I know that reporter, because I have been that reporter. I am Ismail Abukar. For seven years I listened to military court proceedings in Somalia and documented them, then matched what I heard against what convicted Al-Shabaab fighters told me in interviews. When the same things kept repeating, I knew they had to be reported. That work covers more than 500 interviews, more than 400 court cases, more than 560 bombings and suicide attacks, and more than 100 women describing how girls are married to fighters, some by force.
Then I followed the money. A seat in Somalia's parliament is bought from clan elders. Delegates are shut in hotels and made to swear on the Quran. The same parliament sells the presidency to whoever pays, and the winner repays his backers from the state's money. Two long investigations tell that story, and the Review of African Political Economy has accepted both.
Some pitches I sent in July have never been answered. It is October. Nobody even told me no. A story you worked years to get just sits in an inbox. Some outlets did give me my break, and I am grateful to them. But I have not forgotten the silence, and I know I am not the only one living in it.
That is why The Field exists. A reporter who travelled to the place and kept the documents safe should get an answer within 48 hours, and a reason if it is no. If it is yes, we publish within 72 hours. I especially want to hear from women reporters and reporters with disabilities.
I began with Africa because it is where I come from. I was born in Shalanbood, in Lower Shabelle, and I have lived in Somalia, South Africa and Ethiopia. I worked at the African Union as Somalia's youth representative and studied international law and human rights at the University for Peace. But the silence is not only African, so The Field is open to reporters everywhere.
How I run it
The Field is a volunteer project. I cannot pay writers, and I wish I could. What I can give is an answer in 48 hours, an honest edit beside you, and nothing published until you approve the final text. It is your work, and it stays yours.
Where I stand
I co-founded and chair the Organization for Prisoners' Rights (OPR) in Mogadishu, a separate nonprofit that gives The Field no money, hosting or staff. For that reason, The Field does not publish stories about prisons or detention. I have held no government role since 2021, and no party or donor controls what we publish. We correct errors in public, on our corrections page.
Reach me
If you have done the work and nobody has answered, write to me. I will read it. My email is ismail@ismailabukar.com, and pitches go to pitches@thefieldreporters.com. My other work is at ismailabukar.com.