STOP PRESS

SOMALIA: Interview with Zara Ali Muki, displaced by latest Mogadishu fighting

11 Apr 2006 14:28:05 GMT

DOBLEY, 11 April (IRIN) - Zara Ali Muki lost her leg in 2004, when freelance militia fired on a vehicle she was riding in in Mogadishu, Somalia. Her life was in danger once again at the end of March, when she was forced to flee the latest factional fighting in the capital city. With the help of friends and relatives, she escaped in a van to Dhobley, a small town on the Somali- Kenyan border. The clashes between the Islamic court militia and militia loyal to an alliance of Mogadishu-based warlords killed more than 100 people and displaced hundreds of families from the capital. As Zara fled the fighting, her vehicle was attacked and one passenger was killed. Her future uncertain, she now waits at the border with a group of displaced men, women and children and worries about the elderly parents she left behind in Mogadishu.

QUESTION: Why did you leave your home in Mogadishu?

ANSWER: I left because there was a lot of fighting going on - bad fighting - and they were getting ready to start again. They were beating the drums of war. We decided to leave because we are civilians.

Q: In which area of Mogadishu do you live?

A: I am from Karan [north Mogadishu], the area close to the fighting. I live in El Man, near the port [the epicentre of hostilities]. I was where the fighting actually started, so I left.

Q: Did people know that fighting was going to break out?

A: No, we were not expecting it. We had no idea it was going to happen - it was just on top of us. We had to jump over the dead bodies. There were a lot dead.

Q: Do you think it is all right now? Has it calmed down?

A: It’s not going to stop, and it’s not going to cool down. The two sides are facing each other. They are making more technicals [battlewagons mounted with heavy weapons] every night and reorganising. Every night we see and hear the welding. We can’t sleep.

Q: What was life like in Mogadishu before the latest fighting?

A: It was normal. We had to run through checkpoints. We are used to that - we live through that checkpoint harassment. We stay because we don’t have any other place to go.

Q: Can you tell us what life is like there?

A: Life is like a dog’s life. Only those who have money and guns can live. These warlords have money and big stomachs. But for the rest of us, life is very hard, very difficult. We are lucky if we get today’s meal. […] I am disabled. I was attacked at a checkpoint. Men wanted to kill me over something very little. A second time, we were in a car and the car was shot at. That’s where I lost my leg.

Q: What are the health facilities like in Mogadishu?

A: Health is very bad. You can easily die of a small injury. We just left behind someone who was injured on the road as we left. We just had to jump over him – better to avert your eyes if you cannot help them. He was asking for water, and while he was asking for water, we left because of shooting at a checkpoint at Haram [on the road between Mogadishu and the southern port city of Kismayo]. We were all stopped and searched and robbed. […] On the one hand, people are fighting. On the other hand, people are eating their lunches. While eating their lunch, shells are landing right on top of them.

Q: How was the medical treatment for your leg? How are the hospitals?

A: Hospitals. Well, you find something, in Keysaney in north Mogadishu, and Medina Hospital in the south. You have to pay money. They will help you, but with money. You pay.

Q: Have a lot of people fled Mogadishu because of the fighting?

A: Yes, a lot. Some went into the bush, into the countryside. Some went to Jowhar [south]; some are still in Mogadishu because they can’t get help. We fled because we got some help. Those who remain are waiting for a bullet.

Q: How much influence does the Islamic group have now?

A: The religious people and the so-called "alliance" – they are two groups fighting. Today, the Islamic group has a lot of force, a lot of strength in town. This time they are better known and stronger. The religious group has a lot of money and a lot of fighters.

Q: Would you be happy if the Islamic group took control of Mogadishu?

A: I can’t tell you that right now. I can tell you they are sharpening their knives for each other. Whoever wins - if this side or that side, whatever - we need to live where there is peace.

Q: From the outside, we know very little about how they work.

A: What do you mean how they work? They have weapons; they have money. The alliance - those four [faction leaders] - they have been pushed to the side and now they are trying to regroup, get more weapons. Each side has been given a whole bunch of dollars, sacks of dollars. And they are now regrouping. So who’s going to sit and wait for them? No one is going to wait for them. Those who wait, wait for a bullet.

Q: What does the Islamic group do? Are they more organised? Do they use their resources for the civilians?

A: Well, yes. They dig wells for us; they build mosques. They do put money into helping us. They give more humanitarian assistance.