Bayahow: 

I spent 6 years in Jail Ogaden and every night that I was there I would think to myself, is tonight the night that I will die?  When we were taken from Jail Ogaden to Bayahow, they [the previous regime] promised us freedom, but all they did was take us from one prison to another. When I was brought to Bayahow, I was physically weak and malnourished, like so many of the other prisoners. We worked day and night carrying bags of cement, making bricks, building these houses. One time a friend of mine was picking up a brick and he fell to the ground because he was so weak.  I went over to help him and I ended collapsing to the ground next to him because I was physically weak as well.

 

While in Jail Ogaden, as propaganda to put a positive spin on the jail they brought in teachers and professors and allowed us to take courses. Myself and others were in the process of completing our first semester of college right before being taken to Bayahow, we only had to take our exams. They promised that we would continue in Godey and take our exams there, but it was false promises. When I was released from Bayahow, I came to Jigjiga and right away I went to the university in the hopes that they would have some mercy and understanding for my situation and let me continue my education that I had started in prison. They told me because I had not taken my exams and failed the semester that I could only continue through the extension program, which was costly and I could not afford at the time. However, I was motivated to learn and continue my education so myself and two others who had also been released from Bayahow enrolled in a private college. Unfortunately, we did not receive much help, so we worked hard and hustled and Allhamdulilah, we finished our degrees. I am now trying to continue for my Masters and perhaps one day for a PhD, I am hopeful.

I was in Jail Ogaden for 6 years. While I was in prison I suffered both mentally and physically. Both of my arms were broken, my back was badly injured, and I am now partially blind in my right eye. I could not describe to you all the unspeakable things that we went through while we were in Jail Ogaden. We would constantly be woken up in the middle of the night for evaluation, sometimes these evaluations would go on for hours, we had no time to pray, rest, or sleep.  While I was in prison I was diagnosed with TB, and as I was in the midst of completing my medication when we were taken to Bayahow. We were promised freedom and instead were taken to hell. We would work over 12-hour shifts doing hard labour, because I was physically weak I fainted multiple times and became unconscious. I was accused of being against progress and purposely not wanting to work. One day I was brought out in front of a crowd of other prisoners and one of the authorities said to the crowd, “do you see this man, he is sick”, referring to my political beliefs. The crowd was told to repeat those words over and over and they did. I was then told by authorities to leave the camp, I understood this to mean that they were setting me up to be killed. I was lucky enough to escape. A few days later Abdi Iley’s administration was toppled.

 

Due to the torture that I faced and because my hands and arms were broken several times I cannot lift anything heavier than two kilos, I have permanent nerve damage to my feet, and my left kidneys hurt to the point that I cannot sleep at times.  This has dramatically affected my ability to work. Whatever I receive now, Alhamdulillah, it is from God.

I was in Jail Ogaden for 5 years. While in Jail Ogaden, we were not able to get information about our family or friends. When we came out of Jail Ogaden and were being brought to Bayahow we were bombarded with information, news that someone’s father or mother had died, that their family members were also imprisoned, their family assets were completely taken away, someone’s wife had been forcefully married to someone else and so on. This heavily affected our mental health. In 2015, I had received news that one of my children had died but I had no idea which one it was. I spent three years wondering is it this one or that one. The day I came out of Jail Ogaden and I found out which one of my children had died it triggered the grieving process for me all over again.

 

When we were taken out of Jail Ogaden we were told that we would be freed, we had mentally prepared ourselves for freedom. However, Bayahow was just another prison, one in which we were treated like slaves, our humanity and honour was stripped from us. When we came to Bayahow there was nothing built, it was completely empty. During the day it was extreme hot and at night it was extremely windy and we had nothing to protect us from the harsh conditions. While in Bayahow, I was taken and forced to do an interview with BBC Somali because Human Rights Watch had written a report about the abuses in the region and they wanted me to lie to protect the regional government. Authorities were not satisfied with the interview that I gave and they threatened my life, I was one of the lucky few that ended up escaping Bayahow. Being in Jail Ogaden and Bayahow has impacted me mentally and physically. Till this day I have chronic pain in my head, neck, shoulder and feet due to years of abuse.

I was in Jail Ogaden for 4 years and 8 months. While I was in Jail Ogaden I was diagnosed twice with TB. When I was brought to Bayahow I was on TB medication. The advice given by doctors to individuals with TB is to not lift anything even as small as a jargaan filled with water. Yet, I was forced to work in the extreme heat of Bayahow while on TB Medication. Bayahow was an open-air prison, we were surround by Liyu police, we had no freedom, most everyone was in bad health. The expectations of the amount work we were to complete were highly unrealistic such as producing 4,000 cement bricks per day. If one group did not reach their quota, they would be forced to work throughout the night. Just like in Jail Ogaden, they would force us to lie to the public by bringing in reporters and they would ask us questions like ‘aren’t you healthier and better now’?

 

I currently have ongoing health issues due to having contracted TB multiple times while I was in prison. One of our biggest issues is not what we went through, that we can overcome with time. What is worst then the torture, the beatings, the slavery is the fact that those that committed those crimes, that did that to us are still living among us. I cannot count the number of perpetrators I have ran into on the street, in the market place etc. We have received no justice.

I was imprisoned in Jail Ogaden for 5 years. When we were brought to Bayahow most of us were in terrible health due to years of torture in Jail Ogaden. While in Bayahow I remember one night in which we were woken up around 10:00 pm, mind you we had been working all morning doing construction. There were 3-4 cars large trucks full of cement and we were instructed to go unload them. I picked up one of the bags and only took a couple of steps before dropping the bag on the floor. One of the government officials instructed me to pick up the bag, I replied to him I weigh 37 kilos and these bags of cement are 50 kilos, how am I supposed to carry it, I can barely walk? People would fall and faint all the time from exhaustion. They would be given pain relivers and then forced back to work.

 

Due to beatings from Jail Ogaden and the harsh conditions of Bayahow I have permanent damage to my left ear. I am unable to hear well and sometimes, especially when it is hot I hear a constant ringing in my ear. I also have permanent nerve damage on my feet due to torture and forced hours of standing. I feel as though my future died in Jail Ogaden, the time that I would have been learning and building my life was lost in jail. Myself and others had started our first year of college while in Jail Ogaden, even though the education we received while in prison was not the best. When I came out of Bayahow I attempted to continue my education but we were denied. There are so many of us from Jail Ogaden and Bayahow that want to continue our education, it wold be helpful if the government could provide us scholarships so we can try to rebuild our futures.

I was in Jail Ogaden for 5 years and I was one of the individuals that was sentenced to death. When I was taken from Jail Ogaden to Bayahow I was in poor health because of the years of torture and beatings that I had endured. At the time that I was taken to Bayahow I was weak both physically and mentally. The conditions of Bayahow were harsh and the weather was extremally hot. Imagine being malnourished, your body worn out from years of torture and then being forced to work and build homes, it was modern day slavery. Some of us were falling over and could barely stand on our own feet even before doing any labour. I would say that Bayahow was worst then Jail Ogaden, because although we faced torture and beatings in Jail Ogaden at least there were moments of relief. But in Bayahow, there was no relief we worked day and night.

 

When I was released from Bayahow, I came out with nothing. My family, like many others, also had nothing. Some of my family members had also been arrested and others had their assets taken away them, they themselves were struggling. I am grateful for the freedom that I have now, but besides peace, most of us are in the same conditions as when we first came out of Bayahow. I live with the trauma of both Jail Ogaden and Bayahow. I constantly have nightmares, thoughts, and memories of what I experienced. It has even impacted my ability to read, comprehend, think and understand - my mind has completely changed.

I was in Jail Ogaden for 5 years and none of the prisoners that were brought from Jail Ogaden to Bayahow were in any condition for such harsh forced labour. What was the most puzzling to me were how individuals with tuberculosis that had spent years in prison and were extremely weak and fatigued were forced to unload cement and do hard labour.  I remember a day where 96 individuals fainted from exhaustion.  Anyone that tried to intervene on behalf of those that were not fit to do hard labour would be labelled as being against the project or not wanting to work and would be punished. Bayahow was an open-air prison, we could not leave, we were not allowed to see our families, we had no choice.

 

Life after Bayahow has been difficult. At the beginning of the transition we were hopeful, but unfortunately, we have not received any help or support. The times that we have tried to empower ourselves and help ourselves we have faced extreme discrimination, especially from local government. For example, I tried competing for a government contract for a project, I was denied from even entering the process because of my political beliefs.