Mennonite
Central
Committee

MCC worker helps Somali militias disarm

Tim Shenk
February 16, 2006

Rival warlords and militias have fought each other for control of Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, since the collapse of the Somali government in 1991. Machine guns are common weapons in this violence and are often available in local markets for as little as $35 Cdn., or $30 U.S.

Christy Sprinkle, an MCC worker in Mogadishu, is helping a Somali organization collect machine guns that local people turn in to be destroyed.

SAACID, an MCC partner organization, is collecting machine guns from 512 militia members in exchange for vocational training. Sprinkle is helping SAACID document the project by taking photos, shooting videos and writing reports.

"For the entire month of December militia (members) came daily to register, do interviews, and test their weapons," Sprinkle writes in an e-mail. "If the weapon fired, it was taken and they were told to show up to register for classes on January 1st."

Militia members are attending classes in literacy, basic math and business skills in exchange for giving up their machine guns. When the classes are finished, SAACID will destroy the guns in a public ceremony.

"People are ready for peace — and society has to reintegrate those fighters into society, when all they've known for years is the gun," Sprinkle writes.

SAACID reports that the project has already had an effect on the prices of machine guns in local markets. Because fewer guns are available, they now cost about $175 Cdn., or $150 U.S.

Sprinkle is from Austin, Texas, where she attended Austin Mennonite Church.