Aljazeera
Hamza Mohamed
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Killing of Mohamed Ibrahim Rage this week highlights lack of safety for reporters working in the war-torn country.In a two-bedroom house in Mogadishu's Medina district, a group of about 10 women have gathered to mourn in silence.
Sitting on plastic chairs, the women silently stare at the cement floor, tears freely flowing from their eyes.
The
women are the relatives of Mohamed Ibrahim Rage, a Radio Mogadishu and
Somali National TV (SNTV) journalist assassinated by unknown gunmen in
front of his house on Sunday evening. Men armed with pistols shot Rage
six times at close range while he was sitting at the front door of his
house playing with his four-year-old daughter.
"He was my only son. He didn't harm anyone. He only did his job. Why
did he have to die this way?" asked Hawa Jimale Omar, Rage's mother, her
eyes red from crying.
Rage moved back from the Ugandan capital,
Kampala, five months ago, where he had fled in 2009 after receiving
continuous death threats. "I told him to stop working as a journalist
but he told me his life is in God's hands," said Omar, her voice barely
audible.
Somalia is one of the most dangerous places for
journalists to work in. Rage is the fourth journalist killed in the
Somali capital this year. Two of the journalists killed died in separate
suicide attacks; unknown gunmen assassinated the other. Last year, 18
journalists were killed in this country. So far, though, no one has been
arrested for the deaths.
Journalists at the state broadcasters -
SNTV and Radio Mogadishu - may feel safe at their heavily guarded
offices near the presidential palace, but say they feel vulnerable and
abandoned when they leave the gates after work. Since 2010, they've lost
five colleagues.
'Like sheep at a slaughterhouse'
"We feel
like sheep at a slaughterhouse waiting our chance to be slaughtered one
by one," said Abdimahad Hussein Abtidoon, a reporter at Radio Mogadishu.
After hearing about the death of his colleague, Abtidoon didn't leave
his house for 24 hours, for fear the assailants were watching him and
would target him next.
Abtidoon and his friend, who also works
for Radio Mogadishu and requested his name not be used for fear of being
targeted, say the city has become like an open prison for those working
for the state broadcasters.
"We can't go to work in the whole
city. We can't go to [the districts of] Deyniile, Kaaran, Suuqa Hoolaha,
Huriwaa. We can't go where we want. We fear we will be killed if we go
to these places," explained Abtidoon.
Rage's burial took place at
Jazeera, just outside the city, but his work colleagues had to stay
away. "We were advised by our seniors not to go to the burial as we may
be targeted," said Abtidoon's friend.
The country's journalists'
union, meanwhile, is demanding the killers be caught and tried. "We want
the government to bring the killers of Rage to justice. We want them to
also bring the killers of the three other journalists to face justice,"
said Mohamed Ibrahim, secretary general of the National Union of Somali
Journalists.
In February, Somalia's Prime Minister Abdi Farah
Shirdon offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the
convictions of those killing journalists. The government also set up a
task force to investigate the deaths of journalists. So far, though,
neither the reward money nor the creation of the task force has led to
any arrests.
'Sole breadwinner'
At Rage's family house, the gathered women worry about his wife Faiza
Ahmed, who is nine months pregnant and has not had any food or rest for
the past 48 hours. "He was not just a father and husband to us. He was
our sole breadwinner," said Ahmed.
She is concerned about how she
will raise their two daughters and the unborn child on her own. All of
the family's meagre savings has gone to pay for the funeral.
Faiza
says Rage was concerned about his safety, and never came home later
than 5PM. The last thing Rage discussed with his superiors at work was
safety - his safety.
"I last saw him the evening before he died. He said he didn't feel
safe taking public transport," said Abdirahim Isse Adow, director of
Radio Mogadishu. "He requested I tell the driver who picks him up from
his house not to come late. He also complained the driver forgot to pick
him up [a] few times."
Government and security officials have
previously blamed the deaths of journalists in Somalia on Al Shabab, the
hard-line rebel group fighting the Somali government. Al Shabab sees
government workers as a legitimate target, including those working for
the state-owned media.
However, the group has distanced themselves from the death of Rage.
"We do not claim responsibility for Rage's death. We are not in the
least liable for the death of journalists in Mogadishu," the group told
Al Jazeera in a statement. "Rage's death and that of other journalists
in Mogadishu is testimony to the rising insecurity that has engulfed the
capital city."
The government says the investigation of Rage's
death is under way. "We assure the family and friends of Rage the
government will not leave no stone unturned. We will bring the killers
to justice," said Abdishakur Ali Mire, the assistant minister for
information.
Rage's mother wants the killers brought to court. "I
can't forgive them for what they have done to us," she said, "but they
can ask Allah to forgive them".