A Ride With A Somali Taxi Driver

A Somali native talks about returning to Mogadishu after 17 years abroad

I don't normally like talking to strangers but I do love being a customer and chatting with those who feel obligated to respond because I'm paying for their service. Hot dog vendors, dry cleaners, and shopkeepers. That sort. Most taxi drivers are easy prey for conversation if you don't lead with the wrong kinds of questions. A captive cabbie hoping for a generous tip is much more willing to exchange pleasantries than, for example, the quarantined parking lot attendant who is happier with the quick and silent transaction.

I recently rode with a very chatty cab driver. I sensed from his profile he was from the Horn of Africa and I was eager to draw him into a discussion of regional politics. Taking the long, polite route, my comments about world affairs eventually lured him into a dialogue about Africa and I soon learned he was from Somalia. He shared some interesting observations about the current situation in Somalia and provided an intriguing, if abbreviated, account of his life story. Seventeen years ago, this man fled his country overnight, no doubt catching a strong whiff of what to come in southern Somalia. It was a wise choice. Sixteen years of anarchy immediately followed his departure. But after five years in Italy and twelve in Canada, my driver told me he was excited to be returning to his homeland.

He seemed certain that Mogadishu was safe enough to visit. The rise of the Union of Islamic Courts, an Islamist militia who now control most of southern Somalia, has brought skepticism from Western governments but many Somalis welcome the calm they have restored. Normally, my instincts would have been to argue that, despite the order they have sternly imposed, they have also introduced some very unjust measures. They outlawed watching the World Cup during June, broke up a wedding because it had live music as well as men and women socializing together, shut down a radio station temporarily and arrested three of its journalists for reporting about a women's demonstration and the Courts have even staged public executions. I decided against my argumentative reflexes and accepted that what is happening in Somalia now is much better than clans and warlords battling in the streets. At a time when thousands of Somalis are leaving their country due to economic hardship and insecurity, maybe it is nice to see one man optimistic about returning, regardless of what is in store for his countrymen socially, economically and politically.