European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 7, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pago 10 the stars and stripes Somalia thursday january 1993 villagers camels on runways give pilots nightmares by Vince Crawley staff writer Mombasa Kenya a military cargo pilots barnstorming across Southern Somalia worry More about camels and wandering herdsmen than gun toting somalian bandits. Quot the most important thing for us and i know it sounds silly but we re afraid a Camel or a sheep or a cow will come out on. The runway said capt. Chris Salvucci a c-130 Hercules cargo Pilot who s been flying missions in Somalia for almost three weeks. With Takeoff speeds around 110 Mphil and Landing speeds up to 160 Mph air Crews Are continually on the Lookout for stray beasts and herders. Many of the dirt airstrips used for humanitarian and resupply flights Are also used As roads by local villagers said capt. De Youngstrom a c-130 navigator from Dyess fab Texas. Quot a Road comes in goes Down the runway for a while and goes out the other Side Quot Youngstrom said. So every time they land the aircrews first make a warning pass Over the runway. Quot and yes we be had people go out on the runway in front of us a he said adding that some villagers Quot just done to know any  by necessity the airstrips Are near feeding centers. When hungry somalian Farmers and herdsmen a Wnok be been turned into nomads by the anarchy of the civil War a wander near town in search of food they usually bring their cattle with them. Quot their property is their herds a Salvucci said. Quot its logical that they a keep them  _ Salvucci flies with the 23rd Wing out of Pope fab . A recent air Force re shuffle left the. Wing with a Squadron a nicknamed the flying tigers a of a-10 Thunderbolt ii ground attack planes the kind that get Sharks Teeth painted on their noses. All the other aircraft in the Wing including the cargo planes id Fol Lowed suit and painted on the Teeth a Motif usually reserved for warplanes. A dozen or More . Planes Fly daily out of Mombasa spending the next 12 to 18 hours ferrying Between somalian airstrips that Are in varying states of disrepair. Salvucci a closest Call came from a Camel at the far end of one strip in the somalian Outback when a we rolled out and a Camel was just standing Over there in the Middle of the runway right where we wanted to Park a the Pilot said. Quot As we got up to him he did no to care one Way or the other. We had a 135,000 air plane coming at him with four engines kicking up a Cloud of dust with Sharks Teeth on the nose and that Camel just did no to seem concerned about it.�?�. The air plane stopped in time and eventually a Herdsman ran out and got the beast to Trot away. Camels can be just As dangerous As the planes reach Takeoff Speed. Pilots routinely Rev their engines to maximum horsepower before releasing the wheel brakes. The ensuing Jolt jostled passengers who arc mostly Dusty marines leaving one desolate part of Somalia Only Toland at another. The Quick Takeoff Means that Quot Well be Able to hop skip or jump Over the Camel a Salvucci said. Between landings and takeoffs however the mood sometimes becomes almost festive. At some stops villagers a will actually do dances on the Back of the air plane a Salvucci said. He recently flew into waa Jid where locals came out to heft the 100,-Pound bags of Grain from the Back of the cargo Jet. A the whole time they were offloading they were singing and chanting Quot Salvucci said. After they filled one truck was and were waiting for the next truck to come in the villagers Sang clapped and danced. Quot one Guy stood on his head almost like break dancing a said Salvucci who hails from Bossier City la. He compared the somalian rhythms to those of american rap performers. At other stops villagers a actually push themselves in front of someone else because they want to be the one who takes the next bag off a the Pilot said. However Salvucci had one grim Stop where someone forgot to Tell the villagers to show up. So he and other Crew members along with eight marines heaved the food off the plane under the equatorial Sun and the hot oily engine exhaust. Tired and covered with sweat they looked up and Down the runway for stray camels before taking off for their next Dusty Mission in a Pinch a somalian youth screams tuesday As a . Military policeman pulls him away from the Entrance to the port at Mogadishu. The boy and two others were detained while trying to steal food donated by the International Community. With men at War women take on new roles by Daniel Williams los Angeles time Mogadishu Somalia a at the afternoon Market for khat the leaves that somalis Chew As a stimulant and mild narcotic the sales people once were Only men. Sometimes they wore old style Robes More often they dressed in shabby Western clothes. But these Days women in brightly coloured scarves Are elbowing their male compatriots aside for the attention of the throng of customers. It is one of Many signs of the changed role for women in the Wake of two years of civil War. With the men engaged in ceaseless clan combat women took on chores and made Contact with the world outside their Homes far beyond what was usual in this tradition bound society. The Freedom was born of necessity and it is unclear whether the new burdens and possibilities will Lead to an improvement in women s status in Somalia still among the outspoken a if numerically Small a educated elite there Are stirrings of Hope. Quot it is too Early to say whether the changes Are permanent. It is Safe to say it will be hard to Send the women Back Home As before Quot said Roqya Omar a somalian journalist. In wide parts of Africa women have Long played key roles in taking care of the physical and economic needs of the family. In Somalia they Farmed sold fruit cloth and charcoal at the markets and washed and reared the Chi Dren. But with bullets whizzing All around and men absent somalian women entered hew  have included previously restricted Commerce such As the khat Trade negotiations with Tough gunmen for passage on unsafe streets and contacts with foreign Relief officials who favored them for food delivery because women were considered More reliable than men. The emergence of women in the midst of chaos has not gone unnoticed. Some of it is not welcomed by somalian men. Omar recalls withstanding a Harangue from men idling outside the office of an Aid official she interviewed one night. Quot they thought right away that because it was evening i was up to no Good a she said. Quot of course Soma v. A a i men can get away with anything Day or  not Long after american and other foreign troops arrived to secure the delivery of food to starving Somas men on a Busy Mogadishu Street beat and ripped the clothes off a woman they saw speaking to French troops. She was rescued by a somalian police officer and taken to Refuge in the offices of hda a fledgling women a rights group. Quot it is not accepted that women work at the level of mixing with foreigners Quot said Halima Ismael an Acu vist in 1ida, which trains refugee women in simple skills to try to make them economically Independent. Its Craft shop turns out Straw Mats that somalian Rural people sleep on and Clay cooking pots and. Stoves. The group also tries to locate and help women who have been raped during the brutal stages of the War in i Herity rape victims a close face Quot in somalian society they often Are made outcasts by their families and find it hard to marry. They become economic burdens and Are afraid to leave the House for fear of gossip and abuse. 1