[War] Ethiopia: Escalations (1)

[David McGrogan]

(Source - 
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-07-26T121600Z_01_L26304649_RTRUKOC_0_US-SOMALIA.xml&pageNumber=1&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage3)

Ethiopia: Escalations (1)
"Kemle"
30th of July 2006

Kemle was leaning against the railings on the roof of his apartment building 
with the heat of the noon Mogadishu sun on the back of his neck. Not 
meaningless masochism; from here he had a view of all the air traffic coming 
in and out of the airstrip secreted in a little fold of hills outside the 
town.

Downstairs in the street everything was still. In the punishing heat of 
noontime in Somalia even to be alive was to hurt. A dog sat listlessly in 
the shade of an old withered Biloba tree.

Kemle had to give on thing to the Islamists: The capital was at a sort of 
peace now that they'd taken control. A year ago there were clan militia men 
down there in the stree with AK47s and a roadblock. Now life was something 
like normal. Of course, the Union of Islamic Courts disapproved of dancing, 
and music, and the radio, so it wasn't exactly as if life was *good* now, 
but it was better. Still, there wasn't a day that went by when Kemle didn't 
thank God that he wasn't a Somali.

He stared out at the wide blue sky. It shimmered in the sunlight. He wanted 
to go home. Back to Ethiopia, where the high cool mountains , full of green, 
made a man feel truly *good*.

But first he had to do one more thing. He had seen a speck in the distance - 
a black spot in the blue of the sky that could only be the plane.

There was a shout from downstairs and children were out in the street, 
chattering and laughing. Kemle glanced down at them, then back up at the 
sky. The bright light forced his eyes into a permanent squint. He picked up 
his binoculars and peered up at the speck.

Yes. That was definitely it.

Even as he watched it, one hand holding the binoculars, he was picking up 
the cellphone next to him and clicking it open.

"Hello," a voice said immediately.

"The plane is arriving," Kemle said.

"You can confirm it's the Antonov?"

"I'm certain."

TBC

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