Chapter Sixteen: The Rumors of Bossaso

  The convoy drove slowly through the streets and alleys of Bossaso, and with the consent of the Minister of Defense of Puntland, Li Lan's party was no longer as restrained as before.

  Looking out of the car window at the scenes along the road, Li Ran's first impression was desolation and disorder.

  On some smaller roads, it's hard to see pedestrians, and occasionally, people who have just missed being run over by a convoy are seen clutching their weapons tightly. The streets are littered with piles of debris everywhere, and from time to time, you can see a large empty space where the remains of collapsed buildings lie.

  "Turmoil, war, famine, the once prosperous Bosaso is now devoid of its former scenery. A large number of refugees have flooded in, the city is becoming increasingly chaotic, gangs are rampant, markets are in disarray, and areas under government control are scarce. Other places merely exist in name, but are actually controlled by other armed groups. These collapsed houses were all hit by bombs or artillery shells, no one would build new houses in such a place, and the land is starting to lie waste." Muhanmudi has seen this scene countless times before, and along the way, he slowly explains it to Li Lan, so that she can have a more intuitive understanding of Somalia.

  Distant gunfire echoed, the crisp sound of guns piercing through the roar of cars and entering everyone's ears. The soldiers began to be vigilant, and the heavy machine gun on top of the armed off-road vehicle also opened its safety catch.

  "Don't be too nervous, this kind of sound is very common in Somalia, the gunfire is still relatively far away from here, it's not targeting us." Muhanmudi hastily explained to the highly alert convoy.

  Li Lan also nodded and said: "Tell the warriors not to be too tense, just stay alert."

  "Is." Ahmed in the co-pilot's seat asked through the wireless intercom after conveying Li Lan's command, "Sir, are we going to spend the night here tonight?"

  "Yes, I'll go back tomorrow." Li Lan nodded, having come all the way to Bosaso, he didn't want to leave immediately.

  "I've already booked a room at the Bossaso International Hotel, it's the safest place in all of Bossaso. Because the Bossaso port is one of the two major ports in Somalia, there are many goods coming and going every day. So, there are often foreigners staying here, and they usually stay at the Bossasso International Hotel. It can be said that it's the safest place in Bossaso, no local armed groups will go there."

  "International Grand Hotel, do you need a passport?" Li Ran smiled slightly and asked.

  "Haha, in Somalia, as long as you have money, the rest is basically not required." Muhanmudi also smiled slightly.

  The fleet moved in the direction of the coastline, and during the conversation, a building surrounded by high walls in the distance caught Li Lan's attention.

  "What building is that?" Li Lan asked.

  "That's Bossaso Prison, where civilians who break the law and captured pirates are held," explained Mohamud.

  "Oh, so all the pirates are locked up in here?" Li Lan said.

  "No, this is just one of the prisons, holding a portion of the pirates, about a hundred or two." said Muhammad.

  "What about the other pirates?" Li Lan asked.

  "Some will be taken to international courts for trial, some will be locked up in other prisons, and some simply do not know where to go." Muhmudi shook his head.

  "Are the pirates being held here captured by government troops?" Li Lan asked.

  "Not necessarily, my friend, you also know that the Somali government doesn't have the ability to maintain its own ocean. The pirates caught by the government army are basically those who were caught after they landed ashore. Among them, not many pirates were caught by the government army, most of them were caught by foreign escort fleets and handed over to the Somali coast guard, detained here." Muhanmudi sighed and continued: "Actually, among those who claim to be pirates, how many are real pirates?"

  "Why?" seemed to spark countless curiosity in Li Ran towards the pirate.

  "My friend, not every Somali who goes to sea is a pirate. You know that many Somalis are pastoralists, but we also have fishermen. They used to make their living by catching tuna and other fish. Now, can you find any fishermen in Somalia? Our fishermen don't dare go out to sea. Just go to the coast and see how many fishing boats are left there to rust. Fishing boats from other countries come into our territorial waters to catch fish, let alone the exclusive economic zone. They can enter and exit our territorial waters at will, not to mention the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. These things are a huge joke for Somalia."

  "Sorry, my friend, I brought up something that made you unhappy." Li Ran sighed helplessly.

  "It doesn't matter, these are facts, sad and unfortunate facts. Whether or not we mention this issue, these are unchangeable facts that have already happened for over a decade." Muhanmudi shook his head and continued: "I used to have a good friend, he was my classmate, we studied together at the University of East Africa for five years. My friend, do you know where he is now?"

  Li Ran shook her head.

  "He's been locked up in here since last year. I used to come visit him almost every Friday, but it's been a long time since I've been here." said Muhammad.

  "Why?"

  His ancestors were fishermen and made a living by fishing. Last year, he was also on the fishing boat. I remember that it was the peak season for catching tuna at that time. They encountered an Indian naval warship escorting in the Gulf of Aden while they were conducting fishing operations. At that time, the Indian warship did not issue any warnings and fired shells at the fishing boat. The shells hit the fishing boat, and my friend's father and brother were killed by the shells. My friend was furious and picked up his weapon to shoot at the warship. As a result, he was caught as a pirate and imprisoned in Bossaso Prison.

  "Do you know? This is not the first time foreign warships have fired at our fishing boats in our territorial waters, and at that time they were very far away from the warship. My friend's shooting towards the warship was just to vent his anger, but the warship was completely out of range. However, those Indian naval personnel didn't even think about killing us, they just informed our coast guard, saying they caught pirates. After I learned about this, I asked for an investigation from multiple sides, but the coast guard ignored me. They are afraid of international powers and follow them around like dogs."

  "What about your friends now?" Li Lan was at a loss for words for a moment, the sorrow of a weak nation, this is similar to China after the Sino-Japanese War.

  "I don't know." Muhanmudi shook his head.

  "Is he dead?" asked Li Lan.

  "It's unclear, they said he was transferred to another prison, but I have no way of knowing the truth. From that day on, I never saw my friend again."

  Seeing Muhammad's mood wasn't very good, Li Ran didn't speak again.

  The fleet slowly made a circle along the coast, and here, Li Lan saw a scene that moved him deeply.

  The fleet passed through a small coastal village, where most of the houses were made of stone and very simple, only able to withstand the wind. However, in an empty space within the village, he saw children building a football goal with stones. The children used irregularly-shaped foam plastic as balls and kicked them around. Looking at the emaciated children, wearing tattered shorts and running barefoot on the stony ground, shouting and kicking the ball.

  Somalia has been plagued by years of civil war, and one of the main reasons for the turmoil is that clans have developed their own armed forces based on patrilineal blood ties, leading to constant conflicts and escalating violence. Despite being mentally prepared, the ubiquitous AK-47 rifles and barbed wire surrounding buildings everywhere tell Li Lan just how chaotic this place is.

  But in Somalia, there is not only the smell of gunpowder, but also the resilience, friendliness and yearning for a better life shown by Somali civilians during the war, which makes Li Lian feel deeply moved at all times.

  When the convoy entered the city of Bossaso, Li Lan saw many things that left a deep impression on him.

  The storefronts along the street are scattered, and there is no text on the signboards, but rather a pile of pictures. Whatever they sell inside will be painted on it. The most eye-catching thing is that each signboard has a picture of US dollars, reminding customers who come in that this store only accepts US currency.

  In this country, among the Somali clans of Mogadishu, such as Somaliland, Puntland, Rahanweyn and Awdal, only Somaliland has a relatively sound administrative system, which can carry out normal economic operations.

  Somalia has a high inflation rate. Periodic droughts not only raise food prices but also lead to massive livestock losses, even threatening the livelihood of citizens, increasing debt and economic stagnation. There is no unified monetary policy in the country, and the interest rates of Somali currency are set by themselves, with obvious differences.

  Foreign service and international smuggling are generally settled in US dollars. For over a decade, Somalia's borrowing on the international market has been basically frozen and stagnant. 70% of foreign debt creditors are official creditors. So far, there is no sign that the Somali government has made substantial progress in seeking financing and debt relief.

  After 1971, foreign funds were mainly obtained through aid. In the mid-1990s, the financial system began to recover and some new financial institutions were established, such as the Central Bank of Somaliland, Somali Barakaat Bank, Somali Mayaasia Commercial Bank, Puntland Central Bank and Dahabshiil Group Money Transfer Company.

  Dahabshiil is the most powerful company among them. Somalia lacks a systematic commercial banking system, and there are few traditional commercial banking services available domestically. There is no unified tax collection system nationwide, with taxes collected by local authorities in a somewhat random manner, especially in northern Somalia and the capital region, where tax policies can change suddenly.

  Here, one US dollar can be exchanged for nearly 30,000 Somali shillings.

  Li Lan even saw scenes of people carrying baskets of money to go shopping.