Somalia’s Young ‘Face of War’

ABC's Dana Hughes reports from Nairobi: Like many 8-year-old boys, Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud was a cheerful kid who liked playing with toy helicopters and reading, according to the Associated Press.  But he was not an ordinary little boy. He was Somali and living in Mogadishu, a city that has been called the most dangerous place in the world. Deadly suicide bombings, mortar attacks and gun fights are a daily occurrence in Somalia. Mogadishu is considered the frontline of the battle between Al-Qaeda backed insurgents and the weak transitional Somali government. In this war, as is often the case, the innocent suffer the most.  Ahmed was one of the victims; shot in the face by a barrage of stray bullets last September as he was walking home from the market with his mother. An AP photographer happened to be nearby when the incident occurred and took photos as he was being carried away. Unlike other conflicts such as Afghanistan or Iraq, it is hard to find pictures or video of the human toll of Somalia’s on-going conflict. There are no U.S. or NATO troops for journalists to embed with for safety, and most of Somalia, especially Mogadishu, is considered too dangerous for foreign journalists to travel to alone.  So little Ahmed became the face of Somalia’s war; a child that represented the tens of thousands of children suffering in the country. As his pictures and story became publicized help began to pour in. An American-based aid group, American Somali Healthcare Foundation, paid for Ahmed to be flown to Kenya for reconstructive surgery.  The bullets shattered his cheek bones, nose, mouth and right eye. He was to have a series of surgeries to repair his face, and hopefully his life. Abdi Maahaay, the executive director of the organization tells ABC News. “We were working on bringing him to the United States for further medical treatment, for facial surgery.” But Ahmed won’t be going to the United States. He died yesterday of sudden intestinal bleeding. His doctor told the AP it could have been brought on by an ulcer or stress. Ahmed is survived by his parents and two older sisters. Humanitarian statistics in Somalia are grim:  According to the United Nations one out of every ten children dies before their first birthday, at least 140,000 die before their fifth. Nearly two million people are living as refugees, either within Somalia or in bordering countries. The war-torn country hasn’t had a functioning government in almost 20 years. It’s all information that’s repeated in any story, report or conversation about Somalia, but what’s often missing is the people behind the numbers. Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud was only one little boy, but he represented the millions of Somalis who live these statistics every day.