April 21, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Huge Fire Breaks Out In Mogadishu’s Bakara Market
21 April – Source : Goobjoog News – 124 Words
Traders at the Bakaro market in Mogadishu today woke up to losses after a fire razed down property worth millions. The fire is said to have started at 5.00 am . Residential houses that border the said market were also affected by the dawn inferno. According to the traders, the cause of the fire is still unknown. Mogadishu firefighters arrived at the scene and are trying to put out the fire. In the recent months, similar fire destroyed businesses and goods in the market at different times. Mogadishu’s largest market, has expanded since the 1991 ousting of strongman Mohamed Siad Barre plunged the Horn of Africa nation into anarchy. Thousands of Mogadishu’s residents depend on the commercial activities in Bakara market.
Key Headlines
- Huge Fire Breaks Out In Mogadishu’s Bakara Market (Goobjoog News)
- Somalia Appreciates The UAE For Rescuing To The Drought Victims In The Country (Radio Mustaqbal)
- Turkey Donates Millions Of Dollars To Somalia For Budgetary Support (Jowhar.com)
- HirShabelle Welcomes Khat Traders (Hiiraan Online)
- Somali Villagers Fear Dying Of Thirst As Cas To Buy Water Runs Out In Mudug (Radio Muqdisho)
- Somalia’s First Ever Cheese-Maker(BBC)
- Drought Casts The Shadow Of Death (The Times UK)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Appreciates The UAE For Rescuing The Drought Victims In The Country
21 April – Source : Radio Mustaqbal – 240 Words
The Federal Government of Somalia has wholeheartedly thanked the government and the citizens of the United Arab Emirates, which has announced today, Friday that there will be live TV campaign in the UAE in which the citizens in the UAE will fundraise for the drought victims in Somalia. The Minister for Information of the Federal Government of Somalia, Abdirahaman Omar Osman, has yesterday met the UAE ambassador to Somalia, Mohamed Al-Othman, and thanked the constant support of the UAE to the Somali government and its citizens, and in particular the live TV campaign on today 21st of April which plans to collect contribution money for the drought in Somalia, the live TV campaign contribution program will be live as from 1:00pm to 7:00pm.
“Somalia won’t forget anybody who has come to its rescue at this tense time when the Somali population is facing biting drought, which is feared will lead to famine in the country. We sincerely thank the UAE which is directly involved in helping the needy Somali citizens, as well as labeling today, Friday the 21st of April 2017 as a day when there will be live TV fund raising campaign for the drought affected Somali people, and approximately 100 million dinars will be collected.” Said Eng. Yarisow The Minister for Information has finally appealed from the Somali citizens who have been taking part in the drought rescue mission to redouble their efforts.
Turkey Donates Millions Of Dollars To Somalia For Budgetary Support
21 April-Source: Jowhar.com- 100 Words
The government of Turkey has donated eight million dollars which is meant to support the Somali government’s budget. In an online post, the Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu has said it has given the government the money which is set to help the government resources its budget.The announcement was made after the Turkish Ambassador, Olgan Bekir met the State Minister for Finance, Mohamud Hayir Ibrahim in the handover ceremony. The money was deposited into the Somali Central Bank. In a written statement, the Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Kheyre has thanked the Turkish government for the support.
HirShabelle Welcomes Khat Traders
21 April- Source: Hiiraan Online – 90 Words
Six planes carrying Khat have yesterday landed in Jowhar which are some of the planes diverted from the Aden Adde International Airport. The decision for the planes to land in Jowhar was taken after traders opposed heavy tax imposed on the importation of the drug in Mogadishu. In a press release, the Hirshabelle administration has welcomed investors to the new regional administration. In the statement, the administration said it will welcome all investors to their region with open hands, and it seen as a move to encourage the Khat traders.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Villagers Fear Dying Of Thirst As Cas To Buy Water Runs Out In Mudug
19 April – Source : Radio Ergo – 449 Words
Families in Lasa-Adale village, 20 km east of Galkayo town in northern Somalia’s drought-hit Mudug region, say they do not have enough water for the next few days because they have run out of cash. Awil Ahmed Khayr’s family of eight ran out of water two days ago and are depending on their neighbours for just enough drink water to keep them alive. “I fear we might die of thirst,” Awil told Radio Ergo. “Getting water is difficult for the people in the village now and those who still have a little left don’t have even enough to survive beyond tomorrow. We request Galmudug administration to start trucking water urgently to the village.”
Since the hand-dug wells in the area dried up in early March, the 70 families in the village and other nomadic herders whose animals used to drink from the wells have been buying water on credit from commercial truckers. Commercial trucks bringing water from Do’ol village 20 km away were selling a 200 litre barrel for $3 (80,000 Somali shillings) in Lasa-Adale. One whole 10,000 litre truckload therefore sold for $150.
However, the businessmen, who are not from the village, have refused to sell any more water before the local residents pay their debts. They have to cover their fuel and other costs and say it is not clear when and how the villagers, who are poor, will be able to repay what they have borrowed.
Somalia’s First Ever Cheese-Maker
21 April – Source : BBC World Service – Video – 01:59 Minutes
Meet Samira Mohamed Abdiraham, Somalia’s first ever cheese-maker.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“The rains, even if they come, will not bring back their livestock, nor solve the longer-term question hanging over the sustainability of the pastoral life in this rapidly withering corner of Africa. Life in these remote, arid lands was never easy, aid officials acknowledge, but population growth and increased drought have made it harder than ever.”
Drought Casts The Shadow Of Death
21 April – Source : The Times – 828 Words
Yusuf, almost two years old, has never felt rain. Droughts have devastated his birthplace in eastern Somaliland for decades, but none that anyone can remember has been as crippling as this. Elders remember the Dabader, or long drought, of 1974. This one they call Lagamalito: the worst. Exacerbated by climate change, it stretches across a swathe of east Africa, threatening famine, mass migration and an end to the traditional way of life for millions of people forced to leave their homes in search of water. Sool, the worst-affected district, has been waiting for rain since before Yusuf was born. This breakaway region of northern Somalia may have avoided the conflicts tearing through its chaotic southern neighbour but the drought here is the worst in a hundred years.
The roads that cut through the desiccated landscape are littered with the skeletal carcasses of goats and camels, once the livelihood of its semi-nomadic people. Now human lives are imperilled, the youngest most of all. A mobile clinic run by the Somali Red Crescent and funded by the British Red Cross was bouncing along these pitted roads last week when an emergency call came in: cholera had broken out in a makeshift camp of displaced herders forced to abandon their homes and go in search of water when their shallow wells dried up and their livestock died.
The water source they had trekked two hours to find was tainted. In 24 hours ten women and children had died. Other lives hung in the balance. Yusuf lay on a soaked grass mat on the floor of the village school, the still centre of a chaotic whirl of medical staff and vomiting, crying children. Nuah Mohammed, the village elder, had ordered the school to be opened as a makeshift hospital for the visitors encamped nearby. The village name, Goljanno, means mountain of heaven. “It doesn’t feel like that any more,” Mr Mohammed, whose children left years ago for London, said.
Abdul Kareem Mohammed, Yusuf’s father, hovered nearby, grief-stricken. He had brought his son to the school that morning, along with his pregnant wife, Zahara. She died before rehydration treatment could take effect. The couple had already lost two children shortly after birth. Yusuf was the only remaining son. “I don’t know if he will live,” Mr Mohammed said, his eyes brimming. “I have lost everything else, first my livestock, then my wife. I loved my wife, she was my life. She was everything.”
More than 25,000 people have contracted cholera across Greater Somalia since the start of the year, a figure set to double by the summer. The United Nations is racing to prevent a repeat of the 2011 famine that killed more than 260,000 Somalis, but funding falls far short of what is needed. That much is apparent outside Goljanno, where cholera took only hours to tear through the huddle of dwellings fashioned from branches, cloth and tarpaulin.
TOP TWEETS
@Free_Somaliweyn: @M_Farmaajo your the only president in Somali history thats supported by most Somali’s in Somalia & abroad. Don’t disappoint us #TaloWadaag
@engyarisow: #Al-Shabaab prevents children to study & threatens parents to use them as child soldiers, to force them to the ideology of violent extremism
@FAOfish: #Fishing communities in #Somalia, an example of #resilience http://ow.ly/zfDb30b2CHt via @FAOKnowledge #UNFAO
@Aynte: The @TEDxMogadishu event was truly uplifting. Powerful stories & epic poetries. Kudos to @IlwadElman & her team. #Somalia is better b/c of u
@HarunMaruf: Somaliland editor detained after trading himself for colleague’s freedom: @CPJAfrica
@TC_Mogadishu: Turkey delivered 8 millions USA Dollar to the Federal Government as a part of its budget support program
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Somali Premier host weekly cabinet meeting at Villa Somalia to discuss the country’s budget, security situation, how to curb corruption in government ministries among other things
Photo: Radio Muqdisho