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American Morning
"Black Hawk Dawn" Bootleg Premiers in Mogadishu
Aired January 22, 2002 - 09:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: We get more now on a CNN exclusive out of Somalia. The movie "Black Hawk Down" was number one at the box office after making its national debut this holiday weekend, but Americans were apparently not the only people eager to see the film.
Last night in Mogadishu, a bootleg copy of the film about the 1993 aborted U.S. military campaign that left 18 Americans and hundreds of Somalis dead played to a packed audience. The chilling sound of cheers during the premiere caught by a CNN camera might just serve as a warning to the Bush administration, now seriously considering a return to the country as they hunt for more al Qaeda terrorists.
CNN Jeff Koinange was on hand in Mogadishu.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By seven o'clock at night, virtually everyone in Mogadishu had heard "Black Hawk Down" the movie was here, the first bootleg copy to reach Somalia. The price of a ticket, 10 U.S. cents. Hundreds of Somalis crowded into this outdoor playground less than a mile from where the real Black Hawk went down.
In this country, where the U.S.'s military effort to catch the powerful Somali warlord Mohamed Aidid was opposed, the audience took delight in scenes of American defeat. Each time an American chopper goes down, the audience cheers. Each time an American serviceman is killed, the audience cheers some more.
The Hollywood production relives the events of October, 1993, when U.S. forces in Somalia suffered their largest one day casualties since the Vietnam War. Their mission? To capture Aidid from his stronghold in the war torn capital and take him to a ship anchored off the coast nearby. By the time the battle was over 16 hours later, 18 elite American Rangers and hundreds of Somalis lay dead in the streets of Mogadishu.
Achmed Abullah (ph) says he witnessed the actual battle and says the movie is more fiction than fact. "It's not fair what the U.S. is trying to do. What I saw that day was different from what I see in this film today. It's not accurate," he says.
Others say the movie brings back disturbing memories of a day they'll never forget. "I felt very sad watching the film," says this woman. "It's not right what the Americans are trying to do."
Some in this audience were actually proud of the way Somalis were portrayed in "Black Hawk Down." They believe they were defending their country and their pride against what they considered U.S. military aggression. "As you can see," says this man, "Somalis are brave fighters. If the Americans come back to fight us, we shall defeat them again."
"Let them try again," this man says. "They'll be making more films about us when we defeat them like we did that day."
The events of that day led to the eventual withdrawal of U.S. forces from Somalia, ending their mission here. Eight years later, Somalia continues to slide into the abyss as anarchy and lawlessness combine to make it one of the most ungovernable places in the world today.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOINANGE: While "Black Hawk Down" may be entertaining to audiences worldwide, Somalia here sees it as a painful reenactment of their past -- Anderson.
COOPER: Jeff, reaction to the film that you saw last night would seem to indicate that anti-Americanism is alive in well in Mogadishu. Is that what you are finding in the streets there?
KOINANGE: Not so much in the streets, Anderson, because the movie raises such awful images of what happened here eight years ago. You do see it right in the movie, in the streets Somalis welcome Americans. They want Americans to come back. The whole world has turned their back on these people, and they have suffered greatly the last seven, eight years. They would love to see the Americans back.
That movie only brought certain images back, which were painful to them, because remember, Somalis lost a lot more people than the Americans did that day, and it showed in the movie. That's why they react in the way they did. But they would welcome any kind of help that they can get right now -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Jeff, thanks very much, live from Mogadishu.
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