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Saturday October 14 2000 Somalia's new president returns to his destroyed nation
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- President Abdiqasim Salad Hassan received a hero's welcome Saturday when he returned to Somalia, joining the country's new lawmakers in promising to rebuild the devastated country after 10 years of violence and chaos. Escorted by hundreds of heavily armed trucks, bristling with machine guns and armed militiamen, thousands cheered Hassan and waved banners supporting the new administration as he entered the port capital, Mogadishu. Hassan went directly to his hotel and did not address his supporters, but told The Associated Press that he would immediately begin trying to bring order to Somalia. "There are so many tasks, but security is the priority," he said. While Hassan has not won the support of all of Somalia's militia leaders, he appears to have unqualified support from residents, anxious to see an end to the factional violence that has made the Horn of Africa country ungovernable. Sadi Abdi, 17, was young when the last administration was toppled, but he said he has since heard "many good things about government." "I am very happy to receive the new president," Abdi said. Hassan, his prime minister and 245-member assembly face a daunting task in Somalia, which has been without a central government since January 1991 when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted. The country of around 7 million has since lacked organized security, schools, health care or any other government service. "Everything has to be built from scratch, every sector of this country from agriculture to services is destroyed," said Mohamed Ahmed Hirabe, a former manager in the finance ministry. Where the city touches the Indian Ocean, sand dunes are covered with garbage. The rumble of generators reverberates around Mogadishu's remaining hotels because there is no electrical grid. Faction leaders have carved the country into fiefdoms, each with its own militia. Roaming gunmen -- some loyal to faction leaders, others free-lance bandits -- frequently clash in the streets, firing randomly. Introducing a national police force is Hassan's first priority. Already some 2,300 gunmen have been recruited into three "demobilization" camps in Mogadishu. In one of the camps, about 100 men in civilian clothes and sandals march around a sandy parade ground. The national flag flew from a rustic pole and 27 trucks, specially fitted with anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns, encircled the camp. "I joined so that I could get out of the confusion ... the problems that have persisted for the last 10 years," said Bashir Nur Diriyeh, a 30-year-old recruit. "I haven't been employed since the last regime." The recruits, who are provided with food and paid around $45 a month are doing well, said Gen. Mohamed Nur Galal, a former officer in Siad Barre's regime who is in charge of the training program. Mogadishu's business community, tired of spending its profits on private security, is funding the training. Galal said he has enough money to train 4,000 men, but it will take 6,000 to make the capital safe. Cash is tight in a country where taxes haven't been collected since 1991. "The business community and Islamic courts say they are going to help but I think they cannot for long. Security used to cost 30-40 percent of the national budget," Hirabe, the economist, said. Another hurdle is the lack of education. Schools and text books have been destroyed and there is no formal education system. Many of the gunmen are young men, often uneducated and from rural areas. "If there is no education, there is no knowledge and there is no life. The problem in Somalia is ignorance. The only things they (the young gunmen) know are how to use guns," said Mohamed Diblawe, a teacher for 40 years. Before 1991, Somalia had 20,000 teachers but since then a third have fled and another third have died, Diblawe said. Hirabe estimates that 1.5 million professionals -- the equivalent to Mogadishu's population -- have left the country. But Somalis have proved resourceful. Despite the chaos and violence, the capital boasts efficient telecommunications companies, pasta factories, airlines, two television stations and FM radios. Even those who fled the country contribute, sending up to $2 million a month back to their families, Hirabe said. "It might take a long time but the new government will
work," Hirabe said. "The people are very poor but they
work hard and have good initiative." |