The former president of Somalia, late Mohamed Siad Barre, bombed the capital city of Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, on several occasions in 1988, killing thousands. The shell of a fighter jet used by Siad’s forces has become a monument that literally unites the people of the self declared republic.

By Kassim Mohamed

It’s a Tuesday afternoon and the African sun casts its rays and makes its presence known. 47- year-old Mohamud Hassan has just started his day’s work.

Mohamud, a father of 7 is a taxi driver and has lived in the capital of Somaliland, Hargeisa, all his life. He offers to show us around but as we pass through the centre of the bustling city, Mohamud hits the breaks of his car, missing the car in front by a whisker.

He immediately calms himself; un buckles his seat belt and gets out of the car. At this point Mohamud’s mode has changed from that of a jubilant and out-going man to grief stricken.

“I want to show you this monument. It’s the model of a plane that was used by the Dictator Siad Barre to bomb our people in 1988,” Mohamud says. “He was ruthless and arrogant. He killed so many Somalilanders. He wanted us to join the rest of Somalia but we resisted.”

Never again
Pointing at the rusting shell of a fighter jet that perches on a brick platform just by the side of the main road, Mohamud’s eyes are filled with tears.

“On the worst day of the bombing in 1998, I lost 12 of my close relatives. I was part of the resisting forces and though I was lucky, my closest cousin and aunt died. This monument reminds us Somalilanders of the troubled past we have been through. We will never want to witness war or a situation like that one again.” Mohamud says loudly as tears roll down his chin.

At this time a dozen other people come closer and all emphasise the significance of the memorial plane.
“This plane has made us stay close and relate to each other as brothers and sisters. Siad Barre thought he would divide and rule us but he didn’t succeed. The bombings only made our will to be independent from the rest of Somalia stronger,” said an old man with a red-dyed beards.

No unification
My presence in Hargeisa coincided with the inauguration of the newly elected president of Somaliland Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud “Silyaanyo” and as if reading from the same script of the president’s speech, Mohamud and the rest of the people who joined him insisted they are not ready to join the greater Somalia even if peace prevailed in Mogadishu.

“I hope our new president doesn’t think about that option, because we the people of Somaliland will never want to be part of Somalia. We are doing well on our own and all we need now is doing business”, Mohamud insists raising his hands to the sky.

Hargeisa was almost completely destroyed in 1988 by airstrikes launched by the regime of former Somali president Siad Barre. An estimated 50,000 people are said to have died in the attacks on Hargeisa and its surroundings.

In the years that followed the overthrow of Siad Barre’s government, Somaliland has enjoyed relative peace and prosperity while much of the rest of Horn of Africa has been ravaged by war.

The International community doesn’t recognise the independence of Somaliland but Mohamud and most of Somalilanders say they will do anything to be independent.