WardheerNews (WDN) Interview with BBC Africa Specialist Mary Harper
WardheerNews
May 07, 2012
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Editor’s Note: Mary
Harper is not new to Africa. As the Africa Editor at the BBC World
Service, she has reported on Africa for over two decades and has a
special interest on Somalia. In essence, she has extensively covered the
country’s civil war, famine, militant groups, piracy, economic growth,
foreign intervention, humanitarian aid, and more. Mary is the author of
Getting Somalia Wrong? Faith, War and Hope in a Shattered State,
published in February 2012 by Zed Books. Not only has Mary Harper
covered Somalia, but she has been to hot zones in Africa, such as
Algeria, Sudan, Sierra Leone, and Congo. Her articles have appeared in
The Washington Post, The Economist, Granta, The Guardian, and The Times
of London, to mention just a few. Mary has also lectured on such topics
as Somalia, migration, and the international media at conferences,
symposiums, and events organized by the United Nations, Oxford
University, University College London, and Médecins Sans Frontières.
Mary is a graduate of Cambridge University and the School of Oriental
and African Studies in London. This interview was conducted by WDN’s own
Hassan M. Abukar.
WardheerNews (WDN): What inspired you to become a journalist?
Mary Harper: I think my
natural curiosity and love for reading, storytelling and writing
inspired me to become a journalist. I never made a conscious decision
to become a journalist; rather I followed my instincts which have
always pushed me in the direction of finding things out and
communicating them to other people. I started my career by finding out
what I didn’t want to do, working briefly in the academic and
development fields. I then trusted my instincts, followed my passion,
and became a journalist. I don’t really see journalism as a job but as a
wonderful opportunity to do what I love best, every day of my life.
WardheerNews (WDN): How did you become interested in Africa, and especially Somalia?
Mary Harper: I grew up
in Kenya, where my father worked at the University of Nairobi. When I
came back to the UK, I always found myself being pulled back to Africa.
I focused on the continent in my studies to postgraduate level, and
all the work I have ever done has been connected with Africa. I became
especially interested in Somalia because of my mother. When I first
joined the BBC African Service in the early 1990s, she was working as a
nurse in Mogadishu, which was being torn apart by war following the
ousting of the government of President Siad Barre. She had rare access
to a satellite phone so I had a hotline to the country and access to up
to date information. I worked closely with my colleagues at the BBC
Somali service, learning from them and reporting on a daily basis what
was happening in the country. I was then sent to cover events on the
ground by my boss, the editor of the Focus on Africa radio program,
Robin White. He told me not to have any preconceptions, saying ‘open
your eyes and report what you see’, one of the best pieces of advice on
journalism I have ever received. I found Somalia fascinating and
complicated, a bit like mathematics, a subject I love. I became
addicted to the country, and try to understand and discover a bit more
about it every single day. I am still only at the beginning!
WDN: How long have you reported on the continent in general and Somalia in particular?
Mary Harper: I have
reported on Africa and Somalia for more than twenty years. I have seen
good things, bad things, beautiful things and ugly things. I have seen
the continent simultaneously lurching backwards and leaping forwards,
although in the past few years it has been more forwards than backwards.
WDN: Why is it hard for Somalia to shake off all the negative labels that have been attached to the country, such as being called a ‘failed state’ or considered a bastion of terrorism and piracy?
Mary Harper: I believe
many policy makers, media practitioners and others have locked Somalia
into a set of stereotypes, seeing it as a land of pirates, Al Qaeda
linked extremists, corrupt politicians and starving people. Although
all of these elements exist in Somalia, there are many other stories to
tell. Many people seem unable or unwilling to see anything positive
about the territory. They see it is a ‘failed state’, full stop.
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WDN: In your book, Getting Somalia Wrong, are you challenging the conventional wisdom of how the world should view and approach Somalia?
Mary Harper: My book
tries to present a more complete picture of what is happening in
Somalia, drawing on what I have seen on the ground, what I have learned
by speaking to Somalis and experts on Somalia and from reading about
it. I believe that since 9/11 much of the world has been unable to see
Somalia outside the prism of Al Qaeda, which is limiting and in many
ways destructive to Somalia and Somalis, and to global policy in
general. Although there are a lot of sad, bad things happening in
Somalia, there is also a tremendously positive, dynamic and
entrepreneurial spirit there, which is often ignored.
WDN: What have you learned from covering Somalia and talking to, as you said, “From presidents to pirates, millionaire businessmen to those who have lost everything?”
Mary Harper: I have
learned that almost no Somali thinks that he or she is better or worse
than any other, that the society is more horizontal and democratic than
many others in the world. I have learned that relationships of trust,
often based around clan networks, are central to the Somali way of life
and the success of its economy. I have learned as much from nomads I
have met in the middle of nowhere as I have from presidents in their
palaces. I have also learned that every Somali has his or her story to
tell, a story that might be very different to that of the next Somali I
speak to, especially when it comes to politics.
WDN: Why do you argue the Somali economy has shown vitality and growth given that the country has had no centralized effective government for over 21 years?
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Harper with the legendary Somali Poet Hadrawi
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Mary Harper: I based my
discussion of the economy on what I have seen on both the ground within
Somalia and in Somali communities abroad, as well as from studies and
reports on the subject. It appears that the collapse of central
government has in some ways contributed to the growth of the economy,
because business has been freed from the often restrictive conditions
imposed by the government of President Siad Barre. Somalis do not
operate in an easy business environment due to the lack of
infrastructure and the occupation by militias of many parts of the
territory, but they have an amazing confidence, imagination and
dynamism.
WDN: Why do you argue that the Union of Islamic Courts’ (UIC) brief rule of Mogadishu was effectively positive when the group had the dangerous al-Shabab militant wing?
Mary Harper: Many
Somalis have told me that the period of UIC control brought a higher
degree of peace and safety to some parts of central and southern
Somalia than that prevailing since 1991. Al Shabaab emerged as a more
powerful and dominant force after the Ethiopian forces invaded Somalia
and chased out the UIC in the early months of 2007. The UIC was by no
means perfect, but from what people have told me, it seems to have
provided a breathing space, at least in terms of security, despite
introducing restrictions on many areas of life.
WDN: Do you think the American government miscalculated the UIC when it helped Ethiopia invade Somalia and thus actively undermined its rule of Mogadishu?
Mary Harper: The US
government appeared to believe the UIC represented a more violent and
sinister threat than it did in reality. This is partly because the US
was fed a line by a group of warlords who opposed the UIC. They knew
how to touch a nerve with the Americans, largely by suggesting the UIC
was linked to Al Qaeda.
WDN: Why do you say the world is better off leaving Somalis alone to solve their own problems with no intervention from the international community?
Mary Harper: I do not
believe the answer is for Somalis to be left entirely to themselves.
That approach – which was in some ways practiced during the 1990s after
the withdrawal of the US and UN – did not lead to stability and
safety. However, most international interventions have backfired,
although the current involvement of Turkey in south-central Somalia
appears to be making some progress. The endless international
involvement in Somalia means that, in many ways, Somalis have been able
to get away with not taking responsibility for their own problems.
WDN: Why is Somaliland more stable than southern Somalia?
Mary Harper: I think one
reason why Somaliland is more stable than southern Somalia is that it
has not encountered the same level of foreign intervention and
interference. Somaliland built itself up largely on its own from the
rubble of war into a functioning entity that is in many ways the most
democratic in the Horn of Africa. It has done this from the grassroots,
blending the traditional Somali style of governance with a more
modern, Western system.
WDN: Do you think the traditional way of governing Somalia had before the colonial period can reconcile with the modern way of governance?
Mary Harper: I believe
the self-declared republic of Somaliland has shown that this can work. I
am not sure a similar model could be replicated in south-central
Somalia because the period of instability there has lasted for so long.
Many people say traditional structures, including the important role
of the elders, has been destroyed in the south. It is possible it will
be revived to some degree in the new political dispensation due to come
into being from August this year.
WDN: What do you think of Somalia’s Roadmap and the government’s attempt to adopt a constitution?
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Mary Harper on assignment in Somalia
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Mary Harper: It is too
early to tell whether the new constitution will work, or even come into
being, as Somalia is in the middle of a process. Previous attempts to
create some kind of functioning political system for the country have
failed. A lot of people have vested interests in the perpetuation of
the transition and indeed of the conflict, so I do not imagine this is
going to be an easy process. I would not be surprised if there were
delays, and I am aware that there is already a great deal of political
bickering and game playing going on.
WDN: What do you predict for Somalia after August 2012 when the Transitional Federal Government term expires?
Mary Harper: It is as
yet unclear whether this deadline will be met. If it is, I cannot
imagine the process will be smooth or simple. However, there seems to
be a momentum and a will, from many inside and outside Somalia, to come
to some kind of functioning arrangement. It is possible that as more
power is devolved to the regions, and as more parts of Somalia become
stable, frictions will develop between these regions, similar to the
problems between Puntland and Somaliland. It is possible that the
complexion of Somalia’s conflict will change, to one of violent
competition between powerful regions. It is unclear what the discovery
of oil will do to the situation apart from bringing into the mix the
interests of more outside powers, including India and China.
WDN: Thank you
Mary Harper : You are welcome
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