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Journal
of the Anglo-Somali Society
Autumn
2001 Issue No. 30
Somalia:
Inspiration for a Novel
by Veronica Li
I was the World Bank's loan officer for Somalia in
1987-88. When I applied for the post, I did not have
the faintest clue as to what Somalia was about. After
six years of working in the Bank's East Asia Region,
my division chief advised me that in order to get ahead,
I needed to diversify my experience. I looked up the
Vacancy Information Service, spotted this vacancy which
suited my qualifications, and applied. Never could I
have guessed that Somalia was going to be the inspiration
of my first novel, Nightfall in Mogadishu.
The World Bank is a United Nations affiliate. Its official
name is the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD). It was established after the Second
World War to assist in the reconstruction of war-tom
countries. Since then, its emphasis has changed to the
"D" part of its name-the development of its
member countries by providing loans for productive purposes.
In 1960, it added a soft-loan component, the International
Development Association (IDA), which is funded by contributions
from developed countries. IDA lends to lowincome countries
with a small service charge, but free of interest.
When I joined the Somalia team, the Bank's lending
to the country was at its peak. Since Siad Barre renounced
"scientific socialism" and embarked on a program
to liberalize the economy, the Bank, together with other
western donors, responded with large amounts of aid.
The economy picked up, but at the same time, the government's
debt was mounting and its dependence on external aid
was inordinately high. There was a great imbalance in
the economy, and the reforms that were supposed to correct
the imbalance were implemented by fits and starts. The
government would move one step forward, doing just enough
to keep aid money flowing, but the moment heads were
turned the other way, it would take two steps back.
My First Visit
I visited Somalia for the first time in the spring
of 1988. This was the most exciting trip of my life.
Everything about Somalia fascinated me: the nomads and
their fierce independence, the government officials
who were more accessible than any other I knew, the
people on the streets who conducted their business without
paying me any attention, and the women in their graceful
costumes. Mogadishu was a quaint but charming city,
with its blend of cultures and magnificent view of the
Indian Ocean. Crime was unheard of, and I felt safe
walking around by myself any time of the day or night.
Underneath the euphoric first impression, however,
a sinister picture was also forming. There were reports
of corruption, misuse of donor funds, and political
oppression and unrest. The signal I got from my more
experienced colleagues was that these things happened,
and it wasn't our business to look into them. The World
Bank was an economic institution; politics wasn't our
concern. Corruption happened everywhere, and if we made
loans only to clean governments, we would be out of
business in no time. In those days, corruption was a
taboo subject in the Bank. It was not until the 1990's
that the Bank recognized that governance was an important
factor in the effectiveness of aid and opened the discussion
on corruption.
In the meantime, the Bank's assistance to Somalia went
on at full speed. Back home in late 1988, I woke up
to the news of the bombing of Hargeisa. In the aftermath
of an uprising, the government sent in its planes and
bombed the country's second largest city to ruins. Consultants
working on Bank-financed projects narrowly escaped and
told harrowing stories of the violence. The staff in
Washington was horrified, but as a lending institution,
our mission was to lend. We had targets to meet. Our
activities in the northwest came to a halt, but in the
rest of the country, it was business as usual.
This was when I decided that something was wrong. The
Bank may not be directly paying for the bombs and bullets
the government uses on its people, but for every school
the Bank pays for, the government has that much savings
which can be used for other purposes. In other words,
money is fungible. Fortunately for me, I was offered
a job in a different division. I ducked the moral dilemma
facing me and went to work in another country.
The Bank remained engaged in Somalia until the day the
government collapsed. Through my colleagues working
on Somalia, I followed closely the events that led to
the final explosion. The Somali tragedy moved me deeply,
and ever since then I have been searching for answers.
An editor once told me that a person should not write
about an experience until at least ten years after the
event. He was right, and I should have listened. I made
several false starts at capturing the story, but lacking
the perspective of objective distance, I fell short
of my goal. Several years ago, after I had left the
Bank and had all the time to pursue my hobbies, Somalia
was nagging at me again. I pulled out an old manuscript
and started to rework it. I have finally realized what
the story is. It is not about me, or the World Bank;
it is about Somalia.
Veronica Li's Nightfall in Mogadishu
About Viking Voyager: An Icelandic Memoir
About Confucius Says
About Journey Across the
Four Seas
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Nightfall in Mogadishu
(A thriller)
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