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Somalia — a land of plenty where two million people face starvation
MOGADISHU. Somalia. Aug 31: For those with money, there ts plenty to buy in this starving, desperate land, reports AP
Want a 110-pound (50-kilo-gram) bag of rice looted from the Red Cross? That will be 15 dollar, please. Looking for a forged passport to leave Somalia? Fifty bucks
War. anarchy and famine have obliterated the formal economy, but Informal markets thrive In the slums of Mogadishu, with much of the commerce conducted In dollar and stolen goods.
Between 1.5 and two million Somalis are In danger of starving to death. Including thousands in the capital, but you’d never know it by walking through Bakaaraha market, the City’s ta^gest.
There are bananas, grapefruit. watermelons, pasta, nuts, tea and candy. Thick slabs of fly-covered beef hang from outdoor stalls In the crowded, dirty market.
There ts an abundance of rice and beans, most of it looted from foreign aid deliveries. Merchants sell A man escorted by six armed comrades entered the market pushing a cart loaded with unopened sacks of rice bearing Red Cross markings. The market has become so glutted with stolen rice (hat the price for a 110-pound (50-ktlogram) Mck has dropped
straight from bags marked "Emergency Relief Aid" from the United States. Germany and Saudi Arabia from 80 dollar to 15 dollar.
The cruel fact in Somalia is that people with money can buy almost anything, including food intended for the starving
"Just tell me what you want to buy and 1 can find it for you." said Dlrtye Jama Barre, a Somali interpreter who guided a reporter and a photographer through the narrow, maze-like market.
Somalia was already a very poor land before dictator Mohammed Siad Barre was ousted last year. Subsequent battles between rival clans have flattened much of the capital. Including the commercial district. What survived the battles was looted when ever there was a lull in the shooting.
Only a few formal businesses operate. The electricity and telephone systems have been down since early last year There Is no government, police force or mall service.
Mohamed the money-cliangcr whips out his pocket calculator and. in return for 20 dollar, hands over 146.000 SomaU shillings. The stack of bills 1s the size of two bricks.
For 130 dollar. Mohamed will make you a Somali mil lionatre. but you would need a wheelbarrow to carry the cash
Hassan Abdulkarim Abdulk-who operates a tidy, well-stocked pharmacy in a large tin shed, takes pains lo point out that his supplies were acquired properly
"I have never bought any stolen goods." said Hassan. 33. "It is too dangerous. I don t want to deal with the men who cany the guns
He showed a visitor his supply of penicillin, a highly prized Item often stolen from foreign aid groups His vials are two years old and came from Zagreb when the Croatian cap! tai was still part of Yugoslavia.
At a nearby stall, men offered Somali passports for 50 dollar. For a diplomatic passport. you pay a premium.
The famine has done little to interrupt the supply of khat, a leafy stimulant many Somali men chew constantly. It tends lo make their behavior more aggressive and unpredictable as the day wears on.