MALAYSIAN HUMANITARIAN TEAM IS SAFE IN SOMALIA?

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – BERNAMA news agency cameraman Noramfaizul Mohd Nor, was killed in the Somali capital of Mogadishu when African Union peacekeepers allegedly shot at a truck in which six mission members, including the 39-year-old, were traveling.
He who worked in national news agency Bernama for 11 years leaves a wife, Norazrina Jaafar, and two sons aged eight and three years.

• However, Datuk Azeez Abdul Rahim, who is heading the Malaysian humanitarian mission to Somalia, said Noramfaizul Mohd Nor’s death appeared to be fated because the cameraman had insisted on going to Somalia even though he had not been originally assigned by Bernama to cover the mission.
• He said that even though the participants had waived their rights by signing an indemnity, the club had still taken out special insurance for the members.
• Azeez said he had been informed by the insurance company that RM200,000 would be paid out to Noramfaizul’s family.

As Malaysians mourn the killing of a local journalist in Somalia, Noramfaizul Mohd Nor’s relatives want the non-governmental Putera 1 Malaysia Club to be held responsible for his death. Yesterday, Noramfaizul’s relatives demanded that Putera 1 Malaysia Club be held responsible for his death.

• “They (Putera 1 Malaysia Club) are the ones who organised (the mission). They cannot lepas tangan (evade responsibility),” Noramfaizul’s uncle Abu Bakar Md Yasin told The Malaysian Insider at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base here today.
• “They should have done prior intelligence. Don’t just barge in. This is a foreign country,” added the 64-year-old retired civil servant from the Defence Ministry.
• Noramfaizul’s other uncle, Md Tahir Md Yasin, said his nephew’s death could have been avoided.
• “They should wear bulletproof vests. It’s not a stable country,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
• The 69-year-old retired teacher said Bernama should also be held accountable for Noramfaizul’s death, besides the Putera 1 Malaysia Club.

Mary Francis(left photo), the mother of a psychologist who was part of the mission team, echoed Tahir’s remarks, saying: “They don’t have bulletproof vests. This is important in a war-torn country.
International media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) rank Somalia as the deadliest country in Africa for media personnel, with 23 media workers killed since 2007. The famine-stricken country has not had a functioning government for more than 20 years.

Source: The Malaysian Insider