Page 134 - Rassegna 2021-4

OSSERVATORIO INTERNAZIONALE

Secretary General (Gorini) and the Commander of the Expeditionary Force (Gen.
Ferrara), established that the Commander of the Carabinieri in Somalia would assume the
functions of “police chief” with the main task of “absorbing” the “Somalia Police force”
which, without drastic or noisy measures, had to be become something in line with our needs
and requirements - fully identified with those of Somalia - especially in view of the very
short period of time (ten years) granted to the Italian Trust Administration to prepare the

territory for independence and self-government”. Brunero’s contribution is absolutely essential
to grasp the dynamics that troubled the Trust Administration at the beginning, especially in
relation to the puzzle of public security; in fact, “he clearly realized how the Somali Police
force, under a rigid and impeccable military appearance, was undermined by very serious
flaws of political and moral nature. Of a political nature as the most professional and qua-
lified elements adhered - as members or sympathizers - to the Somali youth movement (...),
of a moral nature due to the impossibility of living and supporting families with the sum
of 30 shillings a month (...).
The confirmation of what Brunero reported comes from a memo by
Brigadier General Gamble himself for General Ferrara, dated 29 March 1950,

in which he specified the necessity to provide conditions of service for the enlisted Police
which give a more permanent form of contract instead of the monthly form of employment
now prevailing” and “the introduction of a family allowance for Somali members of the
Police force and/or an increase in basic salary to combat the rise in the cost of living, admit-
ting de facto that, up to that moment, they used the precariat, moreover badly
(43)
paid, in the police force .
Brunero’s report is again corroborated in a previous note in the immi-
nence of these events, the aforementioned report The Security Corps of Somalia

from its origins till 31 December 1951”, where it is acknowledged that the “Carabinieri
were very useful because they knew how to shape the Police initially very suspicious and even
hostile towards us because of its origins and the continuous propaganda negatively influen-
cing it. From the first day it made clear that the Police would go on strike if their wages
were not increased! And the Administration had to surrender in that circumstance, for con-
venience. Subsequently, the Police gradually adapted and became, at least formally, a well
trained and disciplined Force. But its majority was undoubtedly always linked, at least in
spirit, to the parties unfavorable to us (....) An important and difficult task was also that
of framing, directing, correcting and gradually selecting those in the Somali Police Corps
that were born and grew and with a distinctly anti-Italian feeling.

All this involved a work of discreet but continuous vigilance, in terms of
Military Police, on the new enlisted recruits, in particular those coming from

(43) Promemoria del Gruppo CC Somalia, datato 29 marzo 1950, per il Gen. Ferrara AUSSME,
f. I-2, Busta 42, fasc. 414.

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