CITY OF GAROWE IN 1968

Garowe, May 6, 2019

“General, I have no decent place to house you in Garowe”, said the junior official representating the Central Government of the Somali Republic, inconveniently posted in Garowe, when General Ainaanshe’s small passenger plane had crash-landed in Garowe airstrip one day in 1968. That tells the story of this city and the extent of backwardness it has been evolving since 1968, and in fact, nothing much had changed for better in the town, until it had luckily become the Capital City of the State of Puntland in 1998.

General Ainaanshe was flying on his way to Hargeisa, the capital city of Northwest regions, when his two-engine plane lost one over Laas Anood, now regional capital of Sool Region. The plane’s pilot was the famous captain Haji Dhagax, now a Puntlander. Garowe airstrip used to be located in what is now a densely residential area in the middle of the City.

According to the captain Haji Dhagax, Garowe had neither a hotel nor a guest house for a visitor to stay overnight. That is why the Government Representative at time was in shock, not because of crash-landing of General Ainanshe’s plane, but his immediate worry about where to find a place to put up the General for the night in Garowe.

While the General was still at Garowe airstrip, someone had to run to the house of Ms. Maryan Muuse Mataan (RIP) to inform her of the new guest’s troubles in town. Maryan quickly took the General and his pilot to her home to smooth up their stay for the following several days – on the top, providing a Land-Rover vehicle and sweet water from her rain-water reservoir at home.

After few days, another plane had flown to Garowe to bring spare parts for the damaged plane and pick up the General to Hargeisa.

Pilot Haji Dhagax, in appreciating for Maryan’s unique home service and hospitality, had made the plane available to her to fly about 50 persons of her choice from Garowe to Mogadishu.

Captain Haji Dhagax was surprised sometime later to see Maryan Muuse Mataan coming out of General Ainaanshe’s Office in Mogadishu. The captain immediately asked Maryan, “Maryan, what can I do for you, anything, please?” She responded, ” thanks, Haji. Look at this big bank cheque to compensate me for your troubles back in Garowe”

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