School strike declared a success

Organisers of a school strike in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, said it had succeeded in drawing attention to inflation and insecurity. Chairman of the Formal Private Education Network (FPEN), Ahmad Abdullahi, told IRIN that thousands of primary and secondary school students took part in the strike 18-21 April to protest against the importation of fake currency into Somalia, and spiralling inflation. Somali elders, religious leaders, and women’s and youth groups had come out against the illegal importation of money, he said. Abdullahi said the strike had touched a nerve with the government, the business community and the public. The business community had disowned the importers of the fake money, while the public had resolved to refuse to accept new notes, he said. He said that those involved in the strike had been assured that a government delegation planned to go to Indonesia where most of the currency is printed, to tackle the problem. Government officials had said the Mogadishu Transitional National Government (TNG) would attempt to bring security situation under control so that it could block the importation of new currency. Abdullahi said the strike had been a success because it had pushed the government for the first time to “link the issue of security in Mogadishu with the fake money”. FPEN had also asked the government to make a special appeal to the international community to help the education sector.