By Scott Rochat ( Contact)

Monday, January 8, 2007

Ahmed Hashi, owner of Ayan Cafe. Photo by Carly Pearson

Ahmed Hashi, owner of Ayan Cafe, talks about the current conditions in his home country of Somalia Sunday afternoon at his restaurant.

Dahir Abdi still has a sister and a brother in Somalia. The brother has eight children; the sister has nine. All of them have survived the chaos so far.

But he still worries.

“Sometimes they don’t have police, they don’t have a government,” said Abdi, one of the many Somali refugees who lives in Emporia. “After midnight, you don’t walk in the city. If someone is stealing and they see you, they kill you — even women and children.”

Now, for the first time since 1991, Somalia may have a central government in its capital city of Mogadishu. Ethiopian troops entered the city on Dec. 24, driving out Islamist militias and allowing the transitional government to move in.

But the worry hasn’t left. Not everyone sees the Ethiopians as liberators. On Sunday, hundreds of anti-Ethiopian protesters marched in the Somali city of Beletwein. One was killed and another wounded after Ethiopian and government troops fired shots to break up the demonstration.

In Emporia, a visit to the Ayan Cafe on Sunday found the same kind of division among the local Somali refugees. Some saw the Ethiopians as a hope for peace. Others wanted them out at once. And no one thought the troubles were over yet.

“Everyone’s afraid,” said Ahmad Hashi, the owner of the Ayan Cafe, a local Somali restaurant where many of the refugees gather. “Before the interim government, there were the mullahs. We were worried about that then and we are still worried.

“The Ethiopian government is involved, but they didn’t send politicians, they sent the military,” he continued. “It will be an issue for the Somali community as a whole, whether they are inside or outside the country.”

One Emporia Somali, Abdi Moalin, said he felt the Islamists had brought some peace to the country and he feared that the change in events could lead to more turmoil.

“This group may come with oppression,” he said, using Hashi as a translator, as did many of the others in the cafe. “We are afraid that it might go back to the situation in 1991.”

That was the year that a breakaway Republic of Somaliland attempted to establish itself and the country as a whole fell into chaos. Clan-based warlords fought for what they could get and occasional attempts to establish a national government failed to be recognized by the international community. The current Transitional Federal Government is the 13th attempt at a government.

The TFG, as it is often called, was founded in 2004. The Union of Islamic Courts, sometimes referred to as the Islamists, formed militias in 2005. In areas controlled by the militias, personal violence and food prices reportedly went down but a number of tight restrictions went into place, including limits on women’s freedom of movement and on mixed-gender celebrations.

Clashes between the militias and the government began in December, with the Ethiopians moving in on the government’s side.

“I wish the two groups could talk to each other for the sake of the country and make the country a peaceful place,” Moalin said. “And I wish the Ethiopian government would get out of the country. I don’t believe they will bring calmness. I don’t believe they have the best intentions for Somalia.”

“I think the situation might become more dangerous,” agreed Ismail Mohamed. “Some groups may get really angered that the Ethiopian military is in their country and that could inflame to violence.”

Abdiwali Hirsi was willing to give the Ethiopians credit for good intentions — but he also said they shouldn’t overstay their welcome.

“The Ethiopians’ goal is to help us and thanks to them,” he said. “But they should leave the country. There are other ways they can help us without being in the country. Only Somalis can decide if their country can be a peaceful place to live.”

Ethiopian Prime Minister Males Zenawi has said he expects his troops to leave within weeks.

Complicating things, Ethiopia is the traditional enemy of Somalia.

“The reason Ethiopia is there is to control our country,” said Sahar Aboka. “If Ethiopia will not leave the country, we will fight them. We don’t want a new colonialism.”

“No goodness will ever come from Ethiopia going into our country,” declared an older man, Ali Jama. “We brought all these problems on ourselves. There is no one else to blame.”

Mohamed Farah had some cautious hopes that the Ethiopians could help restore peace.

“As long as they’re helping, they are welcome to be there,” he said. “Some of the Somalis are arguing that other African countries should come to help instead, but I don’t see any difference between other African countries and the Ethiopian government. Whoever is willing to help should get in first.”

For now, the fear remains. Whatever may be changing, that remains the same.

“We still don’t have a reason to go back,” Abdi said. “ It’s still bloody. That’s why we’re all here.”

Source: The Emporia Gazette