Escape from Mogadishu

The Tale of a Hero

I’ve arrived in Udine in north-eastern Italy to attend Far East Film Festival. My stay here has kicked off in high note.
Last night, I watched Escape from Mogadishu, a South Korean blockbuster set in the civil war in Somalia in the end of 80s and early 90’s. Based on real life events, the film is centered on the improbable story of diplomats from South Korea and North Korea working together to escape from war-torn Mogadishu. Both groups seek help from the Italian embassy, which enjoys a good relationship with the Somalia government. The charismatic ambassador Mario Sica manages to break a ceasefire and allows both groups and other foreigners stranded by the war to travel to the airport where a Red Cross plane takes them to safety.
I am usually not a fan of action movies, and I still found certain aspects of the film unsatisfactory, the cheap humour, the Hollywood style car chase and unconstrained violence. Yet overall, I found it rather interesting. The best part is the tension between the two Koreans. After the Northern Embassy was robbed, the staff members, led by the ambassador, first turn to the South Koreans for help. After much hesitation, the South Korean Ambassador Kang opens its door, partly because the N. Koreans have a few children with them. Kang’s wife is extremely nervous as she’s heard rumour that the North Koreans train their children to kill. Meanwhile, the North Koreans worry that they may be taken as defectors. Until the outbreak of the war, the two Koreans have fought a bitter war to win the favour of the Somalia president in their bid to be admitted by the United Nations.
Interestingly, the festival organizer managed to get Ambassador Mario Sica, who has now long retired with many honours, to the festival. It was him who introduced the film to the packed audience.
After the screening, the organizers threw a small dinner in his honour. And I had the fortune to be invited (thanks to my charming and well-connected friend Pio, I guess). Over the dinner, I asked him about the civil war in Somalia. The ambassador said although the situation was not as bad as depicted in the film, but it was really dangerous, volatile and unpredictable. Both the government and the rebel forces didn’t always keep their promises.
Of course, I asked him if he had written a book about it. And of course, he did, two years after the event. Being a diplomat, he had to ask for permission and it was at first rejected because of the sensitivity. When a new foreign minister came around, he finally got the permission to publish the book titled Operation Somalia.
Intrigued, I looked him up on google and found a NYT piece published in 1991. “The Italian Ambassador, who is manning the only operating embassy in the embattled Somali capital, Mogadishu, said today that Government forces and rebels continued to fight with neither side holding an edge.” It said. The piece gave a good sense what the perils they were facing. Well, I sat next to a real hero. What an evening!

https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/10/world/deadly-impasse-said-to-go-on-in-somali-city.html