BY LINZI WATSON

May 18, 2006 – A FORMER Euro MP from Tongland, Kirkcudbright, had a narrow escape from war-torn Somalia last week.

John Corrie, who is involved in international development, was working in the African country, in which 130 people have recently been killed, to help them set up a new democratic parliament.

He and his colleagues left Somalia at the height of the latest spate of violence after a few close encounters with the local militia.

For fear of being shot at or kidnapped he was forced to befriend and pay gun-wielding insurgents for “protection”.

Mr. Corrie said: “You have to get friendly with these people or you are in trouble. There are thousands of them and they are trigger happy.

“The chartered plane we were using to get out of Somalia was surrounded by militia who aimed a large machine gun at it from their truck and demanded money from us.”

He added: “We also had to pay them to protect the plane from other militia groups.”

The capital city Mogadishu has become the hub of a civil war which was further inflamed last week and is still in a height of violence.

The majority of the 130 dead are said to be civilians caught in the crossfire.

The fighting is between Islamic fundamentalists and secularists who believe that religion and state should be separate.

The Islamic warlords are fighting for the introduction of Sharia law, which permits stoning women to death and cutting the hands off of thieves, among other punishments.

Mr. Corrie said that he was told by various people in Somalia that the rivals of the Islamic warlords are being given weapons and money by the American government.

As a white western male in a country where around 20 kidnappings take place each day for ransom, Mr. Corrie feels he would have been seen as a target and he added: “I have worked in Africa before so I am familiar with hostile situations but it is still very unsettling.”

Mr. Corrie added that he was shot at in 2000 while visiting the Solomon Islands as his chartered plane tried to taxi down a runway.

Somalia is divided in half with the north-western part seeking independence as Somaliland. This was originally under British control and is the more peaceful of the two areas.

The southern part of the country is still known as Somalia and is home to capital Mogadishu, the scene of the recent violence.

Mr. Corrie first visited the city of Hargeysa in the Somaliland region.

He said: “The poverty is not too bad in Hargeysa and we stayed there until we were advised by the United Nations that it was safe to go into southern Somalia.”

Mr. Corrie stayed in Baidoa, closer to the fighting in Mogadishu, for the maximum allowed stay - two days.

He slept in a UN camp with minimal facilities and no water.

Mr. Corrie said: “The parliamentary headquarters in Baidoa are part of an old warehouse with cattle wandering about the grounds.”

He explained however that these lodgings were a significant improvement on those endured by the majority of the population.

Mr. Corrie continued: “It is heartbreaking. People are living in very poor conditions. There is no sanitation and disease is spreading, it is very sad.”

He added: “This is a beautiful country with sunshine and rivers but no one would even try and plant anything because it would be stolen.”

Mr. Corrie admitted that his hope of instilling democracy under such a corrupt regime seems impossible.

He said there are too many people who want control and added: “I can not see a settlement.

“Most people don't want a war but the warlords are doing very nicely and making plenty of money from bribes and violence.”

The eastern coast of Somalia is under constant supervision by armed militia who, Mr. Corrie said, approach all ships who get close to the country and demand £100,000 dollars.

He said that there is £260 million of aid which has been frozen because it unsafe to build anywhere.

Now retired as a member of the European Parliament after 11 years, Mr. Corrie is continuing his work in international development, which has seen him visit over 130 countries.

He is now honorary president of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific/European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly after presiding on the development committee for many years.

Source: icDumfries