Images of Mogadishu’s past and present.
by Muuse Yuusuf
Thursday, January 2, 2014
From the outset, I must say I do not hold any grudges based on political, religious, lineage or other reasons against Mr Maxamuud Axmed Nuur Tarsan, mayor of Mogadishu. Indeed, rather than being his enemy, through my article, From Kings Cross to Mogadishu, published on Hiiraan.com I have shown my admiration for his endless efforts to re-build Mogadishu as a great and beautiful metropolitan city once again.
I want to put this straight on the records because in Somali circles, it has become the norm to accuse people who are critical of politicians of being bias against them for political, lineage, religious, or other reasons.
Last month, the office of the mayor of Mogadishu issued a decree warning owners of some properties in Shangaani, one of the old quarters of Mogadishu, that their properties would be confiscated by Mogadishu municipality if they fail to rebuild their properties, which were destroyed during the civil war. Owners were given a three month deadline to rebuild their homes or face confiscation of their properties!!
The decree has stirred some strong emotions within the Benaadir community, particularly Reer Xamars who mainly reside at Xamar Weyn and Shangaani quarters, their traditional home. They see the decree as another tool meant to misappropriate their properties in addition to the atrocities committed against them by powerful clan militias during the civil war.
Indeed, as a reaction to the announcement, Amir Amir, the famous Somali political cartoonist, has depicted the mayor as a sick man complaining about nightmares who is being consulted by a warlord–cum-general. The warlord-cum-general advises the mayor that symptoms will go away once the mayor gets used to the looting and robbing of other people’s properties (see http://www.aminarts.com).
On 7 December some Benaadir community leaders and intellectuals met in Mogadishu and denounced the decree. They also issued a press release reminding the mayor of the following important points:
1. Atrocities committed against the Benaadir people during the civil war, including the destruction and the looting of their properties and the rape of their women folk, which caused their communities fleeing their homes. It was not the Benaadiris who destroyed their own properties, but others who destroyed and looted their them.
2. Even those who want to rebuild their homes are unable to do so as they are being asked to pay thousands of dollars to armed clan militias who occupy their properties illegally.
3. The Mogadishu administration has failed to do anything about restoring properties to their rightful owners.
4. It is not easy for people who fled their homes after witnessing atrocities committed against their relatives to return to their homes, let alone demanding them to rebuild their homes. And those remain in the country are being treated as if they were not Somalis. Therefore the timing of the decree is not quite right as it may stir old and bad memories about past atrocities and wounds that have yet to heal.
5. Benaadirs do not have good representation (staff) in the running of the Benaadir region’s departments.
They also demanded the following:
- The Benaadir administration should repeal the decree which they believe targeted Benaadirs, and demanded an apology to the community.
- The administration should make efforts to restore properties/homes occupied by armed clan militias to their rightful Benaadir families.
- Not inflame old hostilities and wounds.
The mayor was forced to defend his decree in a video release, in which he seems to attack Amin Amir, warning him not to become a doomed corrupt media outlet in which enemies of Mogadishu, as he described it, would hire him to spread lies against the city.
In his explanation of the decree, the mayor insisted that his administration was not confiscating other peoples’ properties but the decision was meant to encourage people to rebuild homes which are situated in specific areas of Mogadishu as part of efforts to restore the beauty of Mogadishu. He also mentioned that his administration would offer help to those who cannot rebuild their homes by offering financial compensation, or putting them in touch with companies that could hem rebuild their homes.
I do sympathise with the mayor’s efforts in restoring Mogadishu as a great and beautiful metropolitan city and this will include rebuilding some parts of Shangahi and Xamar Weyn districts, once the most beautiful parts of the city, but were badly destroyed by the civil war.
However, the timing and the tone of the decree are shocking. It is beyond my understanding about the logic behind a three-month-deadline given to the owners of these properties. First of all, owners of these lands are probably so traumatised by the events they witnessed during the civil war that they might never return to Somalia. Or worse, some of them might have passed away due to the trauma they suffered.
Therefore what is the point of giving a three month deadline!!
Even to re-develop some parts of a city in a developed country would require years of planning and consultation with the public before doing any thing, so it is ridiculous to impose a three-month-deadline on a community and country torn apart by years of civil wars.
Furthermore, some of the owners might not have resources to rebuild their homes, having lost every thing they had in the civil war and they might be living in refugee camps or foreign countries as refugees,
As we know Shangaani and Xamar Weyn districts are some of the oldest quarters of Mogadishu, and the history of the construction of some of their buildings dates back to hundreds of years. People who built some of these properties would have spent a lot money worth of millions of dollars in today’s money, as it would have taken them years to build their homes. Therefore, it would not be unreasonable to give a three year deadline knowing the history of this area, including how the area became a battle ground for warring militias during the civil war. Indeed, these districts and their defenceless residents were one of the first victims of the civil war as each warring faction fought for the control of them because many important financial institutions, such as banks were based there.
Therefore, rather than three month, the deadline should be three years and more.
The other point that worries me is Mogadishu municipality’s capacity to rebuild the destroyed properties in Shangaani in case owners were unable to rebuild their homes for some reasons.
From my own sources, the Benaadir regional administration’s budgets is about £500,000 a year. It puzzling to me to work out how much of that could be allocate to the cost of compensation and rebuilding of the destroyed civilian homes in Shangaani, in a city where public transport, utility services, roads and other services are in dire need of investment.
In conclusion, it is my sincere advice to the mayor not to issue some unwise decrees that might ignite old wounds and hostilities, but to focus his efforts in improving public infrastructure and services such as rubbish collection in this great city.
It would be great if you could help owners of the destroyed properties to rebuild civilian homes, but please do not issue rhetoric decrees that might inflame the situation at a time when communities are being reconciled. Let people decide when and how they want to rebuild their homes
Muuse Yuusuf
[email protected]