I am sure you visited a hospital in Somalia. You met nurses. You’ve seen that they all have something in common. They look exhausted and unmotivated. They work slowly. Less energized. Speak little. Explain less. And act slowly. You may have complained about their careless actions. But there is a reason behind their lack of motivation. Aisha’s story will explain why.
It is Aisha, a qualified nurse and a family breadwinner. A decade ago, she finished her studies and was awarded a degree in nursing with high first class honors. She was a dreamer and the firstborn of her family. She always had the responsibility for her young siblings. When she grew up, she helped her mother sell milk on the street. She always kept in mind to take her mother off the street and give her a better life. She also experienced the pain of seeing her mother treated harshly by the milkmen, even though the money had to go to her university fees. All this pushed her to study harder, become top of her class, and do her best so her mother could rest from such hard work.
Aisha was different. She never wasted her time with peers. Either she was doing home chores, studying, or going part time to the hospital for practical experience. In her spare time, she also helped her mother with the milk selling. Some classmates saw her selling milk on the street and laughed at her humble life, but she never felt ashamed. She knew selling milk on the street was honest work. She had a big dream. She imagined a better life for her mother and her family. She was counting the days, months, and years until her graduation. Every month that passed brought her closer to her goal. She remembered the rude words from milkmen, the dust covering her mother’s face from sitting long hours on the street, and people who just passed without buying milk while her mother begged them. All this made her sad, but also gave her the power to not give up.
After graduation, she did not wait. She was full of energy and ready for her dream job. Everybody knew every hospital needed a nurse like Aisha. When she was in her second year, she promised her mother that she had chosen to be a nurse for two reasons: to serve the community and to earn money so her mother would no longer work selling milk in the street. The day she got her certificate, she went to all the hospitals in the city, circulated her CV with one simple message: “Don’t even hire me, just let me show up, involve me in the hospital.” One week later, one of the main hospitals called and offered her a job, but only for three months’ unpaid probation. What happiness! What a dream come true! Even with no money for transport, she was happy to walk.
Three months later, she was offered a contract with a salary of $150. She felt very satisfied. As the eldest of her family, and grown as an orphan, she was proud. She wanted to change something in their life positively. She only uses her salary for transport the rest she gives to her mother. The salary was not enough to stop her mother from selling milk, but at least the milkman got paid on time with no overdue payments. That was a big achievement for her.
It is now 10 years she has been working in this hospital, with the same salary she started. She works twelve hours a day. Many things have changed except her salary. Hospital fees were $5, now 10. Everything doubled or tripled. Even the small rented house her family lived in was $25, now $60. The hospital shareholders are the richest in town. It now owns its building, when Aisha joined it was still a rented building. The hospital also has three other branches in town, with millions in other assets, but her salary is still the same. In fact, just one hour of income from the hospital’s ambulance rental produces more than her whole monthly pay. She only gets twelve days of leave in a year. She makes the owners millionaires with her efforts but gets no appreciation, no promotion, no reward. Instead, she faces pressure, harassment, underpayment, and sometimes fines deducted from her $150 salary.
Aisha is not alone. Many young, educated people in Somalia have the same story. There are no labor rights, no workers’ associations, and no laws to protect them. From banks to private businesses to the education sector, it is the same problem. Businesspeople often lack wisdom and morals, and without legal protection, they fear. Contracts only protect business interests, not workers. Aisha sends a message to all private sector: if the laws do not provide my rights, please give them to me by your own humanity.