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………..