Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 17-06-2017

There was a high army and police presence in Mogadishu when we left for the airport this morning.

I was on my way to Baidoa with members of the Al Imdaad Foundation on the third day of food aid distribution in Somalia.

Going through a number of checkpoints with police and African Union (AU) soldiers armed with machine guns was a tedious but necessary process.

The roads are unpalatable and so bumpy that you get thrown from side to side and have the bruises to prove it.

We were stopped at one of the checkpoints and asked to exit our vehicle as sniffer dogs were brought out to check the car we were traveling in – All clear.

As we arrived at the Aden Abdulle Airport in Mogadishu, we were once again asked to leave our luggage on the floor and step aside as soldiers searched the bags.

The process became a tedious one as we went through one more checkpoint which included X-ray scanners and soldiers.

We had to remove everything from our pockets including the laptops from our bags which were we asked to power on for reasons I am not entirely sure off.

While we were informed this is normal procedure, I felt the high presence of police and soldiers was a reaction to the explosion a few days ago and the incident in the area close to our hotel.

It emerged that a car bomb was detonated outside a restaurant in the Somali capital killing at least seventeen people and wounding several others.

Heavy gunfire followed the attack claimed by the armed group al-Shabaab.

Last night, I heard a few gunshots followed by the wails of an ambulance and fighter jets screeching past our hotel in Mogadishu.

While the circumstances surrounding the gunfire remain unclear, I presume there might have been an attack close by, but this could be mere speculation.

One of the aides transporting us told me: “Don’t worry this is normal. Police sometimes fire in the air if traffic is backed up or congested to get people to move along”

Funny way of traffic control I thought.

Many people assume that humanitarian work or to garner funds to buy necessities for poverty stricken areas and oversee the distribution process is easy.

It’s not.

The trials and tribulations are far more taxing and outweigh the actual campaign and I have rich experiences of that first hand.

While it’s a real struggle to undergo all these challenges, the end goal always remains to assist the people that are going through great difficulty, hunger and poverty.

After a long wait at the airport of more than 4 hours we were told that there were no flights to Baidoa.

While this news was disappointing, it did not dampen the spirits of the Al Imdaad, the support staff and fellow journalists.

We were all fasting yet it’s with Allah SWT’s mercy we remained cool, calm and collected and accepted the challenges.

So what happens now? Insha’Allah we make dua that Allah makes it easy for us reach Baidoa which is more then 250km away and a very dangerous terrain that claims to be Al Shabaab territory.

There are many people behind the scenes who are doing their best to charter a private plane but at a more exorbitant cost than a normal flight.

So as we headed back to the hotel in Mogadishu, we retreated to our rooms hoping that tomorrow would be a better day allowing us to continue with the relief aid for the Somali people.

With all the struggle that we’ve been through the reward we wish for is to see the Somali people smile and we will know that all the effort was truly worth it.

Twitter: @FaizelPatel143