Hamza Mohamed describes the life of a journalist in Somalia, where four have already been killed this year:
After the death of many of our colleagues we in the media industry here in Somalia have developed a unique way of greeting each other. “You are still a live?” One will ask with a smile. “Dead people don’t walk or talk,” the other will respond with laughter. Behind the smiles and laughter are serious safety worries.
Meeting or bumping into fellow journalists is becoming a luxury. Because of the alarming number of targeted assassinations against journalists many of us are choosing not to gather in groups to socialise or stray far from their work place – even for work. Every chance we meet could be our last one. Every journalist here knows a colleague who has been killed. It is also not rare to see journalists who’ve survived attempts on their lives.
His daily routine could come straight out of a spy novel:
Depending on who your employer is and the last story you worked on, our morning usually starts with phone calls to next-door neighbours who also double up as our lookouts before leaving the house. We change houses many times a year – I don’t know where my closest colleagues live. I will be surprised if they said they knew where I live. …
The few who can afford to buy second hand cars usually jump into their tinted vehicles and speed off to work. Tinted windows are a must as they help lower the profile of the occupant. But most journalists here don’t earn enough to afford their own car. They’ve to brave the streets and take public transport to get to work. Taking public transport vehicles makes you a sitting duck.
Despite that peril, a reporter is more likely to be killed in Iraq or Syria, the two most dangerous beats at the moment.
(Photo: Mourners pray beside the coffin of Somali journalist Mohamed Ibrahim Rageh in Jazira on the outskirts of Mogadishu on April 22, 2013. Rageh worked for Somali National Television and Radio Mogadishu and was shot dead by unknown gunmen as he reuturned home. Rageh is the fourth reporter to be murdered in Mogadishu this year. Somalia is one of the most dangerous places for journalists to work, with at least 18 media workers killed in 2012. By Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP/Getty Images)
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