20th Century
The Sore Seated Safari
In the cupboard to the left of my desk, sits a large cardboard box filled with old family photo albums. These arrived in my parent’s house in the early 1980s, after the death of my [more…]
East Africa
20th Century
Somalia: Political Fallout And Ramifications
Like the Tet offensive in Vietnam, the political fallout caused the usual sea change in the US bringing the Somalia adventure to an end. Paul Watson, though not a professional photographer, who won the Pulitzer [more…]
20th Century
Day of the Rangers
Independent journalists and non-UN aid workers had already done enough to discredit the approach taken under Operation Restore Hope and so were treated by the US-UN as “the enemy”. Throughout Somalia’s “peacekeeping war”, independent journalists [more…]
20th Century
Keystone Cops And 12th July
Relief work had been halted overnight following the death of the Pakistanis. UN [read US] commanders tipped off aid agencies a “massive strike” would be carried out sometime in the next two days, imploring them [more…]
20th Century
New World Order Falls at First Hurdle
Each morning in early 1993, UN Pakistan contingent troops answered the muezzin call to prayer. The purported common Islamic bond between Somalis and Pakistanis was considered by both sides to contribute to a special rapport [more…]
20th Century
God’s Work = Failed New World Order
Somalia is a land of great beauty and infinite Promise… Tourists are assured and enjoyable Stay in Somalia, where they will find the people Friendly and the country attractive “Beautiful Somalia” Ministry of Information Booklet [more…]
20th Century
Carpet Bomb Somalia With Ecstasy
Q: Isn’t there a better way to control these gunmen? A: Somebody did suggest one – carpet bomb Somalia with ecstasy, because it curbs hunger and makes everyone love each other. It’s not a bad [more…]
20th Century
City of Insane Warlords and Technicals
Death has become too commonplace to matter. The two greatest products in Mogadishu are shooting and rumours: from morning to night, they manufacture rumours, from night to morning they manufacture shootings – Mohamoud Afrah. Mogadishu: [more…]
20th Century
Somalia – Western Economic Colonialism
Somalia’s recent history is also a tale of grave miscalculations made by foreigners in a very foreign land. Knowing nomads happily demonstrated their supremacy and disdain for outsiders, the so-called fruits of civilization were not [more…]