest, helmet and a radio set. Fun! It felt a bit like movies honestly and I was excited to do my Charlie delta tango training on the radio.

As the briefing progressed to actual situation on ground, recent threats, possible scenarios in the next few months, the impending withdrawal of the African Union forces, Operation Black Lion (more on that later), El Nino threats, the acquisition of some sophisticated rockets by the Al Shabab…… I was tempted to call Ethiopian Airlines to book my return flight. What had I got myself into? For a civilian with a generally low appetite for risks, this was now getting a bit more serious than a Hollywood action thriller. The only bright part of this was that atleast my desk at office was next to the bunker, which basically is the conference room for the office. 6 steps and I can spring to safety. Yes you heard it right, we have a bunker in our office and a couple in the living area and one of the first things you learn is the location of these and how you get to them safely if you can when you hear the alarm.

And from the moment I landed ofcourse, I have been made aware that this security briefing is nothing compared to the simulation safety training that is compulsory for all UN staff which would give me real life scenarios of the kinds of situations we may have to deal with. Anyway, mine was scheduled for some weeks later so I did not really give it much of a thinking and focused on settling in and getting used to this new surrounding.

Essentially all of the UN and other international security forces operate from a compound attached to the airport. Within this UNICEF has its own compound with our office and residential areas next to each other. It is not a bad space given the circumstances with a pool and gym and individual rooms for all of us and a common eating place. Without my advanced security training, I can move in vehicles between compounds but not outside of this larger airport complex for now.

While I gradually started to understand work and dive right into it as is UNICEF norm, I was beginning to also feel quite settled in the new environment. Weekends were spent at the beach and brunch at the famous international centre here and a pool side party with colleagues, some grocery shopping, even exploring coffee shops in Mogadishu, one started to feel brave even!

Ofcourse the colleagues who have been around were always sharing their words of caution of not to take security lightly and I just kept saying in my head that they are just paranoid. And then the bubble burst. This one night when our security notification would not stop flashing incidents and the dreaded one to say that the airport compound was under attack as well. We were to shelter in place and not move out and even after the all clear, the security lockdown was imposed for another few days where we could not step out of the compound as well.

And ofcourse a morbid part of me cannot help but add to ongoing stress so I ended up watching Captain Phillips, Black Hawk Down and the White Widow in one night and being convinced that either the pirates, Al Shabab or general conflict will be my undoing. Ofcourse it was no co-incidence that these security incidents also marked the anniversary of the more well known Black Hawk down or the Battle of Mogadishu.

The Battle of Mogadishu was fought on 3–4 October 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, between forces of the United States—supported by UNOSOM II—against the forces of the Somali National Alliance (SNA) and armed irregular citizens of south Mogadishu. On 3 October 1993, U.S. forces planned to seize SNA’s General Farah Aidid’s, two top lieutenants during a meeting deep in the city. The raid was only intended to last an hour but morphed into an overnight standoff and rescue operation extending into the daylight hours of the next day. Somali forces shot down three American Black Hawk helicopters, with two crashing deep in hostile territory. A desperate defense of the two downed helicopters began and fighting lasted through the night to defend the survivors of the crashes. In the morning, a UNOSOM II armored convoy fought their way to the besieged soldiers and withdrew, incurring further casualties but rescuing the survivors.

 

We have just emerged from the anniversary of this bloody incident without any major harm and a prayer for peace………..

 

 

A Soft Landing

 

When you land in Mogadishu airport, the touchdown along the ocean is such a stunning sight that it takes your breath away for a minute.

Somalia is part of the Horn of Africa with a long coastline extending from the Gulf of Aden and down the eastern coast of Africa along the Indian ocean.  Somalia is interestingly Africa’s most culturally homogenous countries with 85% of the population ethnic Somalis and following Islam. Unlike many countries even the language is common across the country. It is therefore surprising to see the country so torn by conflict. Historically, by virtue of the coastline, it was a trade hub and then colonized by both British and Italian forces. In the 1960s they finally got independence and formed a civilian government. By the end of the decade, a military government headed by Said Barre took over, at the same time countering the move for independence in northern Somalia or Somaliland. By the early 1990s Said Barre’s government collapsed plunging the country into a civil war and conflict which it never recovered from. Attempts to have transitional governments and interventions of the western and African Union forces since 2006, has tried to deal with the insurgency and return some semblance of governance to the country. A provisional constitution was also passed in 2012, however many parts of the country continued to be under conflict with also a rise in the presence of Al Shabab militancy. Even now the federal government is not fully recognized in northern parts of Somaliland and Puntland and the southern- central parts remain conflict affected. Add to this the dimensions of climate change, drought and an economy wiped out from years of conflict and we have the right ingredients for a very fragile state.

So back to me and touching down in Mogadishu or as is known Mogadiscio (leftover Italian colonial influence). The awe at the beauty of the runway was short-lived as I walked into a chaotic terminal building, cleared immigration and was immediately surrounded by porters at luggage collection. There is a carefully crafted local economy of the porters and it is advisable to just use one to help you out the first few times. The other thing is that your cell phone will not work even if you activate its roaming because apparently no global service provider has services here. Thankfully I had been tipped to look for someone who is known as the ‘UNICEF’ porter who actually found me and helped me connect to the driver waiting outside.

The walk out of the airport to the car was a chilling experience. We read so much about the security and here we were walking through a crowded market lane kind of a place to unmarked vehicles lined up outside. Every fibre in my body was screaming this goes against all my security training, but the porter was confidently leading the way and I had no option but to follow. UNICEF vehicles are mostly unmarked, and the drivers just carry a small placard inside for identification so we know we are in the right one. Ofcourse it could jolly well have been a kidnapper with a UNICEF placard and I would not have known the difference and happily gone along only to realise later maybe that my country would be least interested in any kind of negotiation for my release or ransom. Mercifully these thoughts came to me later and not in that moment.

Good news was that it was not a kidnapping and I was then safely driven through bunkered roads and high wall lined streets to the UNICEF compound which would be my world now it seems for as long as I stay here in Somalia. Office and residences are in the same compound and while movements are allowed between compounds inside a larger airport compound, these also can get restricted at security alerts as I would find out soon enough.

Yes! I do!

 After a very long hiatus am trying to revive my habit of writing through this really old blog I had created in a moment of inspiration. This time it is to try and keep a track of the experiences of my recent move to Somalia for working at the UNICEF Mission here as a Child Protection Manager. I believe this is a very interesting transition for me both personally and professionally and hope that this will get a bit more interest than my previous posts which I think had all of nine and a half hits. So here goes.......

That moment when I got the offer letter for a position in Somalia was a strange feeling of elation and an overwhelming dread. What had I done! Was contemplating going to work in the world’s most dangerous place my midlife crisis? Do I need to learn pirate language in case I am taken hostage by the famous Somali pirates? So many thoughts, each worse than the other.

So I did what I do best to deal with uncertainty, started looking content on Somalia on the one and only Dr Google. And ofcourse it did what it always does even when you ask about common cold, it confirms your worst fears of a terminal disease and sure doom. Within minutes I saw media stories about it being the most dangerous place in the world, a travel vlog where said person apparently entered without a visa as a tourist and then nearly died of some mortar fire, and images of horrific attacks on civilians and UN Staff.

So clearly this route would not work for me to prepare myself for a move to Somalia. I borrowed a bit of all this ‘positive thinking’ influencers on social media, people I normally would like to block and curse for toxic positivity. But you know desperate times call for desperate solutions.

So I started doing the pros of this and decided to completely block out the cons for the moment.  First and foremost the role was very interesting, where I would be heading two pillars of work in child protection in Somalia on systems strengthening and adolescent development. This was more the development aspect of UNICEF’s work here while a major part of the overall focus of the work continues to be humanitarian. But Somalia had signed off the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 2015, making it the second last country to have done so in the most widely ratified world treaty. (Any guesses which is now the last and only country left to sign this document?). So this provided a basis for a nascent child protection system to be visualized in the country and a real opportunity of some basic work that could lead to sustainable child protection solutions in a state still fragile from conflict, climate change and poverty.

Conversations with colleagues who were in Somalia working now or in the past also seemed to confirm that there is a positive change in the country, conflict though still prevalent has reduced, the security situation is improving visible also with UNICEF expanding work in more and more areas across the country and overall, a good work environment. And the most compelling mission of UNICEF and boots in the mud for the most complex places of our work, kind of pep talk by colleagues.

So with some courage, tons of support of the partner and his willingness to take on child and household care, and a daughter who thought this would be an interesting experience in my career, I took a big leap of faith aided by a big gulp of gin or more, and said Yes! I Do!

Two months and tons of work to wrap up work and wind down a household, which reminded me again that I may need to seek help on my hoarding behaviour if I get out of Somalia alive, a zillion farewell parties and goodbyes with the family where I insisted on repeating my will for some effect and drama, there I was at the airport to board my Ethiopian Airlines flight to Mogadiscio.

 

To be continued………….