The theme of this year’s 16 Days to End Gender Violence Campaign is From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Violence Against Women! Today, we share the personal story of Madeleine, one of Nellie’s staff, who experienced violence during the civil war in her home country of Somalia.
On New Year’s day of 1991, in my native birthland, Somalia, rebel forces began their fight against the ruling dictatorship. Revolution had begun in my country and we all were filled with hope for change. As the months passed, and the old regime fled, there was no government, police or anyone left to protect the people. Lawlessness ensued. The rebel forces made up of young boy soldiers began to pillage, rape, riot and shoot anyone they could find.
I was fortunate enough to live in an enclosed home which kept us fairly safe in the capital of Mogidishu. Every day, soldiers fueled by drugs ran around crazed, and each day dozens of bullets ended up in my garden. Over these next few months, gunfire, missiles and the endless screaming from women being raped kept me awake.
We were very aware of the rampant rape and killing of women and children as a means of tribal warfare and retribution. When I heard that soldiers had forced family members, a young man to rape his own grandmother, I truly felt that humanity had left us. With every opportunity we had, we travelled in groups to visit the women we knew who were alone, to check on them, and try to get them to safety
Nothing made sense anymore, our children were destroyed in masses recruited as child soldiers and fed drugs to commit atrocities including killing other children. Women suffered disproportionately through rape and murder. And the suffering didn’t end there. The women who survived and became pregnant were often forced to relocate to survive, and their children were never recognised by society.
Thankfully, I was able to leave once flights were available. The Mogidishu I grew up in was once the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean”, now as I looked out the window, I was leaving behind just smoke and rubble. As I was leaving my country, the plane raced down the runway because it was flanked on both sides by soldiers shooting and preparing to bomb us. Thankfully we made it out of there alive and I eventually settled with my family in Canada.
Today, 20 years later, I panic and freeze every time I hear a fire-truck or ambulance siren. They sound just like missiles screaming through the air. Unless you have lived through a war, you will never understand. But I believe that life is strong and we go on living.
