PICS-Mogadishu 2005

[Haddad]

Nice pictures. It would have been better to take the pictures at higher resolution (800x600, 1024x768).

[PlayMaker]

Sista, Thank you for the pics they are amazing.

 

I was going thru the pics and some guys asked me to print them out for them which i did, but it printed everything all your user names and the SOL on the top lol..silly me, again thanks for the pics.

[wind.talker]

Originally posted by Haddad:

Nice pictures. It would have been better to take the pictures at higher resolution (800x600, 1024x768).

Critic ma jirin, adaa keenay. Kudos!

[Endeavour]

Thanks Rahima finally i get to see the hospital i was born in Isbitaal Banadir.Not bad!

 

I showed my brothers the pictures and to be honest Xamar looks pretty good for a city that has been destroyed by war.Now I am tempted to see Somali myself.

[Golden Girl]

maashallah rahima, nice pictures! thanks for sharing

[Buubto]

Waaw indeed I am lost words manasha Allah those pictures tell many stories. My cousin recently went and she was saying the same thing that Mogadishu isn’t what we think it is. My aunti recently moved from qurbo, back to her house in Mogadishu she swears us and her, she is the lucky one. If I only had the heart to visit Mogadishu I would but what I saw in my childhood still stuck in my head. But walaahi good to hear a progress.

 

p.s good to hear my suburb huriwaay is booming.

[Rahima]

Daily life

The days were amazingly long and blessed, unlike in the west where you somehow feel like you just woke up an hour ago and have to get back home to sleep once more. As I’m sure many of you are aware, folks in Africa get up very early and get on with life. The girls (excluding myself, I was a guest thank-god), would be up after fajr, begin the making of the canjeero whilst the other went to the suuq for the breakfast ingredients (apparently canjeero on its own is not a meal). Then the oh so holy boys would be awoken (I am very bitter about this dhaqan). All would eat breakfast and everyone would set out on their way. Men and women off to work, the older children off to dugsi and the younger ones off to school (they swap after lunch). Then all return home for lunch, sleep and off once again. Return after casr, drink some shah and relax in the daarad. Then after maqrib, somehow all the women are in a trance. They are all basically addicted to this Spanish soapie (translated in Arabic). It was amazing, for the whole two months I was there, I don’t believe that they missed a single day they were home- cajiib. Then casho (sometimes at home, sometimes at one of the hotels, my favourite Hotel Daamey (sp?)) and once again relaxing outside and off to bed. With us, whilst everyone was at school or dugsi we’d explore the city and attend the millions of martiqaad.

 

So those were the days.

 

Health

 

Of course the main hospitals were SOS, Madina and Banadir (opened mid last year), but there were also many smaller hospitals, like one right next to where we lived, Xayat hospital run by an American trained Somali doctor. Hospitals such as SOS and Banadir do not charge patients at all. Madina I believe charges but at a very low cost and the most expensive naturally are the private hospitals (but even they are reasonably priced). Some of the private hospitals, have Fridays as the free day aimed at the less fortunate who could otherwise not afford the visit-but of course even the woman with 100grams of dahab hanging from her neck has to show on that day. Medications are readily available but there are some dodgy pharmacists which sell outdated medications to the unsuspecting customers-this is a serious problem, but often doctors try to overcome this by recommending certain pharmacists who they know to be honest.

 

Education

 

The educational institutions were many- we visited many private schools, for example Imam Nawawi (mainly for orphaned children), the Jibril foundation (likewise for orphans) and Imam Shaafici (normally for the children of parents who are financially stable or well off). There were even kindergartens for children from the age of three, one particular kindergarten we visited was called mishkaat-it was remarkable, children were being taught to read, write, and diin, not just play as in the west. Also, there are these private institutions where you pay about $10 per subject per semester and it is here were those too old (over 15) for these private schools generally attend. Personally they were not to my liking; they seemed more like money making schemes rather than teaching-but to each their own. There are also many Islamic institutions such as the Islamic University and Markazka Ibn Baz. The universities providing secular studies also provide degrees in Islamic studies, such as Banadir University and Mogadishu University. There are also more direct institutions for various studies, such as SIMAD (Somali Institute of Management and Administration) and the Hayat Nursing School. All of these institutions and universities obviously are private which means only the well off or those financially stable can afford them. There are some scholarships provided by various businessmen/women but they are not widely available, each entrepreneur only provides it to students of their clan (sadly) and therefore many who want to progress their studies do not have the chance. But then again there are many people who struggle to send their children to these higher institutions. For example, I met this one girl who was studying medicine at Banadir University. Her mother is a widow with 10 children and somehow she manages to send her children to the top schools and pay off the tuition ($US1500) for her eldest daughter. There are also many people traveling to Pakistan, India or Malaysia to attend university, it’s not very hard to get but it is somewhat expensive (once again the well off reap these fruits). In my opinion as far as education is concerned, the city is doing amazingly well. Teachers are not only those which are Somali trained (some surprisingly with 40 years experience and from the days of Siyaad Barre,), but also from Kenya, Sudan, Pakistan and Carabaha. There is a school almost in every corner and many (usually the boys) do go on to further studies. The most poplar courses for the young men seem to be Business and Engineering (overseas studies) and for the girls Nursing (a two-year diploma completed at for example Hayat Nursing School and immediately they will be able to get employment in one of the many hospitals and bring in enough income to support her family). For those thinking of how they could possibly make a difference, book drives especially in the health sciences would be of great help. Also the sending of other supplies be they lab equipment or computers.

 

 

Business

 

 

It’s almost as if the whole city runs of business, each man either has one or is somehow or other tied to one. Businesses are many, Bakhaaro/Stores, services (water, electricity, telecommunications etc), restaurants, hotels etc. The hotels for example Saxafi (or was it suxufi), Daamey, Ramadaan, Naaso Hablood seem to be doing well. The sad aspect was they are at times the gathering ground for all that which is xaraam. It is here were all the xaflado and western-style weddings take place. I remember watching some soo dhaween video of a family friend and for a moment there I could of have sworn that the event was held in a western country- sadly it had that much decadence. The telecommunication enterprises such as Nationlink seem to also have a very strong hold on the business aspect of life. What amazed me, was that every household was only required to pay $10 per month and they could make as many phone calls as they wished to other phones with the same company-this was the only drag really, but then again some people connect with more than one company (because to call another company is a tad expensive). The main district for business is near suuqa Bakaaraha. It is here where the headquarters of most of the large businesses are situated, from the xawilaadaha (Amal, Dalsan, Dahabshiil, Kaah etc) to the telecommunication businesses to the top-notch carwooyin. As for Suuqa bakaaraha itself, OMG I have never been in a busier more crowded place. It is very well organized and amazingly large but too crowded. I remember I once entered from end hoping to get to the opposing end, it took us over an hour of walking-it really is humongous. What amazed me more than anything (at first I was surprised I could get weetbix and Pantene shampoo) was that I found a photo store which has the machine to develop the pics in my digital camera- maybe I’m simple, but that was amazing for a third world country. Running water is available to almost all the homes. All in all I left knowing that business definitely is booming in Somalia.

 

Real Estate

 

As with any city anywhere in the world, housing differs depending on which suburb and the actual house/land package. The lands/houses closer to the business centers, such as wardhiigley and Halwadaag were on the upper scale of it (then again we only asked of certain areas). For example, one house that was up for sale in Halwadaag (13 by 13- which is small) was going for $20,000 (and in this supposedly was a bargain). Then again, for that price you could get a slightly larger house in Huriwaa. Then there are far more expensive homes where the size is 20 by 20 and the going price can range from $50,000-$60,000 (I've forgotten what this xaafad was called, but it was not affected greately by the war in that the roads are basically intact and the enticing thing is it is close to the business district which makes it even more expensive). On the down side though, for xaafadaha such as Huriwaa and suuqa xoolaha which are slightly far from the business centre, the homes are valued depending on their distance from the main street (not everyone has access to a car). Our family for example, has one house in Huriwaa (not close to the main street and average size) valued at $25,000, another plot of undeveloped land in suuqa xoolaha (second plot from the main street and of the same size as the built house in Huriwaa) and it is also valued at about $25, 000. This just shows that distance from the main street makes a difference when valuing and buying property. Most of the new homes bought by folks residing in qurbaha are in Huriwaa (amazing homes walaahi). As for the market trends, it is increasing tremendously every year. This one man from the US who now lives in Mogadishu makes a living out of property development; he buys, renovates and resells them. He gave us countless examples of homes he has bought (mainly from folks in qurbaha) for less than $20,000 the year before, renovated and resold for almost twice the original buying price. As for renting, it all depends on where. Homes in xaafadaha close to the business centre are more expensive (about $60-$100 per month) whilst our house in Huriwaa is rented for only $50 a month (not that we reap any of it). The city is getting bigger and bigger. Of course I don’t remember it, but my mother and others who are old enough to remember were explaining how now areas previously not resided in are full of homes. For example our plot of land in suuqa xoolaha back in 1989 (when my parents bought it) was in area completely inhabited- now it remains almost the only plot not built. It is here though with the issue of overcrowding that unfortunately you have to be very careful about who you buy your land from. Some corrupt individuals have taken it upon themselves to sell land which belongs to the government, such as in Dayniile (apparently an areas used by the armed forces)- but then again it is generally obvious for they sell plots at ridiculously low prices (sometimes as low as $2000).

 

Food

 

I’ve never being a very big fan of food- I’m happy with my weetbix for breakfast, sandwich for lunch and probably same for dinner, but then I went to Somalia,lol. I am now a food lover; much to my disappointment it does not have the same taste. What I found intriguing is how in Somalia, the hilib smells different and food only requires a small amount of milix and small seasoning if you want to go the extra mile. Here in the west god only knows what additions we make to our food, but yet somehow it doesn’t even come close. I finally tasted goat and camel meat-to me I just couldn’t tell the difference between them and lamb/beef- but then again it’s probably just me. Camel milk was lovely, absolutely nice. What shocked my mother was that Somalis, who had in the past looked down upon sea food were now eating it like they do other meats. Everywhere you go folks are eating fish and every martiqaad has a fish dish. The fruit was veeeeery sweet, amazing, it must be the organic factor or something. As for the cost, maciishada in Somalia generally is low, food is cheap and people tend to indulge themselves (somehow the concept of thin Somalis doesn’t eventuate)-let’s just say they felt sorry for me.

 

Main problems

 

The rubbish; the destroyed streets and government infrastructure; and the isbaaro (around the city, not inside and contrary to popular thought only take from business vehicles, private cars are exempt). All these will inshallah be alleviated with the establishment of a functioning government (inshallah this time). The people at the isbaaro tend to be young boys (most 16-20) who have no other life; they are either orphans or hail from poor families. In my opinion, the evil big guns are very few; the young need to be enticed with benefits of a better life.

 

I think I’m tired now but I hope that was detailed enough .

[Rahima]

Rokko, you had to notice that didn’t you. I knew I’d get caught out by an aussie.

 

You can even get Head and Shoulders shampoos, imagine that?

I know, cool ay ! You can even develop your digital pictures.

 

So, are you the guy in the computer lab?

You know I was thinking about this for a while. I kept thinking what, is he posting to me or HA? If it’s me, what guy, im a bloody female.

 

Then it hit me, you bloody xaasid :mad: . I am as feminine as feminine can be (or I like to think anyway), how can you accuse me of being male. Libaax iga celi ninkaan , he’s picking on me again.

 

The man is not even Somali, he’s a Kenyan teacher,lool .

 

It would have been better to take the pictures at higher resolution (800x600, 1024x768).

If only I knew what you were referring to. Juma, BN and Yasemin can testify to how technologically challenged I am - I have them to thank for alleviating my headache. Anyway, this is an issue of technology is it not :confused: ?

 

As for all, my pleasure fellow nomads .

[ADNAAN]

Originally posted by Baal Dooro:

Mr. new comer aka adnaan..sxb you should go back to SomaliLand and see the real deal..U Will change your mentality when you go their..And oo yea if you didn't know, you could now go to mogadisho too...

 

Wareer Badanaa!!!

Do we have to talk about s/land at any given opportunity. :rolleyes:

Don't want to spoil this thread really.

 

bal yaa adiga ka wareer badan?

[Gabbal]

Rahima have you ever thought of working for the U.N? I am 100% serious that what the U.N needs is more people like you?

[Tuujiye]

HAHAAHAHAHA.........

makuusii qoslaa yarka...?

 

Wareer Badanaa!!!

[Sky]

Do we have to talk about s/land at any given opportunity.

well the hideous flag on ur avatar and the 18 may thread sure does bring a lot of attention to u n ur likes.

Don't want to spoil this thread really.

than dont! :rolleyes:

[ADNAAN]

^^^ SKY & balaayo TUUJIYE , take a chill pill guys and besides that’s two against one , sticking up for each other....eh.. is it just old loyalties or something else? By the way sky ever heard of "af jooga looma adeego"

[Sky]

heh didnt know u experienced this as verbal violence my man. just me 2 centsn completely separate from tuujiye.

 

ill back off then. :cool:

[ADNAAN]

^^^^My friend sky, No hard feelings at all but instead of backing off u can perhaps switch sides to proof that there is no hidden loyalty ...........wat do u think?