Mogadishu (Comment) — During 1990s reporting from Mogadishu, a wartorn and divided capital city, was a risky pursuit. Ali Muse Abdi, who passed away in Rome on 4 August, braved the risk and filed reports for wire agencies such as Agence France-Presse (AFP).
His reporting angered General Mohamed Farah Aideed whose militias had kidnapped and kept Ali in detention for several months. In 1995 Ali managed to escape from detention in South Mogadishu and fled to North Mogadishu then under Ali Mahdi Mohamed, the former Interim President of Somalia.
His reports to AFP about warlord turf clashes in Mogadishu before and after the humanitarian intervention of 1992 proved useful for aid agencies planning to visit Southern Somalia. He faxed his reports under difficult circumstances.
Militias turf clashes in Mogadishu caused death and destruction. Reporting on those events demanded not only adherence to the ethics of journalism, but also a courage to face accusations for factual reporting. His career in journalism reflects the risks faced by journalists in a country where most news outlets moonlight as mouthpiece for a politician or clan interests.
There were no news websites in 1990s Mogadishu. The BBC Somali Service was the main source of information for Somalis. The BBC periodically used Ali’s reports filed for AFP. The increase in the national and privately owned news outlets resulted in choices for readers, listeners and viewers. The emergence of YouTube channel hosts had undercut the traditional media that the 1990s Somalia generations looked upon as a reliable source of information.
Ali witnessed those changes in the media landscape, and mentored the young journalists who will forever remain grateful for the late journalist’s selfless commitment to sharing his experience with the younger generations.
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