Mogadishu

I’m back in Mogadishu. Solid week of meetings. I would say that it’s an interesting time to work in Somalia but I suppose that would apply all the time. You cannot be bored, particularly if you work outside the “green zone”. I suppose that for those who are relegated to life and work within the fortified walls, life could become repetitive.

No so for me. I arrived on Monday after my routine of a 3:50am wake up, taxi, 6:30 flight. It’s an hour and a half flight. If all went well, I would make my 9am meeting near the airport in plenty of time. There would be a hiccup, of course. After getting through immigration, I found no driver waiting for me. I was initially annoyed since there have been some issues of late with our private security and some of the logistics. But I soon found out that the situation wasn’t entirely their fault. The main gate that we use to move in and out of the “green zone” was not operational that morning causing a number of issues, one of which was funneling most of the traffic through a single entrance. With the extensive and time-consuming security checks, this was causing massive delays. This issue was compounded by an accident not far outside the usable gate. Apparently a truck collided with a police vehicle on the road leading towards the airport. An accident involving a police vehicle is not an ideal situation in any country but even more so here. It appeared that level heads prevailed, though I would not have wanted to be the driver of the truck.

Bad way to start the day

The frustrating part was that my meeting destination was less than a hundred meters from the closed gate and yet it took almost an hour to get there. It would have been far faster to walk but that’s obviously not allowed.

* * *

Over the course of the week, I would have meetings with government officials, a peer international organization, UN, a donor and several internal meetings. Topics varied from flood response, women’s protection and empowerment, human rights, ethics and compliance, security, data collection and monitoring. Meetings were stacked closely together to try to fit everything in. I do like the variety, but I sometimes feel that things move so fast that I don’t get a chance to give any of the engagements the preparation and attention they deserve.

Our drinking water delivered by donkey

In a couple of meetings with staff, I was thinking how much I have built a certain comfort level with my team. People are surprisingly open in spite of me being an outsider. I’ve had staff who have shared sensitive marital issues, health issues (including female issues), etc. In a conservative environment, this is rare. Though someone told me a while back that being the outsider is the very reason they trust me with some of these things. I’m grateful that I have that level of trust with them, but there are times when it borders on too much information.

I was talking to a male staff the other day who told me that in Somalia, “Ladies love drivers and armed men.” When I asked him to elaborate, he went on to say how vehicles and weapons represent a seductive form of power. When I suggested a pen might do the same, he laughed dismissively and continued with his train of thought.

* * *

On Wednesday I had a meeting with one of the government ministries. Those are always a bit more intense than others, partly because you always want to make sure that you are in good graces with the leadership, but also because it can be a logistical and security challenge just to get there and return to the office safely.

I’m aware that even my Somali colleagues feel the same way. I also realize that my presence makes things trickier than it would be otherwise. Though they like having me participate in these engagements, admittedly it does raise the stakes for them from a security standpoint. As we left our compound, one of my team voiced a short prayer.

I should say that public prayers are rather normal in Somalia. Most larger meetings that I’m in, including internal ones, begin with a “dua” where someone in the room is designated, usually by whoever is chairing the meeting, to offer the prayer in Arabic. Such was the case for the meeting that we were attending that day. During the short prayer, a couple of the government staff across the table from me glanced in my direction, likely to see my reaction as an outsider.  I should say, it’s not super common for a Westerner to attend these ministry meetings outside the “green zone”. Most in the international community do not have security authorization to venture into the city and attend these types of engagements sometimes it can be sort of a novelty.

* * *

Darkening skies

On the way to the meeting, it was raining, lightly at first and then the skies opened up. Not far from our office, you need to go through a major security checkpoint. It’s located at a rather low point and a huge amount of water was collecting around the boom gates and security barriers. By the time we reached the other side, the water was completely flooding the streets. Visibility was poor as we weaved our way around stalled vehicles. Donkeys with their carts were standing in the median or on the roadside. I have seen flooding in Mogadishu but never anything like this. The streets had essentially become streams that were knee-deep.

Flooded roads

As we arrived at the ministry compound, I was thinking that this is probably the best time to have a visit like this, at least from a security standpoint. There is no record of terrorist attack during flooding. Rightly so. Would certainly dampen the intended impact.

* * *

For now, the rain persists in many parts of the country. Communities that had suffered a couple of years of drought are now inundated with water. I continue to campaign for massive investments in capital watershed management projects that would contribute to leveling off the impact of these extremes in weather. In the long run, it would be cheaper than rushing in with humanitarian response each time. But so far, there’s a lack of interest in these types of projects. Until then, we are at the mercy of the ever-increasing impacts of climate change. And as people continue to make war around the globe, valuable resources will be diverted away natural disasters. It’s the shaping of a bleak future.