Remembering Somali Aid Workers Killed in Bombing

Published November 02, 2009 @ 09:20AM PT

A grave outside Berbera, Somaliland, Daniel J Gerstle.

Last year on October 29th, 2008, an Islamic radical youth militia also known as "al Shabab" launched a five-point bombing attack in Hargeisa, Somaliland, and Bossaso, Puntland, in the northeast African country, Somalia. One of the bombs struck inside the UN Development Programme compound where I had served as a consultant a year earlier. To commemorate the anniversary, get to know the cultural and political context, learn a few gory details, and see some very revealing video footage, take a look at this feature story, "Five Bombers in Somalia." It's one of the few places to see much of the story described in one place alongside raw local video of one of the bombings and the aftermath. You can also take a look at the UN's anniversary note here on ReliefWeb.

The bombing was an irony upon ironies. Even during my brief time there, I had a chance to talk to Mohamed Elmi Geele, one of those who perished, about security for aid workers. He and the others were very cautious, particularly in preparing foreigners to drive out into the countryside. For many, his office had been considered one of the safest places to be in Somaliland.

Truth is, the region is getting stronger, more stable, and more hopeful every day. Locally, the attacks were seen as Somaliland's 9/11. And it did more to unite Somalis there behind the UN and the peace and revitalization effort than it provided anything strategic for the radical bombers.

[Photo: A grave outside Berbera, Somaliland, Daniel J Gerstle.]

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Comments (1)

It is a sad news, a volunteer who wants to help for the refugees was dead because of some radical bombers...

Posted by biz startingguy on 11/02/2009 @ 12:47PM PT
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Author

Daniel J Gerstle is a creative long form crisis journalist, human rights researcher, and humanitarian aid consultant who's covered Bosnia, Croatia, Karabakh, Chechnya, Ingushetia, the Ossetias, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia very deeply, spiced with highlights of Sudan, Palestine, Jordan, Tajikistan, and Georgia. Prior to all this, he served as a US Marine reservist stateside.