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LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM PRESIDENT MUSTAFE'S OFFICE
Meeting with Regional President Mustafe Muhumed Omar at Jail Ogaden
18 May, 2020
We organized a meeting in the infamous of Jail Ogaden and invited President Mustafe Omar, other government officials, the community, and the media. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how SRS government could support victims. Some of the points that came out of the meeting included: -
1- for the government to provide OVS with an office and
2- workforce and livelihood development for victims.
A Survey Report on the Somali Region Mass Graves
The survey's findings revealed that civilians of all ages were killed. The massacred included people aged 90 and 12 years old, with the average age of those killed being 36. Both sexes were killed, with women accounting for 10% of those killed during the conflict. These individuals were not members of the armed insurgent force; 58% were pastoralists, 19% were farmers, and 9% were students. This survey's mass graves are located in the Somali zones, and the number of people killed in each zone is as follows: Jarar (121), Fafan (93), Korahey (46), and Dollo (37). According to the findings, everyone in each mass grave was killed at the same time.
Bayahow: The aftermath of Jail Ogaden
I was in Jail Ogaden for 5 years. While in Jail Ogaden, we were not able to get information about our family or friends. When we came out of Jail Ogaden and were being brought to Bayahow we were bombarded with information, news that someone’s father or mother had died, that their family members were also imprisoned, their family assets were completely taken away, someone’s wife had been forcefully married to someone else and so on. This heavily affected our mental health. In 2015, I had received news that one of my children had died but I had no idea which one it was. I spent three years wondering is it this one or that one. The day I came out of Jail Ogaden and I found out which one of my children had died it triggered the grieving process for me all over again.
When we were taken out of Jail Ogaden we were told that we would be freed, we had mentally prepared ourselves for freedom. However, Bayahow was just another prison, one in which we were treated like slaves, our humanity and honour was stripped from us. When we came to Bayahow there was nothing built, it was completely empty. During the day it was extreme hot and at night it was extremely windy and we had nothing to protect us from the harsh conditions. While in Bayahow, I was taken and forced to do an interview with BBC Somali because Human Rights Watch had written a report about the abuses in the region and they wanted me to lie to protect the regional government. Authorities were not satisfied with the interview that I gave and they threatened my life, I was one of the lucky few that ended up escaping Bayahow. Being in Jail Ogaden and Bayahow has impacted me mentally and physically. Till this day I have chronic pain in my head, neck, shoulder and feet due to years of abuse.
This is a first of its kind report detailing the experiences of Jail Ogaden prisoners in Bayahow, a forced labour camp, 3 years after its closure. Over 800 ONLF political prisoners were transported from Jigjiga to Bayahow camp in early 2018 to continue their imprisonment under harsh new conditions. Today, survivors are voicing their experiences in battling the physical, psycho-social and economic ramifications of years of imprisonment and calling for justice and accountability. Read their stories below:
Click here for the English full report
Click here for the Somali full report
The Dark History Of imprisonment in the Somali region: A Victim's Perspectives.
