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Somalia's Struggle

By Mustafa Haji Abdinur Posted May 26 2010

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Four years ago, I was riding in a pickup truck with some associates when we asked each other what we could do as journalists for our country to get out of the long-standing chaos. Do we continue working under constant threat? Are we still to look for news that is mainly related to the violence happening on a daily basis?

Somalia is said to be one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world with very limited opportunities and stories for journalists to cover. In 2009 alone, at least nine Somali journalists were killed in the country, making it one of the worst places in the world to practice journalism.

The unprecedented violence in the country has forced many local journalists to either quit the profession or leave Somalia. The small band of journalists left working have to bring the stories of never-ending civil strife in the country to the rest of the world. Needless to say, the risks faced on a daily basis are extraordinary.

As journalists, we live under constant fear in Somalia. Sometimes when I go out to work, I decide to come back without doing my assignment because of the violence. This is also true for my fellow journalists in the country. We always stay alert by calling each other to ask if anything unpleasant is going on with journalists during the day. “Was anyone killed, wounded, tortured or arrested today?” If the answer is yes, you stay indoors to avoid possible traps. And if nothing too bad is going on, you can simply go out and do your work. But we still watch our backs because you never know what threats you will face during your time working the streets.

I was inside my office when my colleague in Mogadishu, Muktar Hirabe, was killed while working. He was less than 300 meters away from my office when he was shot in broad daylight. Hirabe was a man never shaken by the risks at hand in his country. He was so determined and sacrificed much for his work.

Because of such risks, my friends and loved ones were not happy to see me again braving the bullet scarred streets of the capital, Mogadishu, after receiving the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists in 2009. On my way back home from New York, many people asked me why a journalist who got the chance to see such great opportunities in the U.S. would come back into Somalia to continue a deadly profession. “Why not choose a better and safer life?” But I always make my intentions clear: I need to tell the story in this country and keep free information flowing. Apart from that, I intend to highlight the role of Somali media in creating a peaceful and developing environment.

There are so many bumpy roads ahead for Somali journalists in terms of getting ideas out there smoothly and trying to bring about change within their reporting. The news in this country is based on a body-count policy, and therefore it is very hard for journalists to demonstrate alternatives within the messages they convey to society. A body-count policy is a form of writing where each day you report on the death of an individual. Because of this policy, the local media in the country report alike. Are we standing for only giving the same message relating to violence or can we say something different in our everyday reports? The answer to this question is simply that journalism is hard work in Somalia, but it makes a difference. Your stories can inspire action. Through this realization and our hope for change, we began to practice “peace journalism” in Somalia for the first time ever.

In a bid to sacrifice more for our beloved profession of journalism, I got back to Mogadishu after leaving New York and brought with me the Somali Media for Peace and Development initiative.

Somali journalists are constantly under editorial pressure to bring breaking news to the world without being injured or killed in the process. We need to be well-equipped physically and mentally to face danger when reporting in such unsafe and unpredictable situations, so we use SOMEPED to contribute to the development of safer working conditions for journalists and media organizations in the country. SOMEPED is also an initiative aimed at developing local media and journalists to actively engage in peace-building programs.

I never rule out the potential risks when advocating peace through the media in a country like Somalia, where the word ‘peace’ could cost you your life, but I never forget the obligations needed to be fulfilled for the public. The community we serve as messengers is in dire need of the role of the local media to disseminate news more positively. People in Somalia always mention the media’s contribution to violence more than the role news organizations could have in peace and development. We need SOMEPED to create a shift from a culture of violence to a culture of peace through local media collaborations, better practices and countrywide civic engagements.

I have received many calls by unknown people these days. Most of the calls have been about my stories. Some have told me to work differently and others have asked me why I write about their faults. My answer? I told them that I was doing nothing wrong unless speaking the truth was prohibited. But more than the angry phone calls, I get many people who ask me about the peace initiative that is SOMEPED. Some are so welcoming, while others are still reluctant to believe that our aim is solely for peace. I always explain that Somali Media for Peace and Development is only about bringing journalists together to better tackle conflict issues within their communities without taking sides and in a way that will help to de-escalate the violence through balanced reporting.