SOMALIA: Mohamud Mohamed, "It got to the point where I would dread my phone ringing"

Photo: Mohamed Omar/IRIN Mohamud Mohamed is in exile

NAIROBI, 6 May 2010 (IRIN) - Two decades of conflict in Somalia have forced many journalists to flee the country, often after receiving death threats. Since 2009, at least 10 have been killed, bringing the number to 23 since 2005. Another 150 are in exile. On 4 May, a gunman shot dead veteran broadcast journalist Sheik Nur Mohamed Abkey in Mogadishu.



Mohamud Mohamed, 35, now living in Greece, was a senior radio reporter in southern Somalia who also worked for an international radio. That made him a target of Islamist insurgents who control parts of the country. He spoke to IRIN about his experiences:



"I fled Mogadishu in early April after numerous threats, intimidation and harassment. Sometimes, the group that controlled my town would call to ask that I cover something they were doing; if I refused I would be in trouble. In one particular case, they were stoning a man to death for adultery. It was a horrible spectacle but they made me go and cover it.



"At one point, I was told not to leave town without permission, so for almost a year I was a prisoner in that town.



"Sometimes, I would receive a message warning me that I must behave or I would suffer the consequence and [the message] would allude to my family or myself. I did not know who was calling or what they were talking about. It got to the point where I would dread my phone ringing. I started switching off my phone. Imagine a journalist afraid of his phone!



"After leaving Mogadishu, I ended up in Turkey where I met many other Somalis who were trying to get to Europe. Two weeks ago, with 31 others, mostly Somalis, we boarded a boat to Greece. Four hours into the journey the engine developed problems and the vessel stalled.



"For four nights we floated on the sea between Greece and Turkey. We were running out of water and food. People started getting sick, including me. I suffered from diarrhoea and vomiting.



"The boat was overcrowded and getting very filthy. I thought I would die. They later told me I passed out on the fourth day. Luckily, a Greek navy ship came and rescued us. When I woke up next, I was in a hospital with people around me and a drip in my arm. That is when I found out that I was in Greece.



"It was a very dangerous and difficult journey, but knowing what I know and what is happening in my country, I would do it again."



ah/cb

Source: IRIN • humanitarian news and analysis from Africa