Battle of Mogadishu - Yusuf Ibrahim

Interview #1
Interviewee #1 asked his name to be kept anonymous. He left Somalia around the age of 22. In the interview, he talked about his own experience and the somewhat the political concept around the problem.
Me: What do you recall after Siad Barre was overthrown?
Interviewee: That time was very tough. The country fell into disaster. Earlier our country had fought for independence and we had a successful revolution. Now everyone in our country took a step back. We fell into Civil War. It was an all-out clan war. All the sides were against each other and they each fought for control. Somalia had very little resources and everyone was fighting for control over it. There was no longer a government; everyone did what they wanted when they wanted.
Me: Did you feel safe? How about your family, how was it looking out for them?
Interviewee: This felt like a very dangerous time for all of us. There was no control, there wasn’t any established order. We constantly woke up scared. You could hear gunshots. No one cared for anyone else any more, only themselves and their clan. That was one of the things that I liked about President Barre, he tried to unite Somalia and make all of us one people. He tried to banish anything clan related because it caused a separation between the people.
Me: How did the clan system work?
Interviewee: The clan system is far too difficult to explain, but before, everyone was grouped into clans. Everyone within a clan was united. If you met someone, the first or second question they might have asked you was what clan were you from. This didn’t necessarily create problems because it was very normal, but there were those select few people who were at the top of the clans who felt that their clan was better than others. It also caused clans to interfere with other things like the government. When someone was in power, people from the same clan would go to them to ask for help stating that since they are from the same clan, they should be given help or aid that others don’t receive. This made things very complicated and so Siad Barre wanted to get rid of it. He didn’t want things like that to continue and corrupt his country so he banned it. In his eyes, we were all one people and by getting rid of clans, none of the groups could think themselves as higher than another group or use clanship ties to get privileges from people in power.
Me: Was there fighting taking place directly in your neighborhood?
Interviewee: Luckily there wasn’t. The fighting took place farther away which was relief, but we weren’t how much longer it would stay that way. The people could have easily decided to come into our neighborhood and do what they wanted. We heard the occasional gunshots, but the fear that had taken us at first started to go away a bit, but it was still present.
Me: I read that the fighting between the clans caused a period of starvation and many people weren’t able to get food and water because they were fighting over the little resources the country had. Were you affected by this at all?
Interviewee: The period of starvation was horrible, many people suffered from and those warring clans were too blind to realize how much damage they were doing to their country, but they didn’t care. They wanted everything for themselves. I was still able to provide my family with some food, but it was a bit difficult. There wasn’t a lot of food available to buy and the food that was available was very expensive. There were few people with goats in our neighborhood but it was enough to get us by.
Me: The UN saw what was going on and in order to help, they began Operation Restore Hope in order to get supplies and aid to those that needed it. Can you tell me about that?
Interviewee: Yes, they finally intervened. We needed someone to give us help and the UN came, but it wasn’t that easy at first. I heard that when they first began sending help, none of the supplies would get to the people. The warlords would steal the supplies and use it for themselves. They didn’t care about the thousands of people dying people. They wanted to be at the top.
Me: The Battle of Mogadishu took place on October 3rd and 4th, were you in Somalia at the time?
Interviewee: No, I wasn’t. I left Somalia in June. It was very difficult, but I had to leave to get my family to safety. By the time that I left, Operation Restore Hope had begun, but the only the thing I could do for Somalia was carry it in my prayers. One person can’t stop all those horrible people, but everyone, including myself, hoped that the UN could restore peace in Somalia.
Me: Those are all the questions that I had for you, but thank you for your time and your story was very helpful.
Interviewee: Your welcome, it was no problem at all.












Interview #2
Interviewee #2 also asked to be anonymous. We talked about his thoughts on the problems going on. He left Somalia at 28. His story wasn’t surrounded by his family as much as his own story.
Me: When Somalia fell into chaos, were you in the country?
Interviewee: Yes I was. I lived near Mogadishu, and let me tell you, things turned horrible very quickly.
Me: What were some of the things that were taking place?
Interviewee: There wasn’t any control, no one to control the people. Warlords rose and fought each other for power. Clanism became a major factor of the problem. Each clan would fight another in order to gain more power in a country that barely had anything to fight for.
Me: Was there fighting taking place near your home?
Interviewee: No there wasn’t any fighting, but these people were hard to read. You had no idea what they were going to do next, but everyone knew what they wanted. I was safe for the time being and I felt that my life didn’t change too much. It was true that the entire country fell apart, but not all the areas were affected at the same time in the same way.
Me: Could explain that a bit more?
Interviewee: Sure. When everything began to fall apart, it was major cities that were fought for. I didn’t live in Mogadishu or any of the other major cities. The warlords went after the major cities because once they took over, they had a lot more power due to the resources available. There wasn’t much where I lived. Unless those guys wanted small homes in dusty areas, they weren’t going to get much out of here. There were major cities that weren’t affected that much from what I heard, but the constant danger of fighting would have made it unbearable.
Me: While doing research, I learned that one of the biggest events that happened because of the clan war was the period of starvation. Could you tell me a bit about that?
Interviewee: The period of starvation was a horrible one. Food was difficult to come across. It hit the small rural areas the hardest. Many people died. From my own experience, we barely had enough to eat, but somehow managed through the tough times. People didn’t have much money. It was sad to hear that people were dying because their own people were denying them of food and other necessities. Their fighting completely destroyed the few resources Somalia had, but the UN decided to help out.
Me: I was just getting to that. The UN sees what’s going on in Somalia and they finally decide to help out. Despite the fighting going on, they said that it was strictly a humanitarian effort and that they’re just there to get aid and supplies to those that needed it. Also, many people argued that the UN might have acted a bit late so the problems were harder to reverse. Could you tell me your thoughts on that?
Interviewee: The UN’s intervention was a sign that someone out there actually cared. Were they late? You could say that. We could have used their help a lot earlier, but the fact that they were coming gave people hope to last a bit longer, at least until help arrived. But as the hope arrived, it was stolen from us by those warlords. The UN sent food and other supplies got to us. This increased the damage caused by the period of starvation. What was worse was the fact that the supplies were stolen multiple times from the people that needed it the most. What really angered me was the fact that they used the supplies meant for us, to buy more weapons. It was a waste. I think the UN saying that it was only a humanitarian effort was a bad idea and in order to solve the problem, they should have stopped the fighting. They should have demanded all the fighting to stop and use force if necessary. A peace agreement was needed between all the people. I think that would have helped our country a lot more than bringing food.
Me: That’s a very interesting concept. So to fast-forward a bit, what were your thoughts on Operation Restore Hope?
Interviewee: I think the UN finally realized they were going to have to use force and the U.S decided that it was to time to intervene to show how the job gets done. I’ve always told myself that. For a humanitarian point of view, I think the mission went well. They aided most of the people that needed it, but they didn’t do much after that.
Me: So when did you leave Somalia?
Interviewee: I left mid September in 1993
Me: So you weren’t there for the Battle of Mogadishu?
Interviewee: No, but I remember hearing about it.
Me: Could you tell me what you heard?
Interviewee: Well I remember hearing that a couple of UN soldiers were ambushed and killed by some militia of one of the warlords. I think they tried to find the warlord which led to U.S troops being sent to Mogadishu to find the warlord. Militia and civilians fought against the soldiers and it turned into a day long battle, but by the time it happened, I was already in Kenya.
Me: When did you come to America?
Interviewee: I came in late December of 1993 and have been here ever since.
Me: Those are all the questions that I had for you sir. Thank you for your time.
Interviewee: You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help.
























Interview # 3 with Dahir Mohamed
I met Dahir at our local barber shop. I was asking around and he came up to me and said he could help. We talked about his family being in Somalia while he was in America working. He didn’t answer questions about his job, but the interview was still vary helpful.
Me: How were you affected by the chaos in Somalia?
DM: Well at that time I had left Somalia and I was living in America. I was in Ohio, but I still had family in Somalia. I was sad that I wasn’t with them and it made me feel somewhat guilty for them to suffer and for me to be safe in America. I wanted them to be with me, I wanted to be them. When the civil war broke out, I had already been gone for a couple of months. I wasn’t even expecting anything of that sort to happen.
Me: How did you keep up with what was going on in Somalia?
DM: I kept up with the news and newspapers. I also called my family to check up on them whenever I got the chance. After awhile though, I lost contact with them. They began to shut out anything going to Somalia. I couldn’t even send money anymore. I didn’t have any way to reach them. It was a difficult time for me.
Me: How long was it before you made contact with them?
DM: It was about 3 months. They told me they went to Kenya and that’s when I heard from them. They told me that they struggled during that time. They didn’t much money and food was scarce so they often went many nights hungry. I knew I couldn’t keep them away from me any longer. I wanted them to be with me.
Me: So how long were they there?
DM: They were in Somalia until the end of 1991. After that they were in Kenya for a few months before coming to America. It was tough process for the both of us.
Me: Did you know about Operation Restore Hope?
DM: Only a little, the UN and U.S wanted to send aid to the people who were suffering from starvation. To be honest with you, I don’t know much more than that. Once my family came here, I really wasn’t aware of what was going on after that.
Me: That’s ok. The information you’ve given me has been very helpful for research paper. Thanks for giving me your time.
DM: Thank you for taking the time to listen to my story and I hope everything goes well.