For
over two decades, getting any form of official identification for
Somali citizens was done through the back alleys of the infamous Bakara
market, a system known as “Abdallah Shideeye” or the counterfeiter.
Without a functioning government and institutions during the two decades
of civil war, many Somalis had to acquire fake identity cards and passports to travel as they sought refugee status in neighboring countries.
The country now has a functional government with institutions working at protecting the Somali identity.
At this centre in Mogadishu, hundreds of Somalis brave the scorching sun, queuing to get their new national identity cards.
Setup up by the regional administration in
December last year and with funding from US Aid through the
International Organization for Migration (IOM), the center sees traffic
of between 200 and 500 people each day.
“In this country we had what they called
“Abdallah Shideeye” for the last 23 years you can find in Bakara Market
whatever ID card you would like to have, everyone could take citizenship
before;” Says Mohamed Yusuf, Spokesman of Mogadishu Municipality and
Office of the Mayor, “but now we wanted to reach the digital system in
the world that’s why we brought the latest technology here. “
With just 13 workstations and locally
trained staff, these men and women are rolling out Somalia’s new and
improved IDs fitted with a smartcard. The electronic chip contains biometric data collected at the centre and has some of the latest security features to protect against forgery.
“So we are not going to start where we were
in 1991, but we are going to start…Today the world is digital, that’s
why we bring the chip Sim-card for the security issue. It is also a very
good idea because not everyone can get it and we have the figure prints
of whoever takes it in the database as well as every necessary
document. That’s why we selected the latest version for the national
identity card.” Adds Mohamed Yusuf.
The legal age for one to acquire an ID card
in Somalia is 15. There are three steps to the process; first one has
to get a letter from their district commissioner’s office that confirms
that they are Somali and are from that particular area. They then go to
Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to have a criminal background check
conducted and seek clearance. When that’s complete, they head to the
bank and pay USD 17.50 for the card before coming to National ID card
Processing Centre.
After filling in their details and giving their bio data, it takes between 4 to 7 days to receive the ID card.
“It has a lot of benefits for me, it
verifies who I am and my position in the community and this is written
on the ID card.” Says Ugasa Lahi Hashi, an elder and Community Leader in
the city. “To the rest of the world it’s a way of identifying one’s
nationality and place of birth. With security if something happens with a
person, you can get all his details and information from the ID card.
So it’s very important.”
In 2007 the then Transitional Federal
Government had tried to implement a similar biometric ID and passport
system, but the process was marred by corruption and lacked the checks and balances on who qualifies for documents.
Although the new process
is working, the centre is clearly overwhelmed. It’s the only centre in
the country catering for Mogadishu’s estimated 3 million plus people and
Somalis in other parts of the country have to travel to the capital to
apply for the service. The Somali Federal Government says it will soon
open other centres across the city to meet the demand.
“It took me about a month of moving back
and forth, but now I am finally here to sign for my ID card.” Says
Samiha Jeilani Kasim, a medical Student hoping to travel to the USA for
further studies. “There was a mistake with the spelling of my name on
the ID card; where there was single S, they had put a double S. I came
back several times but today, thank God, that I have finished the
process. Now I want to get my passport so that I can travel with it.”
An excited first time ID card holder and
student Zakaria Aweis Sayid had this to add. It’s the first time,
because as we know Somalia, we have been at war for 22 years. Now we are
going into development, this is part of the development, so I am so
happy.”
Somalia has taken a huge leap with
technology and they are among the first five African countries to use
the smart cards ID system. The government hopes that with the data
collected, it can create a national database of its people, and that
will help in the fight against extremism and groups like al Shabaab.
The new ID cards are a prerequisite for
getting Somalia’s new biometric passports as well, measures the
government has put in place to not only safeguard its people but to once
again reconnect them as global citizens, and give them an identity lost
to years of war.
This is among the many strides that country
is taking, as it enjoys relative peace facilitated by the African Union
Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) that have helped liberate major cities of
the country from the terror perpetrated by the al Shabaab militants.
No comments:
Post a Comment