Mahad Wasuge

Going back to Buulaburte – my hometown – had a lot of emotional attachments. The last time I was in the city was August 2010, when I was about to start my sophomore year at Mogadishu University. I was now going back to the town after ten years and six months (or 10.5 years) on 16 February 2021. This time, it was not only me. I went back with my wife and our three young children – it was the first visit for all of them. We were all happy and excited about the trip.

Twenty years ago today, on a Thursday morning, 7th December 2000 (10th Ramadan 1421) my father died in Buulaburte, a district in the Hiiraan region. That night I was sharing a room with my three younger brothers. We woke up crying.

On 19 July 2020, I travelled to Dhusamareb, the capital of Galmudug State, for Somali Public Agenda study on Galmudug reconciliation process. It was my first trip to the famous old town. In the past, I visited several Galmudug districts, but access to Dhusamareb was not possible at that time due to the presence of Ahlu Sunna Wal Jameeca (ASWJ), which was at loggerheads with the Galmudug administration then based in Adaado.

After 11 years since our graduation from Sheikh Mohamed Moalin Primary and Secondary School in Beledweyne, I spent a memorable day with some of my high school classmates in Mogadishu. We had a lunch and afternoon tea/coffee together at the Peace Garden (Beerta Nabadda) in Mogadishu, a green space that people come for photos, weddings, celebrations and family gatherings.

On a sunny August day in 2019, I landed at Garowe’s Gen. Mohamed Abshir airport. I had visited Garowe several times in the past, however, this was the first time I had used the city’s new airport. This was the beginning of a three-week trip. During this period, I visited Badhan, Buuhoodle, and Gaalkacyo (North).

It was exactly ten years ago today, 14 August 2009, when I came to Mogadishu with a mission to study at university. It was the second time I had left my home town, Buulaburte, for study. Three years earlier, in 2006, I went to Beledweyne to pursue a secondary education because there was no high school in Buulaburte. When I finished secondary school in Beledweyne in June 2009, the city had no university. The nearest possible place I could access higher education was Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia.