So now what? We have “resettled” over a hundred thousand Somalis into US cities, but lo-and-behold now we see that Somalis are going “home” for visits and Mogadishu is no longer the most dangerous city in the world. At minimum, we can now stop bringing so-called Somali “refugees” to America, right? How about a repatriation program where we send the Somalis we have educated, fed, and cared for, back to rebuild their own country!
The seaside Somali capital is enjoying a peace that, except for the infrequent attack, has lasted the better part of a year. Somalis who fled decades of war are coming back, as are U.N. workers who long operated out of Nairobi, the capital of neighboring Kenya.
Embassies are reopening and a U.S. assistant secretary of state visited here on Sunday, the highest-ranking U.S. official to set foot in Mogadishu since the infamous Black Hawk Down battle of 1993.
Minnesota resident Abdikhafar Abubakar fled Somalia in 1992, leaving behind his mother, three siblings and other family members. He planned to visit twice in previous years, but each time his mother warned it was too dangerous.
Last week, he finally returned to Mogadishu, where he saw his mother for the first time in two decades. This time she said it was safe and she welcomed him home with tears of joy. He later walked the streets with his brother.
“One thing I could say about Mogadishu as the most dangerous city in the world: I’ve been here one week and I never felt any danger,” Abubakar said. “When I was out walking around, I wasn’t scared. There was nothing to be scared of.”
Yippee!
Truth be told, Somalis have been traveling back and forth for years and years (we know for a fact that a Somali “leader” in Nashville has been doing that) which raises the question, if they could go back and forth, how could they claim to be in danger and in need of our protection?