Hashim Goth, ANN=
Awdalnews Network, 30 June 2008--When 21 young men and women from Somaliland’s Awdal Region recently perished in the Mediterranean Sea, I recalled the poem “Badda Weerar Lagu Qaad” (an onslaught on the sea) written by Bashir Sh. Omar Goth in 1980. The following verses have particularly struck me with their ominous prophesy:
“…secondly, listen to my story
It was just lies that they narrated to us
For the affluence, I did not find
Neither did I step into prosperity
Nor did I take mouthful luscious fat morsels
Indeed I am on the verge of fleeing
Homebound
I have departed from our country
And the looting here, I see no more
All doors are closed before me
My luck has become like a feather
Blown by the winds
It flutters in the air
Carried by the high seas
I sleep not in peace…”
Indeed the circumstance that Bashir has portrayed in the poem 28 years ago seems to be ripe today. It is just now that there is an onslaught on the sea and that the fate and future of the Somali youth are carried by the seas as the poem describes. I am sure that those of my age who were children when the poem was written can now appreciate the experience it carries and that many adult people in Borama can now see the truth it prophesized. It is worth mentioning that 28 years after the poem was written the youth are still throwing themselves into the sea although at that time it was Dhoof sharci ah “legal immigration” and today is Tahriib (illegal immigration or human trafficking) and brinkmanship.
However, the latest tragedy has brought the problem of human trafficking to the focus and the problem has deeply touched the people of Somaliland in general and the people of Borama in particular. The question that is in everybody’s mind is why the youth are taking such venture when they live in a peaceful country with government institutions. The answers vary but most of the people attribute the problem to the massive unemployment in the country, while others believe the phenomenon to be a psychological disease called Buufis (immigration obsession).
Let us first look at the personal stories of some of the young men and women who took the venture and some of them included the victims of the recent tragedy. The stories were presented at a symposium organized by the Borama-based Somali Association for Youth Salvation (SAYS) as part of their efforts aimed at raising awareness and seeking solutions.
First story:
It is the story of poor parents with four kids. They sent only one child to school while the other three loitered in the streets without jobs. When the school-going boy graduated from the high school he realized that his parents could not afford to send him to university. He decided to take the tahriib (illegal immigration) venture. His parents decided to sell the only asset they had; a plot of land (15m x 15m) where their hut was erected. It brought them enough money to pay for their son’s journey. Unfortunately three months after his departure, the parents heard sad news. Their son died when the boat he took capsized in the Mediterranean Sea. The family lost their son and their only assest.
Second story:
A young boy who was the only son of his family has come from the countryside after his father’s death. He left back home his mother and three sisters. When he came to Borama he lived with his uncle who had three daughters. He was enrolled into school. Unfortunately his uncle died but the boy had managed to continue his education and graduate from high school. Soon after graduation he decided to immigrate to help his uncle’s family and his mother and sisters back home. He went to his mother in the countryside and asked her to sell the only farm they had. With no other source of income to survive on his mother and sisters refused to sell the farm. When he returned to the town he got help from his friends who paid his journey expenses. After sometime, the family heard that their son was stuck in Libya and was in need of money to proceed to Europe. His mother and sisters had no option but to sell their farm. They sent the money to him but unfortunately he was one of the youth who died in the capsized boat before he reached Europe.
Third story:
A mother of three children wanted to immigrate with her children to Europe but she knew that her husband was against the idea. She seized the opportunity of his absence on a trip and sold all their assets. She took her children and departed with human traffickers. Upon his return from the trip, the husband heard that his wife and children were in Sudan. He was left with no option and no assets to sell even if he would have thought to join them. Sometime later the bad news had come that his wife and his three children had all died of thirst in the desert between Sudan and Libya.
These three stories are only a sample of dozens of similar or even more tragic stories. The route of death starts from Djibouti where the youth walk almost 20km to Eritrea. They then walk from Eritrea to Sudan and from there to Libya where they have to take a boat to Italy or Malta. Many of them die on the way of thirst, while many others are arrested by border guards and languish many months in jails or pay their way out through human traffickers and continue their death odyssey. All the way from Djibouti to Libya and beyond they are guided by a chain of human traffickers.
Some of the youth who managed to reach Europe have sent their savings of the beggar’s handed money given to them for their survival back to their families; hence enabling their families to buy back the assets they sold to finance their journey. Parents whose children went to Europe and receive remittances have purchased transport vehicles for their sons who remain with them to create jobs for them and persuade them to quit the idea of immigration. These vehicles are called Gaadhi Dabiib (Medicinal vehicles).
Most of the time the youth pool their expenses and help each other out with the trip which can add up to US$1200 per person. Mothers are mostly lenient to their children’s demands for immigration while fathers are mostly kept in the dark and become aware about their sons or daughters absence when they reach Sudan or beyond. The human traffickers introduce the would-be immigrants to the boat pilot before they take the journey from Libya. Such boats are usually purpose built sailing boats made of wood and plastic sheets know as Isku Xuur (literally meaning throw yourself into it). When some of the immigrants reach Italy or Malta, their friends back home throw a party.
In fact some of the immigrants are relatively well off like one teacher who was among the victims of the latest tragedy. He owned a house and a shop but he sold everything he had in order to take the fateful journey. Such individuals usually take the gamble in search of a foreign passport that could enable them to easily travel around the world.
Besides unemployment and economic reasons, some parents say that modern technology such as the Internet and satellite TV have played a significant role in having a great impact on the youth. The youth back home hear titillating stories from their friends who made it to Europe when they meet in Internet chartrooms. They give them exaggerated picture of their life in Europe telling them how they live in the beautiful buildings and lifestyles they watch on TVs.
The youth also mention other reasons such as losing their would-be brides to men who live in Europe, while others complain that those who return from the West have made it impossible for them to marry due to the outrageous money they spend on their marriage and weddings. It is due to such desperation that had led some of the youth to travel to Mogadishu and join the militias of the Islamic Courts during the latter’s short-lived rule in Southern Somalia.
The majority of the youth who take this journey are from the towns of Borama and Burao which made many people question as to why the youth of these towns are fleeing the country.
The majority of the parents we spoke to during our investigation noted the need for a vigorous awareness campaign by both the community and the government, and the need to permit private radio stations that can expose the ugly realities of human trafficking.
*This is a translation of the original report previously published by Awdalnews in Somali language. Here is the link to the original http://www.awdalnews.com/wmview.php?ArtID=10300
