Can expatriate Somalis rebuild their country?

[Daqane]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19254249

 

 

 

 

My only comment is on the type of mentality being expressed by the real estate agent, he claims to sell only to legitimate investors rather than those out for short term gain namely real-estate flippers, whilst he is of the very same fiber and essence when all he can talk about is buying a big house in chelsea, what does some one like this bring to the table so to speak? Selling land can be done by any body, what sort of value addition to the land of his birth does he bring, and his bemoaning of "corruption" seems as pat and as bald as his cranium.

 

If these are the sort returning to somalia, as if they are going to make a quick buck in china or azerbijan, what can be expected for the future?

[N.O.R.F]

The answer to the question is yes. But so can those who have always lived there.

 

ps rebuilding a country is more than building just houses and hotels.

[Daqane]

Exactly more than bricks and motar, indeed what they are building, houses and such like will neither generate social capital or benefit the majority of the populace

[N.O.R.F]

Well there needs to be a basis. A development review and strategy for the future needs to be in place. What is the current population? What is the estimated population rise in the next 30 years? Infrastructure development? etc etc

 

Example

 

http://gsec.abudhabi.ae/Sites/GSEC/Content/EN/PDF/Publications/economic-vision-2030-executive-summary-mandate2,property=pdf.pdf

[burahadeer]

Don't be worried,the capital is in the hands of the locals and if you wana know that development comes with peace,just go to hargeisa & burao,,you be surprised.

.We can contribute much but is developing at a faster rate without diaspora.PEACE is that matters...

[GaraadMon]

N.O.R.F;864723 wrote:

Well there needs to be a basis. A development review and strategy for the future needs to be in place. What is the current population? What is the estimated population rise in the next 30 years? Infrastructure development? etc etc

 

Example

 

http://gsec.abudhabi.ae/Sites/GSEC/Content/EN/PDF/Publications/economic-vision-2030-executive-summary-mandate2,property=pdf.pdf

Our population count is one of the first things that needs to be sorted out, how can services be provided if we don't know where to provide them? Tribalism and NGO money making schemes over the last 2 decades have grossly exaggerated Somalia's population. Use plotting apps online such as planimeter to find the area of any city in Somalia and you'll be shocked. Hargeisa is about twice the size of Rexdale and we're expected to believe there are a million people living there? Same goes for Mogadishu, Las Anod, Bosaso etc.

 

Unless we're stacking people 50 high or building secret underground cities. I'd say expect Somalia's population to be somewhere between 5-7 million.

[burahadeer]

Blackflash;864739 wrote:

 

Unless we're stacking people 50 high or building secret underground cities. I'd say expect Somalia's population to be somewhere between 5-7 million.

you need to go and check for yourself.Only Hargeisa and Burao are close to 2 million,been there couple o years ago & took my breath away.I went to few european countries,then Nairobi,Dubai,Addisababa and thought none remain in the country by the sheer number of somalis outside,but then it was a whole different story when arrived home.

[burahadeer]

^^^ you will accept a Newyork reporter,been there for 6 hours & comes up with somalis are 2million!

 

Just go there,walk around,see density of people and how long you can walk from corner to corner.

been to the country side too...and yes census is been done in somaliland thru many elections even thou not 100%...lot people in cities & remote areas not counted.

[Alpha Blondy]

look, as much as i hate the diaspora, their money is a form of FDI. this is excellent becos we're not under any conditions or at whim of the neo-colonial or 'aid vultures' players like INGOs and their local counterparts NGOs who tell us how the 'money' is to spent with their newly inventive terms like 'aid effectiveness' and 'sustainable development'. we should be responsible for our development and how that development is defined or ought to be.

 

the diaspora label has in recent years become a 'bad' word evoking fear, suspicions and negative connotations, but in all fairness, their money has added to the progresses all around us. they bring expertise, process 'knowledge capital' and mostly important purchasing power in the form of dollars lol. having said that, there should be a strict regulations and limitations on diaspora activities as the system is prone to abuse. the resultant nepotism and other serious ailments may have serious consequences in the long for our collective will.

[burahadeer]

check election results & multiply by 3.5...that's how is done by U.N

[Chimera]

Blackflash;864739 wrote:

Our population count is one of the first things that needs to be sorted out, how can services be provided if we don't know where to provide them? Tribalism and NGO money making schemes over the last 2 decades have grossly exaggerated Somalia's population. Use plotting apps online such as planimeter to find the area of any city in Somalia and you'll be shocked. Hargeisa is about twice the size of Rexdale and we're expected to believe there are a million people living there? Same goes for Mogadishu, Las Anod, Bosaso etc.

 

Unless we're stacking people 50 high or building secret underground cities.

I'd say expect Somalia's population to be somewhere between 5-7 million.

That's most likely Somalia's urban population figure, especially with the forced migration of farmers and herders into various towns and cities. Statistics on Somalia will surprise alot of people, I'm absolutely sure about this. This includes per capita income, and the size of the economy, when these are finally collected and updated.

 

Hargeisa 2002

 

Hargeisa Today

[GaraadMon]

Hargeisa would have to have a density 1.5 times greater than NYC to have a population of 1million. I don't have to go to Hargeisa to know how ludicrous that is. I'd peg Hargeisa at 250-300 thousand and Mogadishu at 500-700 thousand.

[Chimera]

That's absurd, because the size of the city itself in terms of km2/sqmi isn't even known. You don't have to go to Hargeisa to know its much bigger than the likes of Djibouti City and Asmara, both of which have population above the 500k:

 

Asmara

 

When you compare that with the Hargeisa image above, clearly the 1 million figure isn't farfetched at all, considering Somalia is a big country with a relatively small population, one can't compared that to the heavily urbanised NYC, whose metropolitan area has a bigger population than our entire country.

[GaraadMon]

It's relatively easy to measure the area of a city, the two maps you posted are to scale.You could also use planimeter. The rulers in the bottom left are a measure of 2.4km, a quick glance will tell you that Hargeisa is no more than 8km across in each direction, given a generous area of 64km2, the current population count of 1 million is still improbable. Asmara is essentially the same size as Hargeisa, and even denser.

[Chimera]

I'm not convinced, I had a look at that planimeter with regards to Hargeisa and their data resembles the 2002 image, most of the city is absent. Secondly there are no rows of apartments and skyscrapers in Asmara, it's a good comparison, though Hargeisa is clearly larger in size.