9 May 2012

SOMALIA / PUNTLAND JOBS

The UN Refugee Agency in Somalia, which is helping displaced young Somalis with job training, says that without vocational programmes some of the young men who fled violence in Mogadishu could have ended up as pirates or joined an extremist militia. UNHCR

Posted at: May 9, 2012 2:05 pm

Duration: 02:53

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: SOMALIA / PUNTLAND JOBS
TRT: 2.53
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / SOMALI / NATS

DATELINE: 17-18 APRIL 2012, AL AMIN IDP CAMP, GALKAYO, SOMALIA

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide shot, Omar Sharriff Isse walking 
2. Wide shot, Omar walking in Al Amin camp for internally displace people (IDP)
3. Med shot, Omar talking to mother at the garbage collection point 
4. Wide shot, Omar and his mother leaving the garbage collection point
5. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Omar Sharriff Isse, IDP trainee: 
"I was helpless at that time. I worked as a shoe shiner in the town, sometimes helping to unblock sewage systems. I didn't know how to do any other jobs. My father had just died. We didn't have a lot to eat.¨
6. Various shots, camp 
7. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Omar Sharriff Isse, IDP trainee: 
"When we arrived in Galkayo, it was difficult to find a job as I didn't know anyone. I used to go to the market to look for work but no one would give you a job if you don't have any skills."
8. Various shots, Omar's mother and other women at the garbage collection point 
9. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Oliyow Mohamed Ali, Somali IDP: 
"This is a very difficult job, not even good for my dignity. I've never dreamt of doing such work but I have no alternative. I have to continue." 
10. Med shot, Omar with his mother at the garbage collection point 
11. Various shots, Omar at the welding workshop 
12. Med shot, Bruno Geddo talking to the graduates  
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Bruno Geddo, UNHCR Somalia: 
"It is a gain for society, because without this perspective, without possibility to have a vision and to look forward to what's a better future, these boys might have ended up in the end of a pirate or extremist militia and therefore their lives could have been spoiled forever."
14. Wide shot, Omar at the welding workshop 
15. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Omar Sharriff Isse, IDP trainee: 
"I want to continue from where I am. I already have set meetings with a few garage owners, to look for work."
16. Various shots, Omar receiving his certificate
17. Med shot, Omar with his classmates 
18. Wide shot, women dancing during the graduation ceremony

STORYLINE:

Omar Sharriff Isse is a man with a mission…he wants to return his family to a more comfortable life.

His mother and he fled Mogadishu, five years ago.

The fighting was too much. They had to close down the small restaurant they ran.

SOUNDBITE (Somali) Omar Sharriff Isse, IDP trainee: 
"I was helpless at that time. I worked as a shoe shiner in the town, sometimes helping to unblock sewage systems. I didn't know how to do any other jobs. My father had just died. We didn't have a lot to eat.¨

A week's journey led them to the Al Amin camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Galkayo town in Somalia's Puntland State.

SOUNDBITE (Somali) Omar Sharriff Isse, IDP trainee: 
"When we arrived in Galkayo, it was difficult to find a job as I didn't know anyone. I used to go to the market to look for work but no one would give you a job if you don't have any skills."

His mother took on a job as a garbage collector in the town, the family's only lifeline.

SOUNDBITE (Somali) Oliyow Mohamed Ali, Somali IDP: 
"This is a very difficult job, not even good for my dignity. I've never dreamt of doing such work but I have no alternative. I have to continue."

But she was determined to give her son a better life. She encouraged him to enroll in a skills training program provided by the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR.

Along with nineteen other boys, he trained to be a welder. Others took up carpentry.

UNHCR says that vocational skill training is a source of hope for the youth as well as their families.  
SOUNDBITE (English) Bruno Geddo, UNHCR Somalia: 
"It is a gain for society, because without this perspective, without possibility to have a vision and to look forward to what's a better future, these boys might have ended up in the end of a pirate or extremist militia and therefore their lives could have been spoiled forever."

Omar is determined to stay the course.

SOUNDBITE (Somali) Omar Sharriff Isse, IDP trainee: 
"I want to continue from where I am. I already have set meetings with a few garage owners, to look for work."

Omar has promised his mother that soon she will no longer have to pick garbage. His training gives him a real chance of finding a job. He says now more than ever things are bound to change for the better.