COOKIES and BUSICUITS for MOGADISHU

THE RAMP OF THE HUNGRY

Scene One

It was early morning at Kismayo Airport, and the first light of dawn had begun to spread across the Indian Ocean.

On the airport ramp, the usual activity of a regional aviation base had been swallowed by a humanitarian emergency. Families had arrived during the night, carrying everything they could save from their homes. Mothers sat on bundles of clothing with their children pressed against them. Men stood in exhausted groups beside battered carts and empty water containers. Elderly people waited in the shade of an airport building, hoping that someone would explain what was happening.

The airport surroundings had become an improvised refuge for people fleeing hunger, insecurity, and the collapse of ordinary life. Children watched every vehicle that entered the compound. When a truck appeared, they rose to their feet, hoping it might carry food.