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Read, Debate: Engage.
| topic: | Human Rights |
|---|---|
| located: | Somalia |
| editor: | Bob Koigi |
When Somalia erupted into a protracted civil war in the 1990s, the once vibrant Horn of Africa, a nation christened ‘The Switzerland of Africa’ descended into unprecedented anarchy that brought the economy to its knees, displaced millions and forced tens of thousands more to flee from the country. It is an event that shaped the country’s soul forever. As is the case with all conflicts, women and children bore the greatest brunt of the instability facing hunger, torture and even rape.
In the midst of the skirmishes, one woman, moved by the plight of the vulnerable, opened her life and limited resources to accommodate thousands who have never known any other home to date.
Dr Hawa Abdi, one of Somalia’s first female obstetricians and lawyers, who was running a clinic in her family’s home when the war happened, welcomed the wounded and the displaced – allowing them to set up homes in the compound. To handle the overwhelming number of casualties, she trained doctors and nurses, treated those wounded in the conflict irrespective of their affiliations, performed numerous surgeries and set up a farm and education projects to keep the refugees busy and occupied. She fiercely rejected clan politics that had driven the country to war and insisted that anyone who lived in her family’s compound had to embrace the philosophy of unity that she fervently preached.
An avid human rights champion who passed on this month at the age of 73, Dr Hawi was fondly referred to as the Mother Teresa of Somalia or Mama Hawi. Today, the compound has a 400-bed healthcare facility and accommodates more than 90,000 people who have found peace, purpose and solace in a country that sporadically erupts into pockets of violence.
But in her line of duty, she paid the price. In 2010 and 2012, Islamist militant group Al Shabaab stormed her facility, vandalized it, ordered her to close it and placed her under house arrest. Pressure from the international community would later see the insurgent group allow her to operate and even apologise to her. She would also face land grabbers who wanted to steal a section of her compound which would have displaced the refugees she had hosted.
Somalia’s President Mohamed Farmaajo eulogized her as “a gold wave in our country and a good impact on the lives of thousands of Somali families.”
As the world increasingly descends into coups and civil wars with women and children paying the ultimate price, Dr Hawi has left a legacy and a lesson on the value and essence of protecting the most forgotten and biggest casualties of any conflict. Your name will always have pride of place in the annals of global peace and unity Mama Hawi.
Image by Eunice Lau - “Through the Fire” trailer
