My Eyes Couldn't Believe that Hassan was Dead
Dec 14, 2009
The bombing at a rare graduation ceremony last Thursday in Mogadishu was a shockingly dark day for journalists in Somalia. Seeing dead colleagues I had coffee with a moment before is agony.
It was a beautiful ceremony for Benadir University graduates, the students and dignitaries were clapping for graduating doctors, engineers and teachers about to be honoured for their successful study. I was alongside my now late colleague Hassan Zubeyr Haji Hassan. It was going to be fantastic to finally cover an optimistic story in the war-ravaged country.
I went to get water for Hassan and myself in the hallway when a huge blast rocked the building and turned the beautiful ceremony into utter carnage. I was at the door to the hallway at that time and I was not hurt. I looked back and saw my friend Hassan, bloody and dead. I was shocked.
Chairs and tables were covered with blood and human flesh. Some of the wounded were shrieking and asking for help. There was an old man pleading for help as the bomb had blown away his shins.
Students who were waiting for diplomas were sent to their graves. Survivors watched rescue workers move dead bodies and injured victims.
My late friend Hassan's last words before the blast were "please bring us cool water." He was becoming a legend of Somali journalism and nationalism, driven by love for his country and a desire to improve the lives of the people.
"Ah, he is dead, he is dead... a disaster!" Abdirahman Yusuf, an Al-Arabiya correspondent who was working with Hassan but survived, said to me as we cried together.
Abdifatah, a brother of Hassan, was crawling on the floor looking for a camera and saying, "Oh dear, he died, terrible!"
I tried to come close to his dead body to see the situation but I couldn't get through the stampede of people.
Abdirahman tried but fell on the ground in tears.
Hassan worked for Shabelle as a technician but later joined the Al-Arabiya television bureau in Mogadishu and was one of the founders of the Mogadishu office. He is survived by four kids and Mulki, his pregnant wife.
One of his remarkable achievements in life was his coverage of the fighting between the overthrown Islamic courts Union and Ethiopian troops.
He was a sincere patriot and a pillar of support for Somali journalists.
After I saw Hassan's body, I looked to my left and found another colleague, Mohamed Amin, dead. That added to the shocking waves of inexplicable grief.
I decided to leave -- as all my eyes could see were dead ministers, doctors, and students on the ground while friends and relatives wept over their bodies.
"I was hoping he could start work, but they killed him," Halima Abdulle, a mother of a late graduated student said as her son's body lay in pool of blood on the ground.
Amin was 24 years old and a reporter and producer with Shabelle radio. He had been working as a journalist for three years, starting as a reporter for the local radio GBC. He arrived in Mogadishu in 2007.
He was admired by his colleagues for his open mind, sense of duty, and dedication to his work.
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Tags:
Africa, Death, graduation bombing, Hassan Zubeyr Haji Hassan, Journalism, Mogadishu, obituary, Somalia
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