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SOMALIA / CHENG-HOPKINS WRAP
STORY: SOMALIA / CHENG-HOPKINS WRAP
TRT: 5.14
SOURCE: AU / UN IST
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 5, 8 MAY 2014, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA / 7 MAY 2014, HUDUR, SOMALIA / 6 MAY 2014, KISMAYO, SOMALIA
8 MAY 2014, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
1. Wide shot, press conference hall with journalists
2. Close up, camera screen with image of United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, ASG Judy Cheng-Hopkins
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Judy Cheng-Hopkins, United Nations Assistant Secretary- General for Peacebuilding Support:
“The feeling is that there are sufficient windows of opportunity, windows of opportunity in certain parts of the country where we should invest now in peace-building, so that the sustainability of the peace can be preserved and not wait for the entire country to go into peace before we invest.”
4. Med shot, journalists filming the press conference
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Nicholas Kay, UN Special Representative of the Secretary- General for Somalia (SRSG):
“Without additional funding, I am afraid that women and children and vulnerable people will begin to suffer both from food shortages and inadequate medical treatment. This is an urgent and serious situation and we are watching very, very carefully the potential for food insecurity in the next months in Somalia.”
6. Wide shot, press conference room
7 MAY 2014, HUDUR, SOMALIA
7. Wide shot, UN Helicopter landing
8. Wide shot, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding support, ASG Judy Cheng-Hopkins exiting helicopter
9. Wide shot, ASG Cheng-Hopkins greeting Hudur Governor and officials
10. Wide shot, officials walking away from helipad
11. Med shot, officials walking
12. Wide shot, Hudur town
13. Wide shot, men seated next to a building
14. Med shot, men seated
15. Wide shot, ASG Cheng-Hopkins walking through Hudur market
16. Wide shot, ASG Cheng-Hopkins talking to traders
17. Med shot, ASG Cheng-Hopkins chatting to traders
18. Wide shot, market in Hudur
19. Med shot, women selling merchandise at the market
20. Close up, sack of sorghum
21. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Barey Omar, Trader:
“Everyone is afraid of al Shabaab and that’s why they are not bringing food. When people try to bring food, al Shabaab will stop them and their vehicles are burnt and their donkey-carts are burnt as well.”
22. Med shot, ASG Cheng-Hopkins touring the market
23. SOUNDBITE (English) Judy Cheng-Hopkins, United Nations Assistant Secretary- General for Peacebuilding Support:
“The immediate needs are so high like the shortage of food, vast shortage of food, water supplies; it’s so serious from what we have heard from everybody. Number one and number two, this whole question of finishing the business of liberating these areas completely is so high that you have to prioritize things, in terms of the peace building that we normally do.”
24. Pan right, ASG Cheng-Hopkins and official walking through the market
6 MAY 2014, KISMAYO, SOMALIA
25. Wide shot, UN plane arriving at Kismayo International Airport
26. Med shot, propellers of the aircraft
27. Wide shot, UN delegation walks out of the airport
28. Wide shot, ASG Cheng- Hopkins and officials entering a building
29. Pan left, meeting with women, youth and elders
30. Med shot, ASG Cheng-Hopkins and other officials at the high table
31. Med shot, people in the meeting
32. Close up, face of a man
33. Med shot, ASG Cheng-Hopkins address the meeting
34. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdirahman Hassan, Executive Director of Voluntary Initiative for Social Development:
“What we are dealing with here is youth because of unemployment, because of lack of jobs here, lack of opportunities getting stressed and all that, joining militant groups just to make a living. What we are talking about is people earning 20 dollars to go and lay a bomb on the roadside, such a thing is what we are dealing with here. So the most important thing and what peace building projects usually do is create jobs for them, make them an alternative life, teach them skills; we are talking about vocational skills, training skills for them, we are talking about public work so that at least they can make an alternative form of life.”
35. Close up, aircraft propellers running
36. Wide shot, UN aircraft leaving
5 MAY 2014, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
37. Wide shot, ASG convoy arriving at the Somali Prime Minister’s office
38. Med shot, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding support (ASG) Judy Cheng- Hopkins and Special Representative of the Secretary General for Somalia (SRSG) Nicholas Kay entering the Prime Minister’s Office
39. Wide shot, ASG Cheng-Hopkins received by the Somali Prime Minister
40. Med shot, SRSG Nicholas Kay
41. Wide shot, UN officials and Prime Minister talking
42. Med shot, ASG Cheng-Hopkins
43. Med shot, Somali Prime Minister and ASG Judy Cheng-Hopkins walking into press conference
44. SOUNDBITE (English) Judy Cheng-Hopkins, United Nations Assistant Secretary- General for Peacebuilding Support:
“I am very happy to say that we’ve just had very fruitful discussions with the Prime Minister. I think we had really quite an in-depth, very frank discussion of the road ahead for this country. It seems very, very promising. So we discussed everything as you can imagine, from the constitutional reform to the new federalism, to what we do in so-called Shabaab cleared areas, to how we can deal with the youth, how can we deal with women groups and generally, how we can have reconciliation and outreach with the local communities that may have felt a little bit left out through the decades, in this new day ahead, in this new future for Somalia.”
45. Wide shot, journalist taking pictures at the press conference
The United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support has concluded a 5-day visit to Somalia, with an announcement of further investment in addressing the country’s peacebuilding needs.
Judy Cheng-Hopkins has over the course of her visit held meetings with several officials of the Federal Government of Somalia, members of civil society, youth, women and the leadership the Jubba Interim Administration in Kismayo.
On her last day in Somalia, addressing a press conference in Mogadishu Cheng-Hopkins observed that Somalia still suffers conflict but has areas that enjoy relative peace, which need immediate investment to ensure that the situation is sustained.
“While Somalia still has internal conflict and still has a problem with Al Shabaab and with other groups, the feeling is that there is sufficient windows of opportunity in certain parts of the country where we should invest now in peace-building, so that the sustainability of the peace can be preserved and not wait for the entire country to go into peace before we invest,” she said.
Cheng-Hopkins also announced additional funding worth $7 for immediate response in the newly recovered areas. This is in addition to the $3 million allocation announced from the UN Peacebuilding Fund in March this year. The funds will be used to support stabilization and peace-building efforts in newly recovered areas.
The UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia Nicholas Kay noted that the country’s humanitarian needs remain enormous and under-funded. He warned that unless more funding comes forth, the Somali people, especially women and children will continue to face multiple challenges.
He noted that the consolidated appeal for humanitarian work has only been funded 12 percent by the international donor community and said that “without additional funding I am afraid that women and children and vulnerable people will begin to suffer both from food shortages and inadequate medical treatment.”
The Global Humanitarian Response for Somalia 2014 seeks $927.5m, for assistance of 3.18m people.
Cheng-Hopkins also visited Hudur, one of the newly recovered towns in the Bakool region, where she met with the Governor, District Commissioner and residents.
Residents of Hudur say the roads leading to the town have been cut off by al Shabaab, blocking food supply routes. The extremists have also made it impossible for people who had fled the town earlier to return to their homes.
Cheng-Hopkins who held meetings with the town Governor, District Commissioner, youths and women empathized with the population and noted that their needs require immediate attention.
She said “the immediate needs are so high like the shortage of food, vast shortage of food, water supplies; it’s so serious from what we have heard from everybody. Number one and number two, this whole question of finishing the business of liberating these areas completely is so high that you have to prioritize things, in terms of the peace building that we normally do.”
The area leadership estimates that there are 14,000 people living in Hudur, while thousands who had fled the town earlier are stranded in the outskirts. Water and food prices have increased drastically as a result of limited supply. Residents say the people attempting to bring food to the town are tortured and killed by al Shabaab.
Barey Omar, a trader in Hudur town says the suppliers have been threatened.
The United Nations Assistant Secretary General for peacebuilding support has underscored the need for youth engagement to fight unemployment and subsequent vulnerability to exploitation by terrorists.
The previous day, Cheng-Hopkins visited Kismayo, where she held meetings with the leadership of the Jubba Interim Administration, youths and women in the area.
The youths appealed for support, to develop skills or engage in activities that would help alleviate poverty from their communities.
Abdirahman Hassan, Executive Director of Voluntary Initiative for Social Development, a civil society organisation noted that youth unemployment has a direct impact on the country’s security.
On her first day in Somalia, she held meetings with the Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, the Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Sheik Osman Jawaari, the Minister for Interior and Federalism as well as the Finance Minister.
Speaking after the meeting with the Prime Minister, the ASG Cheng-Hopkins said the talks had been very productive, with specific focus on support towards the areas newly liberated from the al Shabaab.
She pledged further support from the United Nations to improve the lives of people living in these areas and across Somalia.
She said “I am very happy to say that we’ve just had very fruitful discussions with the Prime Minister. I think we had really quite an in-depth, very frank discussion of the road ahead for this country. It seems very, very promising. So we discussed everything as you can imagine, from the constitutional reform to the new federalism, to what we do in so-called Shabaab cleared areas, to how we can deal with the youth, how can we deal with women groups and generally, how we can have reconciliation and outreach with the local communities that may have felt a little bit left out through the decades, in this new day ahead, in this new future for Somalia.”
The Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed expressed his gratitude to the UN for the continued support and provision of funding to areas of critical need for the Somali people.
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