Hiiraan Online

The Djiboutian contingent of AUSSOM is responsible for airport security. Although the airport is about 5 kilometers from the town, there is no or limited security presence there at night. Every morning, particularly on days when airplanes land, the local telecommunications antenna is disabled, and the Djiboutian contingent searches the landing area to ensure no explosives have been planted overnight. They also screen and check the luggage and other items carried by passengers traveling to Mogadishu. If the flight is delayed, there are no chairs or facilities for passengers to use while waiting. This is quite depressing to witness, but it reflects the reality the people of Buuloburte have lived with for many years. For those of us who live outside the town, however, we are grateful that there is an airstrip at all and a flight enabling us to visit our families and relatives.



Mahad Wasuge at the Buuloburte airstrip, where weekly flights bring a vital connection to the outside world / Credit: Supplied by Mahad Wasuge.

Looking around the town, not much seems to be changing. During my first year at university, I learned an economic concept in my microeconomics course that discussed the nexus between price, demand, and supply. To apply the theory, we used the assumption of “all things remaining constant” (meaning no external factors affecting demand and supply) to measure how a change in price has an impact on demand and supply. That same concept aptly applies to Buuloburte. It seems that things remain constant—or, in some cases, are deteriorating—with no external factors changing the status quo. I have occasionally traveled to Buuloburte since early 2021, and nothing seems to improve. Many shops on the main road remain closed, and economic opportunities are scarce.

Despite these realities, this is home. It is where I feel a sense of belonging. I visited and spent time with family members, relatives, neighbors, and friends. I asked my mother about the neighbors and visited them. I met with my brothers and sisters, visited key places, and reconnected with old friends.

Almost everywhere I went reminded me of good old times. Whenever I passed the location where my Al Imra Institute of Languages was once located, I recalled the days I was a student there, attending lessons inside the classroom and practicing English outside. One afternoon, I asked my friend, Liban Dirie, to accompany me and take a picture of me in front of the Al Imra Institute of Languages’ door. Before he took the photo, I asked him when he was born. He said 1997. I told him that I started studying English here, at this same door, in 1998. I greeted three gentlemen sitting nearby; they all knew my father personally!



Standing in front of the blue door of his former school, Mahad Wasuge revisits a place that played a formative role in his early education. / Credit: Supplied by Mahad Wasuge.

I also visited my Quranic Madarasa, founded by my late teacher Moalin Abdirahman Muhumed Ali, who sadly passed away on March 14, 2019, in Buuloburte. Moalin Abdirahman was a great man who devoted his entire life to teaching the Holy Qur’an to the younger generation. In 2005, a Kuwaiti woman sponsored the construction of our Madarasa and mosque. I gave an Arabic lecture at the opening ceremony. Moalin Abdirahman’s children (now grown men) continue to run the Madarasa. It was wonderful to meet Moalin Ahmed Rashid and Moalin Ibrahim, two of his sons.

I graduated from Ahmed Gurey Primary School in 2006. At that time, the school did not offer secondary education. I visited the school and spoke with Form Four and Form Two students. When I arrived, the school principal, Sheikh Mohamed, was in the Form Four class. He stopped the class and invited me to speak to the students. I gave them a short talk. The school was short of teachers (at least that day), so I filled in for the Form Two class. Most of the students in that class were born after I graduated from primary school. They were young, and I reminded them of the privilege and time they had and urged them not to waste it.



Outside Ahmed Gurey Primary School, where Mahad Wasuge reconnects with the next generation of students and reflects on his educational roots. / Credit: Supplied by Mahad Wasuge

People in Buuloburte rarely spoke to me about education, although the town has two universities. Mahad Nur Abukar, the son of the late Nur Abukar, was the only one interested in discussing this topic with me. He was studying at a university online. He runs a pharmacy, has family in Buuloburte, and does not have the luxury to travel for education. It was very evident to me that any ambitious person in Buuloburte struggles to access quality education. Leaving the town gave me access to opportunities that others there cannot access.

I left Buuloburte after a memorable week. I reconnected with old friends, including Abdirashid Omar Wehliye, my former football teammate, and had the chance to observe the town. People called me by my full name, and I engaged in discussions with many different individuals. This is where I belong. This is where I want to retire. The current circumstances in the town are not ideal; I even struggled to get a proper coffee. However, this town has shaped me, and I hope to support the district in any way possible.