First prize for a child in Somalia: An AK-47
Jeffery Gettleman, NYT News Service |
Sep 22, 2011, 06.30AM IST
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NAIROBI: A typical prize for a children's contest might be a backpack, a lunchbox or maybe some toys. But not in Somalia.
Over the weekend, a Somali radio station run by the Shabab, the most powerful Islamist militant group in the war-ravaged country, held an awards ceremony to honor children who were experts at Shabab trivia and at reciting the Koran . The prizes? Fully automatic assault rifles and live hand grenades.
The contest itself was held during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting , and featured questions that the Shabab seemed to think every child should know, like which war was Sheik Timajilic (a famous Shabab warrior) killed in?
Contestants in the Shabab quiz included children from all across Shabab-controlled areas of Somalia, most of the southern third of the country. The children competed live on air from the many radio stations nationwide that the Shabab control.
On Sunday, the awards were handed out at the Andalus radio station in Elasha Biyaha, a small town near Mogadishu. The first- and second-place winners won AK-47 assault rifles, some money and Islamic books. The third-place winner got grenades.
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NAIROBI: A typical prize for a children's contest might be a backpack, a lunchbox or maybe some toys. But not in Somalia.
Over the weekend, a Somali radio station run by the Shabab, the most powerful Islamist militant group in the war-ravaged country, held an awards ceremony to honor children who were experts at Shabab trivia and at reciting the Koran . The prizes? Fully automatic assault rifles and live hand grenades.
The contest itself was held during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting , and featured questions that the Shabab seemed to think every child should know, like which war was Sheik Timajilic (a famous Shabab warrior) killed in?
Contestants in the Shabab quiz included children from all across Shabab-controlled areas of Somalia, most of the southern third of the country. The children competed live on air from the many radio stations nationwide that the Shabab control.
On Sunday, the awards were handed out at the Andalus radio station in Elasha Biyaha, a small town near Mogadishu. The first- and second-place winners won AK-47 assault rifles, some money and Islamic books. The third-place winner got grenades.
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