5 Questions for a Somali Veteran of the 'Black Hawk Down' Battle

Abdinasir Mohamed Guled spends five minutes asking a veteran of the 'Black Hawk Down' battle in Mogadishu five questions.

What is your name and where are you from?

My name is Mohamed Ghelle, I come from the Mudug region in central Somalia

What did you do during the battle against the Americans?

I was one of the fighters who defeated the Americans, I was a commander for one of the units who firmly fought the Americans. It was a great experience for me to fight them because I understand how their tactics and soldiers are. I was wounded by an aircraft one day when they fired a missile near our trench but some of our soldiers who were in a nearby trench shot down the aircraft and burnt it. They were fighting hard like Ethiopians in 1977, but Americans get thirsty sooner and suffer more then the tough Ethiopians. Also, Americans can be heard by their enemies when they are chatting. They always shout when one is injured and that informs their enemies where they are.

Why did you fight?

Why I fought was because Americans wanted to colonize and bully us, so as a freedom fighter I could not tolerate that since no one wants colonization for his country.

Are your children soldiers? How does this make you feel?

No, my children are not soldiers, they are students and I don't want them to be soldiers now, but yes if colonization comes.

If you could talk to an American veteran who fought against you what would you say?

If I would speak to an American veteran who fought against us I would say to him, what is the experience you have gotten from war in Somalia? Would you like to come again to Somalia? What was your worst day of fighting? What was the best custom you have learned in Somalia? What was your plan to colonize Somalia after we defeated the British colonial forces? Are you ready for a friendship and a way to return to Somalia without using a gun and misguided politics? I would say to you, Americans are good people and compassionate people but the cheating politics of your government leads to the targeting of your citizens. So stop that crazy idea.

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