January 12, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
President Farmaajo On His Way To Galkayo In His 6th Day Tour
12 January – Source: Goobjoog News – 122 Words
Somali President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo is expected in Galkayo town, Galmudug State today. Yesterday the president visited Bosaaso town, the headquarter of Bari region in Puntland State. The Somali leader is expected to proceed to Dhusa Mareeb in Galgadud region, commencing an extensive tour in the Galmudug federal member state.
Galkayo is a hotbed area for constant communal fighting and the president is expected to address the local people and also to engage the local traditional elders during his official trip code named “Peace Trip”. Goobjoog News reporter travelling with the presidential team noted the delight and happiness displayed by the locals living in locations situated along the main road between Garowe and Bosaso town.
Key Headlines
- President Farmaajo On His Way To Galkayo In His 6th Day Tour (Goobjoog News)
- Explosion In A House In Mogadishu (Hiiraan Online)
- Indian Government Releases First Batch Of Somali Nationals From Its Jails (Horn Observer)
- UN Agency Says 110000 Somali Refugees Repatriated In 3 Years (Xinhuanet)
- Why Grassroot Reconciliation Can Speed Up Rebuilding Of Kenya’s Neighbour Somalia (The Standard)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Explosion In A House In Mogadishu
12 January – Source: Hiiraan Online- 110 Words
There was a very loud explosion in a a house located in Karan district in Mogadishu last night. Government security forces reached the scene where the explosion happened and, apprehended a man who was living at that house due to suspicious activities. Additionally, the security forces have take control over the house where the explosion happened to investigate who was behind the explosion. No further details have emerged regarding the casualties of the explosion although it aroused fear and suspicion amongst residents living in the area.
Indian Government Releases First Batch Of Somali Nationals From Its Jails
11 January – Source: Horn Observer – 149 Words
Indian Government released 15 Somali Nationals, after serving 7 years in Prison and are waiting deportations, the Indian Express reported. The release of the prisoners follows after Somalia signed an agreement in August, 2017 for the release of the Somalis held at the Indian prisons. A total of 120 Somali men were arrested in four separate anti-piracy operations by the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast guard from January to March 2011. Three of the prisoners died of illnesses while the trial was underway.
The third group of 16 men will be released on February 15 and the largest group of 60 men will be released on February 23, according to the Indian Express. Somalia Government has been trying to recover Somali nationals who were held foreign prisons. In July 2017, the Ethiopian government released more than 100 Somali prisoners from their jails following agreement signed between the two governments.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
UN Agency Says 110,000 Somali Refugees Repatriated In 3 Years
12 January – Source: Xinhuanet – 204 Words
The UN refugee agency said Thursday it has voluntarily repatriated 110,913 Somali refugees from six countries since the return exercise begun in December 2014. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in its December update that 75,297 refugees returned to Somalia from Kenya and 34,990 from Yemen. It said some 626 refugees were repatriated from other countries of asylum, including Djibouti, Eritrea and Tunisia. In December, 1,596 Somali refugees have returned to the strife-torn African nation, according to the UNHCR.
Experts say the political and security stabilization in Somalia, along with growing pressures in hosting countries, calls for renewed efforts to find durable solutions for Somali refugees. The UN agency said return movement in December was assisted by air from Kenya and sea from Yemen. “Return convoys from Kenya to Somalia remain temporarily suspended due to impassable roads made by rains and currently insecurity in return areas in Somalia,” it said. More than 2 million Somalis have been displaced in one of the world’s most protracted humanitarian crises that has now entered its third decade.An estimated 1.1 million people are internally displaced (IDPs) within Somalia and nearly 900,000 became refugees in the region.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“Somalia can benefit from the experiences of countries such as Rwanda which deployed traditional methods of justice and reconciliation to address the aftermath of the 1994 genocide. Somalia too has rich traditional and religious systems that can be tapped to successfully address to rebuild the shattered social fabric in the war-torn country.”
Why Grassroot Reconciliation Can Speed Up Rebuilding Of Kenya’s Neighbour Somalia
11 January – Source: The Standard – 689 Words
I was at a restaurant in Mogadishu in 2014 when a man approached me and unexpectedly confessed to having been part of the gang that attacked my home in Mogadishu in 1992 in which my 18-month-old daughter, Yasmin, was brutally killed. The man then fervently and remorsefully begged for my forgiveness, saying the matter had troubled him for many years. Initially, I felt so much anger with memories of my lifeless daughter flooding back to my mind. I felt like killing him on the spot to revenge my daughter’s death.
But after some moments of silence, I felt some calm return to my heart. I then told him I had forgiven him. The man hugged me and we both couldn’t hold back tears. Immediately after the incident, I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I felt whole again. This personal incident, if nothing else, strengthened my conviction about the need for reconciliation to heal Somalia. No doubt, Somalia is making modest progress in rebuilding itself from the destruction wrought by decades of catastrophic civil war but the crucial agenda of grassroots truth, justice and reconciliation is not receiving the attention it desperately deserves.
The civil war not only precipitated the meltdown of state institutions and destruction of infrastructure and the economy, but also the unravelling of the social and cultural fabric of the country. Without deliberate efforts to rebuild the shattered trust and goodwill and address deep-seated grievances between individuals, families and communities at the grassroots level, reconstruction efforts will not be sustainable and durable. Somalia is one of the few countries in Africa with a homogenous population that shares language, religion, bloodlines and culture but the widespread violence, human rights violations and injustices during the civil war exacerbated social divisions and disharmony mainly along clan lines.
Until now, not much has been done to repair those relationships, build bridges and address underlying grievances thus eliminating common spaces for dialogue, accommodation and coexistence. There have been many conferences since the early 1990s ostensibly to bring about reconciliation between various segments of the Somali population but they have hardly had any impact in the grassroots. This is partly because the initiatives have largely been dominated by politicians and clan leaders, including warlords, without much involvement of the people in the grassroots who should be the main drivers of such initiatives in a bottom-up way. In fact, the conferences have been more about power-sharing between clan leaders than fostering genuine grassroots truth, justice and reconciliation.
TOP TWEETS
@TC_Mogadishu: As a social responsibility project, the Turkish Military Academy personnel renovated and provided chairs to Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel Primary School in Mogadishu.@TSKGnkur @madmursal
@RadioErgo: Hudur hospital, the only hospital in southern#Somalia’s entire Bakool region equipped for a wide range of health services, has reopened after three years.
@Moshireh: Political difference, unless it’s on the fundamentals tenets , is not a threat but must be seen as an opportunity. The current polarisation is hurting the unity, progress and the development Somalia badly needs.
@HarunMaruf: Former Somali Amb to Kenya @AmbAmericowho forgave the man who murdered his daughter on why grassroots reconciliation can speed up rebuilding of Somaliahttps://www.standardmedia.co.
@RadioDanan: BREAKING: The bodies of six Al-Shabaab fighters have been brought in #Bal‘ad district after heavy overnight gun-battle between SNA troops and Al-shabaab militants near the town lasting several hours -District officials confirmed to Danan New #Somalia
@Goobjoognews: #Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi@M_Farmaajo on his way to #Galkayo in his 6th day tour.http://bit.ly/2D3fQ9z .
@TC_Mogadishu: As a social responsibility project, the Turkish Military Academy personnel renovated and provided chairs to Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel Primary School in Mogadishu.@TSKGnkur @madmursal
IMAGE OF THE DAY
President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo is welcome by a resident of Carmo district in Baari region as he is set to conclude his tour of Puntland state.
Photo: @TheVillaSomalia