I’m finally back in Somalia after a break for the holidays (and a couple of breaks of my bones). It’s been good to be back. I’m always torn about coming here. I don’t like being away from family but I enjoy being with the team here.
This trip as been limited to just Mogadishu. I needed to get my visa renewed and attend to a few things at our main office. It’s likely that, security permitting, I’ll venture out to field sites on the next trip. I was informed that one of the major media outlets is interested in possibly visiting to cover the drought so that may end up being the focus.
With the complexities of Covid, some challenges with immigration, flight irregularities, insecurity, etc., heading out on a trip such as this is usually fraught with uncertainty. In the end, the travel went relatively smoothly. Admittedly expectations are quite low.
As is my luck, while we were chatting just outside the airport compound, a car hit me from behind. The rear bumper hit me just above the back of the knees and I fell backwards onto the trunk/boot of the vehicle. I rolled to my left and proceeded to land back on my feet, still facing my colleagues. I don’t know what it looked like to others but to me the whole thing felt sort of smooth. That may have been the case since the fixer leaned over, slammed the back of the car with his hand, giving the driver a dirty look, and the conversation continued unabated by the incident. Not a word was said about it.
* * *
 |
| view of the ocean, modest as it is |
Once in the vehicle, we proceeded to exit the airport compound and head to the office. For the first time in five and a half years, I wouldn’t be returning to the office/guesthouse where I’ve spent so much time. A couple of months ago, we initiated a switch to a new office. The former one sat adjacent to the compound of a former president – someone currently active in Somali politics. As such, over the years he kept beefing up security on our road to the point that it became impractical for us to continue staying there. The property was also uncomfortably close one of the most attacked checkpoints in the city. After considerable search, we finally found a new building. The move happened a few of weeks ago and now I would be seeing it for the first time.
After a short drive on the main road, we turned down a dirt side street. It reminds me a bit of downtown Dar es Salaam many years ago when only the main arteries were tarmac (only Dar didn’t have the excuse of years of civil war to blame). As we made our way, we had to weave through about a half dozen cows munching on some roadside rubbish. No boom gates, cement barriers or young guys armed with AK47s. Just cows. I liked it already.
There was, however, a gate, boom gate and armed guards to enter the compound. That’s standard in Mogadishu.
The compound looked clean and nice. Some of my team were waiting in the courtyard when we arrived. I was provided an immediate tour of the place. Similar to our previous building, the facility consists of two main floors of offices with a guesthouse above. What’s cool is that there’s another room on the roof that is destined to be a workout space (with possibly other uses). Best of all is that there’s a view of the Indian Ocean – something that was missing in our previous building. It’s not a massive view but it’s not bad. You can even see waves crashing up against the rocks. Never underestimate something like that for one’s mental health, particularly here.
* * *
Most of the meetings have taken place at the office. I’ve been away for a while so there seems to be a lot of interest in small or individual meetings to sort out issues. I sort of feel like a village elder sitting under a mango tree receiving villagers as they present their various requests. There’s a part of me that would prefer to be out under a mango tree rather than in our guesthouse living room. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice space, but I would love to be outdoors.
The caveat to that is that it’s hot here. It’s not so bad in the shade and there’s quite a bit of wind which helps make it bearable. But the wind has its downside. Because so few roads are tarmac and you have quite a few unbuilt spaces, you get loads of dust and sand in the air this time of year. Directly above, the sky is bright blue but as you shift towards the horizon, it become a dark beige color. It stays that way the whole day, even throughout the night. I cleaned my laptop screen this morning and a couple of hours later I can already see a dusty layer has already accumulated again.
* * *
Usually when I come, I can get away to a restaurant, like the one at Lido beach. It doesn’t make sense this week, both because of limited time and insecurity has been an issue. It may need to wait until the elections are over. I did get out for a meeting with our lawyer followed by a short visit to a nearby café. This place is located near the airport and has good security. Being in the office/guesthouse after a while can be claustrophobic. Heading to the roof and seeing the view is nice but it’s even better to go someplace different. I sat with a colleague and we had a Somali tea. I don’t have it every day. I tend to prefer a traditional English tea mid-afternoon but Somali tea is quite good. It’s basically crushed ginger, cardamon and cloves boiled in the water for about a half hour until the flavor is fully extracted.
The bit where I often draw the line is with the milk. Somalis generally prefer camel milk in the tea whereas I tend to go with cow’s milk (though I think camel is healthier). The difference is partly flavor (camel milk is stronger and has a somewhat musty taste) and partly intestinal. The less you’re accustomed to camel milk, the greater chance of it working as a laxative. I’ve seen visitors power down a glass of camel milk with the smug I’ve-been-around bravado only to see them end up frequenting the loo over the next few hours. Proceed with caution.
* * *
One thing that strikes me about meeting after meeting after meeting with staff is how this mosaic of conversations begins to form an overall image as to what is going on. I do a tremendous amount of reading about the Somalia context from people of different clans and different socioeconomic backgrounds. Prior to the internet, it was generally the upper strata of society that could get published or be included in publications. Nowadays you can get yourself heard on Twitter or other platforms with limited resources. I dedicate a certain amount of time each day/week to perusing all these news sources. I find that the divergence of opinions in the virtual world is reflected in these conversations with staff. One might express with considerable certainty the reason such and such happened. On the heels of that conversation, someone else will say, with as much certainty, that something else was the cause. If you keep asking the same questions, with all the various nuances, the mosaic of answers seems to create a more reliable image of the overall situation. The challenge is that it takes a considerable time investment.
* * *
Back to work. Nice to take a break and do something besides meetings and emails. But now, duty calls.
