Kriti Mehrotra
As a documentary series shining a light upon the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu in extraordinary detail with the help of archival footage and exclusive interviews, Netflix’s ‘Surviving Black Hawk Down’ is unlike any other. That’s because it gives us an insight into the battlefield itself through the eyes of not just US soldiers and Somali fighters but also local civilians who inadvertently found themselves involved in this ordeal. Amongst them is none other than Ahmed Mohamed Hassan (not to be confused with Somali former Air Force pilot), aka Ahmed Five, a professional cameraman.
Ahmed Mohamed Hassan Had a Passion For Documenting Life Experiences
Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, aka Ahmed Five, was just 19 when he picked up a camera for the first time, only to end up falling head over heels in love with the craft behind it. Therefore, he worked hard to make it into his career, which he was successful in doing by the time he was in his 20s in the early 1990s. Whether it be the everyday struggles of his people in Somalia, the way the UN humanitarian missions helped, or the path his nation was on, he documented it all to share with the world, meaning he definitely had connections.
By the age of 29, Ahmed had already documented clan wars, famine, and the chaotic events of Mogadishu and its suburbs, so he was already a renowned cameraman in the area. However, on Sunday, October 3, 1993, he wasn’t thinking of work when explosions, gunfire, and the screams of soldiers, militias, and civilians alike rattled the air. Nevertheless, since he instinctively carried a cameraman at all times, knowing that in Mogadishu, anything could happen at any moment, he began filming the battle to unfold and even went toward the heart of the battle.
Ahmed Mohamed Hassan’s Work is How the World Found Out About the Battle of Mogadishu
It was on the very first day of the battle itself that Ahmed filmed the fighting between the US soldiers and the Somalis, just to then be asked to film a captor the next day. He knew he couldn’t say no, but he had no idea the captor was US pilot Michael “Mike” Durant, who had been in the second Black Hawk helicopter to go down – all his crew members were killed. Ahmed was the one who held the camera and translated questions to the nervous and injured American, confirming his identity and getting the information needed.
Once he left, Ahmed saw the scenes of the streets and filmed it all too, horrified by the way the locals have treated the dead US Soldiers and the debris of their helicopters. According to the show, he actually filmed the way a soldier’s body was being hit, dragged, stomped on, and celebrated by the locals, along with how many were celebrating the battle by jumping on the debris and cussing out the Americans. He knew what had happened wasn’t a good thing from both ends, so he made three tapes and sent them to Nairobi (in neighboring Kenya) via a UN plane that flew daily. That’s how the news spread.
Ahmed Mohamed Hassan Leads a Quiet Life Today
Ahmed has never regretted his actions since he knew he was just doing his job, but he has long asserted that the events of these two days have changed his entire life. He has never been able to watch these tapes without feeling disturbed despite the fact there was once a time when he loved watching his work, and it affected him to such an extent he said he stopped picking up his camera altogether. In other words, from what we can tell, still residing in Somalia, Ahmed now prefers to lead a quiet life well away from the spotlight in every way, meaning he is no longer the man behind the cameras documenting local events.
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