SHOE SHINERS FEELING COMFORT IN MOGADISHU’S STREETS

                                                                                                                                                Feb 7, 2014

Tre-Piano Shoe-Shiners

After couple decades of violence, anarchy and chaos that plunged the country into death, destroy, fleeing, social insane and instability that spread whole Somali regions, now the country is getting security advance that restore the livelihoods of the people, especially in Mogadishu. The load sounds of mortars, and other hazardous weapons that used to wake up Mogadishu’s community usually at midnight and dawn, replaced by the horn of vehicles and the loud sound of youth, who are going to football stadiums and other public amenities.

One of the  Mogadishu shoe shiners, Mohamed said " The only thing that frightens us is the explosion not the bullet round because the bullet round took its time," he added, " In two years before, every hour we heard the sounds of bullets and saw people scattering and rushing quickly, shouting bow down...bow down or lay down... lay down...". although the security is still lax, but there are a big difference and social hope.

The shoe shiners come from the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in Mogadishu’s IDPs, and they don't have good shelter, living in dilapidated huts made of old sacks, clothes, cartoons and sticks that cannot resist them from the fire bullets, rain and sun, are now safe from the gunfire, and they are relaxing the security so far, and the only problem they are expecting is the eviction of landlords or government.

Mohamed, who is a shoe shiner at Km4 area, earns forty thousand Somali shillings every day (approximately 2 dollars), and he contributes the daily meals of his family. Like Mohamed there are a number of street children and shoe shiners who came from the poorest families in IDPs, and host communities, whose dream is learning, but, unfortunately, they do not go to school because their parents cannot afford to pay the school fees. besides, the government implemented “go to school" programs, there are still fewer beneficiaries and the most privileged pupils have no access to these schools.

Abdimalik Hussein Abukar

Another shoe-shiner, Abdimalik Hussein Abukar, orphan and one of Tre Piano shoe shiners is a self-assured and talkative, not timid when it comes to speech and he is free from stuttering, smiling every moment. Abdimalik who is eleven years old is the breadwinner of his family consisting of two brothers, one sister, and a mother, he is strenuous boy and I asked  him how much he earns  a day and how he spent what he earns. Abdimalik said “Mostly I get two to three dollars and I give my mother and once in a blue moon I earn five dollars so that I divide into two parts, giving one part to my mother and the rest I keep it as a hoard because you may not get  anything tomorrow and the family needs is permanent".

Abdimalik and his siblings were born in a Gawurow village in Lower Shabelle, now his family is resident in a Sarkusta Afgoye corridor which lies outskirt of Mogadishu; his father died years before in Merka capital of Lower Shabelle and the consequence of this caused his family to move to Mogadishu as an IDPs. Abdimalik said in stutter-less voice “I am eager to go to school and Madarasa but unfortunately, my mother cannot afford to pay the school and I gave up for studying". Abdimalik and his friends carpool every morning from their homes (IDPs Camp) to KM4 area where they work as shoe shiners and they pay 8000 So.Sh ($0.40 cents) to public bus to go and back per person.

After more than twenty years, the war victims and marginalized society in Somalia, especially south and central those got rid of clan rivalries, the greediness of warmongers, internal and external aggressions don't see still any durable solutions towards their life prosperity, and they cannot predict what their future will be.

In conclusion, the long-lasting turmoil in Somalia caused a substantial loss of community development and destruction of all governmental infrastructures. The education which is the cornerstone of every developed nation is lost in the civil war, and there are no any running mentionable public schools. 

Elmi Samatar
samatar2020@hotmail.com