Remembering an unsung Somali humanitarian worker

Ayub, also transliterated Ayuub, is an orphanage centre on the edge of the port city of Merka, in southern Somalia. in this center, hundreds of hapless orphans, male and female who have been wallowing in the streets or lived with out caretaker in squalid IDP camps are fed, schooled and given shelter. The biological parents of these children perished during the heinous civil war, either by bullet or for hunger. Ayub orphanage center was set up by an unsung heroine and humanitarian worker Mana Suldan Abdirahman Ali Ise widely known "Mana Xaajow", a fame personality in lower Shebelle region, with the help of an international organization called water for life (WFL) headquartered in TRENTINO ALTO ADIGE province of Italy- a former colony of southern Somalia.

Mana has been toiling hard for many years to educate and feed these children to build their future. As, an interest to the children and their future is sine qua non of teaching & helping children Mana had the caliber of a humanitarian worker, she was always motivated by her inner feeling and belief that children are the cornerstone of the every society´s development, her humble and affable character earned her the love of her coworkers, partners and Somali society at large, her serene face inspired hundreds of children in Ayub orphanage center who called her MAMA MANA and those scattered in every corner of lower Shebelle region. During her career as relief worker which dates back during 1980s but intensified during the civil war in Somalia, she faced intimidations, death threats and several work related impediments but she never give up. The successive administrators of lower Shebelle region had tried to politicize her humanitarian work to extort her money to finance their self-aggrandizement activities in the region but she had adroitly managed to continue her work for the benefit of these needy and abandoned children. Her determination to work and advocate for the women and children never waned.

Mana suldan Abdirahman, the director WFL Somalia was not only working for the betterment of the life of the children but involved in several capacity building projects in lower Shabelle region like digging water canals, providing capital for small scale farmers.
WFL under the supervision of mana suldan Abdirahman managed to build and run several schools in lower Shebelle like; Shalambood, C/Minye, Mushaani, Waagadi, Jannaale, Ugunji, Buulo mareer, Golweyn and Gaywarrow-all are villages in the region.

Mana Suldan Abdirahman passed away on 14kii December 2007 for heart attack.
One of staff of the center told me that they could not dare to inform Ayub children the disheartening death of their Mama- Mana suldan Abdirahman for many days. After her death her sister Fatima Suldan Abdirahman succeeded her to continue the charity work initiated by her sister but unfortunately Fatima was abducted on 30/06/2008, while she and 4 of her colleagues were travelling on the road between Merka and Mogadishu on their way to Italy.

The abduction of Fatima Suldan Abdirahiman;

An eyewitness travelling with Fatima at the day of the abduction said;
"we, a delegation of WFL from Merka were heading to Mogadishu Airport to attend a conference to be held in Italy, our trip started from Merka 110 km south of Mogadishu, after arduous journey with twists and turns because of the roughness of the unpaved road we reached N0.50 village just 50 km south of Mogadishu, when we reached N0 50 village I and my driver returned back to Merka to collect some documents we left behind and commutted again to Mogadishu, we have been in regular contact with Fatima via our mobile phones but, while they were a stone throw to Mogadishu and I was talking to one of her entourage suddenly the line dead and on subsequent attempts to reach them did not work. Later we learned that Fatima and her colleagues Mohamud Abdi Osan, Ali Maow, Mohamed Haji and their driver Mohamed Ise Bil were abducted. Hitherto no one claimed the responsibility of her abduction; all on going efforts to find any clue that could help reach and negotiate with her abductors failed, no one knows if they are still a live or killed".

Plea

WFL is a charity organization dedicated to help the needy people of Somalia especially those live in lower Shebelle, it never involved in politics and sided with any faction or a group of the warring parts of Somalia, it was people oriented in fulfilling its tasks by taking into account the priorities of its target groups as well as the culture and norms of its beneficiaries, so, Ayub orphanage children and WFL family in Merka, call upon those who hold Fatima Abdurahman and her colleagues captive to release her, so that she could continue her work which is the raison d'être of hundreds of young children who need her support.

They also, for the benefit of these young children call on Somali traditional elders, human right activists and all peace loving people in Somalia and around the world especially in Italy -who might have an influence in Somalia- to stand and work hard for the release of Fatima Suldan Abdirahman and her colleagues.




Photo: late Fatima Suldan Abdirahman
more information about Ayub orphanage Centre and Mama Mana could found here;

http://www.portal-info.ro/video/videoclip-ayuub_1_3-806048.html
http://www.portal-info.ro/video/videoclip-ayuub_3_3-806068.html

Somali war criminals to ICC, the timing is ill-advised

UN secretary general’s special envoy to Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, recently proposed the formation of an international commission mandated to probe killings and atrocities committed by the warring parts of Somalia during the 18 years of inter clan warfare. Ahmedou Ould Abdallah also called on the Security Council to adopt a resolution authorizing the international criminal court in Hague to indict and prosecute the perpetrators of war crimes in Somalia.

Apropos the call of Ambassador Ould Abdallah, I do believe in terms of the timing it is counterproductive that such a high ranking UN diplomat who sponsored the peace talks between the transitional federal government and the alliance for the re-libration of Somalia-the first victory Mr. Ould-Abdallah has chalked up during his career as a UN especial representative for Somalia -to make such a call in this transitional period where the major players of Somali’s fratricidal war are involved in the peace process and elected Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as a president in a bid to end Somali quagmire. To prosecute and sentence those who were behind the ruthless and vicious killing that took place in Somalia is quintessential justice that every Somali is yearning for and many Somalis are well prepared to take part the fray and testify against those who ordered the killing of their families or fellow citizens but the lingering question is; is it the right time to embark on bringing Somali war criminals before justice?.

The totalitarian rule of the former president of Somalia Mohamed Siyad Bare and his barbaric actions that favored his kinsmen on the price of other Somali tribes triggered the popular uprising spearheaded by some Somali clans to get rid of his rule but misfortunately the odious crimes committed during his presidency and the legacy of that era pitted against two of the major Somali clans Hawiye and Darod. When the clan internecine erupted in Somalia January 1991, the civilians have taken the brunt of the heavy missiles exchanged by the warring clans or direct cold blood killings carried out by the marauding militias, it all started spontaneously when ordinary folks took the arms from the military barracks and turned against each other although some prominent community leaders both traditional and political were in cahoots with the notorious clan militias who mercilessly killed their Somali brothers and sisters.

Malignant Clan warlords and their protégés might have masterminded or ordered acts that could be classified as war crimes like; Willful killing, torture or inhumane treatment and Unlawful wanton destruction or appropriation of property and their ilk but some times there is no correlation between the leadership and atrocities while other times the leader did actually ordered mass killing, rape and instigated clan animosity.

Its not the right time to prosecute those who were responsible for war crimes in Somalia because it might hinder the peace process currently underway since Somalia is tribal community and the clan whose leader or tribesman is indicted might give him a save haven and its implication might be devastating like; acts of retaliation against whom they believe is behind his indictment or might supposedly extradite him to the international criminal courts.

On 17th October 2005, Swedish police in the town of Lund, southern Sweden, arrested Abdi Hassan Awale Qeybdid the commissioner of Somali police force during Abdullahi Yusuf’s tenure, Swedish police took Abdi Qeybdid from his hotel and sent him to the prison on the charge of war crime after another Somali living in Sweden testified that Mr. Awale has participated the execution of two men in Somalia.

Abdi Qabdid who is also the de facto commissioner of Somali Police, was among a visiting Somali delegation to participate a conference on the peace of Horn of Africa. The news of his arrest reverberated across Somalia and Sweden -where a large community of Somalia lives-, hundreds of Somalis in Mogadishu took to the streets in support of Abdi Qebdid and demanded his immediate release. They were steadfastly demanding the release of a warlord whose henchmen had fired in late 1990s mortar shells to Bakara Market -one of the biggest Market in Mogadishu, specially the jewelry Market where dozens of jewelers were massacred, the same Mogadishu residents demonstrated in favor of Abdi Qadid for simple reason that he is their kinsman.

This shows how clan loyalty might challenge any future arrest warrant for Somalis who were responsible for the killing of other Somalis and if current initiative to set up the proposed commission goes a head through UN, it will spur them to entrench themselves in clans and reject the establishment of a functioning government in Somalia particularly in the south.

Oul-Abdallah tried to juxtapose Somalia case that of the other countries like Congo where the murders were sent to the international criminal courts in Hague but the war in Congo is different from that of Somalia in terms of sociopolitical situations of the two countries, the only similarity is the massive civilian casualties of the two wars.

To bring justice those who ordered or took part the killing of innocent people will come in a later stage, when current pacification process is successful and Somalis agree on a modus vivendi and Sheikh Shrif’s government stands on its feet, when this condition is met, Somalis have more options to consider;

To establish truth and reconciliation commission like that of South Africa after apartheid era, the victims of the war and the perpetrators appear before the this committee to be heard and testify respectively, the criminals might be granted amnesty or prosecuted, this will necessitate new laws to be enacted by the parliament.

So set up in side the country a special tribunal, similar to Nuremberg Trials after World War I &II, those charged with war crimes and instigation of clan hatred during the civil war are prosecuted.

International criminal court in Hague to deal with the case of Somali war crimes and all those charged should be sent to ICC for trail..