Mogadishu: Tragic stories, Headhunting and all.

Some cities have far more complex history than its current denizens, and Mogadishu has had its fair share of turbulent past and an uncertain present.

The complexity and uncertainty surrounding this city is inherent in its name. The origin of its names is purely speculative. Some fondly refer to it as Xamar- an indication of a city built on red sand. Others contend the name refers to the ‘reer Xamar’-people of reddish hue, the original inhabitants of the city. Mogadishu, the official name adapted by the city, is perhaps a corruption of the Arabic word ‘Maqcadul Shah’. Still others argue Mogadishu has a Somali connotation: ‘Maqaldisho’-the abattoir of sheep.

In the last two decades, the meaning and origin of the name of their city was Mogadishu residents’ least concern. In the aftermath of the toppling of the dictatorial regime, all hell broke lose, ghoulish warlords descended upon the city. The cosmopolitan population fled. Mogadishu was pulverized. Every totem, statue and symbol of this once glorious bustling city was desecrated, as if its destroyers were hell-bent on erasing its past. The warlords, some sit in the bloated transitional parliament, visited the most grotesque violence upon it, without contrition.

In the latest version of the violence, religious fanatics employ suicide bombers to subdue Mogadishu and puritanically rule it. It is against this backdrop that the mayor, Mohamud Ahmed Nuur ‘Tarzan,’ encouraged the populace to hunt down Alqaeda-affiliated AlShabaab for a reward. 500 US dollars for a head!  In essence he commodified the enemy. I’m not sure about the fiscal prudence of such a move by a donor-dependent TFG. I’m not about to reproach the Mayor, in a short time he has accomplished a lot. I share the views that AlShabaab must be defeated, but not this way.

The ramification of this venture is unimaginable. In no time Mogadishu will be teeming with headhunters. Headhunting is a sport Mogadishu can ill-afford. Heaven forbid! Innocent people will be sacrificed to pass as AlShabaab. Human life is worth less than $500 in Mogadishu. Mob justice will only create more chaos. I have no qualms, if the bounty was put on AlShabaab leaders’ heads.

In times of civil war, terrible things happen some bordering on comedy; tragic comedy. In the early 90s, if you happened to be from a minority clan, you had to find a close friend or relation ‘a black cat’ who hails from a powerful clan for your own security. That is what in local parlance came to be called; ‘Yaa mukulaal madow kaa ah?’ Who is your black cat? Ask any TFG official in Mogadishu who his black cat is. Amisom.

If Mogadishu is personified, it would tell many horror stories. Admirably, it defies all odds. It indefatigably refuses to die. In its bowel it harbors the elixir of life. It still maintains its almost magnetic pull on everyone. Even for those, like me, it’s the city of their birth; the yearning to step on it again is ever present, albeit a blurry memory.

For good or bad, Mogadishu is the epicenter.

Sadly, Mogadishu is a city possessed by a potent, violent genie that eludes exorcising. It’ll take more than a mayoral headhunting decree to put this genie back into the bottle.